Cooper & Fry on C5: Who is Diane's ex-DCI David Branagh, the actor who plays him in the cast, and their backstory
Cheeky sod is married with kids, but still won't take no for an answer!
Cooper & Fry is the quietly understated but actually quite brilliant Channel 5 crime drama which delves into several multi-layered mysteries – not least DS Diane Fry’s ex-boyfriend DCI David Branagh.
The four-part series throws together two chalk and cheese detectives to investigate local crimes – but they both have mysteries at the heart of their own private live…
Adapted from the best-selling novels by Stephen Booth, four feature length films take us to the mystery-shrouded Peak District… There we meet mismatched detectives Ben Cooper, a local copper played by Robert James-Collier, and guarded newcomer Diane Fry, played by Mandip Gill.
The pair are, at first, reluctantly thrown together to investigate a string of mysterious deaths. However, both Cooper and Fry become firm friends. And they eventually start sharing their own dark secrets and mysteries from their pasts. Not least, why ambitious officer Diane Fry ran away from Leeds to work in Edendale.
Here’s everything we know so far about DS Diane Fry’s ex-boyfriend DCI David Branagh, why she left him, and who plays him.
***Warning: mild spoilers from Cooper & Fry episode 3 ahead***
What is Diane’s secret in Cooper & Fry?
In episode 1 of Cooper & Fry, DC Ben Cooper was tasked with investigating after a body was unearthed on a Derbyshire farm during recent renovations. He was partnered up with DC Diane Fry, newly transferred from Leeds – under mysterious circumstances.
In fact, DS Todd Eland told Ben: “Sickeningly overqualified, yet she swaps the brights lights of Leeds for Edendale.”
When asked about the reasons for the move by her nosy new colleagues, she batted off all queries, telling them: “I just fancied a change.” Later telling Ben: “It’s not an interesting story, and we have work to do. […] I like to keep my work and private life separate.”
At one point, Diane even joked: “I’ve been sent by the government to expand the gene-pool.”
As the pair worked more closely together and the icy atmosphere started to de-thaw, however, she told her new partner: “It’s tricky to get noticed in Leeds. So I thought I’d make my mark out here in the sticks.”
When Ben asked her about having any family and friends, Diane replied: “Nah, I’m fine by myself.”
Of course, this could be partly true. She is clearly an ambitious young officer. But viewers also know she is getting some rather pesky calls from a man called Dave. And she is blatantly ignoring them…
Who is DCI David Branagh, aka Dave, in Cooper & Fry?
During the first two-hour feature film of Cooper & Fry, Diane received several message from a man called Dave. The first of which read: “Where did you run off to?”
The mysterious Dave later sent another message saying: “I miss you.”
In the closing moments of episode 1, the messages got a tad more sinister. As she ignored several more calls from Dave, he typed: “Where you are, I’ll find you.”
Sounds like a threat. Of course, first assumptions are that Dave could be Diane’s ex-boyfriend. Could he have been abusive or controlling?
All we know is that he is “handsome” and, in episode two, had followed Diane to Edendale. After she received a hand-delivered housewarming card from him in episode 2, Diane locked all her doors and barely slept as her phone rang and rang.
However, pretending she was fine, she told Ben: “I was seeing someone in Leeds. It got messy. I moved here. The end. […] It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
In episode 3, we discover that Dave is, in fact, DCI David Branagh. Diane admits that she ended things with him as soon as she found out he was married with kids. But his family life certainly hasn’t stopped him stalking Diane…
Why did DS Diane Fry really leave Leeds?
In episode 3, Diane finally confides in her partner Ben. But not before her ex-Dave sent her a “happy anniversary” message, and hand-delivers a teddy bear to the police station. Diane tells Ben: “When I broke up with him, he couldn’t accept it. To the point where I had to move here. And now, the problem is, he still won’t accept it.”
In fact, in the closing scenes of Cooper & Fry episode 3, viewers see DCI David Branagh visiting Ben’s clairvoyant mum. After reading his cards, which ominously predict death, he tells her he’s planning to stick around in Edendale.
Of course, because he’s following Diane, he must know by now that she is staying at Ben’s house. Which means he’s probably jumped to the wrong conclusion about their relationship. Which could indeed mean that he sees Ben as a threat, and that his life is in danger.
We predict a pretty dramatic series finale next week (Tuesday, December 02, 2025).
‘Ben and Diane have huge backstories’
Talking about Diane’s character, Rob James-Collier told us: “Both Ben and Diane have huge backstories. When I read the first episode I wanted to know why this young and successful woman has arrived in the back end of nowhere, because her move is essentially a demotion.
“Why has she arrived in Edendale? Why has she left a huge police force in Leeds for a small village at such a young age, when she was climbing the career ladder? That arouses suspicion in the station, with some thinking she’s there to spy on them.”
Meanwhile, Mandip Gill said: “When I read the script, I found Diane’s choices mysterious… You move from a rural village to a city to progress your career, not the other way round. Who would do that and why has she left the city? What’s she hiding and what’s she running away from? In the office scenes it’s evident something is off.”
Mandip also teased that “Diane is running away from her past”. She added: “When we meet her, she’s in a vulnerable position and wants to keep her head down. Regardless of whether she finds Edendale comfortable or not, moving there from the city is a necessity – the reasons why becoming clearer over time.”
Co-creator and lead writer Ben Court added: “Fry has come to Edendale to escape. Cooper senses there’s something wrong and reaches out to her. Once she trusts him she’s able to share why she’s hiding out in Edendale.”
Caroline Ip said: “We wanted Ben and Diane’s backstories to be ongoing mysteries to make an audience invested.”
Waterloo Road actor Vincent Jerome stars as DCI David Branagh in Cooper & Fry cast
London-born actor Vincent Jerome joins the cast of Cooper & Fry as DCI David ‘Dave’ Branagh. Dave is DC Diane Fry’s ex-boyfriend who refused to accept that their relationship is over. Although she left Leeds to escape him, he has followed her to Edendale in what could very much be called stalking.
As for actor Vincent Jerome, Waterloo Road fans will know him for playing Deputy Head Lindon King in the school-based drama. He portrayed the character between 2023 and 2024, in what was arguably his most significant role to date.
Lindon King first appeared in the first episode of series 11, and left for pastures new in episode 8 of series 13. As well as being joint Deputy Headteacher with Joe Casey, he was also a science teacher, Head of Science, and Behaviour Lead.
Vincent is known for his work across theatre, film and TV, and made his first screen appearance in the 2003 film Second Generation, a modern reworking of King Lear.
He went on to the appear in films including The Third Testament: The Antichrist and the Harlot, Kickoff, Transformers: The Last Knight, and Wonder Woman 1984.
His most notable TV roles include R&D in Need to Know, Keith in Brothers with No Game, Christian Davis in The Few, Jay in Sins of Solitude, and Sid in The Peripheral.
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