McDonald & Dodds is a British television crime drama series created and principally written by screenwriter Robert Murphy. The series comprises a pair of mismatched detectives who solve crimes around Bath and the surrounding region. It stars Tala Gouveia as DCI Lauren McDonald, a streetwise former Metropolitan Police investigator who arrives in Bath to head up the Avon and Somerset Police Criminal Investigation Department; and Jason Watkins as DS Dodds, a shy and modest investigator who has not seen street action in more than ten years.
Originally commissioned under the working title Invisible, a pair of films were shot during the summer of 2019, which make up the basis of the first series, broadcast in March 2020. Strong viewing figures saw a second series commissioned for 2021 and shown in February 2021. A third series was confirmed later and broadcast in June 2022. In March 2023, ITV announced that the show was renewed for a fourth series, which was scheduled to air in the UK in April 2024 but was delayed due to scheduling conflicts. Series 4 began airing in the UK on 21 July 2024. Series 4 began airing in Denmark on 20 March 2024 and in the United States on 23 May 2024. On 16 January 2025, the drama was cancelled after four series due to a decline in ratings.
Contents
Production
The first series featured an ensemble line-up of guest stars including actors Robert Lindsay, Hugh Dennis, Freddie Fox, and Joanna Scanlan. The second series, which began in February 2021, was again headed by an all-star guest cast, led by Rob Brydon, whose role was used to heavily promote the series in the run-up to its broadcast.
The final episode of the second series, The War of the Rose, was made available to watch on BritBox services outside of the UK. By June 2022, the episode had still not been broadcast in the UK, despite having been released on DVD in Germany, Australia, and the United States. Subsequently, it was announced that the episode would instead air as if it were the third episode of Series 3 in the UK. Due to the casting changes between series, running this episode third in Series 3 would have created a continuity problem, so it was decided to reshoot James Murray's scenes with Claire Skinner instead. This means there are two versions of the episode in circulation: the international version with Murray as the Chief Super, and the UK version with Skinner as the Chief Super.
Filming on the third series took place in late 2021, with Skinner joining the cast as Chief Superintendent Mary Ormond, following the departure of Murray. Guest stars announced for this series include Alan Davies, Sian Phillips, Paul McGann, and Kelvin Fletcher.
The fourth and final series began filming at the end of June 2023 with Bhavik C. Pankhania joining the cast as DC Lee and guest stars announced for this series include Lydia Leonard, Daniel Lapaine, Ace Bhatti, John Gordon Sinclair, Dipo Ola, Toby Stephens and Pixie Lott.
The title sequence for the show (from Series 2) features a question mark (which transforms into the title's ampersand), referencing the iconic overhead view of Royal Crescent and The Circus, two listed structures in Bath that are frequently shown on screen.
Cast
Main
Tala Gouveia as DCI Lauren McDonald (series 1–4)
Jason Watkins as DS Dodds (series 1–4)
James Murray as Chief Superintendent John Houseman (series 1–2)
Claire Skinner as Chief Superintendent Mary Ormond (series 3–4)
Jack Riddiford as DC Darren Craig (series 1–2)
Pearl Chanda as DC Laura Simpson (series 1)
Danyal Ismail as DC Martin Malik (series 3)
Lily Sacofsky as DC Milena Paciorkowski (series 2–3)
Charlie Chambers as DC Samuel Goldie (series 3–4)
Bhavik C. Pankhania as DC Lee (series 4)
Guest
Robert Lindsay
Caroline Catz
Joanna Scanlan
Hugh Dennis
Rob Brydon
Cathy Tyson
Martin Kemp
Patsy Kensit
Rupert Graves
Sharon Rooney
John Thomson
Alan Davies
Sian Phillips
Catherine Tyldesley
Kelvin Fletcher
Paul McGann
Rosie Day
Rhashan Stone
Emily Joyce
Saira Choudhry
Nitin Ganatra
Sarah Parish
Pixie Lott
Ace Bhatti
Dipo Ola
Lydia Leonard
Toby Stephens
John Gordon Sinclair
Daniel Lapaine
Jared Garfield
Hugh Quarshie
Episodes
Series 3 (2022)
The War of the Rose was originally intended to be Series 2's finale, featuring the final appearances of James Murray as Ch. Supt. Houseman and Jack Riddiford as DC Darren Craig. Due to a scheduling conflict in the UK, the episode was moved to late on in Series 3, meaning some scenes had to be re-shot with the new characters for the purposes of continuity. However, on the streaming service Britbox, the original filming of this episode is shown as the Series 2's finale with the original cast including James Murray as Ch. Supt. Houseman.
Series 4 (2024)
Series 4 was scheduled to air on ITV1 in April 2024 but was delayed due to scheduling conflicts; it was broadcast on ITV1 from 21 July 2024 to 4 August 2024.
Home media and streaming
The four series have been released onto Region 2 DVD in the UK. Further releases have taken place of the first, second and third series in France and Germany.
Streaming
All four series are available for streaming in the US and Australia through the BritBox service. The fourth series started streaming weekly in Australia and the US on 23 May 2024.