Episode # 305

When the UCOS team reinvestigates the suspicious murder of Craig Rossiter, they find themselves at the centre of a plot involving witchcraft, magic and curses. Rossiter, a librarian, had been a member of a coven and, when he died 10 years ago, there were few clues as to the cause of death. The team has to infiltrate the coven and speak to other members in order to get answers, but the investigation leaves them all feeling very uneasy.With barely any leads, Pullman takes the team to Richmond Park, the scene of Rossiter's death. A young woman, Grace Woodford, appears unexpectedly at the scene, clearly distressed and accompanied by her therapist. Also part of the coven, Grace remains traumatised by Rossiter's death but has little memory of the sequence of events leading up to it. But Grace is able to provide the names of other coven members, including Rhoda Wishaw, a white witch living in Ashdown forest. Standing and Lane visit Rhoda to question her and, after sampling her special tea, both leave feeling strangely intoxicated; Lane is eager to see Ester, and Standing any of his ex-wives. On their second visit, the special tea leaves them both confused and having hallucinations, so Rhoda takes the opportunity to disappear. Halford is also experiencing some unexplained visions involving his dead wife, Mary, and becomes convinced that he has been cursed by the coven. But the case takes a sinister turn when Lane visits the library where Rossiter used to work and discovers that his death may have been the result of human sacrifice.

Rebroadcast

Sunday, February 12, 2012
Length : 50 min
MPT

Father's Pride
Episode # 129

They may have handed in their badges and started collecting their pensions years ago, but Lane, Standing and Halford are back for a third and fourth series, still working at the London Metropolitan Police as civilians investigating unsolved crimes as part of boss Pullman's team, Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS). Led by Pullman, who spends half her time trying to rein them in, the three men investigate an array of challenging and disturbing crimes. You'd have to be very brave to tell this motley crew they are too old to chase criminals. Whatever they lack in agility, they more than make up for in their years of experience. Out of touch with modern policing, Jack, Brian and Gerry thrive on bending and even breaking the rules to get a result, thoroughly annoying Pullman. The question is will Pullman stop them or join them in doing just about anything to get to the truth?

Monday, February 13, 2012
Length : 50 min
MPT2

Episode # 306

When police informant Pete MacKintyre returns to the UK for his son's 18th birthday after 17 years on the run, he leads Gerry to fresh evidence about an unsolved armed robbery in which a bank cashier was shot and killed. The police have long suspected the man behind the robbery to be known criminal Ray Cook, now a C-list celebrity and angry to be in UCOS's radar. With MacKintyre's help, Standing recovers a sawn-off shotgun and a microtape, which Lane discovers is the audio of the robbery. The gun is a link to Ray Cook - but with a watertight alibi of being at his mother?s deathbed on the day of the robbery, Cook is proving difficult to nail and even more difficult to track down to interview. Halford and Lane interview Geoff Lyons, a former security guard for the bank at the time of the robbery and an ex-copper. While Lyons is keen to point the finger at Cook, it becomes clear that this wasn't a one man operation. Elsewhere, suspicious that Pullman is going on a date with DAC Strickland, the team follow her to the Hero of the Year awards. There, Standing is confronted by an old colleague, Rob Petty, and can barely disguise his disgust that Petty is attending as a nominated hero. There is clearly history between the two men, but how will Standing feel when his boss invites Petty to contribute to the case?

Rebroadcast

Sunday, February 19, 2012
Length : 50 min
MPT

Episode # 304

Chopper Hadley, a notorious and violent criminal, is under suspicion for the murder of police informant Micky Springer. It is an investigation with huge personal repercussions for both Halford and Standing. While Halford was on the murder squad, Micky Springer had asked him for protection, but Halford was dealing with his own crisis - his beloved wife, Mary, had been left critically hurt by a hit-and-run accident. With the case re-opened, Halford finds himself the target of a terror campaign, but is determined to get justice for Springer. Back in Britain for his father's funeral, Hadley is a sensitive target for the Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS). The team undertakes a high-risk undercover surveillance mission with hot-shot detective Tina Murray and Brian Lane at the forefront. While all the evidence points to Hadley, it becomes clear that Hadley?s henchman, Tommy Gerrard, is hiding a dark secret and may well have been operating independently from his boss.The case also threatens to expose Standing's dodgy dealings from the past, when Andy Cutler, the original investigating officer on the case, reveals some unsettling truths. With Standing's relationship with Pullman at breaking point, he knows he needs to prove his worth and find some answers quickly. However, in doing so, he compromises his own safety and finds himself on the wrong side of Gerrard.
Rebroadcast

Sunday, February 05, 2012
Length : 50 min
MPT

Buried Treasure

Episode # 128

They may have handed in their badges and started collecting their pensions years ago, but Lane, Standing and Halford are back for a third and fourth series, still working at the London Metropolitan Police as civilians investigating unsolved crimes as part of boss Pullman's team, Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS). Led by Pullman, who spends half her time trying to rein them in, the three men investigate an array of challenging and disturbing crimes. You'd have to be very brave to tell this motley crew they are too old to chase criminals. Whatever they lack in agility, they more than make up for in their years of experience. Out of touch with modern policing, Jack, Brian and Gerry thrive on bending and even breaking the rules to get a result, thoroughly annoying Pullman. The question is will Pullman stop them or join them in doing just about anything to get to the truth?


Monday, January 30, 2012
Length : 50 min
MPT2

Episode # 303

A spate of violent dog killings 30 years ago provoked an outcry from the public, but the investigating team was never able to identify the killer. When a dog is found dead on Hampstead Heath, with the same MO as the original killings, the Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS) is asked to re-examine the case: no-one else in the Force wants to know. Reluctantly, Pullman and her team pick up the baton. Standing and Lane set off to visit the original suspect, John Fletcher, who works at a local abattoir. Much to dog-loving Lane?s disgust, Fletcher does nothing to disguise his hatred of man?s best friend, which is all Lane needs to convince him that this must be their man.There is a pattern in the killings. Pullman and Halford visit James Farlow, a canine protection society field officer at the time of the original killings, who is now preoccupied with nursing his dying wife. Halford sympathises - a dangerous thing to do in any investigation: will he take his eye off the ball and allow emotion to cloud his judgement? Farlow recalls that one of the dog owners during the original investigation had made an unusual request. When the team visits the dog owner, Professor Styles, a ?blue stocking? museum curator and expert in Egyptology, they make an alarming discovery. Lane, already struggling to cope with the cruelty of the killings, is left shattered when his own dog, Scruffy, dies. Pullman insists he take compassionate leave. However, it is Halford?s deteriorating health that causes the team to really worry. James Farlow is also sympathetic and he knows just the thing to make Halford feel better.
Rebroadcast

Sunday, January 29, 2012
Length : 50 min
MPT

Episode # 302

The Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS) reinvestigate the murky death of Joe Walsh, the General Secretary of the Crane Drivers? Union, whose body was found in the Thames in 1975. At the time of his death, Walsh stood accused of stealing money from the Union?s account. Pullman and Standing visit Walsh?s daughter, Anita, a glamorous and successful author. She tells them she?s always believed the generally accepted story that her father took his own life. Claiming to be ignorant of her father?s involvement with union finances, Anita directs them to Walsh?s deputy, Brendan Dyer - who subsequently reveals that he and Labour peer George McCready were the last two people to see Walsh alive. As the team delve further into the case, they find themselves at the centre of a political minefield, with suggestions of misappropriated union funds, MI5 involvement and a union leader whose threats of strike action were gravely threatening the national interest.The influential ?New Labour? peer McCready is a suspect in the inquiry, but the team know they have to tread carefully. DAC Strickland manages to secure a meeting for them at the House of Lords. McCready, keen to avoid scandal, points the finger of suspicion at Dyer, revealing that Dyer?s wife, Rose, was having an affair with Walsh. Throughout, the team?s investigation is hampered by Lane?s increasingly erratic behaviour. Unknown to his colleagues or his wife, Lane has decided to swap the conventional medicines taken to manage his various neuroses for an array of alternative treatments. The new regime leads to alarming outbursts - crazy, even by Lane?s eccentric standards.
Rebroadcast

Sunday, January 22, 2012
Length : 50 min
MPT

Power House

Episode # 127

They may have handed in their badges and started collecting their pensions years ago, but Lane, Standing and Halford are back for a third and fourth series, still working at the London Metropolitan Police as civilians investigating unsolved crimes as part of boss Pullman's team, Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS). Led by Pullman, who spends half her time trying to rein them in, the three men investigate an array of challenging and disturbing crimes. You'd have to be very brave to tell this motley crew they are too old to chase criminals. Whatever they lack in agility, they more than make up for in their years of experience. Out of touch with modern policing, Jack, Brian and Gerry thrive on bending and even breaking the rules to get a result, thoroughly annoying Pullman. The question is will Pullman stop them or join them in doing just about anything to get to the truth?


Monday, January 16, 2012
Length : 50 min
MPT2

Episode # 208

In October 1987, the partial remains of a young woman?s torso were found in Woodland near Pratt?s Bottom in Kent. When the original investigation failed to identify the girl or her assailant, the case stalled and the remains were placed in storage. The case has weighed heavily on the mind of Home Office pathologist Reynard Mears (Timothy West). It is the only corpse he dealt with that remains unidentified. He is hoping that UCOS might now solve the mystery. Millicent, as the eccentric professor calls the body, was found by a schoolboy at the ancient site of Giston Mount. There are very few clues to her identity but Halford urges the others to discover what happened for the sake of her family. The squad visits the woodland where the body was found after apparently being cut up by the killer. The atmosphere is spooky. Standing confesses he has a morbid fear of forests, and Lane is visibly petrified by the experience. Back at Mears? lab, Standing?s mood improves when he meets the professor?s attractive assistant Vicky (Amelia Curtis). Her re-examination of the forensic evidence has found that the remains had been chewed by a large animal. Seeds on the body are from a botanical garden and Millicent also had syphilis. Halford realises that Millicent?s death coincided with the great storms that rocked England in October 1987. And Lane returns to Giston Mount to confront his demons ? only to find a wild boar. Vicky? s PhD research into the mineral content of Millicent?s bones suggests she came from the Highlands of Scotland. Halford visits Lady Deeley (Jane Asher), a four-times divorcee and hard-nosed wild-boar breeder, whose country estate is just three miles from Giston Mount. Can the detectives break down Lady Deeley?s defiant exterior to find the truth ? and will they be able to help Mears lay Millicent to rest by discovering her real name and family?
Rebroadcast

Sunday, January 15, 2012
Length : 50 min
MPT

Nine Lives

Episode # 126

They may have handed in their badges and started collecting their pensions years ago, but Lane, Standing and Halford are back for a third and fourth series, still working at the London Metropolitan Police as civilians investigating unsolved crimes as part of boss Pullman's team, Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS). Led by Pullman, who spends half her time trying to rein them in, the three men investigate an array of challenging and disturbing crimes. You'd have to be very brave to tell this motley crew they are too old to chase criminals. Whatever they lack in agility, they more than make up for in their years of experience. Out of touch with modern policing, Jack, Brian and Gerry thrive on bending and even breaking the rules to get a result, thoroughly annoying Pullman. The question is will Pullman stop them or join them in doing just about anything to get to the truth?


Monday, January 09, 2012
Length : 50 min
MPT2

Episode # 207

Lane indulges his obsession with fishing when UCOS investigates the case of two boys abducted from a fishing lake in 1979, believing it could be linked to a recent spate of snatches near the M25. The boys escaped unharmed but their kidnapper was never found and the lake has since been branded the Pit of Doom, and deserted by anglers. One of the boys, Alan (Nigel Lindsay), now a chicken factory worker, is keen to help and relive his moment of fame. Under hypnosis, he reveals his abductor had a workshop with gas bottles, a workbench ? and a bath. The team fear they could be about to expose the lair of a serial killer, but the chilling atmosphere is shattered when a horrified Pullman bites into some salad containing maggots from Lane?s fishing box. They seek clues at a tackle shop where Kenny (Steve Emerson), the proprietor, and a customer, Big Robbie (Richard Ridings), flee at the sight of Standing. Eventually cornered after a chase, Kenny tells them that the Pit of Doom was also the place where former carp record-holder Bob Yates (David Mallinson) was beaten unconscious. Inside Yates?s garage are oxygen cylinders, syringes and a bath, and Pullman believes they have their man. But Halford discovers the equipment is not as suspicious as it seems ? and UCOS ends up netting a different catch altogether.
Rebroadcast

Sunday, January 08, 2012
Length : 50 min
MPT

Ducking & Diving

Episode # 125

They may have handed in their badges and started collecting their pensions years ago, but Lane, Standing and Halford are back for a third and fourth series, still working at the London Metropolitan Police as civilians investigating unsolved crimes as part of boss Pullman's team, Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS). Led by Pullman, who spends half her time trying to rein them in, the three men investigate an array of challenging and disturbing crimes. You'd have to be very brave to tell this motley crew they are too old to chase criminals. Whatever they lack in agility, they more than make up for in their years of experience. Out of touch with modern policing, Jack, Brian and Gerry thrive on bending and even breaking the rules to get a result, thoroughly annoying Pullman. The question is will Pullman stop them or join them in doing just about anything to get to the truth?


Monday, January 02, 2012
Length : 52 min
MPT2