The Chief, a police procedural led by Tim Pigott-Smith as Chief Constable John Stafford, will be available to stream on ITVX from 26 November. All five seasons are set to arrive at once, giving viewers access to an early-1990s drama that had been off the current streaming slate.
The series ran for five seasons and centered on Stafford’s mission to reform the fictional Eastland Constabulary. That makes the new ITVX listing more than a nostalgia add-on: it restores a complete run of a five-season title rather than a partial sample.
John Stafford and Eastland Constabulary
Stafford is introduced as outspoken and deeply committed, which gives the series its engine from the start. He appoints Anne Stewart, played by Karen Archer, as his deputy, and that move proves deeply unpopular inside Eastland Constabulary, exposing the attitudes the story is built to challenge.
Tim Pigott-Smith remains the face of the show’s first stretch, but the structure changes in season three when John Stafford exits and Alan Cade, played by Martin Shaw, replaces him as Chief Constable. That handover is the kind of pivot British crime drama can survive only if the institution, not just one lead, carries the plot.
Alan Cade takes over
Alan Cade arrives under pressure from Home Office superiors and local government agencies, shifting the series from a straight reform narrative into a tighter institutional struggle. Brian Bovell, Julian Glover, Judy Loe and Michael Cochrane are also in the cast, which helps explain how the show sustained itself across five seasons.
For viewers, the practical takeaway is simple: from 26 November, ITVX becomes the place to start at episode one and follow the leadership change through season three instead of piecing the series together elsewhere. The attraction now is not just the lead performance but the full arc — a rare chance to watch a police procedural that begins with reform and turns on who gets to control it.
