The series was created by producer Robert Banks Stewart and ran on BBC1 from 1981 to 1991, produced in association with the Australian Seven Network.

According to a 2001 interview with creator Robert Banks Stewart, John Nettles was cast as Bergerac only because Stewart insisted on it, noting that such a show would never be made today without a household name in the lead.

The final episode ever filmed was the 1991 Christmas special 'All for Love', which was set partly in Bath.

When the BBC reran the series on BBC Two starting in February 2014, the repeats stopped after series 3 to avoid showing the Haut de la Garenne location, a former children's home that became the subject of a historic child abuse investigation.

The original theme music, composed by George Fenton and blending reggae with an accordion refrain, won him a BAFTA for Best Original Television Music in 1982.

In 2018, musician Youngr re-recorded the theme as 'Bergerac Remastered', with an accompanying video filmed in locations around Jersey.

In the show, Bergerac drives a burgundy 1947 Triumph Roadster with the number plate 1610 J instead of an approved police vehicle, and the car was introduced in the very first episode.

The Black Mirror episode 'Loch Henry' featured portions of Bergerac's opening credits, with its story revealing that VHS tapes of Bergerac had been taped over with snuff films.

A 2025 reboot overseen by writer Toby Whithouse aired on U&Drama, starring Damien Molony as Bergerac and filmed in Jersey and Plymouth, featuring a gender-flipped version of Charlie Hungerford played by Zoë Wanamaker.