The Tunnel Sabotage

THE BEST of Scandinavian and British crime blend together very well in the Sky Atlantic series The Tunnel.

The result, in both the original series and its recent follow-up Sabotage, is a gripping drama with high-stakes as cops face danger from both ruthless killers and politicians.

Sabotage is new out on DVD either on its own or as a boxset with season one.

The Tunnel grew out of our fascination with all things criminally Scandinavian, driven first by the brooding cop Wallander then hit crime saga The Killing.

The Killing’s international success led to The Bridge, in which cops in Denmark and Sweden, either side of a bridge, came together to solve a compact murder case.

Sky Atlantic hosted the home-grown remake, teaming Cmdr Elise Wasserman and DCI Karl Roebuck to track down a serial killer operating on both sides of the English Channel.

To which the best: the Scandinavian talent for creating complex characters and blending policing and politics, with the British specialism for gritty, gruesome murder, and faster-moving plots than you’ll find in the Arctic North.

Sabotage ups the ante, after the couple are reunited to investigate the case of a French couple abducted from the Eurotunnel, leaving behind their daughter.

So far so police procedural, until a plane carrying French and British passengers crashes in the Channel above, making things a whole lot more complicated and compulsive.

Better than most crime fare you’ll find on terrestrial TV, The Tunnel should find a host of new fans on DVD.

David Knights