misbegotten Review of WPC 56

WPC 56 (2013–2015)

An extremely watchable and well made period drama.

[8/10 · 9 January 2021]

Can wholeheartedly recommend WPC 56. Originally screened on BBC1 between 2013 - 2015, it was one of several shows - along with LAND GIRLS, THE INDIAN DOCTOR and the ongoing (at the time of writing) FATHER BROWN - with which the Beeb proved it was possible to deliver quality period drama on a reduced daytime budget. Set in 1956 in Brinford, a fictitious location in the West Midlands (the series is vague as to whether Brinford is a district of Birmingham or an entirely separate town on the outskirts of Birmingham), WPC 56 focuses on young recruit Gina Dawson (played by Jennie Jacques) the first female constable on Brinford's police force, and the struggles she faces due to her colleagues believing she's only there to make the tea and comfort distressed female witnesses and victims. In addition to the entrenched sexism of the period, the show also tackled the issues of racism, mental illness and homophobia, and predictably was accused of being 'too PC' by some viewers. But the fact is that to have been female, covertly gay (homosexuality being illegal at the time) or belonging to an ethnic minority, etc, during the period when WPC 56 was set would have meant being faced with such attitudes on a daily basis. Refreshingly, Gina wasn't portrayed as being too good to be true. Yes, she was intelligent, brave, resourceful, and could see past her colleagues' prejudices, but she was also naïve, inexperienced and had a disastrous habit of falling in love with the wrong man. And despite being made for daytime, the show wasn't afraid to go to some dark places, with storylines about rape, child murder, sex slavery, suicide, and - with WWII still being a recent event in 1956 - Nazi atrocities. WPC 56 had problems keeping hold of it's actors. Practically the entire supporting cast changed between the first and second seasons, and Jacques herself left after Season 2 due to getting a regular role in VIKINGS. Her rookie replacement Annie Taylor, played by Claudia Jessie, was a very different character: whereas Gina was partly in awe of her colleagues and would often defer to them and be wary of speaking out, Annie came from a family of police officers (her father was retired from the force and both of her older brothers were policemen) and as she'd grown up amongst coppers and been around them her entire life, she wasn't impressed or intimidated by her Brinford colleagues at all, and was more than capable of standing up for herself. I watched all three seasons of WPC 56 when they originally aired on BBC1, and had looked forward to further seasons with Jessie as Annie Taylor, but with the exception of FATHER BROWN, the Beeb's unofficial policy towards it's daytime period dramas seems to have been 'make three seasons, then stop.' Despite having developed a loyal fanbase and garnered highly favourable reviews (the TV critic in the Daily Mail even predicted that if WPC 56 had been initially shown at primetime, the BBC would have had another CALL THE MIDWIFE-sized hit on their hands), the show - together with LAND GIRLS and THE INDIAN DOCTOR - didn't return for a fourth season.