The series began with the appointment of new executive producer Richard Handford, who replaced Michael Chapman after his 9-year reign came to an end in the previous series. The appointment preceded discussions with broadcaster ITV about returning to the format of hour-long episodes, which the show last used on a regular basis in 1987. The request was approved, and hour-long episodes began to air twice weekly beginning in August, a format the series retained until moving to a later time-slot in 2009. Due to the rapid transition, several of the first hour-long episodes were originally written for the half-hour time-slot, and thus, some episodes contain two completely different stories, written by different writers, which jump from one to another.
When a raid on a known drug addict goes awry, Boulton is spiked by the desperate criminal's needle,… |
A family are strangely silent about the death of their landlord. |
Beech and Carver go in search of a haul of £30,000 in banknotes, missing from a six-year-old… |
When an old man loses his life savings in a mugging, Boyden and Stamp suspect it was no coincidence. |
Boyden deals with a frail old man brought into custody accused of attempted murder. |
A father wants revenge for his murdered son. |
When a young girl has to carry a knife to defend herself at school, Keane and Stamp know it is time… |
Stamp is cynical when he feels a woman with a sob story may be playing games, but Ashton is taken… |
Stamp and Page are sceptical as Ashton suggests there is more to a burglary than appears. |
It's a life or death situation for Skase and Proctor when an assassin comes looking for his money. |
Jarvis is full of his secondment to the Diplomatic Protection Group, so Stamp and Quinnan hatch a… |
New PC Eddie Santini, tall, dark and handsome with a dubious past, causes a stir when he arrives to… |
Rawton and Skase assist a woman receiving anonymous threats. |
Ashton goes missing from the scene of an accident. |
A car belonging to a rival Chief Superintendent's wife is stolen right from under Santini and… |
Proctor and Skase investigate the stalking of Proctor's ex-girlfriend. |
A series of muggings on a local estate lead Proctor and Carver to the house of a rather unusual… |
Meadows and Skase discover a modern-day Robin Hood who appears to be alive and well and robbing the… |
PC Santini is irritated at being paired with PC Hollis on a cold, wet night in Canley. |
While in a rush to catch a crook, Ashton trips and falls foul of the law. |
Ackland sets out to trap a man who wants to take the law into his own hands. |
Croft is puzzled by a couple who want their daughter arrested. |
Ackland and Quinnan are on the case when a man falls from his bedroom window. But was it an… |
Carver is let down by an unreliable snout, and needs Beech to get him out of a tricky situation. |
Rawton and Skase realise they may be onto a serial attacker. |
Page and McCann investigate what appears to be a straightforward case of attempted child abduction. |
A clever lawyer runs rings around Beech in court in a case involving a notorious robber. |
The tit-for-tat violence escalates between rival gangs in Sun Hill. |
Beech's involvement with rival racketeers becomes more complicated. |
A hungover Garfield injures a member of the public during the pursuit of a burglar, but Monroe is… |
Meadows and Daly get a tip-off about a gang of young muggers, but their information comes from an… |
Garfield and Keane try to discover the cause of death of a woman found dead in a church hall. |
When a girl goes missing by the river, Deakin sees an opportunity to nail an old adversary. |
McCann is sent in search of a valuable exotic bird. |
Rawton and Daly investigate an assault on a resident of an old people's home. |
Conway is the target of a blackmail attempt following a drunken night out. |
Boulton is after a villain known to have an eye for the ladies. |
Quinnan and Blake search for a missing French au pair who has been moonlighting as a stripper. |
Cryer attends the death of a teenage girl and is subject to a complaint by the grieving father. |
Boyden uncovers an illicit pornographic video operation. |
Ashton tries to help a reformed teenage joyrider. |
Ashton's sense of compassion is crucial in solving a cruel assault case. |
Quinnan and Ackland pursue a dangerous driver. |
Deakin and Carver investigate a case of male rape. |
A speeding Pontiac and three ageing James Deans give Stamp and McCann a headache. |
Boulton and Carver head for the river, chasing a particularly slippery customer. |
Boulton and Carver continue thier investigation into illegal immigration and find their case… |
While football fever grips Sun Hill, Deakin hopes to get his man by following a tip-off. With… |
Page tries to trace the mother of an abandoned baby, while Boulton and Rawton investigate an… |
Skase is sceptical of a 14-year-old girl so smitten with him that she accuses her parents of being… |
Ashton, on his first solo outing, is distracted by a decoy while a nearby shop is burgled. |
Boyden introduces the relief to new Area Car driver Vicky Hagen, but her reputation takes an… |
Despite knowing the animosity between Jarvis and Hagen, Cryer pairs them in the area car on her… |
Boyden gets friendly with Ashton's mother. |
Beech wangles an expenses-paid trip to Brighton with Skase, but his night does not go as planned. |
Skase persuades Brighton C.I.D. to help track down the missing Beech. |
Stamp and Hagen clash over what makes a good area car driver. |
Daly and Carver try to get evidence against a young drug addict suspected of brutally assaulting a… |
Carver and Proctor respond to a tip-off about the theft of some fish. |
Boulton is less than thrilled to be placed on an interviewing course with Hollis, but gets the… |
Keane and Garfield look into allegations that a New Age cult leader is encouraging under-aged girls… |
Carver is shocked when a woman names his friend from a neighbouring station as a flasher. |
Boulton and Hollis find themselves in pursuit of the same villain. |
Santini and Keane investigate a mysterious assault. |
Rawton and Deakin investigate the mysterious disappearance of a woman who has been campaigning to… |
Tosh Lines and June Ackland investigate the death of an old acquaintance. |
Harker rushes to the aid of a woman in danger, but gets himself into trouble over his use of CS… |
Hollis goes from a hero to a laughingstock when he arrests a notorious cat burglar before receiving… |
Hollis is due to collect his commendation, but his colleagues know he doesn't deserve one. |
Page is shocked when a man shows up at the front desk armed with a gun, claiming to have shot a man… |
Cryer re-opens an unsolved case in response to an attempted suicide. |
Boulton suspects that Hollis is involved in a series of burglaries. |
Garfield teams up with an attractive young journalist when the wreckage of a World War II Spitfire… |
Datta pairs with Quinnan to investigate a case of domestic abuse, and receives a surprise offer… |
Harker and Keane's failure to properly search a prisoner leads to them being held at gunpoint in… |
Skase and Rawton investigate a woman's claims that she is being harassed by a former lover. |
Boyden and Page investigate a death from asphyxiation and try to establish whether the paving stone… |
Beech and Carver investigate the theft of a grandfather clock. |
Page is on top of the world as she moves out of the section house and finds a boyfriend, unaware he… |
Boulton asks Page to spy on her own boyfriend. |
Feeling she has wrecked Boulton's operation, how can Page continue her relationship with Danny? |
D.S. Greig's tenure runs out. |
Garfield and Quinnan fear for the safety of a boxer who has disappeared, abandoning his young son. |
Hollis suggests using an old caravan as a mobile police station. |
Hagen and Harker have to contend with an unreliable witness. |
McCann and Santini fall out over a vicious assault on a black youth. |
Boulton is kidnapped by an aggrieved ex-con. |
Skase and Daly investigate an assault outside a gay club, but a key witness is reluctant to come… |
New W.P.C. Rosie Fox is partnered with P.C. Eddie Santini to investigate when the body of a junkie… |
P.C. Santini tries to apologize to W.P.C. Fox for going too far against her wishes the night before… |
W.P.C. Fox takes the day off with a migraine but turns up for the relief's paintball charity… |
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… |
PC Tony Stamp attends the funeral of Simon Attwell, the pedestrian he killed driving the area car,… |
Poor old Tony - he's in the dock! On the day of Stamp's trial, Quinnan is called by the prosecution… |
Stamp's future hangs in the balance as he awaits his disciplinary hearing. Beech encounters an old… |
It's Stamp's first day back in the area car - but will things go smoothly after all his problems? |
Sun Hill has a new WDC - Kerry Holmes. Unfortunately, she is Partnered with John Boulton. Oh dear! |
DS Boulton and DC Carver travel up to Manchester on the trail of a suspect. Getting into trouble… |
Stand by for a shock - Burnside is back in Sun Hill - in handcuffs! Lock up the petty cash! |
PC Santini is first on the scene of a serious car accident, and becomes a bit of a local hero when… |
Skase calls in sick so he can moonlight as a bodyguard. He is charged with providing protection for… |
When Meadows and Conway are both up for promotion against each other, there are both some comic and… |
Holmes investigates when a woman is attacked in her flat and left for dead in a particularly… |
Cryer attends the scene when a prostitute is slashed across the face with a machete and… |
Skase attends the scene of a fire at a 'sex cinema' club, where a reportedly angry punter set… |
Meadows asks Deakin to have more of a 'hands-on' approach after a row erupts between Beech and… |
Cheif Superintendent Brownlow attempts to solve a previoulsy unsolved jewellery robbery with the… |
PC Quinnan and DC Kerry Holmes try to track down a mysterious opera singer connected with a shady… |
Inspector Monroe heads an investigation into an abduction which leads him into conflict within the… |
Proctor and Lennox compete to take on the case of an abducted baby, but Lennox seems doomed to fail… |
Holmes and Boulton investigate the latest in a long line of arson attacks. |
Holmes, Hagen and Ashton become embroiled in a baby abduction from his hospital bed. The baby taken… |
Burnside arrives at Sun Hill with a well-known villain in tow - convicted child sex offender Carl… |
Explosive stuff from Sun Hill as a bomb in the park is a bomb too many. But where are the other… |
Rawton goes undercover as a lonely heart to trace a killer preying on vulnerable women |
Beech is approached by gangster Jimmy Smith for a favour after his house is ransacked. However,… |
Daly and Rawton go undercover as the landlord and landlady of a local pub while investigating a… |
Quinnan investigates when his vet is forced to treat a dog that has been injected with heroin.… |
Santini and Page investigates when a young girl is knocked down in a hit-and-run incident. Santini… |
Fun and games at Sun Hill in this Christmas special. P.C. Ashton and P.C. Harker bring an unwelcome… |