Poll Result: who is your favourite fictional investigator?

Last week I asked you to name your FIVE favourite fictional investigators/detectives. There were 187 votes and the results are amassed below, with asterisks denoting unique "other votes" that were received:

NO VOTES

Alex Cross, Jack Ryan, Ducky Mallard, Quincy, Dalziel, Father Dowling, Horatio Caine, Inspector Lestrade, Wexford, Sonny Crockett, Jessica Fletcher, Mac Taylor & Perry Mason. Sorry guys, but people don't think you could catch a cold.

1 VOTE

Prime Suspect's Jane Tennison, Ashes To Ashes' Alex Drake, Rebus, Father Brown, Harry Dresden, The Mentalist's Patrick Jane, Peter Boyd, Marlowe, Precious Ramotswe, Sandra Pullman, Bergerac, Magnum, Jessica King*, City Homicide's Simon Joyner*, Psych's Shawn Spencer*, Dexter's Debra Morgan*, The Name Of The Rose's William of Baskerville*, Batman*, The Saint's Simon Templar*, John Shaft*, House*, Moonlight's Mick St John*, Commander Dalgliesh*, The Closer's Brenda Leigh Johnson*, Charlie Jade*, Eureka's Sheriff Carter*, Melrose Plant* & Lisbeth Salander*

2 VOTES

Christopher Foyle, Whitechapel's Chandler, Cracker's Fitz, Midsomer Murders' Barnaby, Inspector Lynley, Inspector Morse, Jim Rockford, Kay Scarpetta, Sam Spade, Life's Charlie Crews*, Takeshi Kovacs* & Castle's Richard Castle*

10th - 3 VOTES
Adrian Monk, Dana Scully, Brother Cadfael, Inspector Gadget, Jonathan Ames, Miss Marple & Rick Deckard

Quite a crush of differing investigators for 10th place; from obsessive compulsive Adrian Monk to skeptical Dana Scully, through pious Brother Cadfael and goofy Inspector Gadget, continuing with Bored To Death's hipster Jonathan Ames and genteel Miss Marple, and finishing with the smoldering Rick Deckard from Blade Runner.

9th - 4 VOTES
Hercule Poirot

Agatha Christie's second detective in the top 10, and undoubtedly her most famous--it's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, most famously played by David Suchet. Even his mustache has you certain he'll be able to crack whatever case you throw his way.

8th - 5 VOTES
Gil Grissom

I've only seen a handful of CSI episodes in my entire life, so I can't really comment on the prowess of Gil Grissom. Does he leave it all to forensic science, or does he have a remarkable deductive brain?

7th - 6 VOTES
Agent Dale Cooper

When the small-town of Twin Peaks became the scene of a young girl's murder, it was initially a worry when they sent eccentric FBI Agent Dale Cooper to investigate. But his obsession with coffee, cherry pie, and bizarre dreams about a backwards-talking dwarf made him equally as quirky as the townsfolk he met there..

6th - 7 VOTES
Benton Fraser, Dirk Gently & Jonathan Creek

It's a three-way tie for sixth place, with Due South's Mountie Benton Fraser, author Douglas Adams' oddball detective Dirk Gently (who finally made the transition to TV last year with Stephen Mangan in the role), and mop-haired eccentric Jonathan Creek.

5th - 8 VOTES
Fox Mulder & Columbo

The X Files' Fox Mulder beats his partner Scully be a considerable amount (I guess people didn't vote for them as a pair!), and is joined by San Francisco's finest in Lieutenant Columbo--the gumshoe with the glass-eye and raincoat who always let the city's criminals underestimate him.

4th - 9 VOTES
Angel & Sam Tyler

I haven't seen Angel, but the comments last week suggested he was a terrible detective, so I'm not sure what he's doing here. Oh, that's right--the power of fangirls online. He shared fourth place with Life On Mars' Sam Tyler, who found himself stuck in the '70s after a car accident in 2006 and helped clean up Manchester's streets with the help of another cop in the top 10...

3rd - 12 VOTES
Gene Hunt

... yes, that's Gene Hunt. The unofficial Sheriff of Manchester (and later London in the Ashes To Ashes spin-off), who helped protect innocent citizens with a combination of anger, brute force, political incorrectness and a cherry red For Quattro.

2nd - 16 VOTES
Veronica Mars

Second place goes to Californian girl Veronica Mars, who solves crime while attending high school. This isn't a show I've seen (although it's been on my catchup list for awhile), but her success in this poll is very interesting..

1st - 32 VOTES
Sherlock Holmes

The winner, by a landslide, was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's greatest detective in the world, Mr Sherlock Holmes of 221B Baker Street. Played by a variety of top actors in the past (from Basil Rathbone to Jeremy Brett), he's most recently been given a modern-day update in the form of Benedict Cumberbatch--endearing Sherlock to a whole new generation of fans. Deerstalker and pipe, optional.