The Gentle Touch (1980)

Crime · Drama

Notable as the first British series to feature a female police officer (predating Juliet Bravo by four months), Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes raises her teenage son while navigating a male-dominated police force following the murder of her police commissioner husband.

IMDb rating: 6.6 (369 votes)
Episode average: 7.1 +0.5 vs IMDb
Seasons: 5
Streaming (US): Amazon Prime Video
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 (1980)

7.21 avg 7 episodes 7.5 → 7.5 50 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Killers	7.5	48
2	Recoil	7.4	33
3	Help	7.0	31
4	Shock	7.3	28
5	Blade	7.5	27
6	Rogue	6.3	25
7	Melody	7.5	23

Season 2 (1980)

7.23 avg 10 episodes 6.4 → 7.2 50 min avg

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Something Blue	6.4	27
2	Decoy	7.9	21
3	Break-In	7.3	19
4	Menaces	7.4	23
5	Hammer	8.3	24
6	Chance	6.9	20
7	Loyalties	6.6	18
8	Maggie's Luck	7.3	18
9	Shame	7.0	23
10	The Ring	7.2	17

Season 3 (1981)

7.18 avg 13 episodes 7.6 → 7.5 50 min avg

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Gifts	7.6	19
2	Doubt	7.2	19
3	The Hit	7.3	17
4	Scapegoat	6.8	18
5	Knife	6.4	16
6	Protection	7.1	18
7	Paint It Black	7.0	19
8	Affray	7.3	13
9	Black Fox, White Vixen	7.2	13
10	One of Those Days	7.3	12
11	Vigil	7.2	11
12	Damage	7.5	13
13	Solution	7.5	11

Season 4 (1982)

7.08 avg 13 episodes 6.4 → 7.4 51 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Right of Entry	6.4	12
2	Be Lucky Uncle	7.7	12
3	Cause and Effect	7.1	11
4	Auctions	7.0	13
5	Dany	7.0	10
6	Victims	6.8	13
7	The Meat Rack	7.0	12
8	Joker	6.5	11
9	Tough, Mrs. Rudge	7.7	12
10	Private Views	6.6	11
11	Pressures	7.7	12
12	Weekend	7.1	11
13	Who's Afraid of Josie Tate	7.4	11

Season 5 (1984)

7.02 avg 13 episodes 6.8 → 7.1 51 min avg

Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Finders, Keepers	6.8	12
2	Losers, Weepers	6.4	10
3	Do It Yourself	7.2	11
4	The Conference	7.5	13
5	The Good, the Bad and the Rest	5.9	12
6	Mad Dog	6.5	13
7	Wise Child	7.0	13
8	Appearances Can Be Deceptive	7.4	13
9	Secrets	7.3	15
10	Fox and Hounds	7.2	11
11	Cure	7.1	14
12	A Woman's Word	7.8	12
13	Exit Laughing	7.1	12