It’s time to say goodbye to Martin Shaw’s Inspector George Gently

A decade after first meeting Inspector George Gently, it’s time to say goodbye to the popular TV detective this weekend.

The occasion marks a moment of reflection for actor Martin Shaw.

“I shall miss the companionship and comradeship,” says Martin, 72, who played the character.

What he won’t miss, surely, is battling the freezing elements on location in and around Durham, where the BBC series was filmed, although he’ll always have a soft spot for the North East.

“I love the countryside, I think it is absolutely gorgeous,” he says. “Durham is a very beautiful city and every time I drive down and see the cathedral and the castle on the river, I find it extremely uplifting. It never fails to inspire.”

Recalling what drew him to the role initially, he says: “Because the first episode was set in 1964, and even if it is recent history, I love history, I like re-enacting the old days.

“And the social commentary of this show gets the audience thinking as well. It provokes thought.”

The long-running series bows out this Sunday evening with Gently And The New Age, in which Gently gives evidence at the Old Bailey against corrupt police officers in the Met.

It should be one of the final acts of his career, but he’s asked to take on one last job examining evidence against “bent” coppers.

“George is a warrior and, as with a lot of people of that generation, his life was moulded and laid out for him by the war,” comments Martin, who has starred in The Professionals, The Chief and Judge John Deed.

“He fought through a very difficult campaign in Italy.”

“And whatever he does as a detective, he accomplishes it as would a soldier.

“He can’t get out of that mindset.”

We also see the detective grappling with a new decade — and technology — as the series moves into 1970.

“As with all people of a certain age, George finds it confusing. I’m the same,” admits Martin.

“People get used to their own ways and I’m sure 500 or 1,000 years ago, people would have been saying: ‘Things aren’t as good as they used to be.’ It’s the way of life, it’s nature.”

The show’s creative team looked to the pilot for inspiration for the final series, ending as it began with Gently striving to solve the mystery of his wife’s murder.

Martin believes Gently’s enduring grief makes him a man “somewhat at odds with life”.

“He feels out of place partly due to the loss that he feels over his wife’s murder,” says Martin.

“He is still grieving, and what he is missing and what is left, is a space that can never be filled.”

His close relationship with John Bacchus also becomes frayed as the series draws to its conclusion.

“To George’s horror, he finds there have been some shortcuts made by Bacchus,” reveals Martin.

“This infuriates George as he does everything by the book.”

As a result, Gently comes to rely more on DS Rachel Coles.

Asked if he believes it’s a fitting end to the decade-long show, Martin doesn’t want to presume what the viewers’ reaction will be, but he’s hopeful they’ll appreciate the sense of resolution.

“I can’t speak for whether the audience will be happy with our ending or not, but there will be a conclusion,” he says.

“I think the audience deserves to have a proper ending — like a flourish at the end of a symphony.”