Judge John Deed

*Judge John Deed* is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. Created by G.F. Newman, the series stars Martin Shaw as Sir John Deed, a High Court judge who strives to achieve true justice in the cases he presides over. Jenny Seagrove co-stars as Jo Mills, a barrister who is often the focus of Deed's romantic interest. A pilot episode was broadcast on 9 January 2001, followed by the first full series on 26 November 2001. The sixth and final series concluded on 18 January 2007. The programme then went on an indefinite hiatus after Shaw became involved in another television project, and he and Seagrove expressed a desire for the format to be altered before new episodes could be filmed. By 2009, the series had officially been cancelled. With six series produced, *Judge John Deed* is the longest-running BBC legal drama. The factual accuracy of the series has often been criticized by legal professionals and journalists, as many of the decisions made by Deed are considered unlikely in real court proceedings. The romanticized portrayal of the court system created by Newman prompted a judge to warn a jury not to let the series influence their perception of trials, referring to an episode in which Deed disregards rules while serving on a jury. Another episode sparked complaints over biased and incorrect information about the MMR vaccine, leading the BBC to ban repeats of it in its original form. All six series have been released on DVD in the UK.