| Genre: | Observational documentary |
| Director: | Justin Kelly |
| Narrated: | Anna Baatz, Chasity Van Velsen (later series) |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Series: | 2 |
| Num Episodes: | 14[1] |
| Executive Producer: | Julian Mercer |
| Producer: | Rachel Morgan |
| Location: | Hull |
| Channel: | BBC Three |
| First Aired: | [2] |
The Lock Up is an observational documentary series following the staff of the custody suite at Priory Road Police Station in Hull.[3] It was first broadcast on 4 February 2011 on BBC Three. The first eight-part series was filmed over the course of a year; during the year, around 6,500 prisoners passed through the suite, and the issues custody officers had to deal with included attempted suicides and a range of troubled people including drug addicts, minors and violent individuals. The first series was shown on BBC Three and repeated on BBC One.[3] The second series made its debut on BBC One on 28 August 2012. The first series was narrated by Anna Baatz whilst later series are narrated by Dutch-born British actress Chasity Van Velzen.
Lucy Mangan, writing for The Guardian, described the show as a "lesser version" of Channel 4's Coppers.[4] Also writing for The Guardian, Phelim O'Neill said that "plain-speaking Humberside custody officers provide the commentary on the never-ending tide of all human life that passes through their care".[5]