PETER FALK - COLUMBO STILL THE TOP TV DETECTIVE

PETER FALK's famous turn as LIEUTENANT COLUMBO is still America's favourite TV detective, according to a new US TV Guide poll.

The quirky crime solver, which Falk played on TV throughout the 1970s and again recently in a one-off special, beat obsessive compulsive detective ADRIAN MONK (TONY SHALHOUB) and TWIN PEAKS' resident snoop AGENT DALE COOPER (KYLE MACLACHLAN) to claim the top spot on the new list.

The full list of favourite TV detectives, according to TV Guide, is:

1. LIEUTENANT COLUMBO in COLUMBO (PETER FALK) 2. ADRIAN MONK in MONK (TONY SHALHOUB) 3. AGENT DALE COOPER in TWIN PEAKS (KYLE MACLACHLAN) 4. JIM ROCKFORD in THE ROCKFORD FILES (JAMES GARNER) 5. DEP CHIEF BRENDA JOHNSON in THE CLOSER (KYRA SEDGWICK) 6. DET ARTHUR DIETRICH in BARNEY MILLER (STEVE LANDESBERG) 7. DAVID ADDISON in MOONLIGHTING (BRUCE WILLIS) 8. LIEUTENANT BOOKMAN in SEINFELD (PHILIP BAKER HALL) 9. VERONICA MARS in VERONICA MARS (KRISTEN BELL)

10. DET ROBERT GOREN in LAW + ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT (VINCENT D'ONOFRIO).