Channel 5 is heading deep into the misty hills of the Peak District this month with the launch of ‘Cooper & Fry’, a new feature-length British crime drama starring Mandip Gill (Doctor Who) and Rob James-Collier (Downton Abbey, The Inheritance). Based on the bestselling novels by Stephen Booth, the series promises an atmospheric mix of mystery, local folklore, and character-driven tension.
Set in the rugged beauty of rural Derbyshire, ‘Cooper & Fry’ follows DC Ben Cooper (James-Collier), a popular local detective deeply embedded in his community, and DC Diane Fry (Gill), a sharp newcomer from Leeds who arrives under a bit of a cloud. When the pair are thrown together on a murder case after a body is unearthed on a local farm, their partnership is tested from the start. Cooper’s intuitive, grounded approach to policing clashes with Fry’s guarded, methodical style, creating sparks both professional and personal.
Over the course of four feature-length episodes, each inspired by one of Booth’s early novels, the duo find themselves drawn into cases that expose the dark secrets of the Peak District’s close-knit towns and villages. The season begins with Black Dog, a missing-persons mystery that uncovers buried resentments, before delving into Dying to Sin, where grisly discoveries at an isolated farm bring the past crashing into the present. Blind to the Bones explores the dangers of loyalty in a community that guards its secrets too tightly, while Dancing with the Virgins takes a strange incident at a prehistoric stone circle and weaves it into a story steeped in local folklore.
Gill, best known to sci-fi fans as Yasmin Khan in Doctor Who, brings both steel and vulnerability to Fry, a detective trying to find her place in unfamiliar territory. James-Collier, meanwhile, swaps the polished corridors of Downton Abbey for muddy boots and country lanes, giving Cooper a warmth and quiet intensity that anchors the drama. Their dynamic forms the emotional heart of the show – one built on tension, mutual respect, and the slow evolution from reluctant colleagues to uneasy allies.
Produced by Clapperboard and distributed by STUDIO TF1, the series joins Channel 5’s growing roster of character-led mystery dramas such as Dalgliesh and The Marlow Murder Club. The broadcaster has carved out a niche for sophisticated but accessible British crime stories, and ‘Cooper & Fry’ looks set to fit comfortably alongside them, offering viewers a mix of procedural intrigue, brooding landscapes, and human complexity.
‘Cooper & Fry’ premieres Tuesday, 18th November 2025 on Channel 5 at 8pm.
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