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Constable Martin Mulholland, played by Michael Perceval-Maxwell (Series 1-12)
Lieutenant Robert Roach, played by David Ashton (Series 1-12)
In the 1999 pilot play, Phyllis Logan played Jean and John Paul Hurley played Mulholland. Lieutenant Roach was not introduced until the actual first episode of Series One; in the pilot play, McLevy's superior was Lieutenant Moxey, with the change in command explained as Moxey having been "elevated" to The Haymarket (in the novel Shadow of the Serpent, the explanation is that Moxey "had left somewhat under a cloud and Roach had been swiftly drafted in from Haymarket to fill the gap ...").
Supporting cast
Jessie Nairn (2000–2002, played by Tracey Wiles), Jean Brash's right-hand woman and "Keeper of Keys" of "The Happy Land" and "The Just Land" until she was stabbed to death by a hired killer.
Hannah Semple (2003–2012, 2015–2016, played by Collette O'Neil), who took over as Jean's "Keeper of Keys"; in Series 9, she had to flee Leith after killing a deranged sword-wielding "client" to protect Jean but returned in Series 11.
Constable Miller (2000–2003, played by Tom Smith), a rather inept constable who was killed in the line of duty preventing an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria; unfortunately, to McLevy's fury, because of the would-be assassin's identity, higher authorities swept the attempt under the carpet and the "official" version of Miller's death was that he had been stabbed to death by "a sneak thief". His stationhouse duties were taken over after his death by Constable Ballantyne, played by Finlay McLean.
"The Countess" (2002, played by Maureen Beattie, later 2024 by Nicole Ansari), Jean Brash's chief rival in the brothel trade. During a power struggle between herself and Jean, she tried to have Jean framed for murder but was ultimately jailed herself as an accomplice to that murder; it was revealed in Series 5 that she died in prison; however, in Series 2 of McLevy in the New World, she appeared in San Francisco after having escaped from Perth Penitentiary.
Donald McIver (played by Andrew Neil), Hannah Semple's former boyfriend and an inveterate gambler who married Hannah in Series 5, but sadly was later shot and killed when a high-stakes card game he was playing in was held up by two men with a pistol.
Inspector Adam Dunsmore of the Haymarket district (played by Simon Tait in Series 5, later Forbes Masson in Series 11), later transferred to Princes Street; McLevy despises him as both an inefficient investigator and being more interested in furthering his own career than in solving crimes.
Chief Constable Murray Craddock (introduced in Series 10, played in Series 10 and 12 by Paul Young and by David Robb in Series 11), a self-righteous and intolerant man who is determined to purge Edinburgh (and especially Leith) of what he considers immorality (McLevy finally demonstrates how he feels about Craddock in the final episode of Series 12, "The Last Goodbye").
While some of the series contain a thread connecting all of that series' stories into one storyline, the elements of each of the stories remain constant:
McLevy's single-minded pursuit of and for justice on his beat (the parish of Leith in the city of Edinburgh) no matter which class of people are involved;
His frustration with and contempt for "respectability" and its hypocrisy, especially when the truth about a crime is covered up to protect upper-class people involved but a crime committed by lower-class people is severely punished;
His often-stormy but complex (and in Series 10 "intimate" following events at the end of Series 7) relationship with Jean Brash, the owner and operator of "The Happy Land" (until it was burned down by vigilantes) and later "The Just Land" (so named to annoy McLevy), the "best bawdy-hoose" (brothel) in Edinburgh;
His equally complex working relationship (and friendship, although neither would ever admit to it) with Irish-born Constable Mulholland, McLevy's partner in investigations;
His clashes with his long-suffering, class- and politically-conscious and wife-dominated superior Lieutenant Roach (who nevertheless realized that McLevy's methods produced the desired results and therefore was not above turning a blind eye and occasionally even backing McLevy).
The historicity of the series is not always faultless. For example, an episode on 24 March 2015 involved a robbery of the British Linen Bank, although that bank did not obtain that title until 1906.
List of episodes
Series 1
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
21/12/2000
For Unto Us
2
28/12/2000
The Trophy Club
3
04/01/2001
The Second Shadow
4
11/01/2001
The Burning Question
Series 2
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
19/06/2002
A Good Walk Spoilt
2
26/06/2002
Wild Justice
3
03/07/2002
The Wild Spark
4
10/07/2002
Stab in the Back
Series 3
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
01/12/2003
Behind the Curtain
2
08/12/2003
A Voice from the Grave
3
15/12/2003
The Dark Shadow
4
22/12/2003
Servant of the Crown
Series 4
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
03/04/2006
A Piece of Cake
2
10/04/2006
The Sea Change
3
17/04/2006
Sins of the Fathers
4
24/04/2006
The Devil's Disguise
Series 5
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
27/01/2009
To Keep Him Honest
2
03/02/2009
Picture of Innocence
3
10/02/2009
The Chosen One
4
17/02/2009
The Reckoning
Series 6
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
21/12/2009
A Bolt From the Blue
2
28/12/2009
End of the Line
3
04/01/2010
Jack O'Diamonds
4
11/01/2010
Queen of Spades
Series 7
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
02/03/2011
The Firebrand
2
09/03/2011
Dead Reckoning
3
16/03/2011
Prince of Darkness
4
23/03/2011
A Distant Death
Series 8
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
29/11/2011
The Blue Gown
2
06/12/2011
Flesh and Blood
3
13/12/2011
A Fine Deception
4
20/12/2011
The Last Illusion
Series 9
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
26/11/2012
A Dangerous Remedy
2
03/12/2012
No Looking Back
3
10/12/2012
A Pearl in the Oyster
4
17/12/2012
The Cross-Roads
Series 10
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
18/02/2014
A Different Path
2
25/02/2014
The Cat's Claw
3
04/03/2014
A Sore Convulsion
4
11/03/2014
A Secret Life
Series 11
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
15/12/2015
A Price to Pay
2
22/12/2015
The Seventh Veil
3
29/12/2015
The Night Walker
4
05/01/2016
The Devil Makes a Move
Series 12
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
10/10/2016
A Matter of Balance
2
11/10/2016
A Man of Honour
3
12/10/2016
He Who Waits
4
13/10/2016
The Last Goodbye
McLevy in the New World - Series 1
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
21/04/2022
Shake Hands With The Devil
2
28/04/2022
A Stirring In The Blood
McLevy in the New World - Series 2
Episode no.
Broadcast date
Episode title
1
25/01/2024
Fate Takes A Hand
2
01/02/2024
Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble
Specials
Broadcast date
Episode title
Notes
26/07/1999
Pilot episode
Originally titled 'McLevy', it was retitled 'Happy Land' for subsequent repeats.
25/12/2006
Christmas Special
90-minute feature-length episode.
08/10/2016
Meet James McLevy
60-minute re-make of the pilot episode, with "Lieutenant Roach" taking the place of "Lieutenant Moxey" and "Hannah Semple" taking a more prominent role in the story.
In other media
All episodes of series 1-12 are currently available on both CD, audio download and with the exception of the pilot episode can be listened to for free on BBC Sounds.
