Judge John Deed - Premise

Premise

Sir John Deed (played by Martin Shaw) is a recently appointed High Court judge who actively seeks justice in the cases before him, while at the same time trying to rekindle an old romance with former pupil Jo Mills QC, who regularly appears in his court. Deed is described by creator and writer G.F. Newman as a character that "speaks out against all the petty rules and bureaucracy that frustrates us all but that most of us don't speak out against". Because of Deed's unorthodox actions, he is often hampered in his pursuit of justice by several more conventional-minded characters, including his ex-wife, barrister Georgina "George" Channing (played by Caroline Langrishe); her father Sir Joseph Channing (played by Sir Donald Sinden), Sir Monty Everard (played by Simon Ward), the Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department (LCD, later Department of Constitutional Affairs); Sir Ian Rochester (played by Simon Chandler); and later the Home Secretary Neil Haughton MP (played by Aneirin Hughes).

Other recurring characters include Deed's rebellious, activist daughter Charlie (played by Louisa Clein), who is initially a law student but later progresses to the courts; Deed's friend, police commissioner Row Colemore (played by Christopher Cazenove); and his clerk, Rita "Coop" Cooper (played by Barbara Thorn), who is often on hand to talk him out of his more ludicrous ideas. The first three series of the programme have a self-contained structure, with a trial reaching its conclusion by the end of an episode. In later years, the series shifted to a serialised format, with cases running over a number of episodes and a greater focus on the personal lives of characters other than Deed.