# Widows (1983)

> After their husbands die in a botched London van robbery, three widows take up the heist plans themselves.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/3199

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 12
- Episode runtime: 50 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Lynda La Plante
- Network: ITV1
- Cast: Ann Mitchell, Fiona Hendley, Maureen O'Farrell, Debby Bishop, Kate Williams, Maurice O'Connell, David Calder, Stephen Yardley
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085111/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, tense, propulsive, melancholic, gritty realism

## What critics say

Audiences rated the first season highly for its gripping heist plotting and strong lead performances, while the second season was judged clearly weaker.

## Synopsis

Widows (1983-1985) is a British crime drama series created by Lynda La Plante for ITV1. After armed robbers Harry Rawlins and his partners die when their security van catches fire in the Kingsway Tunnel, their wives Dolly (Ann Mitchell) and Shirley (Fiona Hendley) find the husbands' schematics and decide to carry out the job themselves. Linda Perelli (Maureen O'Farrell) and the other widows are drawn into a dangerous plan that pulls them into London's criminal underworld, while Detective Inspector George Resnick (David Calder) closes in on their trail. The engine of the show is the pressure of debt, grief, and loyalty, with each episode built around preparation, betrayal, and the risk of discovery. Across two seasons of tense, gritty, character-driven storytelling set in 1980s London, the series balances heist suspense with working class realism and an emotional undercurrent of loss. Fans of Life on Mars and Line of Duty will find resonance in its grounded British crime texture and its morally compromised characters.

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