Anna Lee

1 9 9 3 (UK)
1 x 120 minute pilot
1 9 9 4 (UK)
5 x 120 minute episodes

Anna Lee (Imogen Stubbs) was a sparky ex-policewoman turned private detective working for the Brierly Detective Agency of High Street, Kensington, where she investigated infidelity, video piracy, murder, blackmail, runaways and other forms of intrigue.

Despite the implausibility of a private detective doing exactly the same job as the police and the cops apparently standing aside to let her do it, that’s precisely what happened in most episodes of Anna Lee with the tomboyish Ms Lee chasing clues in her eccentric clothes and open-topped sports car.

Adapted from a novel by Liz Cody, the short-lived series premiered with a pilot episode in January 1993. The production was pedestrian and altogether too long (in terms of running time).

Plodding storylines and a weak supporting cast tainted the pilot, yet audience viewing figures were healthy enough for London Weekend Television to commission a further five films in the series.

However, the plots proved predictable and audiences drifted away from the series almost immediately. The post-feminist TV sleuth consistently performed disappointingly in the ratings and was killed off by ITV after just one series.

Anna Lee
Imogen Stubbs
Selwyn Price
Brian Glover
Commander Martin Brierly
John Rowe
Bernie Schiller
Peter Wight
Stevie Johnson
Wil Johnson
Beryl Doyle
Sonia Graham
Ros Russell
Ceri Jackson
Maggie Daniels
Sally Baxter
Matthew Daniels
Jack Shute
Ken Daniels
Roger Martin
Sylvie Schiller
Steph Bramwell

Episodes

Headcase || Dupe | Stalker | Diversion | The Cook’s Tale | Requiem