The Bill (series 16)

Part One: Burnside goes undercover for Northumbria Police to investigate corruption inside the department, setting them up by putting four packages of cocaine and a handgun in his boot before taking them on a high-speed car chase through Newcastle. Rawton poses as his solicitor, and when one of their main targets, DI Walker, mentions there were only two bags of cocaine seized, they tell him to call in DCI Bonnet, their primary target. Offering him a bribe, Burnside is bailed and meets his UC. As they settle into the car dealership they are running undercover, Burnside and Rawton are taken to an off the record interview with Bonnet and Walker. Bonnet introduces Burnside to local drugs kingpin Saul Anderson, but is subject to a beating and a death threat, until he talks himself out of trouble. When Bonnet and Burnside visit a private club, they are left panicking as a police raid occurs inside the club.

Part One: When Quinnan and Stamp are attacked on the Jasmine Allen Estate trying to get an overdose victim to hospital, Brownlow organizes a community initiative scheme to earn back the trust of the estate's residents. Quinnan decides to face his demons and prove to the relief he can deal with the youth club, but soon finds himself haunted by the memories of his stabbing. Things get worse when a camera donated to the youth club is stolen, and Quinnan is furious when he is confronted by Mick Glover, recently released just a year after his son stabbed Quinnan on his behalf. Estate backlash is rife when the overdosing girl Quinnan and Stamp tried to get to hospital dies, and Boulton discovers local dealers are giving uncut heroin away to school kids. When Worrell, working at a women's drug groups, finds another teenager overdosing, Brownlow demands action. Boulton launches and ill-fated raid on the prime target, causing Brownlow to order the removal of Quinnan and Worrell. Quinnan rejects an immediate removal and heads to a community disco, while he gets info about an attack on a nearby nightclub. While that proves to be a non starter, two incidents at the disco leave Quinnan in danger.

Part Two: Boulton investigates the shooting of one of the youths from Quinnan's group. Convinced it is linked to the death of Donna Hunter, he searches the shooting victim's house, and Quinnan is disappointed to learn the girl has been dealing drugs. When Robbie Hunter disappears intent on finding his sister's killers, Quinnan conducts a private investigation, but finds himself attacked when he finds a badly beaten Robbie dying in a church crypt. Smith and Harker find Quinnan's car being joyridden but lose it when yobs on the estate interrupt the chase, but Stamp and McCann find it ablaze on wasteground. Jenny fears her husband has been killed, and while Brownlow reassures her and his troops, uniform believe he is deluded. When Boyden and Hagen find a burnt out body in a factory, the team are left fearing the worse.

Part One – Old Flame: Santini tries to convince his lover, Jess Orton, to set him up with some drug dealers – he wants out of Sun Hill, and DS Timpney, his friend in Area Drugs, has promised him a place in the squad if Santini can get him evidence on them. However, before he has the chance, the Ortons' club is firebombed, and Santini is shocked when one of the officers assigned by AMIP to investigate the explosion is his old nemesis, DS Rosie Fox. Fox is convinced that Santini is linked to the events in question, but her AMIP DCI, Richard Pallister, believes otherwise. When Santini manages to locate Jess Orton, he persuades her to make a false confession to bombing the club in order to gain the trust of the suspected drug dealers. (This episode is a condensed rebroadcast of the episodes Lone Ranger and Old Flame from 1999 and does not appear on the Series 16 DVD box set.)

Part Two – Kiss Off: Santini is determined to find out if Jess Orton has grassed on him, and when he breaks into her home to challenge her, he causes her to fatally fall down the stairs. Fox is ordered off the case by DCI Pallister and warned that if her actions directly resulted in her death, then she could be facing criminal charges. Vicky plugs DS Timpney for information, suspicious that Santini may not be telling the whole truth. Desperate to conceal his involvement with the Ortons, Santini and Fox find themselves captured by Sherman and Ferguson, and facing possible execution. Fox believes she has a confession for Orton's murder and is attacked by Santini, but after their rescue, it's Santini's girlfriend Hagen who nails him for the murder. (This episode is a condensed rebroadcast of the episodes Push It and Kiss Off from 1999 and does not appear on the Series 16 DVD box set.)

Part One: Stanton and Lennox are tasked with investigating a brutal assault outside a nightclub where the victim had pouches of what appear to be drugs stuffed into his mouth. The owner, Vince Carter, is a well-known figure on the plot, being the son of an old school villain, Frank Carter. Meanwhile, Boulton, bored of having to transcribe the tape of a murder confessions, assists when a young girl is run down by a car, and a witness claims that it was no accident. Boulton vigorously questions the witness when he discovers the man is blind, but soon finds himself believing that the incident was no accident. As his and Stanton's cases soon reveal a close link in Vince Carter, Stanton is tailed by an unknown assailant and run-off the road.

Part One (A Sprat to Catch a Mackerel): When an apparent drug-related murder leads Operation Trident onto Sun Hill's patch, they suspect Yardie street gangs could be active in the area. A new scheme by Conway to encourage taxi drivers to help the police bears fruit when an overzealous cabbie brings a 'prisoner', Wesley Carter, to the station, saying he heard him making a drug deal. When Carter is linked to gangster Leroy Jones, Trident get Rickman to go undercover. As they reunite, Jones admits there are Yardies operating on the patch and he is trying to take on their drug running operation - but that a rival firm is trying to stop him - leaving Rickman caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting.

Part Two (The Hare and the Hounds): To finance his buy-in to the Yardie drug dealing operation, Jones and his gang rob a building society, with Rickman forced to be getaway driver. Despite Trident being tipped off, the relief are left lying in wait for them at the wrong bank when Jones spots a cash in-transit van, with a special constable who tries to disarm Rickman being seriously injured. The relief buzzes with rumours that Rickman has "gone native", and she finds loyalties torn as she gets close to her target. However, she is given a harsh reality check when Jones is kidnapped by rival gang leader Touissant - who gives her an ultimatum.

Part One: Smithy and Rickman attend a break in at a primary school and find a seven-year-old boy looking for food. Further investigation reveals that the boy has been living alone for three days and his parents are nowhere to be seen. Interviewing the family's friends and relatives, Deakin discovers that it is very unlike the parents to just disappear without trace, and CCTV footage shows a van watching the family's house on the night of the disappearance. Blood found in the family bedroom indicates the parents may have been harmed, but Deakin is furious when a racial attack on the restaurant where the boy's father works is found to have been investigated by Smithy over a week previously.

Part Two: Smithy gets closer to Tim Tze as the search for his parents continues. His failure to investigate the attack on the Chinese restaurant correctly continues to hang over him, but when it appears that the man responsible had prior contact with the Tze family, Smithy finds he may well be in the clear. Deakin discovers that the restaurant has been put up for sale, but despite putting pressure on the owner, he refuses to give evidence. When Lenny Tze's car is found, and Tim finally gives up some information, Deakin uncovers details of an extramarital affair. As Jung Tze turns up alive and well, Smithy begins to wonder if the entire kidnapping has all been staged, until he and Tim are kidnapped.

Part One: A terrified young woman, Emma Roberts, fears that she has become the victim of a stalker when paint is thrown over her car and her cat is killed in mysterious circumstances. After spending a night at her house, Hagen is convinced that she is making the entire story up for attention, and refuses to believe her. When Emma makes a claim of rape against her boss Brian Woods, Page investigates the case, and she finds that she too is being drawn into a nightmare world of unseen terror.

Part Two: As her friendship with stalker victim Emma Roberts develops, Page is determined to find the stalker and starts to believe that he might be closer than she thought. After going out to dinner with Dave and Jenny, Emma arrives home to find her house has been broken into, and Page grows a little too close for comfort by inviting her to stay the night. When a past allegation made against Woods comes to light, Emma decides to press charges. Woods is released on bail, but soon turns up and tries to force his way into her house. He is subsequently arrested again and remanded in custody. Meanwhile, Polly is spooked when she starts receiving nuisance calls and a strange bunch of flowers are delivered to her. Suspecting she may have become the victim of the stalker, she looks to Emma to find comfort, but little does she know that her stalker is much closer to home than she imagined.

Part One: Probationary PCs Ben Hayward and Roz Clarke arrive for their first day at Sun Hill, and are subjected to a series of wind-ups by the relief. Boyden tricks Clarke into thinking that he has hit a pensioner in the surveillance van, while Stamp and Quinnan subject Hayward to the ride of his life in the area car. Hayward manages to stop a curb-crawler who evades capture, but his arrest is thwarted by Hollis. Meanwhile, Hagen and Rickman spin Clarke a story about 'nipper' Cryer, the famous bum-pinching sergeant, and Klein gets Worrell to pretend to be a dead body in order to wind up Hayward. However, the joke backfires when an angry and upset Hayward is punched in the face by Stamp.

Part One: When the relief carry out a routine raid on a nightclub, The Pink Cockatoo, Carver is suspicious after he suspects that a face from his past was present at the scene. Later, he stops a driver who appears to be a little bit worse for wear, and discovers that it is none other than his former CID DS, Ted Roach. Carver encourages Roach to provide information on Mickey Owen, the owner of the club, in return for being let-off the drink-driving charge. However, his leak to the police soon turns out to be the driving force behind a harsh beating, warning him not to give evidence. Meanwhile, Quinnan uncovers a body on the marshes, and Lennox discovers a link between the deceased and The Pink Cockatoo.

Part Two: Recovering in hospital, Roach agrees to tell Carver everything he knows about Mickey Owen, but asks that the police protect his long-time friend and former informant, Roxanne, from Mickey's clutches. Meanwhile, as investigations continue, Lennox discovers that the body is that of Phillip Macey, one of Roxanne's best friends, who disappeared without trace in the 1990s after a gig at The Pink Cockatoo. Realising that Owen must have been responsible for his death, Roxanne agrees to help Meadows set up a sting operation to catch Owen in the act. Roach's old-school police methods begin to yield results, much to the delight of Carver, but before they can catch Mickey red-handed, tragedy strikes.

Supping With the Devil: Beech meets businessman Howard Fallon at a poker game. When Beech's winnings turn out to be counterfeit notes, he confronts Fallon, who offers him a substantial bribe to find out who hijacked one of his lorries, and to get to the stolen shipment back before customs or the police seize it. Daly becomes suspicious when Beech tries to get involved with the investigation, but one of Daly's snouts points the finger at a former employee of Fallon's, and the driver of the missing truck. As the missing shipment is safely returned, and with Daly off his back, it looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Beech and Fallon.

Touch and Go: Boulton and Stanton investigate the vicious attack on Rachel Booker, a dancer at one of Howard Fallon's clubs, and Beech is furious when Fallon reveals his mobile number is among her possessions. Boulton and Stanton find the main suspect is Warren Askew, who was obsessed with Rachel, but he doesn't appear to be responsible. When Boulton tries calling the phone numbers in Rachel's diary, he is shocked when Beech answers the phone. Beech makes an excuse that he tried to pick up Rachel in a bar, and begs Boulton to overlook the evidence. Desperate to get the case closed, Beech then plants evidence to frame Askew that leads to his arrest for murder when Rachel dies of her injuries.

Harker is volunteered to work with a young offenders group in Canley, and immediately takes a shine to Carmel, the organiser of the group. When Carmel's foster son, 14-year-old Scott, goes off the rails, Harker steps in to try and defuse the situation. When one of Scott's friends is found dead from a heroin overdose, Harker discovers that despite previous claims that he is clean, Scott and his friend have been drug running for one of the major dealers on the Bronte. However, the situation is complicated further when Harker discovers that Scott and Carmel have been sleeping together, leaving him conflicted about job responsibility and his friendship with Carmel. Meanwhile, as Stanton and Boulton try to locate a witness, Beech attempts to prevent this due to his corrupt connections.

Find The Lady: Stanton tries to find out if Boulton is working with Beech, who is furious when Fallon confesses to him that his associate Ray Bazzini was responsible for Rachel Booker's death and missing star witness Lynette knows this. When Lynette resurfaces, Boulton immediately hides her in a safe house; Beech informs Fallon the location, but Lynette escapes from the thugs who are sent to attack her. As Stanton prepares to confess all to Boulton about her undercover op, he gets a phone call from Beech. They meet at a construction site, where Beech admits he has been working for Fallon, and reveals that it was him who gave up Lynette's location. He tries to convince Boulton to help him out, but an angry Boulton refuses, with the resulting fight ending in tragedy.

Fifty-Fifty: Quinnan and Carver find the body of Boulton at the construction site. Sun Hill is in shock, none more so than a devastated Stanton, who is suspicious when Beech lies about meeting him the night before. The Area Major Incident Pool arrive to investigate Boulton's death, and their subsequently investigations eventually lead them to Beech, who mysteriously disappears without trace. Maggie Lyons tries to smuggle Beech out of the country at the airport, but he cancels his escape after spotting AMIP outside the terminal. Knowing that his time is gradually running out, Beech weighs up his options, leading him to a stunned Stanton.

Part One: CIB sweep into Sun Hill and suspend the entire CID department with immediate effect, with all of their ongoing cases subsequently transferred to Barton Street. Lennox is horrified when he discovers that Stanton is a CIB mole. As the detectives are interviewed to establish their connection to Beech, Meadows hurriedly calls in some favours at Scotland Yard. Mannion demands Brownlow resign to make a strong statement to the public and media, and after arguing the decision with Conway, he decides to make the tough decision after a heart to heart with Monroe. Meanwhile, Beech prepares to go into hiding; he goes off to meet Maggie at a shopping centre, unaware Stanton is hot on his tail.

Part One: The new CID team arrives at Sun Hill, led by the new station commander, Supt Tom Chandler. His pally attitude with the relief doesn't go down well, with the likes of Cryer, Smith and Meadows sceptical. Meadows feels the pressure of facing a disciplinary board hearing following the Beech scandal. New DI Alex Cullen is assigned to head the investigation of an apparently racially motivated harassment of a local family, along with cocky DC Paul Riley and hard-faced DS Debbie McAllister, after complainant Frank Griffiths says Meadows had history with Helen Freeley, whose sons are suspected of racially abusing Griffiths and his family. As facts become apparent, events take a dramatic turn. Meanwhile, new arrival DS Vik Singh dishes the dirt immediately by warning his new colleagues that McAllister is overcompensating for a recent promotion to DS, whilst telling them that Cullen in Chandler's pocket.

Part One: Page and Hayward attend a disturbance at a pub and find the landlord and one of his regulars being beaten up by three masked men. Meanwhile, Stamp, Quinnan and Klein attend the scene of a second beating, another three masked men attacking local villain Frank McBride outside the back of his club. Realising the incidents could be connected, Hayward investigates, and discovers a turf war between two rival gangs of cigarette smugglers. As the evidence against the two rival firms stacks up, Klein finds himself in trouble when he tries to buy a mixing desk from his favourite DJ, Johnny Margolis, and ends up abducted by the McBride gang, but a freak accident leaves Tony McBride dead and Klein seriously injured.

Part One: Smithy becomes a knight in shining armour for a shop assistant when he and Rickman apprehend a shoplifter, with a little help from Santa! The shoplifter is suspected of brutally assaulting a shop assistant in the same store. Lennox bonds with the suspect due to the boy being from Glasgow, but Webb's hatred for Christmas leads to him refusing to help the boy out, although he attempts to track down a reported accomplice to the theft. Meanwhile, McAllister maliciously ruins Hollis's plans for the Sun Hill Christmas Party, by getting the pub landlord's son arrested on drugs charges. When they reschedule at a nightclub, the party turns sour and a fight breaks out. Quinnan, having argued with Jenny about her hopes of moving to Colchester, acts on his feelings for Page after Hagen's teasing about Page and Stamp being close.