British television hasn’t been short of brilliant female characters over the decades – and choosing who appears on this list of the 31 best has been not been easy. From no-nonsense detectives to hilarious murderers to the “messy” women who make us feel better about our own life choices, the women that have dominated our screens aren’t just two-dimensional side characters – they’re fully realised humans with their own passions and opinions. You know, like women are in the real world.
Curiously, a majority of the list is made up of comedy characters – proof once and for all, that yes! Women really are funny! Oh, and if you’re wondering why Game of Thrones’ Cersei Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen are missing from the line-up, it’s because they’re not British. They’re from Westeros, duh.31.
Kate Fleming, Line of Duty Vicky McClure as DI Kate Fleming (Photo: Steffan Hill/BBC/World Productions)AC-12’s long-serving undercover specialist had a question mark over her head for most Line of Duty fans. At one point she was even the top suspect in the investigation into “H”, the code name of the most bent of all the bent coppers. But Kate, played by the imperturbable Vicky McClure, turned out to be nothing but faithful to her fellow AC-12 officers Ted Hastings and Steve Arnott, even putting her own safety on the line to protect them multiple times.
Out of the three compadres, Kate is probably the best at her job – particularly when it comes to her brutal i.
