Pie in the Sky (1994)

Comedy · Crime · Drama

Pie in the Sky is a British offbeat police comedy drama programme starring Richard Griffiths and Maggie Steed, created by Andrew Payne and first broadcast in five series on BBC1 between 13 March 1994 and 17 August 1997 as well as being syndicated on other channels in other countries, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The series departs slightly from other police dramas in that the protagonist, Henry Crabbe, while still being an on-duty policeman, is also the head chef of the title restaurant set in the fictional town of Middleton and county of Westershire.

IMDb rating: 7.7 (2,536 votes)
Episode average: 8.0 ↑ +0.3 vs IMDb
Seasons: 5
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

Browse shows by rating shape → Open in Rising Shows app → View on IMDb

Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 5 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1994)

7.79 avg 10 episodes 7.5 → 8.0 49 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Best of Both Worlds	7.5	173
2	The Truth Will Out	7.6	139
3	An Innocent Man	7.8	127
4	Once a Copper	7.9	126
5	A Shot in the Dark	7.7	114
6	Undesirable Elements	8.2	122
7	Passion Fruit Fool	7.7	115
8	A Matter of Taste	7.8	113
9	Who Only Stand and Wait	7.7	109
10	Endangered Species	8.0	102

Season 2 (1995)

8.15 avg 10 episodes 8.2 → 8.5 49 min avg

Rebound

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Hard Cheese	8.2	117
2	Brown Bread	8.4	113
3	The Policeman's Daughter	7.6	105
4	The One That Got Away	8.0	112
5	Dead Right	7.8	105
6	Black Pudding	8.7	111
7	Swan in His Pride	7.8	102
8	The Mild Bunch	8.3	102
9	The Mystery of Pikey	8.2	99
10	Lemon Twist	8.5	97

Season 3 (1995)

8.02 avg 6 episodes 8.0 → 8.2 49 min avg

Big finale

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Money Talks	8.0	100
2	Game Pie	7.9	95
3	Irish Stew	8.1	95
4	Doggett's Coat and Badge	8.1	88
5	This Other Eden	7.8	81
6	Coddled Eggs	8.2	84

Season 4 (1996)

8.05 avg 6 episodes 7.8 → 8.3 49 min avg

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Devils on Horseback: Part 1	7.8	94
2	Devils on Horseback: Part 2	7.8	88
3	Chinese Whispers	8.0	90
4	New Leaf	8.3	88
5	Breaking Bread	8.1	87
6	Gary's Cake	8.3	90

Season 5 (1997)

7.90 avg 8 episodes 7.9 → 8.7 49 min avg

Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Squashed Tomatoes	7.9	98
2	Ugly Customers	7.7	89
3	Pork Pies	7.8	88
4	Cutting the Mustard	7.8	84
5	Return Match	7.5	90
6	The Apprentice	7.9	95
7	In the Smoke	7.9	100
8	Smelling of Roses	8.7	100