Corrected entry: In series one, all the characters watch the 1973 Grand National. In this episode Gene Hunt is reading a newspaper with a headline referring to Crisp entering the forthcoming Grand National and the weight handicap. Crisp ran in the 1973 Grand National and was the runner up to Red Rum due to its weight handicap disadvantage.
Corrected entry: The episode has a specific date attached to it: 16th March 1973. Yet in the episode, Austin Allegro police "panda" cars can be seen. The Austin Allegro did not go on sale until 17th May 1973, exactly two months later.
Correction: In the series finale we discover that Sam's seventies world is in his imagination so this and many other mistakes will be due to Sam misremembering his childhood in this era.
Correction: This is not a mistak eas Ashes to Ashes makes it clear, Life on Mars was not set in the actual 70s but in a purgatory for coppers. So events would not have been the same as in our timeline.