Channel 5 signs 'upmarket' drama producer Garnett

One of television's most respected producers has been signed up by Channel 5 to make a police drama – part of a plan to help the station drop its downmarket image.

Tony Garnett, most famous for Cathy Come Home, the seminal 1960s play about homelessness, is working on a series based on the work of an elite London police unit. It will feature mainly new and unknown actors in the same way as his more recent successes, This Life and Cops.

Signing Mr Garnett, 67, is a coup for the Channel 5, which has been trying for some time to move upmarket and lose the sleazy image it attracted through relying heavily on soft porn in its early days. It follows last week's announcement that it was renaming itself Five and launching new shows with mainstream names, such as Clive Anderson and Carol Smillie. It also comes as the station struggles to hold on to its chief executive, Dawn Airey.

Channel 5's controller of drama, Corinne Hollingworth, said the police series would be similar to the American show CSI, which is based on a police team in Las Vegas.

Its director of programmes, Kevin Lygo, said it would be hard-edged and very different to Channel 5's previous output. "In drama, I thought the thing to do was to make one big splash next year, with something that just needs to be borne out of the passion of a writer," he said.

"We spoke to about ten production companies and ended up commissioning Tony Garnett. He came up with a fantastic idea."

Although Mr Garnett's productions tend to be high profile, his public statements are rare, and are often critical of the television industry. He recently criticised the industry for pandering to the Labour Government and said it was run by managers with the mentality of eighteenth century mill owners.