From Life on Mars to The Northumbria Mysteries

It has taken Liz White half a century to go from WPC to Detective Inspector – if you count from the 1970s' setting of her first police role in Life on Mars.

Now the actress, born in Rotherham, is taking charge as DI Rose O’Connell in the new BBC crime drama The Northumbria Mysteries.

White played WPC Annie Cartwright in the hit BBC series.

Liz White as WPC Annie Cartwright and John Simm as Sam | BBC

placeholder image — Liz White as WPC Annie Cartwright and John Simm as Sam | BBC

Her latest role marks another step up the fictional police ladder, although White has hardly been short of crime-solving experience in the years between.

The actress has appeared in a string of British crime dramas, including Unforgotten, in which she played Fiona Grayson, a former Metropolitan Police officer who had left the force to become a family therapist. When an old murder case was reopened, Fiona found herself under suspicion – showing that White’s characters are not always on the side of the investigators.

In ITV’s The Long Shadow, White took on the role of real-life Police Sergeant Meg Winterburn in the drama about the hunt for Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe.

Winterburn was involved in the investigation, including the handling of the notorious hoax tape sent to police. White said she felt “honoured” to portray her.

Liz White playing DI Rose O'Connell on BBC's Northumbria Mysteries Picture BBC Lonesome Pine Productions Alex Telfer 1 | BBC

Other credits include Blue Murder, New Tricks, Line of Duty, The Chelsea Detective and Dalgliesh.

She has not always played a police officer, but few actresses can have spent quite so much screen time in the company of detectives, suspects and murder investigations.

White was born in Herringthorpe in 1979, later moving to Plymouth. She went on to train at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, graduating in 2001, before building a career across television drama.

In The Northumbria Mysteries, White’s DI Rose O’Connell is an experienced detective who has moved to Northumberland for reasons yet to be revealed.

She trusts evidence more than gut instinct, has a quiet confidence in her abilities and is determined to get justice for victims.

Her fictional working life may be well organised, but her social life is less successful. Rose lives alone and struggles to make connections through a series of unsuccessful dates. On the job, she works alongside younger colleague DS Raj Singh, played by Gurjeet Singh, investigating cases in Northumberland’s coastal communities and market towns.

The eight-part drama also stars Robson Green as Joe Ruby, an ex-convict and gambler whose knowledge of the criminal world makes him an unconventional ally for Rose.

While she brings official police expertise, Joe has contacts and experience that can help open doors the force might struggle to reach.

For the Rotherham actor, the series is another leading role in a career that has repeatedly brought her into the world of crime and detection. And for anyone who remembers her earlier work, there is a neat television twist: the former WPC is now the one in charge – even if her journey up the ranks has taken a few decades on screen.