Scott & Bailey
Detectives Janet Scott & Rachel Bailey investigate murders with Manchester Police's Major Incident Team.
Cast:Suranne Jones , Lesley Sharp , Tony Mooney , David Prosho , Amelia Bullmore , Delroy Brown , Ben Batt , Judith Barker , Harriet Waters , Nicholas Gleaves , Sean Maguire , Sally Lindsay , Pippa Haywood , Tony Pitts , Olivia Fenton , Judy Holt , Danny Webb , Liam Boyle
S1.E1 ∙ Congratulations
Angry at being dumped by married lover Nick, Manchester detective Rachel Bailey joins married colleague Janet Scott to investigate the murder, made to resemble a suicide, of Emel Yilmatz, a pregnant teen-aged Turkish girl. Somebody had sent her flowers and certainly the simple youth in the flat next door had a crush on her but her husband Gokhan was still in touch with Mana, his girlfriend prior to his arranged marriage, and Mana's embittered attitude makes her a suspect too. Whilst making an arrest Rachel is obsessed with getting revenge on Nick whilst Janet is approached by old friend Geoff to reopen a dead case.
S1.E2 ∙ Surprise
Having coerced Nick into buying her a flat Rachel discovers she is carrying his child but decides against a termination. She also successfully traps the murderer of housewife Susan Metcalfe but gets an unexpected and grisly bonus which leads to another death and another charge. Janet, dreading her wedding anniversary party, presses on with the long cold murder case of her slain school friend Veronica, though the retired officer who passes his files onto her believes she was murdered by a serial killer still at large.
S1.E3 ∙ Personal
Partly due to Rachel's ex-lover Nick Savage's ruthless courtroom cross-examination of her, his client Georgios Stelikos is found not guilty of the rape of drug addict Hannah Conway and murder of another girl but within days Stelikos is also found murdered. A hung-over and bruised Hannah is brought in for questioning but is she the killer? Rachel miscarries and also loses her flat when Nick claims it back after his wife, learning of his affair, throws him out. She moves in with Janet and her family and takes an interest in the case of Veronica.
S1.E4 ∙ Execution
Rachel is carpeted by Gill, the inspector, who feels that her affair with Savage was partly responsible for the Stelikos case collapsing. Then nervous Janice Jadzowski reports the disappearance of work colleague Gary Birkinshaw, whom she believes has been killed by his ex-porn star wife Vicky and her 'lodger' Ashad Sodunke. Vicky claims that she did not report his disappearance as she believed he was in Basingstoke with his mistress. Whilst the male officers find her alluring Gill, Janet and Rachel are less convinced of her innocence and Vicky's flirtation with the camera and love of jewellery may prove them right. Sergeant Andy Roper, who once had a fling with Janet, tells her he still has feelings for her.
S1.E5 ∙ Faultlines
After Lynne Stott's body is found wrapped in bin bags on a building site the details lead Janet to believe that she is another victim of the serial killer who murdered Veronica nearly forty years earlier. Rachel meets Martine Cooper, a juror with whom Nick had an affair during a case where his client was acquitted but decides not to use it against him. Instead she follows up Janet's hunch and inadvertently puts her friend in danger as Janet comes face to face with the killer who escapes after seriously wounding her with a knife.
S1.E6 ∙ Vendetta
Three months have elapsed and Janet returns to work. Rachel is living with Nick but Janet feels he is using her to prevent her from reporting his malpractice and, after Rachel is the victim of a hit-and-run linked to a client of Nick's, tells Gill everything. Gill, despite her own problems caused by her vengeful ex-husband, decides against reporting Rachel. Ultimately not only does Janet prove herself to be a good colleague but solves a teenager's murder.
S2.E1 ∙ Loyalty
As the team investigates the gruesome death of an unknown male victim Rachel agrees to accommodate her young brother Dominic, who is homeless after being released from jail. Janet's elderly mother Dorothy moves in with her family after an operation but consistently argues with her son-in-law Adrian, who moves out. After the victim is identified as loner Darren Rigby, a man into child porn, a second body is discovered, that of married Keith Fleming. As Rachel resumes an affair with old flame Sean Nadia Hicks, the last person to see Darren alive, resists arrest but is pulled in for questioning.
S2.E2 ∙ Secrets
Nadia remains uncooperative when questioned about Liam Walsh, who used one of the victims' cash point card and another couple, Nikki Madden and Anthony Stainfield, linked to Nadia via a joyride in a stolen car, are equally evasive, as is Welsh when they are all arrested. However, when a further victim turns out to be Nadia's brother Janet persuades her to expose a gang who prey on men's sexual weaknesses. With the case closed Janet also finds herself warding off the friendly advances of Andy, who has just learned that Adrian has left her.
S2.E3 ∙ Pipe Dreams
Rachel accompanies Gill on a visit to Jeremy Leach, a man serving thirteen years for a murder on their patch. A copycat murder has taken place in Bristol, throwing doubt on the original conviction, Leach claiming the killer in both instances is Alistair Jackson, son of his solicitor who has been obsessed with the case. Gill, unlike Rachel, does not believe him, suggesting Leach is working with an ex-cell mate to incriminate Jackson and clear his own name. Then another victim is found with Jackson's DNA on the corpse, suggesting Leach's assumption is correct. With the case closed, the women return to Manchester where both have problems, Gill's errant husband wanting to return home and Rachel discovering that Dominic is a rent boy, using her flat for his business.
S2.E4 ∙ Sacred Trust
Gill is forced to work with her ex-husband when eight year old Dylan Nichols is missing after last being seen at an amusement arcade. Chief suspects are arcade employee Ryan Varney and Michael Nash, recent boyfriend of Dylan's mother, both of whom are known paedophiles. Nash is arrested and, given that he is using an assumed name, is squarely in the frame. Janet begins a relationship with Andy but feels he is moving too fast for her whilst Dominic's involvement in a car crash prevents Rachel from taking her sergeant's exam.
S2.E5 ∙ Graves
Geoff Hastings, the man who stabbed Janet, claims that he has information on further victims which he will divulge only to her but uses the interview to dig at her private life, causing her to tell Gill and Rachel about her fling with Andy - who refuses to accept that it is over. Meanwhile the team investigates the murder of young taxi driver Yusuf and it is a hunch on Rachel's part that leads to the killer and the location of Hastings' diaries containing his confessions. She is nonetheless unable to prevent Sean from organizing their wedding day without her consent.
S2.E6 ∙ Mould
Following the discovery of the corpse of middle-aged divorcee Susie Bishop the team find that she led a very racy private life. In addition to two men fighting over her she was seeing her ex-husband and having a fling with the married headmaster at the school where she worked. Only one has an alibi but when it is disproved the - surprising - identity of the killer is revealed. Gill meanwhile has to reject her ex-husband's drunken pleas for reconciliation whilst Rachel is shocked to find that Sean has been married and has a little boy - with whom she does not get on.
S2.E7 ∙ Sidelines
When teenager Leon Foster is found shot in the head the immediate assumption is that he was the victim of a gangland feud. However Janet, relegated to paper-work by a sour Andy, hears that he was involved in an under age sex party, leading her and Rachel to interview two girls from very different backgrounds. Andy eventually makes his peace with Janet, who discovers husband Adrian's good points whilst a reluctant Rachel, pushed into it by Sean, agrees to meet her estranged mother.
S2.E8 ∙ Divided Loyalties
Gill feels sorry for sweet old lady Margaret Selwyn, after her husband Colin's accidental death but, when Margaret's daughters reveal that Margaret had often spoken of killing her husband, a murder inquiry is opened. Andy gets transferred to another division after spitefully attempting to get Janet into trouble but a reconciliation with Adrian is not on the cards after he learns of his wife's affair. Meanwhile Rachel, following a drunken night out about which she can remember nothing, is the prime suspect after Nick Savage is killed. She is exonerated - but at a price - and eventually goes to see her mother.
S3.E1 ∙ Vunerable
Elderly Eunice Bevan's corpse is discovered in her house whilst her bed-ridden, ailing husband Joe lies in the room above. With no sign of forced entry it looks as if the killer was one of the Bevans' children but the only one still around is daughter Helen and she claims to have had no contact with them for thirty years. Joe however is convinced he heard Helen argue with her mother and she is arrested. Helen tells Rachel that when she was growing up the parents abused her and her siblings, one of whom committed suicide. Janet, now acting sergeant, sees that Joe is far more mobile than he claims and the police reason that one of the two must be the killer. Rachel is less sure that she did the right thing in marrying Sean and can also do without the reappearance of her loud, drunken mother Sharon.
S3.E2 ∙ Things We Do For Love
As they pursue estate agent Adam Armitage who accidentally killed a homeless man by shoving him, Rachel confesses to Janet that she had sex with a stranger the night before and that she bitterly regrets marrying Sean. When Dominic killed Nick Rachel was implicated and, though exonerated, had to face a tribunal where Gill spoke up for her. Rachel was feeling down at the time and to marry Sean seemed to the right thing to do as he had been so kind to her. Recollections of the wedding are not happy for either woman as Rachel's estranged mother Sharon turned up and got embarrassingly drunk at the reception, where Adrian also suggested to Janet that they split up.
S3.E3 ∙ Thin Ice
Janet and Rachel interview eighteen year old Danny Gallagher,who discovered his father Ed had been murdered and his house robbed. Rachel is surprised when Danny's mother Sarah suspects her son of the murder as they clearly have their differences and Sarah regards the boy as a disappointment. A neighbour claims to have seen Danny leave the house on the night of the murder but a new line of enquiry opens when Sarah admits that her husband was gay and picked up young men for sex. When one of them is discovered with Ed's car another suspect is added to the list. Janet persuades her mother to move in as Adrian leaves to live with his new girlfriend and Sean becomes suspicious after a man rings asking for Susie,the name Rachel used with her one night stand.
S3.E4 ∙ Cradle
Helen Bartlett comes to see Janet and tells her that over thirty years ago, as a little girl, her father Joe accidentally killed her brother Michael and forced her to bury him in their cellar. The police actually find two male corpses and DSI Julie Dodson is brought in to head the inquiry, seeing Helen as victim more than offender. More male bodies are found of which Helen claims to know nothing but Joe, on remand for killing Eunice, calls her a liar. Two witnesses come forward - a man who took Helen and her sister in to protect them from their violent parents and a former lodger of the Bevans, one of several young men picked up and abused by them, though he claims Helen was not so innocent. With her house failing to sell and seeing young Rob Masterson promoted to sergeant over her head the last thing Janet wants is Helen, drunk and upset after the press have leaked her identity, arriving at her house at night.
S3.E5 ∙ Witness
Seven youths' corpses are found in the Bevans' cellar, Joe denying all knowledge of them and only one of them, other than Michael, being identified. Then the remains of his daughter Sheila are discovered under his bedroom floor-boards. Eventually Joe admits to killing the boys, under pressure from Eunice, but claims to know nothing about Sheila. Helen tells Janet that she and her sister Julie assisted in burying one body but Gill is concerned that, as the press are pursuing Helen, one of her officers leaked her involvement. Rachel is forced to confess to a devastated Sean that she should never have married him and the reappearance of a drunken Sharon does not help but, whilst her personal life may be a mess, her questioning of Joe finally gets results.
S3.E6 ∙ Undermined
Catherine French believes her father Gerald's death in Willow Vale retirement home was no accident and Rachel discovers that the home has an unusually high mortality rate. When Gerald's body is found to be bruised and needle-marked a murder inquiry opens. Main suspect is chief carer Craig Wyatt, too charismatic for his own good and keen to point the finger at dim trainee Rosie, who was captured on hidden camera striking a resident and who has a syringe in her locker. Gill and Janet believe they have got him and his motive. Meanwhile Rachel continues to outstay her welcome at Janet's, refusing to take Sean's calls, sending a saucy email to Rob and flirting with fellow officer Kevin Lumb.
S3.E7 ∙ Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Janet throws Rachel out after walking in on her having sex with Kevin and the women have a huge row. Next day the relationship is icy as they investigate the suspicious death of elderly Kenneth Valentine. Kenneth's son Philip had had a drunken argument with him over Philip moving his girlfriend into his father's flat but the robbery squad tell the detectives that a youngster called Deepak Nadar was arrested for a theft on the street where Kenneth's body was found. Nadar and his accomplice are charged but Rachel's private life gets in the way as she confesses all to Sean, who publicly punches Kevin. The operation over, Gill tells the team the identity of the informer who leaked information to the press for money whilst Rachel refuses to go away with Kevin and moves in with her sister.
S3.E8 ∙ Futures
Whilst shopping for her son's engagement party Gill is abducted at knife point by a drunken Helen Bartlett, angry to have been charged with a crime which she reported in the first instance which has led her to be publicly reviled. She demands Gill drive them 'to the seaside'. Rachel is still arguing with Gill when a member of the public reports the incident and Julie Dodson takes charge, asking the women for their help. Helen is identified from the air and her partner Louise tells the police she believes the car is going to Flamborough Head in Yorkshire, where Helen spent childhood holidays and which is a well-known suicide spot. The car duly arrives but is surrounded by marksmen, causing Helen to take drastic action though, with the closure of the case, the whole incident brings reconciliation between Scott and Bailey.
S4.E1 ∙ Superficial
Janet is promoted to sergeant but steps down to give it to Rachel as she feels she is needed more at home. The pair join the search for eighteen year old Robin McKendrick, a simple lad reported missing by his boss, landlord John Rivington. Pub regulars are unforthcoming until a boy called John tells Janet that an ex-soldier known as Jackie-Boy locked Robin in his car boot as a cruel prank. He later reported the car as stolen. Another witness claims that Jackie- Boy dumped his car in a quarry with Robin still in the boot. In the process of the investigation Gill identifies another body found in the river, that of Mandy Sweeting, who disappeared two decades ago.
S4.E2 ∙ Tough Love
The police deduce that the pregnant Mandy's corpse has been refrigerated for two decades. Her husband Gary, since deceased, was the chief suspect, to the anger of his mother Barbara whilst Rachel is annoyed with Rob's bigoted father Frankie, who led the original investigation for wanting to blame Gary with no evidence. It transpires that the father of Mandy's child was Gary's brother Antony following a drunken one-night stand. Everything points to Antony being the murderer though he claims that he only helped Gary dispose of the corpse. The police think otherwise. As the case is solved Gill announces that she intends to retire.
S4.E3 ∙ Damaged
When his boy-friend Rich is murdered Adam Hutchings accuses homophobic neighbour Barry Keane, who had previously threatened them after they had tried to persuade his wife Charlotte, whom he had assaulted, to leave him. He has no alibi but under questioning admits that he was with Charlotte's friend Moira, with whom he is having an affair. Rachel's mother Sharon comes back into her life, as her drug-dealing boy-friend is on remand and she wants Rachel to get him bail. Rachel refuses but the distraction causes her to take her mind off the case, missing evidence. However she is ultimately instrumental in solving the death and identifying the killer.
S4.E4 ∙ A Matter of Rank
Whilst Rachel secretly dates superintendent Will Pemberton Janet feels the need for a boyfriend and unsuccessfully tries speed dating. Both are called to a hotel where an unknown woman is found dead in a bedroom booked in the name of Grant Meath. However the real Grant Meath has an alibi and when, following an appeal, Chloe Michaels comes forward to report that she met a man called Grant Meath through a dating web-site and he almost killed her in the same room her description of him does not match Grant. Evidence points to married James Tollis who uses the site to meet women at the hotel. He admits to harming Chloe but pleads not guilty to the murder. Before the case is concluded Janet is annoyed that Gill told Rachel the truth about her promotion.
S4.E5 ∙ Neglect
Baby Drew Redhead dies in hospital and his parents Jenny and Marcus are suspected of foul play. Rachel and Janet interview them but whilst Marcus is calm Jenny is hostile, ringing alarm bells for Gill, especially as Drew has previous injuries reported by other hospitals. The couple point the police towards their baby-sitter Adjoah and her drug-addicted boyfriend Nick Wootton and cocaine found in Drew's system puts Wootton in the frame but then Adjoah tells Janet that Jenny was an inadequate mother who took drugs herself, a fact borne out by Marcus. Then Marcus comes up with a revelation that leads Janet to solve the case. Gill meanwhile has got wind of Rachel's affair with Will Pemberton and is not pleased.
S4.E6 ∙ Professional Divide
Tam and Patricia Robbinson are murdered in their own pub whilst their son Simon is staying with a friend. Simon believes his half-sister Carla to have died but she is very much alive though long estranged from her mother. The investigation links her to known criminal Ben Townsley, who met her in rehab and, whilst she claims they were mere acquaintances, her drugs dealer Mark Britton gives the police evidence which incriminates them both. Meanwhile Janet's daughter Elise returns home after developing a crush on her father's new partner's son and Will splits with Rachel. Both Janet and Rachel are concerned that Gill is drinking heavily.
S4.E7 ∙ Fatal Error
A dead man is found on the moors with no clues to his identity until a woman called Maeve comes forward to name him as former lover Michael Greenholme, whom she last saw fifteen years ago. Janet and her colleagues interview farmer Callum Pritchard, who recently employed Michael, but he bolts and dies when his car overturns. A search of Pritchard's farm reveals three men imprisoned as slaves, opening a new line of enquiry when a simple employee of Pritchard is brought in. At the same time Janet informs Gill's friend DSI Julie Dobson that she is concerned about her boss drinking at work whilst Rachel learns from her sister that their mother has just died.
S4.E8 ∙ Lost Loyalty
Callum Pritchard's abrasive, foul-mouthed widow Evie is brought in on suspicion of unlawful imprisonment and killing Michael Greenholme but there is insufficient evidence and she is released. She later issues a statement claiming police harassment and alleging that Gill reeked of drink when she arrested her. Fingerprints found on the baseball bat that killed Mike belong to a known criminal, Des, who was part of the Pritchards' slave force and is now missing. With Gill temporarily off the case Rachel takes charge and is determined to prove that Evie Pritchard killed Des, so that Gill can retire successfully.
S5.E1 ∙ Home Fires
Returning to Syndicate 9 after a year away on vice, Rachel steps up to acting DI on a case that becomes bigger and more sinister than it first appeared.
S5.E2 ∙ Nobody's Fool
When the body of teenager Will Hudson is found in a Manchester park, Rachel knows his death could have been prevented.
S5.E3 ∙ Change
Rachel must find both the murder weapon and the encryption code used to access the Taking Out The Trash website.
