BBC Reveals First Look at Welsh Crime Drama The Last Detectives
The BBC has shared the first official picture from The Last Detectives, its new Welsh crime drama led by Mark Lewis-Jones and Steffan Rhodri.
The exclusive first-look image, meaning the first still released to preview a programme before broadcast, was published by Deadline on 2 October 2026. It gives audiences an early view of a series that was first announced under a different name.
Lewis-Jones plays DI Glyn Walsh and Rhodri plays DS Sion Dearden. They head a cast that also includes Bethan-Mary James, Jordan Davies, Julie Graham and Catherine Ayers, according to Deadline.
James plays DC Remy Jones, Davies plays DC Neil Miller and Graham plays forensic biologist Pamela Thomas. The programme follows detectives investigating murder cases set in Tenby, Wales.
That seaside setting is central to the shoot. The production filmed in Tenby itself, as well as in Cardiff and along the South Wales coastline.
The show began life as Old Town Murders. The BBC, which commissioned the programme, announced it under that title in April, describing it in its BBC Media Centre notice as a witty, twisty crime series. The retitle to The Last Detectives was confirmed with the first-look reveal.
The series was created by Matthew Barry, whose credits include Men Up and The Guest, the BBC said. Barry is writer and executive producer, the senior creative role that oversees a show from script to screen. Hannah Daniel wrote episode four.
Behind the camera, Andy Newbery directs episodes one to four and also serves as executive producer. Rhys Carter directs episodes five and six. Guy Hescott is series producer, the day-to-day manager of the shoot.
The Last Detectives is produced by Nicola Shindler’s Quay Street Productions. Davina Earl and Shindler are executive producers for the company. Shindler is described by the BBC as an award-winner whose credits include Fool Me Once and After the Flood.
For the BBC, Rebecca Ferguson is executive producer and co-commissioner alongside Nick Andrews for BBC Wales. A commission is the formal order from a broadcaster to make a programme.
On the business side, Quay Street is backed by ITV Studios, the production and distribution organisation. ITV Studios is selling The Last Detectives, meaning it handles international sales outside the United Kingdom. The production also received Welsh Government support via Creative Wales.
For fans, this means a new detective team, a recognisable Tenby backdrop and a familiar BBC crime slot to watch. A broadcast date has not been disclosed in the material released so far.
