List of New Tricks episodes

After an attempt to rescue a kidnap victim goes horribly wrong, Supt. Sandra Pullman, the officer in charge who shot a dog during the raid, is reassigned. DAC Donald Bevan puts her in charge of UCOS, a new unit focusing on unsolved cases. There are no resources available, but Sandra is authorized to hire retired detectives and turns to her mentor, Jack Halford, to help her assemble a team. Together, they interview a number of ex-policemen and settle on Brian Lane, a reformed alcoholic who retired after a prisoner in his custody died, and Gerry Standing, an "old-school cop" with a reputation within the force for mixing with criminals and who won't hesitate to cut corners if it will get him a result. Their first case is the murder of a nightclub waitress in 1981 when the accused, Roddy Wringer, is released after 21 years in prison when one of the officers on his case is found to have been corrupt. Bevan is convinced Wringer is guilty and makes it clear that he expects Sandra to prove that. As the investigation progresses, however, it appears that Wringer may not have committed the murder that put him in jail and that the investigating officer knew that but withheld evidence.

First Appearance of Brian Lane, Jack Halford, Sandra Pullman and Gerry Standing

When a series of guns are discovered in a diving operation, the team open the case of a murdered policewoman when it is revealed that one gun, amongst a series of replicas, is the weapon that was used to kill her. The team suspect that a stalker, who was seen in the area at the time, is responsible for the killing, but when DNA evidence reveals that the same gun was used in an armed robbery six months previously, a web of lies involving a faked robbery and a gang of money laundering thieves is exposed.

A fake painting is discovered in the Queen's art collection. The investigation swiftly reveals a trail of frauds and suspicious deaths. The team find out who originally forged the painting, but discover he died in 1978. They uncover a link between the forger and an art dealer who also died in 1978. They ultimately find out that a criminal who unknowingly bought one of the fake paintings is responsible for trying to kill the forger, killing the dealer and for forcing the royal curator to steal the real painting to replace his forgery.

The murder outside a nuclear base in 1984 of Josh Livesey, a peace protester, is re-examined after Frank Fox, a fellow protester, is convicted of another killing. When Brian and Jack interview Fox, he fails to shed any new light on the situation, so Gerry and Sandra go in search of the other protesters who were present at the time. The team wonder if the murder could have been an assassination carried out by Special Branch. After discovering that one of the protesters was actually a mole for Special Branch, old secrets begin to unravel and the former protesters confront one another resulting in the identity of the murder among them being exposed.

Twenty years after his murder, the case of a ten-year-old child found dead on a golf course is re-opened. The only suspect at the time, Ken Roger, committed suicide at the age of 17 after he was imprisoned during questioning over the killing. The team first attempt to chase up the investigators from the original investigation – and one, Diane Loveless – claims that she believed in Roger's innocence. The team then carry out DNA evidence, only to discover that the saliva left by the murder did not belong to Roger, and that he killed himself despite the fact he was innocent. With fresh evidence, the team must uncover the 20-year-old secrets that kept the police from discovering the truth.

An old case, originally investigated by Brian during his time as a PC, resurfaces. The case, in which a young woman and her three-year-old child disappeared, was deemed a general missing persons case – however, upon investigation, Brian discovers that two similar disappearances occurred on the same date. The team believe that a man, Eric Grant, who came on to one of the women at a party, is responsible. And when the personal possessions of another of the missing women are found underneath his front room floor, the team believe they have finally found their man. However, the case takes an unexpected turn when one of the missing women is found to be alive, and living in Ireland – with the son of another of the missing women.

In an attempt to make contact with his late wife Mary, Jack goes to see a clairvoyant. During his séance, he is contacted by a 17-year-old girl, who was murdered in a shipping container in 1982. Jack then decides to re-open the case, as her killer was never brought to justice. Brian and Gerry suspect a medium who was involved in the original investigation, claiming he had information about the girl he discovered through the paranormal. When it is revealed the girl faked her abduction to get her parents' attention, the team coach the medium into revealing just what happened.

Final appearance of Chiké Okonkwo as PC Izzy Clarke and Nicholas Day as DAC Donald Bevan

The UCOS team have a new boss, DAC Robert Strickland, who ask them to investigate the death of a famous barrister found trussed up in his car 20 years earlier. A now retired and much respected detective famous for always getting his man didn't get a result, so can the team succeed where he failed? Pullman digs for dirt and discovers from an old call girl that the barrister had very odd sexual penchant. Meanwhile, Gerry and Brian clash when they suspect the members of UCOS are paid by how superior their ranks within the force are.

First appearance of Anthony Calf as DAC Robert Strickland

When an ex-con, who has since found religion, owns up to several race attacks he committed many years ago, UCOS take to the streets of Southall to try and track down the attacker of a young Asian woman, Shivani Das, left lying in a coma after a vicious beating. Young Asian officer Pushkar Guha is drafted in to help out, and forms an unlikely alliance with Gerry. Whilst Brian chases a private detective for information and Jack tries to help a desperate husband, Pullman uncovers secrets within two families, which leave the team with a handful of people who wanted rid of Shivani. But just when the team think they have a result, a gruesome discovery is made, leaving UCOS with, potentially, two murder cases.

UCOS re-investigate a bungled murder case where the body of a young girl was misidentified. Hannah Taylor was abducted and presumed dead, but UCOS discover that she's still alive and claiming she simply ran away from her abusive mother. When Pullman attempts to get to the bottom of it, the case threatens to have a profound impact on UCOS. During the investigation, Gerry is forced to work on loan with the murder squad, where he gets involved in a childish feud with a DI.

Pullman and the team are approached by a tabloid newspaper editor, claiming that a world famous celebrity chef called Kitty Campbell callously murdered her husband forty years ago. Is the story pure fantasy or does her squeaky clean public image mask a terrible secret? Meanwhile, Brian discovers just how dependent he is on his wife when Esther falls ill.

When an old friend of Jack's brings the team a priceless red diamond, they find themselves re-investigating a multimillion pound jewellery heist with the Spitz family at its heart. But in order to get to the heart of the diamond trade, Sandra and Gerry must pose as an unlikely couple.

When Gerry loses a poker game to bookie Michael Jacobs, he finds out that he owes him a sum of £10,000. However, Jacobs offers him a chance to clear his debt, by finding out who killed his father Joe, who was killed during a mugging outside Walthamstow Stadium in 1983.

When the team investigates the case of two boys abducted from a fishing lake in 1979, Brian believes that there could be a link to a set of recent kidnappings around the M25.

The team are set their toughest challenge yet – discovering the identity of a murder victim from just her torso. With the help of pathologist Professor Ian "Reinald " Mears, a man who makes even Brian look normal, the team get on the trail of a devious killer who believes his gruesome crime will never be solved. Meanwhile, Gerry is driven mad when he gives up gambling, and every horse he would have bet on wins. Fed up with his luck, he decides to have a wager with Strickland on the outcome of the case.

Pullman is forced to re-investigate a case that has always haunted her. Nancy Murray, a suburban housewife with a seemingly perfect life, lost control of her car and plunged through a restaurant window, dying instantly. As the UCOS team start to uncover the shocking secrets that Nancy was hiding, it soon becomes clear that her death came down to more than dangerous driving. In the end, Pullman will be left questioning her own judgment. Meanwhile, Gerry is not happy when ex-wife and his on/off lover Jayne tells him she is getting married – and accidentally proposes himself! Elsewhere, Pullman tries to improve her social life by organizing a dinner party. But the evening is a disaster.

With the recent release of Cabinet papers under the 30-year rule, Jack pushes to reopen the investigation into the death of Joe Walsh, a left-wing union leader. His body was fished out of the Thames in the mid-1970s and his death put down to suicide, but it was clear that the Cabinet wanted his antics stopped, and Jack wonders if someone might have taken those wishes a little too seriously. There were rumours that Walsh had fiddled the union books, and several of his contemporaries are convinced he was disposed of by MI5. If that wasn't enough for UCOS to handle, Brian stops taking his medication, and his reckless actions threaten to have severe consequences for the rest of the UCOS team and jeopardises their chance of cracking the case.

The team revive a 30-year-old investigation into animal cruelty when a dog is found butchered on Hampstead Heath. The original investigation focused on John Fletcher, who was the press officer for The Human Liberation Front, an organization that was set up to counter the animal rights movement but no longer in existence. They seek advice from James Farlow, the animal control officer at the time, but have few leads. They determine that the killer may actually have wanted to harvest the animal's vital organs. During the investigation, Brian is devastated when his beloved dog dies, prompting the team to get him another. Meanwhile, Jack is feeling ill and is hospitalised with some unknown ailment, maybe it is connected to his new friendship with James Farlow.

The vicious criminal Chopper Hadley returns to England to bury his father. Jack is viciously intimidated after being tricked into attending the funeral. Brian is sent undercover with a green officer to investigate Hadley for killing one of Jack's informants, but it's Gerry who gets into trouble when he runs into an old partner.

The death of Craig Rossiter, a local librarian, is reinvestigated when a woman insists it was because of witchcraft.

When a former police informant returns to the country after 17 years on the run, he reveals information to Gerry about a bank robbery, which left a cashier dead. The evidence points to Ray Cook, a legendary criminal who has since written a book and become a prime time celebrity.

The battle between two families in the business of selling ice cream erupts once again. UCOS discovers most of their conflict has been exacerbated by predations of "the ice cream bandit", an armed robber whose targets were the ice cream vans of the two feuding families in the mid-1990s. Meanwhile, Gerry is having family troubles, as his youngest daughter doesn't know what to do with her life. Attempting to help, Gerry accidentally allows her to take part in an undercover drug deal, incurring the wrath of Pullman and his ex-wife Jayne.

A school arson is being reinvestigated when the young man originally convicted of the crime, Luke Hanson, turns out to have an alibi after all. However, Jack is determined to get a confession from Luke’s father, Ricky, his old nemesis, who is suspected of having killed his own brother about the same time. Jack believes Ricky Hanson set his own son up to take the fall for the arson to get him out of the way and is desperate to see him behind bars once and for all. As Jack investigates, he begins to believe that the elder Hanson may have been responsible for a tragedy closer to home. Meanwhile, Gerry receives a visit from a girl called Emily, who tells him that he may be her father. Elsewhere, Pullman receives a tempting job offer away from UCOS, whilst Brian's new hobby threatens to tempt him back into alcoholism.

Pullman prevents Jack from taking revenge against Ricky Hanson, in the process landing the whole team in hospital. With Gerry, Brian and Jack hospitalised, Pullman is forced to accept temporary help at UCOS from the super-efficient DCI Karen Hardwick, a woman who irritates her on every level. As she struggles to keep the truth behind the crash a secret from Strickland, Pullman becomes deeply suspicious that Hardwick has been recruited to spy on her. And with Jack clearly on the edge and suffering temporary memory loss since the crash, Pullman has her work cut out in trying to keep Hardwick in the dark. Threatened by a new face in the office and desperate to prove that they are still a crack team, even from a hospital bed, the boys need a case. So when their consultant, Dr Finlay McKenzie, mentions the suspicious death of a patient, Alan White, on their ward 10 years ago, they seize the opportunity to reinvestigate, hoping it will hold the team together. At the time of the original investigation, the finger of blame pointed to the doctor and nurse in charge of the ward, both of whom have long since left the hospital. But as the team delves deeper into former teacher White's past, they uncover a history of child abuse and more than one victim whose life was destroyed by White's actions. When they discover the truth, the team are left wondering who the real villain is.

Pullman's private and professional worlds clash when her mother, Grace, suffers a fall and needs care. Mother and daughter do not share a close relationship so, when Grace temporarily moves in with Sandra, sparks fly. However, the two do agree that Grace can no longer live on her own and they set about finding a suitable nursing home for her. On the surface, Whitemead seems perfect, until one of the residents, Leonard, confides that the death a year previously of another elderly resident, his fiancée Maggie Newley, was covered up and passed off as suicide. Despite hearing this, and to Sandra's dismay, Grace sets her heart on moving in. Although Strickland tells Sandra the case is not in their remit, her colleagues are determined to help Grace, and decide to do an undercover investigation on the sly. Jack reluctantly agrees to play the role of an elderly relative and manages to secure a place for himself at the home. Like a thorn in Halford's side, Gerry takes great delight in playing the concerned son visiting his old dad and, in an ironic twist, neurotic Brian Lane gets to play his doctor. It soon becomes clear that the calm façade of the home belies jealousies and petty crimes within. With Maggie's family and Leonard insisting that she would not have taken her own life, the team discover a link to her prescribed medication and that she had a love rival at the home, Pru Saunders. But would a dotty old woman really commit murder for love? Or did one of the nursing staff cross the line?

When an armoured security van is found at the bottom of a lake, a link is made to Michael Dudley who disappeared 17 years ago. Michael's disappearance coincided with the murder of Marie Sinclair. With the discovery of the van revealing that it was ransacked whilst underwater, and with Marie's murder remaining unsolved, the team decides to reopen the case. The chief suspect at the time, Marie's husband and owner of the security firm, Andrew Sinclair, continues to insist he is entirely innocent, but his story doesn't quite add up. A visit to the new owner of the security firm, Steve Palmer, doesn't provide Gerry with records he was hoping to find, but it does result in Palmer making the cash-starved Standing an offer he can't refuse. Brian looks into the dive clubs that would have had access to the lake over the years, which leads him to diving instructors Martin Viner and Trisha, but that appears to be another dead end. Frustrated by the pace of the investigation, Pullman decides to make the dive herself to take a closer look at the van. It's a risky strategy, but it pays off when she finds the murder weapon on the van and the team is able to trace it back to Sinclair. But just when they finally believe they are getting closer to solving the case, a key witness is murdered.

Jack goes to amend his will, and stumbles upon a case in which a man is contesting his aunt's will after she left all of her worldly goods to her horde of cats. With the last cat dead, the estate is once again up for grabs. The elderly woman, Dorothy Hepple, died rich and lonely ten years ago, and the death was put down to natural causes as the cats had already partially eaten her corpse. With the help of an officer from the RSPCA, Jack persuades Sandra to investigate the possibility that the cats had been deliberately locked inside to destroy the evidence. It soon becomes clear that her relatives are only interested in Dorothy's money, and are furious that the UCOS investigation has frozen Dorothy's assets, while her carer, Dale Hewson, seems more sympathetic. Hepple's neighbour, Tim Cuswell, loathed her and her cats obsessively, and lost a dog when it was apparently savaged by the cats. As UCOS discover Dorothy was surrounded by liars, Brian tries to solve problems with his dog Scampi, and Jack is faced with a difficult milestone.

UCOS re-investigate the murder of a young wages clerk in 1950 when the family of the convicted culprit, one of the last men to be hanged in Britain, claim that he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice due to police corruption. As the team reinvestigate the case, they find themselves confronted with some uncomfortable truths about how things were done in "the good old days". Their enquiries provoke the wrath of a powerful enemy who will stop at nothing, including murder, to keep his secrets safe.

When Brian's dog finds a body on a common, it turns out to be over 600 years old, and Strickland tells Sandra to focus of the upcoming audit, as the previous one was extremely embarrassing. However, when UCOS receives a phone-call demanding to know details regarding the dead body, and the widow of a dangerous gangster confesses to murder, Brian, Jack and Gerry decide to find out if there are two more bodies buried on the common. The ex-detectives soon have enough for Sandra to give them the go-ahead to keep digging, but can they go over the books at the same time?

The UCOS team reopen a 20-year-old case when a camera and film belonging to a photographic lab assistant murdered in 1987 are found in a Soho pub toilet. New evidence leads the detectives into the dark underside of the modelling world and to the door of a professional footballer. Meanwhile, Brian's erratic behaviour takes an alarming turn, and Gerry's not happy when his daughter Emily joins the team and looks to Pullman as a role model.

The team face the challenge of explaining the death of a circus ringmaster who burned to death in his caravan, leaving only his feet behind. Pullman's mother has a stroke and this event leads Sandra to start asking questions about her father, who was a serving police officer at the time of his death. Her personal quest to discover the truth takes a dark turn after a chance remark from Strickland and she is horrified to learn that her trusted team have kept things from her and that one of them might have been indirectly responsible for the breakdown of his career, which drove him to his death.

The trial of Ricky Hanson begins, and the members of UCOS are scheduled to appear as witnesses. Hanson is the man who killed Jack Halford's wife, but he's on trial for attempting to murder Jack. Hanson's barrister is clearly out to discredit each of them individually, bringing up past demons and driving one of them to the edge. While at the courthouse, they are asked by an acquaintance of Jack's, Sam Tallis, to look into the death of Ralph Wheeler, who was killed and left his fortune to a prostitute named Carrie Soper. As they look into the case, they find several possible suspects, including a solicitor, a doctor, and someone with a lengthy criminal record. In the end, the case revolves around a car accident and an organ racket. Back in court, Jack seeks justice for his wife and Gerry's past comes back to haunt him when his daughter Emily discovers the truth about her paternity.

When Jack goes AWOL after the Hanson case falls through, Sandra, Gerry and Brian are joined by Strickland's nephew James, an aspiring young copper to investigate the death of actor Michael Austin, who was shot dead during the performance of a play. The gun was loaded with blanks, but a piece of metal lodged in the barrel killed him. The death was ruled accidental at the time, but Austin's daughter Catherine has recently written a book, and new evidence in the form of a threatening note has come to light. Already a valued team member down, it looks like UCOS will lose another when Brian embraces his newfound love of the theatre. Meanwhile, Sandra is miffed when everyone forgets her birthday, so she goes on a dinner date with James Strickland.

Guest starring: Claire Bloom, Dermot Crowley, Dexter Fletcher, John Fortune, Will Kemp, Kate Magowan, Kim Thomson and Diana Weston

The UCOS team investigates the death of popular disc jockey Johnny Deacon who died in a fire when the radio station was set alight in 1998. The police knew it was arson, but were never able to find enough evidence to charge anyone. Johnny was very opinionated on air and seemed to go out of his way to be offensive at time. He also had a number of female admirers, one of whom may have been stalking him. With Jack still AWOL, Strickland puts pressure on Sandra to recruit a new member. Unsuccessful in finding him, Sandra and Gerry decide to quit rather than work with someone new. Is this the end of UCOS?

Guest starring: Kellie Bright, Gillian Raine, George Asprey, Alison Egan, Brigid Zengeni, Danny Webb and Reece Shearsmith

Gerry meets his heroes, the 70s rock band Bad Faith, when the team investigates the death of its lead guitarist, Andy Fletcher. It is over 30 years since the group split up, however, and the ageing rockers do not quite live up to the legends Gerry remembers. Andy's death was supposedly suicide in 1975. But a dying woman hints that there was rivalry within the band. Although she reported it in the original enquiry, her statement is not on file and band members seem to have something to hide. What are they – and the Met itself – trying to cover up? Meanwhile, determined to prevent UCOS from disbanding, Brian finally tracks down Jack and tries to persuade him to return.

When a senior officer is unmasked as corrupt, The UCOS are tasked with re-investigating his only unsolved crime: the death of the Chief Brewer at Felspar's Brewery, which proves to be rather intoxicating for the boys. It soon becomes apparent that the glowing reputation of the brewery in the late 1990s may have sparked a case of industrial sabotage, which spiralled into murder. For Sandra, the case has a more personal aspect as she learns some difficult truths about her dead father.

At Brian's insistence, the UCOS team investigates a bizarre case from ten years earlier where a hypnotized woman subsequently killed her husband. Although the woman, Katie Briers, was found not guilty, the magician in question, Billy Carse, had his career ruined. Carse is now dead but as Jack examines the script used to hypnotize the woman, he realizes that there were subliminal messages throughout that lead her to kill. The question is who planted the messages and why. The focus is firmly on Carse's rival, Brandon Skye. Powerful mind games hypnosis prove a dangerous mix for Brian, sending him on a destructive path. Meanwhile, a disbelieving Gerry allows himself to be hypnotized to prove it can't be done but afterward, no one will tell him what happened.

As Brian struggles to control and conceal his desire to drink again, he finds the perfect refuge in a commune at the centre of the team's investigation into the death of a university student Justin King. The case also helps Gerry face up to his relationship with Emily, who has not spoken to him since she discovered the truth about the DNA test at Ricky Hanson's trial.

Ministry of Defence spooks try to silence the UCOS team when they reinvestigate the death of British soldier Eric Trimble. Just weeks before a tour of duty in Iraq, during the First Gulf War, Trimble, along with three other squaddies, was sent to the MoD's Influenza Research Unit (IRU) to take part in a medical trial. All four went out drinking one night, but Trimble never returned. He was later found beaten to death two miles from the Unit. Brian's behaviour, meanwhile, causes concern. His new obsession is unmasking the truth.

After being pestered by his wife Esther, Brian checks himself into a rehabilitation clinic run by monks to try to cure his alcohol problem. After hearing about the unsolved death of a heroin addict there some years before, he calls in his colleagues to investigate, but there is one problem: Esther doesn't want them anywhere near him. After deciding to help anyway, Gerry goes in undercover in the guise of a sex addict to try and piece together exactly what happened.

Conspiracy theories and government cover-ups face the team when they reopen a case involving the suspected suicide of respected journalist Peter Edelmann. Halford is rattled when confronted at the funeral of a colleague by his widow, Cheryl Brooker. She plans to drag her former husband's name through the mud in order to contest his will, proving he wasn't of sound mind when he wrote her out of it. It's a question of honour and Halford is determined to protect his friend's name – even at the cost of his own reputation.

Gerry notices a man behaving suspiciously and he is quick to act and have him arrested. However, he is forced to take pity on the suspect, when he claims of information of a sighting of his wife Victoria, who apparently died in a car crash eighteen months earlier while he was working abroad. The body was identified by her sister Sarah, but it seems she was lying and she disappears. An exhumation shows the dead woman is a Turkish immigrant whom Victoria, a lawyer at a drop-in centre, was advising at the time she went missing.

Gloria Gransford, an ex-actress, draws attention to an internet-posted clip of her being assaulted in a film she made in 1990 called 'Shadow Show', after which the producer, Gloria's ex-husband Max Stone, was stabbed to death and the leading lady, Eva Roderick, disappeared. The director Don Maddox, another of Gloria's ex-husbands, is egotistical and evasive when questioned. While the only other surviving crew member from the film – who posted the clip – is found dead, and his young boyfriend goes on the run in search of Eva, who now has a new identity. When Jack and Brian are shipped out to work under Gerry's daughter Emily in the murder investigation, they soon tire of modern policing and sneak off on enquiries, but things don't go to plan when Brian winds up as negotiator in a hostage situation.

When former escort girl Alice Hill finds God and decides to confess her sins, the team find themselves reinvestigating the death of well-known timeshare magnate Dean Scott. But the case takes a remarkable twist when the team link the dead man's business partner to notorious criminal Johnny Tevis.

Emily takes a surprised Gerry and the team to a comedy club to celebrate Gerry's birthday. Racist, sexist and homophobic comedian Ray Harris isn't everyone's cup of tea. Gerry's enjoyment is certainly at odds with a group of hecklers who cause such a commotion that they are manhandled out of the gig. Somewhat affronted by their treatment, Pullman intervenes and discovers that the most vocal of the hecklers, Jo, is the niece of a political activist, Sarah Jones, who went missing with her boyfriend 25 years earlier after waging a campaign against Harris and his act. The team enter the shady world of far right extremist group the 20-4s and ultimately discover a connection to the team's nemesis, Ricky Hanson.

Team drinks on board Strickland's sailing boat are rudely interrupted by a heated argument on a neighbouring gin palace. There's drama on the high seas, as wealthy property developer Lawrence Fisher receives a drink in the face and some choice words from a young woman, before she is bundled away. Gallantly, but ill advisedly, Halford intervenes – only to uncover evidence of a brutal murder and a forced disappearance.

When the desiccated, neatly carved-up body of a butcher who disappeared more than thirty years ago is discovered, Sandra and the team to pay a visit to Smithfield meat market in London, the original murder scene. As the butcher is dead, he is unable to answer questions on why the body of a doctor was found hanging from a meat hook all those years ago at the back of his market stall. The team discover Gerry's very interesting family history – he's descended from French Huguenots and is thus tormented for being a fake cockney, much to his annoyance, and Sandra has to face up to a startling personal disclosure, that has a direct bearing on the case and also throws a whole new light on her father. For once Gerry, Brian and Jack are left completely speechless.

UCOS reinvestigates the death of a wealthy financier Douglas Anderson when a psychic tells the dead man's daughter that she needs to resolve some unfinished business on her father's behalf. Deeply sceptical of Sebastian Carter's 'gift', the team set out to prove him a fraud, but Pullman struggles to dismiss him as a con man when he reveals a conflict involving her own late father. The story's resolution depends on the use of a private residence on Heron Island on the great Barrier Reef as a hiding place for the proceeds of crime.

Brian finds the library card of cold case victim Dr Richard Symes, leading him to reinvestigate the death of the professor, who died after falling from the roof of his college three years previously. Sandra and Gerry interview Symes' widow, who believes principal Jeremy Ventham drove her husband to suicide following a conflict over teaching methods.

John Davies admits to an abduction and murder 25 years previously. Suspicious of his motives, the detectives reopen the unsolved case in an unusual attempt to prove his innocence, reinvestigating the child's disappearance while on a demonstration with his left-wing activist parents.

A recent crime is linked to two similar incidents at a chocolate factory 10 years previously, leaving the team no choice but to reopen all three cases. The detectives uncover news of an unhappy workforce, learning of an alleged suicide, and their investigation becomes even more complicated when they discover a severed finger was found in one of the company's snacks. After a visit to the doctor, Gerry decides to quit smoking, and instead of resorting to nicotine patches or gum, he enlists Sandra to help him quit.

When graffiti appears around London by an unknown person claiming to have murdered a celebrated street artist, the team reopens the four-year-old case. Originally part of a gang, the victim went solo when he received support from a wealthy art patron, leaving the detectives suspicious of his resentful former crew members. Meanwhile, Brian creates a Twitter account to chronicle the gritty life of a lawman, but his colleagues are less than thrilled by the exploits of 'Topcop999'.

When a retrospective exhibition of murdered fashion designer Ritchie Levene's work opens, the team is prompted to re-examine the eight-year-old crime. The detectives learn about his tempestuous relationships with his new spouse, personal assistant and ex-wife Sarah, who believes his brother Adrian is the killer because he had the most to gain from his death. Meanwhile, Gerry enlists Emily to help update his image, although not everyone is impressed with the results.

When serious criminal Mark Johnson was killed in a fire at London's Union club in 1996, a wall of silence among witnesses and associates plagued the investigation. With fresh information suggesting that the blaze was a targeted arson attack, UCOS reopens the case.

The team reinvestigates the 1983 abduction of 18-year-old debutante Barbara Linden-Warner, daughter of a wealthy British arms manufacturer. At the time a group of small time Irish Republican terrorists claimed responsibility, but Fintan MacEntee, a former member with political ambitions, now insists that they only got involved because of the publicity, and had no part in the kidnapping. The team must determine if MacEntee is lying, or if the ransom letters were being used to disguise another crime.

When career criminal Nick Kellogg is arrested for armed robbery carrying the gun used to murder a talented young boxer 11 years ago, UCOS is drawn into the darker side of professional boxing in a case that causes conflict and friction among the team. Brian is appalled by the casual violence of the fighting, while Gerry insists it is a pure sport. Jack, meanwhile, is prepared to use any means necessary to get to the truth, even if that means putting Kellogg's life in danger.

When the team reinvestigates a 30-year-old safety deposit robbery, they find themselves unwittingly drawn into a case involving high-level police corruption that threatens the future of UCOS.

The murder of a palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum in 2001 opens the new series. The team discovers the victim was a respected but outspoken scientist with a knack for rubbing people up the wrong way – and when it comes out he was strongly opposed to the museum's sponsorship deal with a large fuel company, the ex-cops soon have plenty of suspects.

UCOS reopens the case of an unidentified vagrant who was murdered on a tube train 15 years ago when the victim's son is discovered as a result of a DNA test. Although the team suspect the son acted in revenge for the vagrant abandoning his mother, things take a new turn when they find out the victim was best friends with an ex-soldier turned tramp, and that the son hired Roger McCue, a slippery private detective involved in another case investigated by UCOS.

DNA tests on charred remains found in 1996 lead the team to Home Office fingerprint analyst Anna King, who was brought to the UK from Albania as a child by her brother, David Celaj. Anna was adopted by a British couple, while David went to work as a police interpreter. His last assignment was to translate for a witness in a murder case against a notorious Albanian criminal.

In 2009 market trader Kathy Green died after drinking drugged coffee. The UCOS team suspects a link with Anthony Gunnell, a man who raped women after doping them with coffee from his refreshment van. As the team try and fail to pin Gunnell down, they learn that Kathy had an illegitimate daughter who was adopted and whose attempted reconciliation with her mother went badly.

Psychologist Samantha Gerson comes to UCOS to conduct a study of older men in the workplace. She asks the team to investigate the hit-and-run accident that left her brother Darren Gerson with a brain injury and memory loss. Darren was working as a bicycle courier and he believes that he was targeted for a package he was carrying.

Sandra's old flame DCI Larson, head of the Met's arts and antiques squad, asks the team to reinvestigate the murder of antiques dealer Mal Baxter. His death was originally thought to be the result of a burglary gone wrong, but new evidence suggests Baxter was a police informant while conducting underhanded deals.

A woman is sent anonymous emails from someone claiming to know what happened to her husband Phillip Mackenna, a prominent scientist at UCL, working on cold fusion, who disappeared while on a train to Paris. As the team investigates, DAC Strickland receives a warning from Whitehall.

As part of his initiation into a motorbike gang called The Braves, Reece Chapman plans to murder a member of the rival gang he believes killed his father Eddie, the former leader of The Braves. Desperate to stop Reece, his girlfriend Stephanie Parr turns to UCOS for help in solving Eddie's murder to prove he's targeting the wrong man. As the team start to investigate, they are warned off by Stuart Barlow, an old friend of Sandra's now leading a squad tackling organised crime, as his investigation into The Braves for drug dealing is still ongoing. Before they can tell Stephanie they are not planning to go ahead, Sandra and Gerry find she has been attacked in her flat. Knowing that backing off now would make The Braves suspicious, UCOS work to solve one murder to stop another.

The investigation of the murder of Christopher Collins, who was recognised on a website about unsolved crimes by a former employer, meets a dead end until it is revealed that he was in the witness protection programme. Meanwhile, the team wonder what effect the upcoming cuts to the police force will have on UCOS.

The team reopen the case of zookeeper Zac Halsey, originally thought to have been mauled to death by a tiger, when blood evidence discovered in his lodgings suggests he was killed before he was found in the tiger's enclosure. As the case reaches a conclusion, however, dark secrets plague the UCOS team, and Strickland fears that not all of the ex-coppers are up to the job.

Jack Halford announces that he's quitting UCOS. As the team try to figure out why, they receive a case from Whitehall intelligence operative Stephen Fisher concerning an unsolved murder dating back 160 years. While the team reluctantly attempt to solve the case, Jack receives several mysterious phone calls from someone named Elizabeth Green. Though Gerry, Sandra and Brian originally suspect the caller is Jack's girlfriend, further digging from Brian reveals that Jack has in fact been in contact with the Elizabeth Green Hospice, in connection with a terminal illness.

Final regular Appearance of James Bolam as Jack Halford

In their first case without trusty colleague Jack, the team reinvestigates the disappearance of PE teacher Jason Bowe when the remains of a body are discovered near the elite public boarding school where he taught. Unfortunately, their snooping could not have come at a worse time for the staff, who are preparing to welcome a local MP to open their new computer centre – but what they do glean tells them the dead man seemed very much a loner. However, it soon turns out he got on much better with his students, forming close and inappropriate relationships with several. But could his behaviour have rattled someone enough to kill him?

Sandra reopens inquiries into the suspected suicide of a Foreign Office diplomat, whose body was found in a frozen London lake after she had suffered the personal tragedy of a miscarriage and the professional embarrassment of having a government laptop stolen from her home. The woman's fiancé and twin sister both believe her death is connected to sensitive information held on the missing computer and blame her boss for her downfall – and when Sandra clashes with the man himself, it only makes her more determined to pursue the conspiracy theory, despite Strickland's advice to tread carefully.

Retired detective Steve McAndrew arrives from Glasgow to help reinvestigate one of his original cases, when the DNA of a young girl who went missing in 2003 after a university disco is found at the scene of a petrol station robbery in Clapham. It's clear that the inquiry is a very personal one for McAndrew, and although his taste for whisky, an eye for an attractive lady, an odd hobby and some dubious methods when it comes to police work rubs the team up the wrong way, his methods soon pay dividends.

First Appearance of Denis Lawson as Steve McAndrew

The body of a missing computer expert turns up in a hospital morgue under a false name, so the team reopens the investigation into his disappearance. The dead man worked for the Metropolitan Police, giving him access to a great deal of sensitive information—added to which, he was in contact with a group of online hackers. As the seasoned detectives unravel the mystery, Brian struggles to accept Steve as the new UCOS member, forcing Esther to intervene.

The death of a teenage tennis star occupies the team when it is suggested her suicide jump two years earlier was anything but. They soon find several people with motives for her murder, including her coach Nick and agent Anthony, but it seems the one with the most to benefit from the girl's demise was her great rival Fawn Brammall – a shy and subdued player who proves difficult to question. Meanwhile, Gerry wonders if he did enough to encourage his own daughter's sporting ambitions and Brian hatches a plan to turn his dog into a movie star.

Sandra and the team unearth the ten-year-old case of a poet from Belfast, dubbed as "the most exciting poetic prospect of the new millennium", whose burnt body was found in the scrapyard of a known gangster and drug smuggler. Gerry becomes convinced the victim's links with the criminal fraternity led to his demise, and declares he’s taking an administrative role in the investigation, because he’s "allergic to poetry" – but Brian is in his element, and has a different theory – maybe the secret of his murder lies in his verse?

The detectives investigate the murder of an East German immigrant, but all they have to go on are his mysterious final words, which translate as `blue flower'. As they piece together his remarkable story, Sandra tries to gain the trust of his estranged daughter. A chance meeting with a woman whose son was killed in a road accident nearby sends the detectives in the right direction – to a recycling plant where Max had been employed to sort waste paper. It turns out that prior to the demolition of the Berlin Wall, he had connections with the Stasi, but what’s not clear is whether he was working for them – or against them.

Gerry and Steve travel to Glasgow, where a new UCOS section is being set up. While there, they agree to assist the investigation into the 1993 unsolved murder of James Soutar, the wealthy owner of a string of betting shops. Cathy Sinclair, one of the beneficiaries of the bookie's will at his death, had a care-home upbringing in common with Soutar, but she claims to have no idea who he was or why she was left £15,000. McAndrew has a personal stake in the case – the original investigating officer was corrupt cop Frank McNair, who had an affair with his wife, and their paths soon cross. The London-based officers' questions begin to unsettle someone and a campaign of victimisation against them begins, but it's a revelation from McAndrew's girlfriend Charley that reawakens a long-dormant scandal and clears the path to a solution.

Note: "Glasgow UCOS" was a back door pilot for a spin-off series that never materialized. Alun Armstrong and Amanda Redman are absent during this episode.

Strickland's Whitehall "pal" Stephen Fisher is targeted by an assassin, so the UCOS boss enlists the team to find whoever was responsible. He reveals that 30 years earlier, he and Fisher were involved in a covert MI5 operation to break into the house of a journalist believed to have information on an IRA arms deals. But with several of the original agents having died in suspicious circumstances, he believes someone is out to kill them all – and when a connection is made between a gangster and MI5, it seems the threat may be coming from within the security service itself.

Brian Lane's future at UCOS is threatened after he assaults one of the METs most successful officers at a retirement function in an act of revenge for his retirement from the force. With a team member down, it's business as usual for Sandra, Steve and Gerry after the discovery of a mysterious gun in the Thames re-opens the unsolved 1998 murder of a playboy shipping heir and a killing that leads the team to the Rock of Gibraltar. In the UK, Brian finds life without police work unbearable and defies his superiors once again by flying out to Gibraltar.

The team unlock over three decades of secrets and lies on the Rock of Gibraltar and find the link, which solves the murder of a playboy shipping heir from '98 and a young local boy from '82. With both cases solved, they return to England where Brian faces a disciplinary hearing. If he is found guilty, it will mean the end of his UCOS days.

The team investigate a 16-year-old murder of a young mum by her criminal husband that could be a miscarriage of justice following his release from prison. However, Gerry Standing, who worked on the original investigation, feels very strongly that the conviction should not be called into question. Whilst the rest of the team uncover a web of lies and corruption, Brian Lane knows his days at UCOS are numbered following his quest for justice for Anthony Kaye.

As Lane comes to terms with life after UCOS, Esther asks him to help one of her book club friends find her missing brother – but will his nose for the truth get him into further trouble? And how will his former colleagues cope without their most dogged sleuth?

Final Appearance of Alun Armstrong as Brian Lane

As recently retired cop Dan Griffin joins the UCOS team, a young woman's paternity test leads to the reopening of a notorious murder case from the seedy underworld of 1980s Soho in which the prime suspect was mysterious ex-jazz chanteuse Angela Gold. Whilst investigating, the team are rubbed up the wrong way by new recruit Dan's methods, especially Gerry, who fears for his own future at UCOS following the departure of Brian and Jack.

First Appearance of Nicholas Lyndhurst as Dan Griffin

When bloodstained clothes belonging to Simon Belgrade, missing for five years, are uncovered in Epping Forest, UCOS find themselves trying to solve the conundrum of what seems to have been the perfect vanishing act. Gerry finally faces up to a childhood fear, while Dan is a comfort to Sandra as she passes a milestone and Steve makes a big decision about his son.

When the team investigate the death of an MP's researcher and find themselves in hot pursuit of a mysterious Bosnian woman, Strickland introduces Sandra to a war crimes prosecutor who proves to be more than helpful to their case.

Sandra seizes the chance to solve a murder that she believes is linked to her first ever case, and the team start putting together a jigsaw puzzle of suspects from a photograph taken in a London park in the 90s. Eventually faced with increasing pressure to hand over the investigation, Sandra makes a huge decision, which is going to change UCOS forever.

Reappearance of James Bolam as Jack Halford

Final appearance of Amanda Redman as Sandra Pullman

A new regime begins at UCOS with the arrival of new boss DCI Sasha Miller. An unexploded World War II bomb is unearthed on an urban allotment in west London, dredging up a long-hidden murder weapon, and the team find themselves investigating a ritualistic killing of an Italian immigrant from 25 years ago. During the investigation, Gerry struggles to accept his new boss, and adamant that she is not pulling her weight, threatens to quit UCOS. Can Sasha earn the respect of UCOS's longest-serving officer by cracking the case?

First appearance of Tamzin Outhwaite as Sasha Miller

Sasha is faced with a dilemma when the investigation of a corrupt senior officer calls into question the conviction of Edward Monroe – whom she believes to be guilty of murdering her old work partner. Pre-empting an appeal, UCOS must carry out preliminary investigative work for Strickland. As things begin to look like someone else could be guilty of the crime in question, can Sasha hide a key fact from the team or will she do the right thing? Meanwhile, Steve is forced to finally face his past when his long-lost son Stewie unexpectedly turns up looking for a place to stay. However, father and son struggle to strike up a bond.

As Sasha is forced to work alongside her ex-husband, Gerry returns to his roots in Bermondsey for his youngest daughter's wedding. He is thrown into a case involving the possible murder of an architecture student who is also the grandson of an old friend who has just been released from prison. Back at UCOS, Danny puts the body language skills he has learnt on an FBI course to the test.

the team investigate the unsolved killing of brilliant young doctor Lydia Dryden in a case that takes them into the two very different worlds of public and private medicine. Danny is bereft when daughter Holly leaves home to start university, so his UCOS colleagues throw some fun distractions his way. And he might even be about to acquire a pet.

The team looks into the death of a terrorist 30 years previously after his daughter receives an anonymous note claiming he was murdered – an investigation that takes them right back to the Greenham Common anti-nuclear protests. Meanwhile, Sasha agrees to go for dinner with her ex-husband Ned, which he is hoping will lead to a reconciliation.

When an 80-year-old woman with dementia walks into a South London police station and asks to report a murder, the team find themselves investigating the disappearance of police officer Jimmy Hargreaves, who went missing in 1956. Steve's teenage son Stewie is arrested for buying weed and Steve must come face to face with his ex-wife Tricia, whom he hasn’t seen for ten years.

When the body of film critic Oliver Houghton is found in the Thames (at the point where the Fleet flows into it) Sasha Miller is forced to work alongside her ex-husband Ned Hancock again. UCOS delves into the victim's past and explores his link to the murder of a conceptual artist 20 years previously, while Hancock's knowledge of London's hidden past proves invaluable when a piece of occult footage from the 1970s plunges the investigators into the macabre world of human sacrifice.

When a Roman sword is discovered with traces of blood on it, the DNA is linked to an unidentified, headless corpse found near Heathrow in March 2008. The team search a lock-up belonging to the owner of the sword, a body builder called Mark Rix who died of a suspected heart attack, also in 2008. When they find the missing head they start looking for connections between the original murder and Rix’s death. Dan Griffin is told his wife Sarah might be discharged from a secure hospital, following a break down several years earlier. This seems like a cruel irony when he’s starting to develop feelings for colleague Fiona Kennedy – the forensic anthropologist working with them on their current case.

When a Turkish girl working illegally in Dalston is arrested, UCOS want to talk to her about the unsolved murder of pub landlord Richard Gibson, who died in a fire at his pub The Gladstone in 2009. Richard's dire financial situation led the police at the time to mark the fire down as suspected arson and his death as suicide. What UCOS want to know is why Ayse, his live-in barmaid, disappeared without a trace on the same night.

While investigating the murder of 55-year-old interpreter Agnes Bradley, the UCOS team get a partial DNA match from a teenage boy who once threw a brick onto a motorway as a dare. They interview the boy to see if one of his male relations could be the murderer, only to discover that his mother was raped and they could be looking for a rapist-turned-murderer. Agnes was a chess enthusiast so Gerry Standing and Steve McAndrew interview members of her local club while Sasha Miller and Strickland investigate leads from Agnes’s working life, where they meet a Chilean diplomat with a possible axe to grind. Steve McAndrew’s elderly father is dying, so he brings him to a London hospice for his last days.

When cold-crime enthusiast Ellen Barker is murdered, a photo of Dan Griffin is found at her house. Griffin is interviewed by the murder team, who realise that Ellen was a friend of his. The senior investigating officer assigned to Ellen’s murder investigation is DCI Grace Mackie, one of Sasha Miller’s contemporaries from their Hendon training. Griffin is convinced that the last case Ellen was looking at could lead to her killer, and heads to Minchampton, where a woman called Sally Tunstall was murdered 25 years ago by local lad Dougie Haynes.

When a dug-up time capsule is found to contain a cassette tape made by murdered schoolgirl Amy Taskerland, UCOS are assigned to the case. Sixteen-year-old Amy was murdered on the night of her school disco in 1983. The team interview Amy’s best friend Harriet as well as the current headmaster Mr Hines, who had been her teacher. Dan Griffin analyses the strange mix of music and poetry on the tape and discovers that Amy was using words from a speech written in secret for the Queen and only intended for broadcast in the event of a nuclear war. UCOS must find out how this troubled schoolgirl got hold of it in 1983 and whether her possession of this incendiary state secret led to her murder. The team becomes aware that Robert Strickland is keeping his own secret from them – he seems troubled and keeps joining them in the pub. Gerry goes on his future son-in-law's stag night and Miller has her first real romance since the divorce from Ned.

Gerry is spooked by the discovery of UCOS's latest victim: his old DCI, whose body has lain untouched under a basement for 30 years. As deep-rooted accusations of police corruption and underhand dealings begin to surface, Gerry has to face up to some skeletons in his own closet, and it's a race against time for the team to help before his murky past catches up with him. While he's supposed to be babysitting his grandson, Gerry is convinced only he holds the key to the investigation and leaves the team quite literally holding the baby as he goes AWOL in a bid to uncover the truth.

With UCOS coming under fire and Strickland in a difficult position, Gerry is forced to go on the run with Danny's help, whilst Steve, Sasha and Fiona search for the proof they need to prove his innocence – despite Gerry remaining tight-lipped about his involvement with dodgy dealings in his old unit. The stakes are higher than ever as the team goes after a big crime family, and it's those closest to Gerry who face the consequences of his actions.

Final Appearance of Dennis Waterman as Gerry Standing

First Appearance of Larry Lamb as Ted Case

Danny and Steve ‘welcome’ new boss Ted Case into the UCOS office in Sasha’s absence, but for all his wealth of experience, keen eye for detail and a killer instinct for detecting liars, they aren’t quite as sold on his superstitious quirks. While busy trying to work one another out, the team must tread carefully in the case of a brutally murdered vicar who received racist hate mail in the lead up to his death. With emotions running high it’s up to Ted to pull together his new unit and keep the peace within a dangerously fractured family in one of UCOS’ most sensitive cases yet. Elsewhere, a nervous Danny ends up bloodier than Fiona’s Beef Wellington when her parents come for dinner – while Steve sharpens up for his new boss.

Note: Tamzin Outhwaite is absent during this episode.

Ted leads an investigation into the apparent suicide of a city trader, embroiled in the cut throat world of London’s financial district back in the eighties. With Ted capitalizing on his acting talents, the team delve deeper into the macho fraternity of ‘the wolfpack’ and soon find a darker side to the debauchery, secret hand signals and all-nighters that bonded the traders together – including a strict hierarchy that might just be worth killing for. Sasha’s nose is put out of joint when she returns to a different kind of boy’s club and Steve tries to learn some trade secrets on the job, amid his own financial crisis.

With Sasha back on fighting form, UCOS investigate the death of a talented cricket prodigy, a star of the pitch and apple of his father's eye, yet loathed by his teammates. The death was recorded as misadventure but with new evidence pointing to infighting, over-zealous autograph hunters and extramarital affairs, UCOS are soon bowled over by the list of potential murder suspects. Meanwhile, wise to Steve's monetary problems, Danny appoints himself as his personal financial adviser.

While Sasha is occupied with an intensive training course, the boys’ investigations take them to a lookalike agency, where their top two acts were found dead in an apparent double suicide 13 years ago. In an industry reliant on the art of the illusion and their suspects intent on giving them the run-around, Ted, Steve and Danny are convinced there’s more to this case than first meets the eye. Steve can’t contain his excitement when their enquiries take them to the door of one of his football heroes – but his glee is short-lived when he remembers an expensive promised birthday gift. Sasha tries to instill discipline in her son Alex, and Danny and Fiona end up in a stalemate over their living situation.

UCOS investigate the murder of a private investigator, who is stabbed through the heart in a suspected robbery gone wrong. The answers may well lie with the victim’s last three cases, but it’ll take the whole team’s expertise to crack the codes within his mysterious notebook. The movements of a rare collectable stamp ‘Russian Cousin’ could hold the key to the whole investigation – if only UCOS could track it down. Steve rents out his flat to a pair of demanding and hot-tempered Italians while Ted is determined to avoid a trip to the doctor for fear of coming face to face with his own mortality.

A skeleton uncovered in the foundations of a swimming pool is identified as Cheryl – a young, pretty lottery winner reported missing 17 years ago. UCOS’s prime suspects are her fellow quiz team mates, who won their lucky windfall as part of a syndicate. But while some have put their money to good use, the victim’s boyfriend has fallen on hard times and the media remain convinced he is the prime suspect in her murder. As allegations of affairs, fights and betrayal begin to surface, the team are left to ponder whether money really is the root of all evil. Sasha is set for a night in studying, but the boys have different plans and plot to set her up with Fiona’s colleague Adam.

A blood-stained bust is uncovered during some reconstruction work in a cemetery, pointing UCOS to the murder of an alternative medicine practitioner, bludgeoned to death seven years ago. The evidence leads to the pioneering but controversial world of cryopreservation – the practice of keeping ‘clinically dead’ patients frozen in time to extend their life cycle. In a sensitive case, with the watchful eye of their bosses upon them, Sasha is determined that her team won’t put a foot wrong. But with suspects constantly running rings around them and the sobering possibility that two perpetrators are still at large, UCOS must go out on a limb if they are to unlock their most difficult cold case yet. Fiona is offered a job too good to be true in Aberdeen, leaving Danny bereft at the thought of losing her. Ted is devastated when he realises he’s lost his lucky cigarette case, and Sasha has an interesting offer from the notoriously cut-throat Assistant Commissioner Cynthia Kline.

UCOS is threatened with closure following their perceived mishandling of the Henway case. Their final case begins with the bloody murder of a political activist 15 years ago at The Madhouse – a hub for those suffering from mental health issues. Just as the team are getting somewhere, the order comes from above for Ted, Danny and Steve to cease the investigation. But in true UCOS spirit, the boys throw away the rulebook and uncover something much bigger than just a straight forward murder, involving some top officials, a multinational drugs company and signs of a massive cover up. Danny and Fiona’s relationship hangs in the balance as she must give an answer to the job offer in Aberdeen and Sasha is pulled into a game of political cat and mouse as she realises UCOS are merely puppets in Cynthia’s game.

Final appearance of Larry Lamb as Ted Case, Denis Lawson as Steve McAndrew, Nicholas Lyndhurst as Dan Griffin and Tamzin Outhwaite as Sasha Miller