Pie in the Sky is a British police comedy drama starring Richard Griffiths and Maggie Steed, created by Andrew Payne and first broadcast in five series on BBC1 between 13 March 1994 and 17 August 1997, as well as being syndicated on other channels in other countries.

The protagonist, Henry Crabbe, while still being an on-duty, "semi-retired" policeman (much against his will), is also the head chef at his wife's restaurant "Pie in the Sky", set in the fictional town of Middleton and county of Westershire.

Premise

thumb|80px|Crabbe's portrait of [[Alexis Soyer that hung on the wall in his kitchen.]]

The series focuses on the life of Detective Inspector Henry Crabbe, who serves in the police force for the fictional county of Westershire. After 25 years on the job, Crabbe wishes to retire and set up his own restaurant, and is brought one step closer after an attempt to catch a high-profile criminal backfires, leaving him shot in the leg. His boss, Assistant Chief Constable Freddie Fisher, is unwilling to let Crabbe leave the Westershire force, and so, when a corrupt officer frames Crabbe for taking a bribe, effectively blackmails him into taking on occasional cases when required.

As a result, Crabbe finds his life divided between his duties as a police detective, and a chef in his new restaurant — "Pie in the Sky" — which he runs with his wife Margaret. Each episode thus focuses on two separate plotlines, in which one sees Crabbe investigating a case, while the other sees him, his wife and their staff dealing with a problem that affects their restaurant.

Cast

  • Richard Griffiths as DI Henry Crabbe, detective and restaurant owner. He is an astute detective, a lover of food, and a great cook.
  • Maggie Steed as Margaret Crabbe, Henry's wife. She is an accountant and cares little for good food herself, but works in the restaurant and supports Henry's venture, as long as it makes a profit.
  • Malcolm Sinclair as ACC Freddy Fisher, Assistant Chief Constable of Police, Henry's boss. He is most concerned with furthering his career, but recognises that Crabbe is an excellent detective.
  • Bella Enahoro as WPC [Later DS] Sofiya Cambridge, detective (Series 1–4). She is a trustworthy officer who accompanies Crabbe on most cases.
  • Mary Woodvine as WPC Jane Morton, police constable (Series 5), accompanies Crabbe on most cases in Series 5.
  • Derren Litten as PC Ed Guthrie, police constable (Series 5), accompanies Crabbe on most cases in Series 5.
  • Joe Duttine as Steve Turner, chef (Series 1–2). He is an ex-criminal but an honest worker, and a good young chef.
  • Nicholas Lamont as Gary Palmer, chef (Series 3–5). Like Steve, he is an ex-criminal, an honest worker and a good young chef.
  • Nick Raggett as Leon Henderson, a food supplier for the restaurant, and occasional worker in the restaurant.
  • Alison McKenna as Linda Walker, waitress, and girlfriend of Steve (Series 1)
  • Ashley Russell as John Dawson, waiter (Series 1–2)
  • Samantha Janus as Nicola Dooley, waitress (Series 2–4)
  • Marsha Thomason as Sally Nicholls, waitress (Series 5)
  • Robert Putt as Chief Constable Braithwaite, Fisher's boss (Recurring; Series 3 and 5)
  • Caroline Loncq as Jenny Drabble, police PR officer (Recurring; Series 4–5)
  • Michael Kitchen as Dudley Hooperman, a high-class thief who is supposed to be Crabbe's last arrest but instead shoots him in the leg and escapes (Guest; Series 1)

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (1994)

Series 2 (1995)

Series 3 (1995-96)

Series 4 (1996)

Series 5 (1997)

Filming locations

Westershire, the fictional county where the series is set, is based on Berkshire in southern England. Although scenes in Middleton were often filmed in Marlow in Buckinghamshire, the exterior of the restaurant, Pie in the Sky, was filmed outside number 64 High Street in the Old Town in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. Originally, a florist and then a toy shop, the building became a minor tourist attraction while the series ran, then housed the business of a dolls’-house maker, and as of 2019, a hair salon. A nearby restaurant at 80 High Street renamed itself "Pie in the Sky" to capitalise on the programme's popularity (later becoming "Les Amants").

In Olinda, Victoria in Australia, a very successful restaurant called "Pie in the Sky" also serves many of the TV series' recipes and especially its famous crusty steak and kidney pies.

All internal filming at the restaurant was carried out at Bray Studios at Water Oakley, near Windsor in Berkshire. The local newspaper, the Maidenhead Advertiser, occasionally appears in the series redubbed the 'Barstock and Middleton Advertiser'. Freddie Fisher plays golf at Stoke Park Golf Club at Stoke Poges.

Series 1

Both the exterior and interior of the 'Nebditch Intercontinental Hotel' which features throughout episode 2 of the 1st series, "The Truth Will Out", was filmed at John Nike's Coppid Beech Hotel in Binfield, near Bracknell in Berkshire.

In episode 3 of the 1st series, "An Innocent Man", railway enthusiast Duncan Spellar lives at Brocket Hall at Lemsford in Hertfordshire. In the opening scene, Julian Tubbs MP is shown dining on the terrace at the 'Compleat Angler' at Bisham in East Berkshire, overlooking Marlow Church on the other side of the River Thames. Later Crabbe follows him to 'Middleton Station' which was filmed at Horsley railway station in Surrey.

In episode 4 of the 1st series, "Once a Copper", the opening scene was filmed at Shirburn Castle. Barstock University is Bracknell College. Cambridge meets with an officer from a former investigation in Bracknell - the 3M Building can be seen out of the window. The 'Thin Blue Line' Conference takes place at Oakley Court, adjoining Bray Studios. Henry confronts a supposedly dead criminal at Windsor Racecourse and is later shown hurrying to the Japanese Reception across Marlow Bridge.

In episode 5 of the 1st series, "A Shot in the Dark", the deceased works at White Waltham Airfield while his home is a cottage in Waltham St Lawrence both in East Berkshire.

Series 2

In episode 1 of the 2nd series, "Hard Cheese", the 'Laxton Grange Hotel' was filmed at Oakley Court, adjoining Bray Studios in Berkshire. The local cheese-merchant confesses his indiscretions to Henry in the garden at the Flower Pot Hotel at Aston near Remenham, also in Berkshire. Henry and Cambridge examine a large map at one point which reveals other locations in Berkshire: Henry's home town of 'Middleton' is a non-existent town located at Waltham St Lawrence; 'Laxton' is broadly based on the town of Bracknell, though actually located at nearby Warfield; 'Brayfield' is broadly based on Maidenhead, being located at Braywick on the town's southern edge; adjoining this is 'Sommersby' based on Twyford relocated to Woolley Green.

In episode 5 of the 2nd series, "Dead Right", Henry has a picnic with the psychic down by the River Thames in the churchyard at Bisham in East Berkshire.

Episode 7 of the 2nd series, "Swan in His Pride", is set in the city of Bath in Somerset which features throughout. Crabbe and Fisher catch the train to Bath from Reading railway station in Berkshire.

In episode 9 of the 2nd series, "The Mystery of Pikey", the bikers rally in front of Warfield Church, near Bracknell, in Berkshire; while the tyres of a number of cars are slashed at Baileys Garage in Maiden's Green, part of the neighbouring parish of Winkfield. The Anchor public house at Wisley, near Woking, in Surrey features throughout the episode.

Series 3

In episode 4, "Doggett's Coat and Badge", Doggett is seen purchasing a Bow Street Runner figurine in a shop in Windsor in Berkshire.

In episode 6, "Coddled Eggs", Crabbe and Fisher are seen entering their police station. This was filmed at what was then the Mercury Rev (as of 2016, the Honda UK Building) in Cain Road in Binfield, also in Berkshire. The railway station where Crabbe mans the anti-crime trailer is between Maidenhead and Slough.

Series 4

In episodes 1 & 2 of the 4th series, "Devils on Horseback," the cider brewery is filmed at Stanlake Park near Twyford in Berkshire. The Horse and Jockey public house is The Greyhound at Aldbury, Hertfordshire.

In episode 5 of the 4th series, "Breaking Bread," Crabbe and Cambridge go to the council estates department to examine building plans. The offices are Easthampstead Park, near Bracknell.

Series 5

The eponymous restaurant goes through a re-design, with the previous light décor being changed to a darker terracotta and the whole bar area being moved from being adjacent to the kitchen doors to the right-hand window bay. In episode 2 of the 5th series, "Ugly Customers," Crabbe goes to examine the home of the foreman of the jury. He visits a small country house which is the 'Pump Room' at Winkfield Plain, near Windsor, in Berkshire.

In episode 4, the school featured was the Masonic Senior School (later the International University) in Bushey, Herts.

In Episode 5, the football scenes are filmed at non league Basingstoke Town FC

Broadcast, DVD and streaming

The series was originally broadcast in the UK on BBC1 between 13 March 1994 and 17 August 1997.

In Australia, it was originally broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In 2021, it was broadcast on 7two and streamed on 7plus.

The entire series is available on DVD in the UK.

In the United States, Acorn Media has released separate sets of all five series on 12 May 2009 (Series 1), 26 January 2010 (Series 2), 7 September 2010 (Series 3), 25 January 2011 (Series 4) and 2 August 2011 (Series 5). The complete series was released on DVD by Acorn Media on 11 November 2011.

The entire series is available for streaming through several streaming services including AcornTV and BritBox.

In Australia, Via Vision Entertainment have released series 1 & 2 on 21 July 2021 and will release series 3–5 on 15 September 2021.

All episodes are currently available to watch in the UK via the UKTV Play platform.

All five seasons became available in the US on BritBox in March 2023.

References