Why did people want to see a police commissioner on stage?

A £79,000 a year police commissioner has been under fire for plans to carry out a 127-date stage show tour.

Opposition parties questioned how Reform UK's Colin Sutton, could focus on his job overseeing Norfolk Constabulary while travelling across the UK.

Eventually, Sutton dropped out of the "ridiculous" theatre run following a backlash.

But this would have been his sequel to a tour that saw him appear at more than a hundred venues. So why is he such a box-office draw?

Most voters do not know who their commissioner is – the government says that fewer than 20% of people could name them.

But Sutton is not a typical police commissioner.

Following a decades-long career in policing, Sutton has been described as "one of the UK's greatest living detectives" by the promoters of his show.

Born in 1960, he joined the Metropolitan Police in the early 1980s.

He worked his way up the ranks in different forces, but it was his role back in the Met as detective chief inspector which saw him thrust into the public spotlight.

In 2004 he led the investigation to catch serial killer Levi Bellfield, who had murdered Milly Dowler, Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange.

He also oversaw the latter stages of the long-running investigation to capture Night Stalker rapist Delroy Grant.

Sutton retired in 2011 as one of the UK's most high-profile officers.

In 2019 he released his first book, Manhunt, detailing the investigation into Bellfield's capture.

This was later adapted into a three-part ITV drama starring Martin Clunes as Sutton.

A follow-up book and TV series were released in 2021, and Sutton also became a regular media commentator on policing issues.

Meanwhile, he began featuring in documentaries looking at the major cases he had been involved in.

Alongside his TV and writing work, Sutton started presenting live shows in person, including one in Norwich back in 2022.

With the true-crime genre continuing to grow in popularity, there was demand from audiences to hear Sutton talking about his experiences in policing.

That led to him embarking on a long-running stage tour, "Makings of a Murderer", in 2024 and 2025, performing at more than 100 venues.

It was such a success that the promotion company, Entertainers, planned a sequel show to run across 127 dates next year.

The job of Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) became vacant in June, when Sarah Taylor announced she was immediately quitting.

Despite the government planning to scrap the role in two years, saying it is not needed. a by-election was called.

Sutton comfortably won the job of overseeing the local force and the £79,000 salary that comes with it.

But then earlier this month, plans were revealed for an 11-month tour for 2027, with a teaser video on YouTube featuring Sutton announcing "I'm back".

He faced immediate criticism, with political rivals such as Liberal Democrat Steff Aquarone pointing out that he was performing a similar number of dates as Taylor Swift would do on a tour.

Following growing pressure, Sutton announced on Wednesday said he was pulling out, calling the number of dates "ridiculous".

He later told the BBC he was trying to help Entertainers find a "suitable substitute" to replace him.

"The tour will go ahead, but I will not be appearing in it," he said.

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