'Enchanting' BBC drama set in 1980s is an 'absolute classic British TV masterpiece'

A beloved spin-off BBC drama is continuing to be hailed more than 15 years on from its inception.

Ashes to Ashes is a British fantasy crime drama and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars. The series first aired on BBC One in 2008, followed by a second series in 2009 and a third and final series in 2010.

The series synopsis reads: "21st-century DCI Alex Drake is shot by a man named Arthur Layton and wakes up in 1981, finding herself in the same predicament as DCI Sam Tyler from the companion series Life on Mars. She must work with the arrogant DCI Gene Hunt and his team-DS Ray Carling and DC Chris Skelton-to capture the criminal mastermind Layton and find a way back to her own time. The series is ambiguous about whether Alex is dead or alive and explores themes of sex, sexism, and the limitations of a modern woman's intellect in the past."

Ashes to Ashes has an impressive 100% rating from the audience on Rotten Tomatoes, with one stating that the series is an "absolute classic British TV masterpiece", while another labelled it "enchanting".

Another fan wrote in their review, published this year: "The BBC excel when taking their original Life on Mars concept and giving it another dimension with Keeley Hawes and... the 80s!! Incredible!!!"

"I have just binged on all 3 seasons of this and found it to be excellent. The last two episodes were particularly good. Acting and story lines were all very good with just the right amount of humour. I think it was slightly better than life on Mars which was also excellent," added a third fan.

A fourth reviewer said: "Just rewatched the whole series and even better than I remembered. Great characters, believable and love able in their own ways, even Gene Hunt the Guvnor, my favourite of them all with his funny chauvinistic one liners -tipping a cap to how it was back in those days. Keeley Hawes stunning as always and a great actress."

Ashes to Ashes is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.