Cleveland and Durham forces paid more than £120,000 to take part in Police Interceptors TV show

Cleveland and Durham Police’s joint Specialist Operations Unit regularly features on the Channel 5 series.

Figures from a freedom of information enquiry show Cleveland Police and Durham Police shared £120,400 for their participation in five series up to October 2018.

The popular programme has followed traffic cops catch criminals for 14 editions since 2018.

The joint unit took part in series 9, 10 and 11 which aired in 2015 and 2016 – as well as series 13 and 14 which went out in 2017 and last year.

Up to 2016, Durham Police managed the arrangement which saw each force take £32,500 each.

Cleveland took the reigns in 2017/18 meting out £55,400 between the two constabularies.

A spokeswoman on behalf of the Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit said the programme had shown some of the great work it did on a daily basis which the public didn’t normally get to see.

She added: “We believe that the programme has had a positive impact on the unit and on both forces.

“The level of positive interaction that we have had with members of the public about the show has been fantastic.

“We regularly hear how children who have watched the show now want to become police officers and there is a huge following of people who come along to events and queue for hours to meet their “heroes”, as they have been called by some children.

“The fees which have been paid have been used to fund additional staffing for any filming which was over and above everyday policing and road safety initiatives which helps to reduce casualties and save lives on the roads across both counties.”

The high-octane documentary drew in more than one million viewers per episode at its peak on Channel Five.

Rawcut, the company which produces Police Interceptors, declined to comment on the sums.

Alex Metcalfe, Local Democracy Reporting Service