It was a massive gamble. Honestly, trying to recast Jane Tennison—a character basically etched into the DNA of British television by the legendary Helen Mirren—felt like a recipe for disaster. When ITV announced a prequel based on Lynda La Plante’s novel Tennison, the collective groan from crime drama fans was audible. How do you find a cast of Prime Suspect 1973 that doesn't just feel like a group of actors doing bad impressions of the 1990s originals?
Surprisingly, they pulled it off.
The show dropped in 2017 (and hit PBS Masterpiece in the States shortly after), transporting us back to Hackney in the early seventies. It wasn't just the bell-bottoms and the suffocating haze of cigarette smoke in the station house that sold it. It was the faces. The casting directors didn't go for carbon copies. They went for energy. They went for that specific brand of raw, unpolished talent that makes you believe these people are actually wading through the grime of a pre-digital London.
Stefanie Martini had the hardest job in TV
Let’s be real: Stefanie Martini was walking into a minefield. She had to play WPC Jane Tennison at 22 years old. This is Jane before the years of systemic sexism turned her into the hardened, brilliant, and deeply flawed DCI we met in 1991. Martini didn't try to "be" Helen Mirren. That would’ve been a mistake. Instead, she captured the wide-eyed idealism of a young woman who hasn't yet realized that the institution she joined is actively rooting for her to fail.
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You see it in her posture. In the original series, Mirren’s Tennison is a pillar—immovable, sharp, defensive. Martini’s Tennison is softer, frequently tucked into the background of scenes, yet possessing a quiet, stubborn observational power. She’s the one noticing the details the "lads" miss because they're too busy being "proper coppers" or hitting the pub. It’s a nuanced performance that anchors the entire cast of Prime Suspect 1973. Without her ability to show Jane’s vulnerability, the show would’ve just been another generic period police procedural.
The men of Hackney Station: Sam Reid and Alun Armstrong
While Martini provided the heart, the surrounding men provided the friction. Sam Reid played DI Len Bradfield, and man, the chemistry there was complicated. Bradfield isn't exactly a feminist hero, but he’s the first one to recognize that Jane actually has a brain. Reid plays him with this simmering intensity—he’s a man of his time, but he’s also clearly weary of the incompetence surrounding him.
Then you have the veteran presence of Alun Armstrong as Clifford Bentley. If you’re a fan of British TV, you know Armstrong is a heavy hitter (New Tricks, Braveheart). Here, he’s playing the patriarch of a crime family, and he brings this gritty, lived-in menace to the role. It’s a stark contrast to the police side of the story. The way the show balances the domestic life of the Bentley family against the precinct politics is where the writing really shines.
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It’s not just about the big names, though. The supporting cast of Prime Suspect 1973 is a "who’s who" of "hey, I know that guy" actors:
- Blake Harrison: Most people know him as the dim-witted Neil from The Inbetweeners. Seeing him as DS Terry Spencer was a trip. He traded the "bus wankers" jokes for a slicked-back, slightly corrupt 70s vibe that proved he’s got way more range than people give him credit for.
- Jessica Gunning: Long before she terrified everyone in Baby Reindeer, she was WPC Kath Morgan. She serves as a brilliant foil to Jane—someone who has accepted the limitations placed on women in the force and just wants to get through the day.
- Andrew Brooke: As Sergeant Bill Otley, he embodies the casual, everyday misogyny that Jane had to fight against. He’s the guy making the tea jokes and the "get back to the typing pool" remarks that make your blood boil.
Why the atmosphere worked (and why it ended too soon)
The 1970s setting wasn't just decorative. It was a character. The production design was bleak—lots of browns, greys, and nicotine-stained yellows. This wasn't the "Swinging Sixties." This was the hangover. The soundtrack, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd and T. Rex, grounded the show in a very specific moment of British cultural shift.
But here’s the kicker: despite solid ratings and a killer cast, the show was canceled after one series.
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Why? Rumor has it there were "creative differences" between the production company and the author, Lynda La Plante. It’s a shame, honestly. We only got six episodes. We were just starting to see Jane Tennison develop those iron-clad defenses. We were just beginning to see how her relationship with her family—particularly her mother, played by Nancy Carroll—informed her drive to escape the domestic expectations of the era.
The legacy of the 1973 lineup
Even though it was a "one and done" situation, the cast of Prime Suspect 1973 left a mark. It served as a launching pad for several careers and proved that the Prime Suspect brand had legs beyond Helen Mirren’s tenure. It also highlighted a very specific transition in policing—the move from "gut feeling" and physical intimidation to actual forensic methodology and obsessive paperwork.
If you go back and watch it now, pay attention to the silence. The show uses quiet moments better than almost any other drama from that year. Jane sitting in her bedroom, listening to her records, trying to process the horrific murder of Julie-Ann Collins... it’s in those moments that Martini really bridges the gap to the Tennison we know.
Actionable steps for fans of the genre
If you've finished the six episodes and are looking for more of that specific "gritty British period crime" itch to scratch, here is how to navigate the aftermath:
- Read the source material: Lynda La Plante’s Tennison is actually the first in a series of books. If you’re annoyed the TV show ended, the books Hidden Killers, Blunt Force, and Unholy Murder continue Jane’s journey through the 70s and 80s. They provide the closure the show never got to film.
- Track the cast’s evolution: Watch Jessica Gunning in The Outlaws or Baby Reindeer to see just how much she can disappear into a role compared to her time as WPC Morgan. Follow Sam Reid over to Interview with the Vampire, where he is currently chewing the scenery in the best way possible.
- The Original Watch-Through: If you haven't seen the original Prime Suspect (1991-2006) in a while, re-watching it immediately after the prequel is a revelation. You start to see the echoes of the 1973 case in the older Jane’s eyes. The way she handles her male subordinates suddenly has a 20-year backstory that feels earned.
- Check out Endeavour: If it was the 70s aesthetic and the "younger version of a famous detective" trope that got you, Endeavour (the Inspector Morse prequel) is the gold standard. It ran for nine seasons and perfectly captures that same sense of a changing Britain.
The cast of Prime Suspect 1973 didn't just play roles; they inhabited a very specific, very ugly time in history with grace and grit. It’s a masterclass in how to handle a legacy property without leaning on nostalgia as a crutch. While we likely won't see this specific ensemble together again, their six-hour contribution to the Jane Tennison mythos remains some of the best crime TV of the last decade.