Genre Crime dramaComedy Theme music composer Mike Moran Original language(s) English | Created by Chris KellyIain Roy Country of origin United Kingdom | |
Starring Alfred MolinaJohn BirdSimón AndreuTony HaygarthDonald ChurchillMaría IsbertKenneth CranhamAmanda Redman | ||
El C.I.D. is an ITV television crime drama comedy that ran for three seasons from February 7, 1990 until March 2, 1992. The series starred Alfred Molina as Bernard Blake, a C.I.D. officer who takes early retirement and moves to Spain where he and his work partner, Douglas Bromley (John Bird), a retired records officer, keep an eye on the ex-pat community of British gangsters. As well as settling into life on the Costa Del Sol, storylines featured the pair helping out a local private eye, Delgado (Simón Andreu) to investigate cases.
The series was highly publicised following criticism of Spain's extradition treaty with the UK, which was featured heavily in the newspapers during the series' run. Before the third series, Molina left the cast, and was subsequently replaced by Amanda Redman, who joined the series as the daughter of Bird's character, Bromley. The series also co-starred Kenneth Cranham as a notorious British gangster who fled to Spain. Notably, scriptwriter Jimmy McGovern wrote episodes for both the first and second series. The title is a play on El Cid.