Seasons & episodes

W.P.C. Fox takes the day off with a migraine but turns up for the relief's paintball charity challenge, where Santini continues to bully and humiliate her. Her request not to be partnered with Santini is refused, and they are assigned together again the next day. Fox confides in W.D.C. Rawton. The relief are on the trail of a dangerous prisoner and Santini disregards the order not to separate from his partner. The man grabs Fox from behind and P.C.s Santini, Quinnan and Ashton run to the rescue when she screams for help. Fox manages to overpower the man. When challenged, Santini claims that he was with Fox when the prisoner appeared from nowhere.

W.P.C. Fox makes an official complaint about P.C. Santini.

P.C. Stamp is involved in a serious accident in which he kills a pedestrian while reversing the area car down a one-way street in response to a call for urgent assistance. Tensions are high as P.C.s Quinnan and Ashton offer differing accounts of the events leading up to the accident.

Stamp attends the funeral of the pedestrian he knocked over, but he receives a less than warm reception. Later, he and Quinnan arrest the driver of a cut-and-shut limousine and end up taking a bride to her wedding. Meanwhile, Hagen and McCann deal with a group of underage drinkers at a local pub, but when they return, they take Ashton hostage. Page is in court for the sentencing of Catherine Harrison, a persistent offender who has burgled an old lady whilst she was on holiday. When her son is accused of theft at a children's home, Stamp and Ashton pursue him to the court, only to watch his mother receive a custodial sentence.

It's Stamp's big day in court, and despite the fact that Quinnan has been called as a prosecution witness against him, his barrister is confident he will be found not guilty. When a witness to the incident is pulled apart for exaggerating the facts, Stamp realises that his chances of being found innocent are greater than he first thought. Ashton, his key defence witness, suffers a bout of nerves after advice from Hollis, but after conferring with Quinnan, manages to stay firm and keep the jury on side, while Conway is called as a character witness. Can his colleagues save his career, or are his years of loyal service going to be snuffed out by a guilty verdict?

Beech and Conway attend a police event to receive medals for long-standing service and excellent conduct. Beech is surprised to find that an old flame of his has defected to C.I.B., and is currently investigating one of the officers with whom he trained at Hendon. Anxious to get to the bottom of the investigation, Beech questions his old friend on details of his misgivings. Stamp's day to face the police disciplinary board has arrived, but after seeing one of his old friends from Stafford Row being sacked for a minor driving offence, he does a runner. Garfield has to convince him to face the board to clear his conscience once and for all.

Hagen goes undercover as a prostitute to trap a solicitor who has been selling forged passports to his clients, and a violent thug whom he helped escape bail. Skase takes a number of faked surveillance pictures of Hagen and Harker doing a 'drug deal', but when Harker and McCann stop the solicitor for jumping a red light, Deakin is furious that they may have blown the obbo. However, the solicitor fails to recognize Harker and the deal goes ahead as planned. Meanwhile, Stamp gets behind the wheel of the area car for the first time since the fatal accident, hoping to put recent events behind him, but the victim's girlfriend isn't about to let him forget the incident, starting a campaign of intimidation against him.

Boulton is paired with new DC Kerry Holmes to investigate a gang who have been purchasing bikes with cheques stolen in an armed robbery. Boulton is keen to speak to Michael Duggan, a prime target that has evaded his capture for some time. Duggan, however, offers Boulton a deal - his brother-in-law, Sean Massey, is involved in a highly lucrative drug deal, and he knows the time, location and other parties involved. Boulton arranges a sting to catch the dealer red handed - however, Duggan does a runner with the money that Massey is due to hand over, and the dealer claims that Massey was told by his brother to plant the drugs on him. Holmes, however, has an idea on how to unravel the situation.

Boulton investigates when a young girl is approached and attacked on the way home from school. Her father, a property developer, has been having trouble with a gang involved in a pub protection racket. Unable to locate the prime suspect, Michael Hyde, Boulton poses as a competition representative to get the location from his wife. He and Carver travel up to Manchester on Hyde's trail. When they run into trouble at a local pub, they find themselves being rescued by none other than Frank Burnside, who left Sun Hill in mysterious circumstances five years ago. Burnside, who is actually undercover, tries to inadvertently help his former colleagues to find and capture Hyde, but the plan goes awry.

Boulton and Carver return to Sun Hill with Burnside in handcuffs, but upon their arrival, are pursued by two armed gunman who try to make sure that Burnside doesn't spill the beans on Hyde's operation. Meadows discovers that Burnside has been working under cover with the Yard, and decides that they must work together to get a result. Burnside manages to set up a meeting with a major Russian drugs importer, just as Michael Hyde planned to do. However, when his brother, Mark, works out what Burnside is up to, a standoff involving Burnside and his girlfriend ensues, and tragedy strikes. Burnside is then offered a job with crime OCCU, and informs Meadows they will be seeing more of each other.

Santini is first on the scene of a serious car accident, and becomes a bit of a local hero when he bravely dives into the river to secure the car, which is teetering on the edge. However, the driver reveals to him that upon his possession he has a bag of cocaine, a present for his mistress. He asks Santini to destroy it if he doesn't make it. Santini manages to take possession of the bag when he recovers his personal affairs at the mortuary, but when Stamp and Garfield inadvertently discover Santini's misgivings, it's not long before they realise that their fellow officer may be playing for the other side. Harker is on the fence when Santini gives him a cock and bull story about the situation.

Skase calls in sick so he can moonlight as a bodyguard. He is charged with providing protection for the two teenage sons of a very wealthy Asian aristocrat. During a shopping trip, one of his teenage charges does a runner, taking his Mercedes with him. When Harker and Page spot the vehicle travelling at high speed, Skase is nearly caught out. However, when he discovers that the boy is hiding out at a nearby drugs den, he arrives to find Boulton ready to raid the joint. Forced to explain the situation, Skase enlists Boulton to help him recover the boy without blowing the operation, and in turn Skase manages to pinpoint the location of the dealer's stash.

Meadows and Conway are both up for promotion against each other, and with an impending inspection from Area, both are out to impress. However, there are some comic and some life-threatening repercussions for them both. Firstly, Quinnan and Garfield deliberately ruin the late turn parade leading Skase into hot water, and he and Quinnan nearly coming to blows in front of Brownlow. Meanwhile, Sgt. Lamont is dealing with a troublesome prisoner in custody, who keeps flooding the toilets. Conway tries to lend a hand, but this only leads to further disasters. A young boy is then held hostage by an escaped prisoner who is armed, and Conway, against instruction, goes it alone to try and secure the boy's safety.

Holmes investigates when a woman is attacked in her flat and left for dead in a particularly violent domestic violence case. She initially suspects that the woman's landlord, Jamie Morgan, is responsible for the attack, but when she catches the woman having a row with her boyfriend, she arrests him for criminal damage, unaware that she has inadvertently jeopardised a surveillance operation on a major drugs dealer. As Merseyside area drugs become involved, Holmes manages to locate the factory where the drugs are being produced, but a sting set up to catch the villains in the act takes an unexpected turn when they become involved in a violent shootout, and take a young boy and his mum hostage.

Cryer attends the scene when a prostitute is slashed across the face with a machete and subsequently hospitalized. The prime suspect, Alvin Morton, was released from prison just ten days previously, and Cryer is determined to send him back there. Meanwhile, when the prostitute retracts her statement, and Alvin's girlfriend provides him with an alibi, Santini mishandles the situation and gives Alvin's location to two of her friends who have vowed revenge on her attacker. When Alvin is shot and doubly kneecapped, Cryer is curious to learn just how they found out where Alvin was staying. A box of matches with Alvin's address written in it then surfaces during interview, landing Santini in deep trouble.

Skase attends the scene of a fire at a 'sex cinema' club, where a reportedly angry punter set alight to the club after being refused entry. However, it later transpires that the culprit caught two foreign men watching a police interview tape of his girlfriend, aged twelve, who was being interviewed over sexual assault claims made against her father. Assigned to investigate, Rawton teams up with a DS from the Child Protection Unit, and the pair try to find out how a number of police evidence tapes have managed to worm their way out for general consumption. Skase isn't convinced that the manager of the club is telling the whole truth, while Rawton investigates a dodgy practice lawyer who copied the tapes.

Meadows asks Deakin to have more of a 'hands-on' approach after a row erupts between Beech and Daly. All three of the CID sergeants, meanwhile, are having problems. Daly's operation into a known stolen goods handler is blown when Carver spooks the suspect by accident. Boulton has had word that a known criminal who is due for sentencing in just two days plans to do a final job in order to tide him over whilst he is inside. However, his snout is cornered by the suspect and the gang arrive at the planned location - only to give Boulton the eye that they are onto him. Lastly, Beech is troubled when an old flame offers him £3,000 to reveal details of an investigation into her current boyfriend by Daly.

Brownlow is angered when a local journalist approaches him following the publication of an article in the CPS journal regarding an unsolved case from twenty years previously. The case in question, an armed jewellery robbery, saw prime suspect Ray Catton imprisoned for the death of his two accomplices, but the loot remains unfound. Meanwhile, the man's daughter is being hassled by a loanshark, desperate for the repayment of the money she owes him. When Catton has a heart attack, he decides to reveal the location of the loot on his deathbed - unaware that his brother has returned to the country with the same purpose. Brownlow is determined to find and recover the loot before Catton's brother does.

Quinnan ignores a plea for help from a mysterious opera singer whilst out on patrol, but later regrets his actions and ignores a number of shouts whilst trying to find her. Meanwhile, Holmes is dealing with a personal request from Brownlow, who has been asked by a local judge to investigate a number of threatening letters sent to him. Holmes and Quinnan soon come to realise that they are chasing the shady criminal. A new face at Sun Hill is causing quite a stir, in the form of Scottish DC Duncan Lennox. Lennox offers to provide Holmes assistance on the case after she discovers he has a personal acquaintance with the judge. A showdown at a local opera house goes awry when Stamp bursts in unexpectedly.

Monroe is called to deal with a complaint against an officer from Stafford Row, where the victim has accused him of offering acquittal in return for sex. Meanwhile, Brownlow attends a charity dinner held by the Sun Hill Businessman's Association. When the daughter of a very prominent community figure disappears, Brownlow urges CID to make it their top priority. Meanwhile, Monroe's suspect is brought in by McCann and Hagen for harassment. When the suspect reveals information to the woman's disappearance, Monroe realises that the two events are connected - which subsequently leads him into conflict within the Chinese community, as well as a murky world of drugs, vice, corruption and violence.

Rawton and Lennox investigate when a nurse is violently attacked at the nurse's home where she is living. Initially, only one witness is able to place anyone near the scene of the crime, but Lennox is determined not to have to rely on the victim to pick him out. However, Lennox seems doomed to fail as he has to take a safety training course with Meadows and a group from the relief. Proctor takes over and immediately heads straight to the victim for information. Lennox continues to try and sneak away from the training exercise to continue working on the case. After the suspect continues to play games in the interview room, he then adds assaulting a police officer to his charge sheet when he attacks Ackland.

Boulton and Holmes investigate the latest in a long line of arson attacks. When forensic evidence places teen tearaway Adam Marrs at the scene of a previous fire, he is questioned and confesses to all of the recent attacks. However, a profiler brought in by Deakin to assist on the case isn't so sure that Marrs is responsible for the latest fire. Investigations reveal that the security guard on duty at the time was actually away from his post, moonlighting for another firm. When it is revealed that he abducted and tried to rape a young girl at the property, his evidence is discounted. Deakin's profiler seems to think that a serving fireman is responsible, but will her theory be proved right? Boulton isn't entirely convinced.

Boulton and Holmes deal with the abduction of a newborn baby from his hospital bed. CCTV of the abductor reveals little clues as to her identity, so Boulton asks Deakin if he can have the assistance of profiler to the stars, DS Viv Hunt. As the baby's grandfather reveals he has been having secret meetings with his daughter against his wife's wishes, the identity of the father is finally revealed in the form of the young girl's schoolteacher, Phillip Gough. Boulton initially suspects that Gough's wife might be the abductor, but further investigation leads him to suspect a housewife who recently had a miscarriage. Meanwhile, Meadows and Deakin organise a raid on a hoax caller who claimed to have information.

Burnside arrives at Sun Hill with a well-known villain in tow - convicted child sex offender Carl Jones. Jones has been granted early parole on the basis that he reveals the location of the body of a young boy who disappeared eight years previously, and also provides information on members of the gang who were responsible. Burnside initially suspects Jones is leading them a merry dance, so decides to organise a meeting between Jones and the young boy's parents, in the hope that their pain and suffering will convince Jones to clear his conscience. A search of a nearby school grounds reveals the boy's remains, but Burnside is determined not to let Jones walk free without being made a spectacle of first.