The Bill Season 23, Episode 41: Better Off Dead

Games of War

PCs Valentine and Casper arrest a man for being drunk-in-charge. DI Manson and Sgt Doug Wright mount a frantic search for a missing eleven-year-old boy. Sgt Ackland and PC Fletcher attend to an incident of vandalism at Harvey Wallace comprehensive. Ackland's boyfriend is knocked down in a hit-and-run incident.

Till Hell Freezes Over

CID begin the investigation into the arson attack on the home of lottery winning family the Hendersons. Manson discovers that the fire started in identical fashion to two previous fires investigated by Nixon and Turner, at a foster home and a B&B. Warren Pritchard, the man jailed for the previous two fires, is re-arrested after the team discovers he was bailed at trial. Further digging clears him, not only from the Henderson fire, but the previous two, leaving CID back at square one. In uniform, Smithy leads the troops on a search for the car involved in Rod Jessop's hit and run, and it's not long before CCTV footage puts truant Kyle Henderson in the frame for the attack. However, with his brother watching his every move, Stamp and Hollis try to trip up a friend of Kyle's into exposing the truant's involvement. Meanwhile, Meadows and Heaton interview candidates for the new DI post, but Meadows tries to persuade Nixon to apply.

The New Generation

Nixon and Turner's quest to discover the identity of the serial arsonist takes an interesting turn when they discover that Jay Henderson's ex-girlfriend, Cheryl Wilkes, who claims to be pregnant with his baby, has links to all three of the locations where fires took place – the first being her childhood home, and the second being a foster home where she was placed while she was in care. Elsewhere, Smith and Walker investigate after a seemingly minor spat between a market trader and a customer leads to an assault on the customer's heavily pregnant wife, but would the market trader go so far to attack her in retaliation? Smithy asks Walker if she wants to move in after struggling to find a place to live, while Nixon tells Turner and Hunter she'll be the new DI.

Two Time Loser

Gold and Valentine find a parole officer assaulted and locked in the boot of his car, but the victim may just be a suspect in another crime when his assailant claims he raped his incarcerated wife. Nixon and Masters discover he has been offering sex in exchange for parole, but their investigation takes a dark turn when one of the prisoners attempts suicide. Meanwhile, Hardy witnesses a mugging on his way into work, but discovers that the alleged victim may be heading up a scam exchanging cash for passing marks on the British Citizenship test. After getting injured twice, Hardy takes a shine to St. Hugh’s nurse Tash Niles, who later suggests he moves in with her after the departure of his grandmother to Jamaica.

An Article Of Faith

Panic and speculation swirls around Sun Hill as Heaton reveals the station may be about to close. Hobbs is left furious at the discovery, but Heaton insist the team needed to know before a press leak; Gold, who was notified ahead of time, suspects the super may know more than he's letting on. The suicide of a young mother leads to a loansharking ring targeting vulnerable mothers, so Harman is sent in undercover as a single mother, accompanied by Wright's young nephew. An arrest leads to a sting to catch the kingpin behind the loansharking, but Webb is furious when the deceased mother's ex wades in and blows the OBBO, leaving Heaton to intervene in an attempt to force a confession. Elsewhere, Valentine helps an old friend when his pub is allegedly raided by a man in a chicken outfit, but Roger is disappointed to discover the culprit may be closer to home.

A Week From Next Tuesday

Nadir gets two shocks on his return from holidays as Haskew decides he doesn't need Nadir onside, while SOCA stun him by revealing they know the Colombian deal is happening a month ahead of the time he told them. Using it to his advantage, he gets back in by relaying the info to Haskew. Nadir suggests giving a dummy location for the drop, but his plan could be compromised when he tells barman Chez Williams that he was undercover when Chez introduced him to Kristen. Furious, Chez refuses to follow Nadir's request - can he persuade him he is bent now when he wasn't before? Elsewhere in Alvarez case, Harman is assigned to a safehouse with drugs mule Eva Garcia, but her relationship hits the rocks when she suggests taking a holiday with a reluctant Fletcher. In CID, Hunter and Turner clash yet again over the suspects in a hammer attack. Turner believes an ex-con is involved, but Hunter believes the woman's son is responsible.

Lead On A Merry Chase

The Alvarez case takes a sinister turn when Eva Garcia's brother turns up at the safehouse. Nadir persists on trying to talk Shaw out of the drug deal, but she refuses. When Garcia's brother is severely beaten whilst confronting Alvarez, the sting looks compromised, with Eva doing a runner from the safehouse after locking Harman in a room. Leaving for her holiday in Tenerife, Harman clashes with Fletcher when he decides not to come, but her journey home throws her right back into work when she finds Eva roaming the streets. Her attempts to lull her back to Sun Hill leads to both women being abducted, and a call from Haskew demanding Nadir at Bar Morocco quickly follows; has he been rumbled? Meanwhile, Perkins investigates a string of robberies involving lone businessmen staying at private hotels, and Hardy finds himself reprimanded by Wright for being heavily hungover at work.

School Of Hard Knocks

With a gun to Harman and another on him, Nadir is forced to admit he is undercover. As Haskew, Shaw and Nadir dispute on whether or not Nadir is actually bent, Alvarez silences the room by shooting informant Eva Garcia. As Haskew drags Harman and Nadir to the drug deal, Nadir explains all to Harman, leaving her disgusted. With SOCA at the wrong location, the lorry is intercepted with it continuing in the wrong direction, but it is a bust. Nadir proves to Alvarez that the police are going to the wrong place to regain his trust, but he loses Haskew's when he tries to shoot him in attempt to stop Haskew killing Harman. A heart to heart between Nadir and Shaw sees them decide to elope with the cash, but not before CO19 storm the deal and engage in a firefight. As bullets fly and bodies drop, the Sun Hill team are left looking for their own in the casualties.

Burn Off

Nadir awakes from a living nightmare to discover Jose Alvarez is in custody and Paul Haskew was killed in the firefight. He returns home to discover Shaw made it out of the bust in one piece, but both break down over the death of Harman. With Alvarez keeping quiet, Nadir thinks he's in the clear, until he hears a body was found in the water after the raid; has Harman been found? Alvarez hints at what Nadir has done, but the comment about betrayal makes Heaton and Meadows send Nadir into a safehouse. Meanwhile, Keane and Hardy investigate a burglary and discover that the homeowners were gassed with Nitrous Oxide before being ransacked. Their prime suspect is their former nanny, fired for having an affair with the husband, but his constant arguing with his wife impedes Keane and Hardy's attempts to get to the bottom of the case.

Dead Man's Hand: Part I

Nadir comes back to work in a relieved state after Meadows all but admits defeat in their search for Kristen Shaw. However, he is brought back to earth with a bump when Gold reports Harman missing to Meadows, with her last phone call coming on the day Eva Garcia disappeared. Tracking down Shaw, Nadir and his lover execute a plan to plant a lookalike on Harman's flight to Tenerife, but the Sun Hill team aren't fooled when they find the CCTV. With phone signals pinging at Bonham Wharf, Nadir panics that he is about to be caught and plans to flee. Keane and Hardy find a heavily pregnant female at the bottom of a flight of stairs after an apparent burglary, but it appears her partner may be implicated when it is revealed her stolen watch was originally stolen in another burglary, involving Heaton's estranged wife Rhiannon.

Dead Man's Hand: Part II

With Harman's body found and Nadir in custody, MIT swoop in to investigate. Meadows tries to think the best of Nadir and allows him to go home and get changed, but lives to regret it when Nadir slips surveillance, just as DNA proves he was at the scene. He heads off to meet Shaw, but begins to change his mind when he discovers Shaw still has the gun that killed Harman. With MIT and CID trying to track down the runaway lovers, Zain is left battling his conscious. Fletcher struggles to cope when Harman's mother asks to see him, finally accepting that he took her for granted. Elsewhere, Keane's emotions over Honey and another fight with Matt sees her lose her cool with a pair of bickering sisters when their father has angina attack, caused by their fight over a missing family heirloom.

The Good Old Days

Ackland and fiancee Rod Jessop work together when Valentine and Casper find a pupil from Harvey Wallace school, Martin Clarke, with stab wounds. Noble is frustrated when Hollis' stomach ache keeps him indoors looking at CCTV into the theft of bandages. Meanwhile, Gold and Smith attempt to locate a missing prisoner, Jimmy Collins. All three cases collide when it appears that Collins has a link to prime stabbing suspect Tom Ryan, while Hollis spots Collins on CCTV stealing bandages. Ackland stuns Jessop by suggesting early retirement.

The Bill Season 23 Episode 14

The Bill Season 23 Episode 15

Episode 487

Sgt Wright supervises the mass eviction of tenants from the Aldbourne Estate, and finds herself having to manage a public order situation. DC Webb traces the driver who ran Sgt Ackland off the road. She and Insp Gold present Supt Heaton with evidence of DAC Hobbs's involvement in the corrupt property development. DS Jim Carver returns to Sun Hill to discuss a case. The station is to survive the forthcoming reorganisation.

The Bill Season 23 Episode 18

Sgt Ackland assists DS Carver on a drugs stakeout. The officers are at loggerheads over their troubled past, and soon find themselves in over their heads. The relief carries out a search of some wasteland following the discovery of a human skeleton.

Episode 489

Sgt Ackland and DS Carver are held hostage by drug dealers. Carver asks Ackland to take him back. Meanwhile, Sun Hill prepares Ackland's leaving party.

Sweet Revenge

PCs Noble and Fletcher attend the scene of a burglary. DS Hunter and DC Masters investigate the assault of a woman running an adult webcam service. DI Nixon sees the chance to put away a villain from her past. Sgt Smith compromises a key witness to the incident. DC Webb and PCs Hinckley and Valentine are assigned to the clean-up of the Jasmine Allen Estate and uncover drug-dealing and joy-riding.

Killer on the Run

Sgt Smith attends a minor traffic incident and discovers a body in the boot of a car. DCI Meadows and DC Webb lead the manhunt for the suspect, who is armed and blames Smith for ruining his life.

Dead Men Don’t Tell Lies

DS Turner and DC Webb investigate an arson attack and suspicious death. Supt Heaton suspects an acquaintance of the deceased, a dangerous psychopath with a history of extortion, and warns his estranged wife to leave London. PCs Hinckley and Fletcher deal with a violent assault case. PCs Hollis and Stamp have to find the key witness when he flees court.

Brotherhood

Daddy’s Girl

End of the Affair

Exit Wound

Pride Before a Fall

Role Model

And Nothing but the Truth

Day of Reckoning

Blood Money

To Honour And Obey

Lies That Kill

Inner Demons

Getting Away With Murder

Trigger Happy

Do Or Die

On The Edge

Old Wounds

Judgement Call

A Model Murder - 1

A Model Murder - 2

Match Day Violence

Cop Killer -1

Cop Killer -2

Behind Closed Doors

Man Down

Death Or Glory

Copycat Killer

Trail Of Blood

Model Murder Uncovered

Caught by the Killer

Good Cop, Bad Cop

Dicing With Danger

DS Hunter has just come back from an injury he sustained whilst trying to help DI Nixon. PCs Keen and Green tend a situation where a women was found in the park with her peruse stolen

Deadly Secrets

Diamonds Are Deadly

Neil is badly let down by one of his regular informants when a family jewellers is robbed of half a million pounds' worth of stock and one of the partners is shot in the course of the crime. Phil plays the knight in shining armour for casino owner's wife Monica Dreyfuss when she turns up in custody drunk and unable to pay her restaurant bill. Tony and Will are notified of a kidnapping, and Neil and Jo investigate a link to the high-value robbery from the jewellery store - leading them to suspect it being an inside job.

Code Of Silence

A worried mother reports her son missing after a night out clubbing, but finds it difficult to accept he is gay when he is found beaten and raped by Reg and Beth, following an assignation with a casual pick-up. Emma and Sally have some success persuading the troubled youngster to unburden himself and Neil jumps to the conclusion the lad's own friends may have had something to do with the attack. Neil arranges a raid on the homes of the two main suspects.

Crash Test

Terry investigates a loan shark accused of using strong-arm tactics to collect the extortionate repayments she demands. Stories about her employing a vicious thug to make acid attacks on the families of debtors prove all too true and Beth finds herself in danger when the ruffian is cornered. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian woman with no passport or visa is taken to hospital following a road accident but runs away before Sally and Tony can get the full story. Neil finds himself under pressure from Heaton to secure results.

Up In Smoke

Smithy picks up a lead on a drug dealer operating from a burger van and before long Sun Hill's uniform branch are mounting a raid on a cannabis farm - where Diane puts herself in great danger by ignoring Callum's orders. Back at the station, Phil and Stuart muster as much empathy and sensitivity as they can when CID are called on to sort out a love triangle and find a missing bridegroom in time for his wedding. Beth and Tony attend a domestic disturbance.

Deadly Shame - 1

The body of missing schoolgirl Chloe Parks is found in a derelict hospital building, but Crime Scene Examiner Lorna Hart cannot confirm the cause of death. Stone is called to identify the girl's body. Suspicion immediately falls on the victim's boyfriend, who seems to be responsible for recent changes in her behaviour, but a chilling home video given to the police by a classmate changes the direction of the investigation. While Sam and Smithy investigate the circumstances leading to her death, Will acts as family liason officer.

Deadly Shame - 2

The evidence of the videotape convinces Karen Parks her husband has been abusing their daughter. CID arrest him on suspicion of murder, but CCTV footage from an off licence provides him with a cast-iron alibi for the time of Chloe's death and he is released without charge. Will's persistence leads to a tense encounter with the family, and Callum resorts to desperate measures to ensure justice is served.

A Life Of Lies

Phil's latest conquest, Monica Dreyfuss, reports a burglary at her home which has left her bruised, shaken and fearing for her life. A series of beatings on a local estate points to a vigilante campaign against trouble-making drug dealers and the case touches a nerve with Will as he struggles to get over Martin Parks' suicide. Will and Leela respond to reports of a disturbance on an estate and find two badly-beaten men in a flat used by drug dealers.

Russian Roulette

A masked kidnapper threatens to kill Monica if Phil does not return with the money Louis Dreyfuss owes his boss. He is driven to the casino to remove the ransom money from the safe - but stupidly tries to make his escape. Samantha is shocked to learn of his involvement in the case but allows her old partner to carry on with his undercover operation to the point of handing over the money - not realising Phil's philandering ways have made him more than one new enemy.

Back From The Brink

Callum briefs the relief on a spate of violent robberies that have occurred in and around the borough. Leela is shocked by Will's tactics when collaring a robbery suspect, and decides to adopt new methods of her own - but her actions do not go unnoticed by Stone. Niiki and Emma attend the scene of a domestic dispute in which a man accuses his wife of having an affair. Sally and Beth attend to the victim of an assault.

Dead And Buried

Sam investigates the background of an eastern European diplomat accused of a violent assault on a prostitute and learns he could be a murderer. The pressure is on when it emerges the suspect has full diplomatic immunity and is due to be deported within twenty-four hours. Phil and Grace interview a painter, whose valuable nude portrait of an ex-lover has been stolen. Leela accepts a post outside Sun Hill, unaware that her colleague Stone has pulled strings to ease her departure.

Cracking Under Pressure

Stuart works fast to find the children of separated parents when CCTV footage shows the brother and sister talking to a known paedophile. However, his involvement in their disappearance soon proves to be more than meets the eye. New recruit PC Benjamin Gayle is teamed with Will to investigate an assault on a Polish building worker, and finds himself in a tight spot when the victim's colleagues cut up rough about his fish-poaching activities on the common.

Rough Justice

Stuart impresses his Sun Hill colleagues as he makes his debut on television crime show Wanted, hoping to clear up a burglary case during which the victim, lawyer Ian Stroud, suffered a massive heart attack. The public response is overwhelming, leaving the team of Terry, Beth and Ben to pick through a mountain of false leads - including a sighting of a man once defended in court by Stroud who served eight years for a rape he did not commit.

Back from the Dead

Sally and Emma find a badly beaten woman in possession of a bag full of passports. She claims to be an asylum seeker whose political activist husband was murdered in Zimbabwe. However, when her son is abducted, a completely different story emerges and the race is on to rescue the boy from a violent and vengeful father. Gina discovers a bank robber she believed had died in a bank vault blast years ago is alive and well - and back in the country, forcing her to re-open an investigation into a twenty-year-old bank robbery.

Take It to the Grave

Mickey kisses Sally - strictly in the course of his duties - as they trail bank robber Vince Murray, however, the pair are unable to prevent another robbery. Gina visits his family to find out what he's up to back in England. Meanwhile, the old lag's son, Darren proves to be a chip off the old block, staging a burglary with Ian Forrest's lad Kieran, but it's news to the youngsters that Ian was killed in the bank vault explosion while Vince survived the blast.

Uncut Killer

When three teenagers collapse after taking uncut cocaine, Diane and Sally are sent to visit the school they all attend. There they break up a fight and further investigations reveal the two girls involved are both caught up in the local drugs scene as suppliers. While they investigate a new supply of pure-grace cocaine, Grace makes a momentous decision about her career, Phil drops a bombshell on his Sun Hill colleagues, and Jo decides to take a new step in her love life.

Episode 76

Line of Fire (1)

A paranoid schizophrenic is the main suspect in the case of a prowler who attacked a woman and then stabbed Reg, who answered the call for help. When Callum and Grace indentify the prime suspect, Neil recognises the man as someone he arrested four years previously, and takes pity on him when it emerges he did not receive appropriate medical help at the time, and has since been victimised by neighbours on his estate.

Line Of Fire - 2

Schizophrenic Michael Simms threatens Shelley Cooper with a knife and when the woman is later killed, Manson orders CO19 to shoot him, assuming Simms is the culprit. In the subsequent inquiry by the department of professional standards, who also subject other officers in CID to criticism, the DI's judgement is called into question by his own superior officer, and he faces the prospect that his career could be over.

Deadly Intent

Callum and Diane are called to the scene of a domestic disturbance, only to find Diane's neighbour, who has been knocked unconscious with an iron. It looks as if his wife is escaping from an abusive marriage, but all is not as it seems. Meanwhile, Smithy and Nate answer a call from a man who has been sold fake raffle tickets, but the teenage mum accused of the crime impresses the coppers enough to earn a second chance to sort out her life.

Stealth Attack

A limo driver of a fading pop star is suspected of raping a student found unconscious in an alley by Reg and Tony. Jo and Sam investigate the circumstances leading up to her rape. Elsewhere, Smithy encounters Leanne Samuels again, when he and Emma are called to disturbance at a mini market - only to learn she has lost her job after taking time off work to look after her teenage daughter's baby, and this time he's determined to make Carly see sense before Social Services take the baby away from her. Stuart prepares to makes a further appearance on a tv crime show.

Tortured Soul

Questioned for beating up schoolboy Paul Herriot, irate father Bryce Lucas admits to Ben and Mickey he did so because he had been sent a videotape of the boy sexually assaulting his daughter - a pupil at the same school. Further investigation uncovers a cycle of abuse involving the disturbed youngster, but his story doesn't quite add up and there are further shocks in store, even for Sun Hill's most worldy wise officers.

Moving Target - 1

Terry and Jo investigate the serious assult of a man promoting a rock against racism concert. Heaton, anticipating trouble at the concert, has a very public run-in with the local MP, Paul Sagger, who crosses swords in a heated TV interview by fuelling tensions in the local community, in the lead-up to the rock against racism concert.

Moving Target - 2

MP Paul Sagger is exposed as an antiques smuggler who owns artefacts looted from a Baghdad museum, but Manson is unsure of just how he is obtaining the valuables. Officers investigate the double-shooting at the rock against racism concert, and Grace discovers Heaton was one of the intended targets. Jo and Terry uncover a possible connection to the Bulldogs of Patriotism.

Moving Target - 3

Derek Jacobs becomes prime suspect for the rock against racism shootings. Manson leads the investigation into the murder of Abdul Muntqim. The search for the gunman leads to evidence confirming that local MP Paul Sagger is directly involved in the illegal importation of artefacts - and Sagger's partner reveals how he smuggled looted goods into the country in her son's coffin. The case reaches a dramatic climax when the killer turns up unexpectedly at the station.

Love, Lies and Limos

Stuart's driver Trevor Jones helps CID with useful information about a limousine operator who is rumoured to be supplying cocaine as part of the champagne service. Diane and Will respond to a call regarding a hijacked limousine, and Stuart investigates an assault on the driver's wife. Mickey volunteers to pose as a city banker and gather evidence against the villain, but has a few uncomfortable moments when it becomes clear his cover has been blown.

Trapped

When Stuart's driver Trevor Jones and a female friend are badly beaten up, the detective sets out to link the attack to a mysterious drug dealer known only as the 'Postman'. Meanwhile, Nate and Ben answer a call to a disturbance at a cafe where a boy has had paint sprayed in his face. The assault has racial overtones and the discovery of narcotics at the scene provides a vital lead for the CID investigation.

Blackmailed

Stuart is horrified to discover his trusted driver and friend is the mystery drug dealer the 'Postman', who plans to use him as his inside man at Sun Hill, using incriminating photos and unexplained payments into his bank account to blackmail him. Jo rumbles what is going on, but Stuart's efforts to put matters right just lead to greater danger. A drugs bust is thwarted by a tip-off, and Manson suspects a leak from within the team.

The Honey Trap

Alternate title: "The Honey Trap".

Inside Out - 1

Disgraced detective Zain Nadir is interviewed about drug trafficking in Hayesend Prison, where he is serving ten years for perverting the course of justice, after Callum and Will discover the body of a drug addict recently released from prison. He agrees to help his colleagues infiltrate the gang involved. Jack is not sure whether he can trust his mole and fears the worst when a riot breaks out just as the police move in to arrest the operation's kingpin, Zain's cellmate Jason Forbes, who makes good his escape in the confusion.

Inside Out - 2

Zain gets a frosty reception at the station when Heaton secures his release from prison to help Meadows with the recapture of escaped killer Jason Forbes, and Will can't help taking a swing at the man who callously disposed of Honey's body in a bid to save his own skin. Unsurprisingly, Zain encounters hostility from several of his former colleagues. The pursuit leads to a gunpoint showdown, giving Zain a clear choice between escape and doing the right thing.

Assault On Sun Hill - 1

New recruit DS Max Carter joins the Sun Hill team from CO19 to investigate a tip-off about an armed cash-in-transit robbery, only to find partner DC Perkins drowning his sorrows after the informant is killed for his pains. PCs Gayle and Armstrong arrest two girls for failing to pay their cab fare, and a catastrophic train of events is unleashed when it emerges they were carrying a deadly cargo smuggled in from Ghana - and their boyfriends want it back.

Assault On Sun Hill - 2

Sally and Tony are taken as hostages by the gun-men and John and Gina take charge of the situation to evacuate the station when an officer is hit by a bullet. Terry sleeps off his hangover in a cell and finds himself in a waking nightmare, trapped in Sun Hill with two murder suspects, two drug mules in a bad way and a pair of reckless maniacs threatening to kill if they don't get their girlfriends back.