In a break from the usual discussions Dave Thomas speaks to Jackie Malton, a no-nonsense girl from Leicestershire who joined the police force in the 1970s when women were kept apart from the men. She became the model for Lynda La Plant’s character DI Jane Tennison. Feisty and determined, Jackie worked in CID and the famous flying squad before rising to become one of only three female detective chief inspectors in the Metropolitan Police. In The Real Prime Suspect, Malton describes the struggles she faced as a gay woman in the Metropolitan Police, where sexism and homophobia were rife.

She is joined by former Detective Chief Superintendent Sue Clarke. Both women, cut from the same cloth but from different generations. They compare their own experiences of policing. Often funny, sometimes sad but never with regret. 

The Thin Blue Line podcast in partnership with Policing TV, the leading policing media channel.