Seasons & episodes

Conway is astounded when an elderly man, Charles Arthur Cullen, a former police officer, turns up at the station with a suitcase containing half a million pounds, which he claims to have found on the street. Conway asks Hollis to count the money independently but he only manages to count £499,920. As Rickman counts the money again, Conway decides to do some digging, as surely no-one could be that honest. He discovers that the land on which the money was found has recently changed hands, and is now in possession of the Met. As the scam begins to show all of its true colours, Conway attempts to bargain with Cullen in order to get a deal which suits the both of them just perfectly.

Cryer decides to take it upon himself to discover the identity of a body found on a roundabout, after Webb shows a less than caring attitude towards the case. His investigation leads him to believe that the deceased is Graham Dennis Anderson, a man wanted by the fraud squad for falsely selling pensions and other financial services to customers. Cryer is convinced that Anderson's business partner is in fact his alter-ego, who created Anderson as a way of escaping capture. However, his trail soon leads him to uncover one individual with several alter-egos – and as pieces of the what seems impossibly difficult jigsaw begin to piece together, he finds himself with a body it seems nobody can identify.

When a woman is reportedly raped in an alleyway behind the Whitegate shopping centre, Lennox and Webb rake over the CCTV footage, however they fail to find the woman captured on the footage. When it is revealed that she was lying to protect herself from her husband, a sinister cyberstalker who is dating and attacking women is discovered to be operating in Sun Hill. Ackland adopts a new "virtual" identity to trap him, but comes under the radar of a particularly annoying drunk who nearly scares the attacker off the scent. When the first obbo goes pear shaped, Ackland tries to pull together what little evidence the team have left in order to catch the attacker in the act, and organizes a second, more secure operation.

Boyden is shocked to discover that someone has been impersonating him, raiding illegal poker games and pocketing all the cash, and decides to go undercover as a punter to trap him. However, during the operation, the technology provided by the yard goes haywire and all of the suspects manage to escape without capture. Meanwhile, as the phony Boyden attacks and robs a prostitute, the real Boyden finds two Yardies on his case set out for revenge. As a second operation is organised, Boyden asks one of the players from the first game to go undercover and catch the fake police officers in the act. However, having gotten the Yardies on his side, Boyden organises sinister revenge for his fake counterpart.

Smithy and Rickman attend a break in at a primary school and find a seven-year-old boy looking for food. Further investigation reveals that the boy has been living alone for three days and his parents are nowhere to be seen. Interviewing the family's friends and relatives, Deakin discovers that it is very unlike the parents to just disappear without trace, and CCTV footage shows a van watching the family's house on the night of the disappearance. Blood found in the family bedroom indicates the parents may have been harmed, but Deakin is furious when a racial attack on the restaurant where the boy's father works is found to have been investigated by Smithy over a week previously.

Smithy gets closer to Tim Tze as the search for his parents continues. His failure to investigate the attack on the Chinese restaurant correctly continues to hang over him, but when it appears that the man responsible had prior contact with the Tze family, Smithy finds he may well be in the clear. Deakin discovers that the restaurant has been put up for sale, but despite putting pressure on the owner, he refuses to give evidence. When Lenny Tze's car is found, and Tim finally gives up some information, Deakin uncovers details of an extramarital affair. As Jung Tze turns up alive and well, Smithy begins to wonder if the entire kidnapping has all been staged, until he and Tim are kidnapped.

Smithy and Tim Tze are held hostage, while the kidnappers make their demands – they want their money back, and Lenny Tze to deliver it. Trouble is, Lenny is nowhere to be seen, and Deakin suspects that Lenny may well be dead, when Jung Tze's story fails to hold up. Still troubled as to the reason why Lenny was given £500,000 from an unknown source, Deakin digs deeper and discovers that the boy's missing parents were involved in a money laundering operation, but that Lenny had planned to do a bunk with the cash and flee to Hong Kong. During a bungled move, Tim escapes. Deakin realises he must discover the whereabouts of Lenny's body if he is going to save Smithy in time.

A terrified young woman, Emma Roberts, fears that she has become the victim of a stalker when paint is thrown over her car and her cat is killed in mysterious circumstances. After spending a night at her house, Hagen is convinced that she is making the entire story up for attention, and refuses to believe her. When Emma makes a claim of rape against her boss Brian Woods, Page investigates the case, and she finds that she too is being drawn into a nightmare world of unseen terror. After going out to dinner with Dave and Jenny, Emma arrives home to find her house has been broken into. Page grows a little too close for comfort by inviting her to stay the night.

As her friendship with stalker victim Emma Roberts develops, Page is determined to find the stalker and starts to believe that he might be closer than she thought. When a past allegation made against Woods comes to light, Emma decides to press charges. Woods is released on bail, but soon turns up and tries to force his way into her house. He is subsequently arrested again and remanded in custody. Meanwhile, Polly is spooked when she starts receiving nuisance calls and a strange bunch of flowers are delivered to her. Suspecting she may have become the victim of the stalker, she looks to Emma to find comfort, but little does she know that her stalker is much closer to home than she imagined.

Page learns what it is like to be a victim of crime as the crazed stalker targets her further, making more nuisance calls, breaking into her flat and tearing up her clothes. Lennox and Glaze focus their investigation on Brian Woods, and discover he had an intriguing visitor in prison. Lennox is convinced that Woods is not the man responsible for the stalking, but Polly isn't so sure. As her suspicions turn to intrigue, Polly lets herself into Emma's house and finds a number of her missing photos that were stolen during the break in, but turns up a surprise lead when she finds Gina Reynolds lurking in the garden. Little does she know that Emma is not only her stalker, but she has a mad plan to prove to Polly she loves her – by getting Jenny Quinnan away from Dave, leading Emma to take horrifying action.

Lennox is stung by comments about his physical fitness, and becomes determined to beat Brownlow at squash, as soon as he has arrested a villain from his past. When his flat is broken into and his personal photographs are stolen, he begins a campaign to get his nemesis arrested and put behind bars once and for all. Rickman is asked to attend the magistrates court to prevent a demonstration against a cabinet minister, but when he is sacked, she reaches out to him and helps him to recover some very important cabinet documents from Conway's office. Meanwhile, still absent from duty, Page reaches out to Quinnan after being stalked by Emma Roberts, but he rebuffs her due to the injuries sustained by Jenny in her attack by Roberts.

Probationary PCs Ben Hayward and Roz Clarke arrive for their first day at Sun Hill, and are subjected to a series of wind-ups by the relief. Boyden tricks Clarke into thinking that he has hit a pensioner in the surveillance van, while Stamp and Quinnan subject Hayward to the ride of his life in the area car. Hayward manages to stop a curb-crawler who evades capture, but his arrest is thwarted by Hollis. Meanwhile, Hagen and Rickman spin Clarke a story about 'nipper' Cryer, the famous bum-pinching sergeant, and Klein gets Worrell to be pretend to a dead body in order to wind up Hayward. However, the joke backfires when an angry and upset Hayward is punched in the face by Stamp.

Hayward and Clarke try to redeem themselves after a disastrous first day, and decide to exact revenge on the wind-up merchants on the relief. Ackland is furious to learn that half of the relief are involved in the wind-ups, but is even more upset to discover Boyden played the worst trick of all. Meanwhile, after a curb-crawling class at the station, Hayward, Clarke and Page investigate when a tom is burgled and the ashes of her best friend are stolen. Hayward and Clarke believe not only have they discovered who is responsible, but they may have cracked the identity of her best friend's murderer as well, however they are brought back to earth by a tragic twist. Clarke exacts the ultimate revenge on Klein after she discovers he fancies her.

When the relief carry out a routine raid on a nightclub, The Pink Cockatoo, Carver is suspicious after he suspects that a face from his past was present at the scene. Later, he stops a driver who appears to be a little bit worse for wear, and discovers that it is none other than his former CID DS, Ted Roach. Carver encourages Roach to provide information on Mickey Owen, the owner of the club, in return for being let-off the drink-driving charge. However, his leak to the police soon turns out to be the driving force behind a harsh beating, warning him not to give evidence. Meanwhile, Quinnan uncovers a body on the marshes, and Lennox discovers a link between the deceased and The Pink Cockatoo.

Recovering in hospital, Roach agrees to tell Carver everything he knows about Mickey Owen, but asks that the police protect his long-time friend and former informant, Roxanne, from Mickey's clutches. Meanwhile, as investigations continue, Lennox discovers that the body is that of Phillip Macey, one of Roxanne's best friends, who disappeared without trace in the 1990s after a gig at The Pink Cockatoo. Realising that Owen must have been responsible for his death, Roxanne agrees to help Meadows set up a sting operation to catch Owen in the act. Roach's old-school police methods begin to yield results, much to the delight of Carver, but before they can catch Mickey red-handed, tragedy strikes.

Beech meets businessman Howard Fallon at a poker game. When Beech's winnings turn out to be counterfeit notes, he confronts Fallon, who offers him a substantial bribe to find out who hijacked one of his lorries, and to get to the stolen shipment back before customs or the police seize it. Daly becomes suspicious when Beech tries to get involved with the investigation, but one of Daly's snouts points the finger at a former employee of Fallon's, and the driver of the missing truck. As the missing shipment is safely returned, and with Daly off his back, it looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Beech and Fallon.

Boulton and Stanton investigate the vicious attack on Rachel Booker, a dancer at one of Howard Fallon's clubs, and Beech is furious when Fallon reveals his mobile number is among her possessions. Boulton and Stanton find the main suspect is Warren Askew, who was obsessed with Rachel, but he doesn't appear to be responsible. When Boulton tries calling the phone numbers in Rachel's diary, he is shocked when Beech answers the phone. Beech makes an excuse that he tried to pick up Rachel in a bar, and begs Boulton to overlook the evidence. When Rachel dies of her injuries, Fallon confesses to Beech that his associate Ray Bazzini was responsible, so he plants evidence on Askew that leads to his arrest for murder.

Following the death of prime suspect Warren Askew in custody, Stanton urges Deakin not to close the case of Rachel Booker's murder immediately. A series of mysterious numbers found in Rachel Booker's diary are later revealed by Scotland Yard to be a set of number relating to a number of bank accounts. One of Rachel's fellow dancers, Lynette, is persuaded by Boulton and Stanton to tell them exactly what is going on. They soon discover that Vickery's, a fur export company owned by Howard Fallon and Ray Bazzini, is actually a front for a major money laundering operation. In an attempt to uncover further information, Stanton and Boulton go on a double date with Beech and his girlfriend, Maggie Lyons. When the case is subsequently turned over to the NCS, Stanton covertly photographs Beech meeting in secret with Fallon and Bazzini.

Harker is volunteered to work with a young offenders group in Canley, and immediately takes a shine to Carmel, the organiser of the group. When Carmel's foster son, 14-year-old Scott, goes off the rails, Harker steps in to try and defuse the situation. When one of Scott's friends is found dead from a heroin overdose, Harker discovers that despite previous claims that he is clean, Scott and his friend have been drug running for one of the major dealers on the Bronte. However, the situation is complicated further when Harker discovers that Scott and Carmel have been sleeping together, leaving him conflicted about job responsibility and his friendship with Carmel. Meanwhile, as Stanton and Boulton try to locate a witness, Beech attempts to prevent this due to his corrupt connections.

Stanton tries to find out if Boulton is working with Beech. When star witness Lynette resurfaces, they immediately hide her in a safe house, where she informs them that Ray Bazzini killed Rachel Booker. Beech informs Fallon the location of the safe house, but Lynette escapes from the thugs who are sent to attack her. As Stanton prepares to confess all to Boulton about her undercover op, he gets a phone call from Beech. They meet at a construction site, where Beech admits he has been working for Fallon, and reveals that it was him who gave up Lynette's location. He tries to convince Boulton to help him out, but an angry Boulton refuses, with the resulting fight ending in tragedy.

Quinnan and Carver find the body of Boulton at the construction site. Sun Hill is in shock, none more so than a devastated Stanton, who is suspicious when Beech lies about meeting him the night before. The Area Major Incident Pool arrive to investigate Boulton's death, and their subsequently investigations eventually lead them to Beech, who mysteriously disappears without trace. Maggie Lyons tries to smuggle Beech out of the country at the airport, but he cancels his escape after spotting AMIP outside the terminal. Knowing that his time is gradually running out, Beech weighs up his options, leading him to a stunned Stanton.

After Beech hands himself into CIB, Stanton is horrified when Beech convinces Hodges to ensnare Fallon, along with two Drugs Squad officers on Fallon's payroll, in exchange for a full confession of his crimes. He meets with DI Tasker and DS Garrard to arrange a double cross, working out that Fallon must have been who gave him up to AMIP. After being caught with a phone whilst attending the funeral of Boulton, Hodges threatens to pull the deal, until Beech falsely offers up the Drugs Squad DCI. Stealing the money for a drug deal, Beech attends a warehouse with Fallon, who tries to kill him. When Tasker and Garrard rescue Beech, they tie up Fallon and his associates, before Beech turns on his rescuers. When shots ring out, CIB and SO19 storm in, with Hodges and Stanton left furious when Beech is nowhere to be seen.

CIB sweep into Sun Hill and suspend the entire CID department with immediate effect, and all of their ongoing cases are subsequently transferred to uniform. Lennox is horrified when he discovers that Stanton is a CIB mole. As the disgraced detectives are interviewed to establish their connection to Beech, Meadows hurriedly calls in some favours at Scotland Yard. Mannion demands Brownlow resign to make a strong statement to the public and media, and after arguing the decision with Conway, he decides to make the tough decision after a heart to heart with Monroe. Meanwhile, Beech prepares to go into hiding, and radically overhauls his image in the hope that he is not recognized. He goes off to meet Maggie at a shopping centre, unaware Stanton is hot on his tail.

Beech manages to evade Stanton yet again, but she takes Maggie Lyons in for questioning. Beech recruits a crooked lawyer to represent her and perform other useful services for him. Beech obtains a false passport and buys a quantity of diamonds with the money he stole from Howard Fallon, as he prepares to flee the country with Maggie. Sun Hill officers continue to be interviewed by CIB, and although no firm connection with Beech can be established, it's the end of the line for Deakin and Daly, while a furious Holmes requests an immediate transfer. Meadows manages to survive the cull due to his contacts in the Yard, much to the dismay of Deakin. Maggie changes her mind about following Beech, and he boards a flight to Australia alone, while Stanton vows to make Beech pay for Boulton's death.