List of Blue Murder (UK TV series) episodes

This article is about the British TV series. For the episodes of Canadian series of the same name, see List of Blue Murder episodes.

"Note to Readers: The air dates are not to be trusted, they are not confirmed"

Blue Murder is a British television drama. Five series were broadcast between 2003 and 2009.

Series overview

	Number of episodes	First airdate	Last airdate	DVD release (R2)	DVD release (R1)
1	2	18 May 2003	19 May 2003	18 October 2004^[1]	12 June 2007^[2]
2	4	6 September 2004	27 September 2004	18 October 2004^[1]	12 June 2007^[2]
3	4	20 October 2006	10 November 2006	TBA	29 January 2008^[3]
4	3	3 December 2007	17 December 2007	TBA	12 August 2008^[4]
5	6	7 September 2009	12 October 2009	19 October 2009^[5]	30 June 2009^[6]

Series 1: 2003

Blue Murder began as two 90-minute (advertisements included) episodes^[7]^[8] first shown in May 2003, which gained enough viewers for a full series. This 2-part pilot later became known as series one and released as such on dvd in the UK.

Series No.	Season No.	Title	Written by	Directed by	Guest artist(s)	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
1	1	"Cry Me a River: Part 1"	Cath Staincliffe	Paul Wroblewski	Susan Cookson, Gillian Kearney, David Schofield, Tim Barlow, Mary Healey	18 May 2003 (2003-05-18)	8.90
Janine Lewis, who is forced to put her family concerns aside to investigate the murder of a deputy headmaster found disemboweled on his allotment. A number of suspects and witnesses are soon identified, but tension soon rises in the ranks and Lewis finds herself risking mutiny by the officers under her command. To make matters worse, her troublesome children prove a headache. With three suspects and just 48 hours to crack the case, Janine's professional future looks bleak.
2	2	"Cry Me a River: Part 2"	Cath Staincliffe	Paul Wroblewski	Susan Cookson, Gillian Kearney, David Schofield	19 May 2003 (2003-05-19)	8.72
The pressure is piled on still more as Janine's domestic situation continues to deteriorate: first her eldest son Michael gets into serious trouble at school, then her youngest, Tom, suffers an asthma attack. With ex-husband Pete's bitter accusations of neglect ringing in her ears, the troubled DCI visits Lesley Tulley to inform her that Dean Hendrix has been arrested for the crime: but a phone call from Richard leads to the chilling realisation that her own life is in danger.

Series 2: 2004

Series 2 was broadcast in 2004, with four episodes

Series No.	Season No.	Title	Written by	Directed by	Guest artist(s)	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
3	1	"Hit and Run"	Cath Staincliffe	Pip Broughton	Vinette Robinson, David Schofield	6 September 2004 (2004-09-06)	7.39 million
Janine Lewis, who fears she will struggle to balance her responsibilities as she returns to work following maternity leave. However, she soon gets back into the swing of things as she investigates the murder of a lap-dancer – who just happened to work for a man involved in a hit-and-run accident.
4	2	"Up In Smoke"	John Fay	Alex Pillai	Geoff Francis, David Schofield, Jennifer Hennessy, Lee Ingleby, Tim Barlow	13 September 2004 (2004-09-13)	7.57 million
A seemingly straightforward suicide turns out to be anything but when detective Janine Lewis discovers the victim was rumoured to be having an affair – and someone else's body was cremated with hers at her funeral. Both her husband and her suspected lover have disappeared without trace, and as the investigation goes on, things become increasingly complicated.
5	3	"Fragile Relations"	Matthew Hall	Pip Broughton	David Schofield, Roshan Seth, Renu Setna	20 September 2004 (2004-09-20)	6.31
Janine ventures into the minefield of race relations when a well-respected mullah is killed in an arson attack. Suspicion immediately falls on the local representative of the far-right One Britain party, but further investigations raise the alarming possibility that the real culprit could be lurking within the Muslim community.
6	4	"Lonely"	Jeff Povey	Alex Pillai	Liz White, Dean Andrews, Maggie O'Neill	27 September 2004 (2004-09-27)	6.62
Pete puts pressure on Janine for a divorce as she grapples with the case of a murdered childminder in which the only witness is an autistic 12-year-old who is unable to communicate with anyone. New detective Vicki Swift goes undercover at a speed dating evening and finds her life in danger until Richard bails her out, and an inspirational flash of feminine intuition finally gives the team a lead.

Series 3: 2006

A third series of Blue Murder was commissioned to be shown in 2006, containing four episodes.

Series No.	Season No.	Title	Written by	Directed by	Guest artist(s)	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
7	1	"Steady Eddie"	Roy Mitchell & Jeff Povey	Suri Krishnamma	Lauren Drummond, Jamie Lomas, Philip McGinley, Andrew Dunn, Jack Ellis	20 October 2006 (2006-10-20)	6.85
Janine Lewis suffers a close shave when a colleague is murdered just metres away from where she and DI Richard Mayne are standing. The pair must come to terms with the shocking encounter as they delve further into the case, uncovering a connection between a hit-and-run and an attempted jewellery robbery that went horribly wrong.
8	2	"Make Believe"	Cath Staincliffe	Menhaj Huda	Kenny Doughty, Shelley Conn, Paul Venables, Kevin Kennedy	27 October 2006 (2006-10-27)	7.03
A builder finds the body of a three-year-old child in a drainage tunnel between two houses and the father soon falls under suspicion. It's a particularly tough case for mother-of-four Janine, who is caught up in the recriminations of the grieving parents – especially when it's learned that the dead child is not who they thought.
9	3	"The Spartacus Thing"	John Fay	Suri Krishnamma	Tom Bell, Rachel Davies, Ace Bhatti, John McArdle, Louise Delamere, Anthony Bessick	3 November 2006 (2006-11-03)	6.24
Janine investigates when a man recently released from prison is found strangled with a dog chain. It appears to be an open-and-shut case when Vinny McAteer admits killing his son-in-law, but the detective, harassed by the arrival of new boss Det Supt Louise Hogg, soon finds all the dead man's in-laws are queuing up to confess individually to the crime.
10	4	"In Deep"	Colin MacDonald	Menhaj Huda	Jeremy Sheffield, Ciaran Griffiths, Rachel Davies, Ace Bhatti	10 November 2006 (2006-11-10)	6.27
An engraved hip flask found beside human remains in a lake leads Janine to a once successful architect who is now confined to an institution. The ensuing investigation uncovers male rivalries that indicate the man may have good reason to hide his fear behind the pretence of madness.

Series 4: 2007

Series Four was broadcast in 2007; there were 3 episodes in the series.

Series No.	Season No.	Title	Written by	Directed by	Guest artist(s)	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
11	1	"Not a Matter of Life and Death"	Neil Jones	Graham Theakston	Kate Ford, Thomas Craig, Luke Bailey	3 December 2007 (2007-12-03)	7.24
Janine asks Richard to prioritise the case of a promising young footballer who was killed while out celebrating his birthday with friends, but is annoyed to find his mind seems elsewhere. She soon finds herself investigating why her colleague is so distracted as well as attempting to solve the murder.
12	2	"Desperate Measures"	Cath Staincliffe	Graham Theakston	Paula Wilcox, Philip Whitchurch, Simon Williams	10 December 2007 (2007-12-10)	6.71
Janine investigates the death of a family doctor, and when one of his colleagues disappears shortly afterwards she starts to believe all of the surgery's staff may be in danger. However, startling revelations about the GP's personal and professional life throw her suspicions into doubt.
13	3	"Crisis Management"	Elizabeth-Anne Wheal	Juliet May	Jill Halfpenny, Richard Fleeshman, Lucy Gaskell, Neil Fitzmaurice, Katy Cavanagh	17 December 2007 (2007-12-17)	6.60
Janine is called in when an army battalion is rocked by the murder of a NCO, but finds herself falling for the officer who sought her out to aid the investigation, and it falls to Richard to ensure her private and professional lives do not become too entangled.

Series 5: 2009

Series Five was broadcast in 2009, there are 6 episodes in the series. This series switched to hourly format, from one hour and half.

Series No.	Season No.	Title	Written by	Directed by	Guest artist(s)	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
14	1	"Having It All"	Steve Griffiths	David Drury	Siobhan Finneran, Chris Gascoyne	7 September 2009 (2009-09-07)	5.42
Janine investigates into the murder of a cheerleading coach. Initial suspicion falls on the victim's husband, whose bloodied clothes are found near the crime scene, but the discovery of an affair suggests someone else may have had a motive.
15	2	"Inside"	Neil Jones	Susan Tully	Geoff Breton, Mark Benton, Lee Boardman, Mary Jo Randle	14 September 2009 (2009-09-14)	4.83
Richard puts his life at risk by going undercover in a prison to find out information about the murder of a convicted child killer. Meanwhile, Janine finds herself embroiled in a personal crisis when her son Michael causes a car crash that leaves another driver seriously injured.
16	3	"Tooth and Claw"	Cath Staincliffe	Susan Tully	Sylvia Syms, Anthony Flanagan	21 September 2009 (2009-09-21)	5.35
The murder of a popular vet in the hills north of Manchester leads Janine and Richard to a farming community which is reluctant to open its doors to outsiders. Slowly the dour local characters reveal the victim's complex love life and a tale of arson and murder that leaves the worldly-wise coppers amazed. Guest starring
17	4	"This Charming Man"	Sue Odout	David Drury	Tina O'Brien, Chris Coghill, Liam Garrigan	28 September 2009 (2009-09-28)	4.96
Jack Taylor, the charismatic young singer of a local band, is found dead in his apartment. Janine and the team soon discover that Jack had a fractious relationship with just about everyone he came into contact with. The band's manager had doubts about their new album and was trying to get an ex-member back on board, and Jack's brother was not where he claimed to be that night. And was Jack two-timing his girlfriend? The case also brings Janine into conflict with her teenage daughter Ellie – a fan of the band.
18	5	"Private Sins: Part One"	Elizabeth-Anne Wheal	Juliet May	Brendan Coyle, Colin Wells, Heather Peace	5 October 2009 (2009-10-05)	5.07
Shap's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic as the team investigates the death of a private investigator, putting his career at risk when he becomes personally involved with one of the dead man's colleagues. Meanwhile, Janine decides to take time off work to confront her son's truancy.
19	6	"Private Sins: Part Two"	Elizabeth-Anne Wheal	Juliet May	Brendan Coyle, Colin Wells, Heather Peace	12 October 2009 (2009-10-12)	4.85
Following Shap's confession that he was protecting a murder suspect, the investigation goes up a gear in pursuit of the real killer, and Janine struggles to find time to make amends with son Tom.