Taggart "Taggart" was one of the UK's longest-running television dramas and the longest-running police drama after the cancellation of "The Bill". Mark McManus, who played the title character Jim Taggart, died in 1994; however, the series continued under the same name. The series theme music is "No Mean City" sung by Maggie Bell. The Scottish BAFTA-winning pilot episode, "Killer", directed by Laurence Moody and broadcast in 1983, introduced the character Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Jim Taggart (played by Mark McManus until his death in 1994), a tough and experienced detective who had worked his way up through the ranks. His original
Jim Taggart being a policeman on the beat, and had a wide experience of people, crimes, and the infinite variety of both. Pragmatic rather than idealistic, he does not trust easily, but is completely loyal to those who work for him. He firmly believes there are no really clever murderers, or really clever policemen either. He was married to Jean Taggart, who used a wheelchair for the duration of the episodes she appeared in. It was a solid marriage with the dour, serious Taggart devoted to his more outgoing wife, who could see through the tough exterior to the, very well hidden,