The team reopen the case of young police cadet Kate Daniels, brutally murdered in 1987. Daniels had gone to a pub alone on the night she was killed and the only witness to the murder was a six-year-old girl, Patricia Lee. Now an optician, she tells Supt Sandra Pullman and Gerry Standing she still has a recurring nightmare about a man she saw running from the scene.
The finding of a gun in a cache of weapons trawled from a lake leads the team to petty criminal Philip Sheppard. Brian Lane and Jack Halford are trailing Sheppard as he stalks women, all petite and blonde like Daniels. Sandra admits she was at Hendon Police College with the victim and knew her personally.
Meanwhile, each team member seems to have a personal problem to deal with. Brian's delicate emotional balance goes into freefall when his wife leaves him - not helped by the fact that he has thrown his medication down the toilet. Gerry is also facing a shock in his personal life when he discovers he's going to be a grandfather, through his unmarried daughter Paula.
Back at UCOS, Brian becomes convinced that the case is connected to Nick Gilbert, another of Pullman's fellow trainees who was Daniels' lover but who dropped out. Gerry takes drastic action to help Patricia identify Sheppard in a line up, while Brian visits a still bitter Gilbert and, while he's not looking, swipes something from the house and takes it for forensic examination. Pullman is enraged at his actions and Brian is forced to confront how his obsession with the past is ruining his life. He decides to try to woo Esther back. But can Pullman confront her own past as a rookie copper and get the truth out of Gilbert?
UCOS is called to Buckingham Palace after a painting from the Queen's private collection is discovered to be a fake. The handsome Sir Tim, who oversees the collection, explains the investigation is top secret because his predecessor was found to have 'borrowed' paintings. Sandra doesn't want the case, but expert help is soon at hand when the aptly named Totty Vogel-Downing is seconded from art fraud to UCOS.
While Sir Tim tries - and succeeds - in charming Sandra, Totty discovers thumbprints on the canvases. Tests prove both fakes were painted in 1978 by an artist and political activist who committed suicide after a fire destroyed his studio. Old files suggest the fire could have been arson, aimed at a Kurdish sweatshop next door. Sandra and Jack visit a Bengali family who were injured in the blaze, while Gerry and Brian learn that remains of a white rat were found at the studio. The animal was too exotic to live in a warehouse naturally.
Jailed arsonist Pat the Rat says the rat must have been covered in petroleum jelly and used as a firebomb. Lists of clients from top London galleries link Pat to George Wilson, a notorious career criminal. Wilson escaped arrest 10 years earlier during Gerry's watch. When Deputy Assistant Commander Bevan blamed Gerry, the detective punched his superior - an offence that led to his early retirement from the force.
With Gerry ordered off the case and everyone apparently involved in the fraud operation dead, there seems little left to go on. Then Gerry breaks the rules to visit the dead artist's mother and discovers a link to someone close to the investigation.
Young peace campaigner Josh Livesey was found dead in woods near a NATO base in 1984 but his killer was never captured. When one of the dead man's friends, Frank Fox, is locked up in Broadmoor for another murder, UCOS is given the job of re-examining the case.
Frank and the other campaigners Imogen Hoult, Colin Dobie and Eleanor Clement all claimed innocence, but refused to co-operate with police, blaming Josh's death on a secret service conspiracy.
Sandra wants to contact Special Branch, much to the dismay of the paranoid Jack, Gerry and Brian.
To his alarm, Brian has no memory of Ed Koumas, an officer on the case. Gerry and Sandra visit an ideological Eleanor on her houseboat, while Brian revisits Frank who reveals Josh had a secret.
Film shows that a section of wire at the NATO base was replaced the night Josh died, which Gerry puts down to 'secret squirrels'. Worried about Sandra, they follow her, only to find her with a woman - her therapist. But on the way home, she is indeed followed by Special Branch officer Greg Johnson. She meets Greg, who admits his people moved Livesey's body and disposed of the murder weapon to save face, but still insists there was no conspiracy. He also tells Sandra he fancies her.
As the team try to discover why Special Branch cared about the protesters so much, they realise that are still many secrets among the small band of protesters.
The team are called upon to investigate the apparent suicide of a teenager from 20 years ago.
The discovery of a blood-stained pair of hot pants results in the team being asked to re-investigate the 1971 disappearance of a mother and her six-month-old son. Lane, who worked on the original case, quickly identifies the victim's husband as the chief suspect, but when Halford and Standing learn that two other women went missing in the area on the same day, they begin to wonder if they are really looking for a serial killer.
Halford visits a clairvoyant in the hope of making contact with his dead wife, but instead receives a message from a teenage girl who was abducted and left to die in a transport container in 1982. Despite the unconventional nature of the new evidence, Pullman agrees to reopen the investigation. The ageing detectives become convinced it will be their final case when they are ordered to report for physical and psychological evaluation.
The squad has a new boss, who orders them to look into the unsolved murder of a barrister found bound and gagged in his car 25 years ago. The case was a rare failure for a former chief inspector, and his notes point to a very clear suspect who was never prosecuted. As they track down the likely perpetrator and uncover the late advocate's unusual hobbies, they gradually learn exactly what happened on that fateful night - and why the ex-policeman decided to let his quarry go.
The unsolved crime squad reopen the case of an Asian woman who was attacked eight years ago, and has been in a coma ever since. They enlist the aid of a community liaison officer and uncover conflict in the victim's family, as well as a possible connection with the disappearance of a private detective. The case is made more complicated when Jack receives an anonymous phone call, while Gerry resorts to desperate measures to get the truth out of the victim's brother.
The team reopen a 1992 abduction case when the woman who disappeared turns up alive and well, claiming she was never kidnapped in the first place. Halford suspects the apparent victim's mother of faking the incident to get her ex-husband to pay the ransom. However, the case is complicated further when she threatens to sue the police.
A tabloid editor approaches the detectives, claiming to have evidence implicating world-famous celebrity chef Kitty Campbell in the murder of her husband Bertie during the 1960s. A former assistant of the culinary couple claims Bertie was gay, and that she killed him for fear of a scandal wrecking her career. Halford is convinced they are being taken for a ride, but Lane's wife spots a vital clue in one of Kitty's old cookery shows.
An attractive widow asks Halford to find the rightful owner of a large, uncut red diamond, worth £15m. Standing and Lane suspect Halford has ulterior motives for wanting to take the case, but Pullman is forced to admit it's one for UCOS when they discover the diamond was snatched in a safety deposit box heist, along with four smaller red diamonds.
Gerry has a run of bad luck in a poker game and owes a bookie a large sum of money. But the bookie offers Gerry a chance to clear his debt by finding out what happened to his dad who died after being mugged outside a dog-racing track in 1983.
Believing the case could be linked to a recent spate of snatches near the M25 highway, Brian indulges his obsession for fishing when UCOS investigates the abduction of two boys from a lake in 1979.
Nearing retirement, a Home Office pathologist hopes the UCOS team can solve a mystery that has weighed heavily on his mind. The partial torso of a young woman found in 1987 is the only corpse he dealt with that remains unidentified.
A car in which a teacher was murdered five years ago is returned to its owner - the victim's husband. Pullman reopens the unsolved case, hoping to track down the dead woman's secret lover, who is known to have a small tattoo - a clue that eventually leads to a male prostitute.
The team are asked to re-investigate the 1975 death of a union leader, whose body was found in the Thames. As they delve deeper into the case, a financial scandal involving misappropriated funds is uncovered and a Labour peer points the finger of suspicion at the victim's deputy, but Lane's increasingly erratic behaviour threatens to hamper the inquiry.
A dog is found killed in a manner that matches a series of animal murders from 30 years in the past. The team reopen the case, but the cruelty of the crimes affects Lane's judgement - especially when his own pet then dies. Halford's deteriorating health causes concern for his colleagues, and a visit to a museum leads to an alarming discovery.
A notorious criminal suspected of murdering a police informant returns to the country, prompting Pullman to reopen the case. While Halford feels responsible for not preventing the victim's death at the time, Standing finds his past indiscretions coming back to haunt him. However, evidence emerges that the crook's henchman may be concealing dark secrets from his boss.
The team reopen the 10-year-old murder of a librarian who also belonged to a witches' coven, and attempt to track down the other members of the group. Halford has visions of his dead wife, and becomes convinced he has been cursed, while Lane starts to suspect the killing may have been part of a human sacrifice.
A police informant resurfaces after 17 years on the run, and claims to have information implicating a former crook-turned-celebrity in an unsolved armed robbery. Meanwhile, Pullman accompanies Strickland to the Hero of the Year Awards, where the recipient of the the title is an old rival of Standing's - and is brought in to work on the case.
The team investigate a long-running feud between two family ice-cream businesses, which resulted in a shooting and several armed raids 10 years ago. Standing enlists the aid of his daughter in cracking the case, and she discovers evidence of drug dealing - but Pullman does not approve of her involvement.
A young man wrongly convicted of burning down his school is released, and seeks Halford's help in tracking down the real culprit. Standing meets a woman who claims to be his daughter but Lane is not convinced she's telling the truth. Pullman is offered a promotion to become head of the Murder Squad.
Following the cliff-hanger ending of the last series, when Jack Halford finally discovered the identity of the hit-and-run driver who murdered his wife, he is now prepared to risk everything to kill the man responsible: crook Ricky Hanson. Determined that Hanson should meet the same fate as his wife, Halford lies in wait in a pub car park, engine running. As Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman becomes aware of the dangerous situation Halford has put himself in, she has to act fast to prevent him confronting his nemesis, resulting in a crash that jeopardises the future of the entire team.
With Gerry Standing, Brian Lane and Halford hospitalised, Pullman is forced to accept temporary help at UCOS from the super-efficient DCI Karen Hardwick, a woman who irritates Pullman on every level. As she struggles to keep the truth behind the crash a secret from DAC Strickland, Pullman becomes deeply suspicious that Hardwick has been recruited to spy on her. And with Halford 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.
Det Supt Sandra Pullman's private and professional worlds clash when her mother, Grace, suffers a fall and needs care, as the drama about a team of unconventional detectives continues.
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.
Since the alleged murder doesn't fall under her department's remit, but wanting to act in the best interests of her mother, Pullman is forced to turn a blind eye to her team's suggestion of an unofficial undercover investigation.
Jack Halford 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 Standing 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.
But 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?
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, as the drama about a team of unconventional detectives continues. 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 Standing 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 Lane 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.
A family feud erupts when a rich, lonely old woman, Dorothy Hepple, is found dead in her home, as the drama about a team of unconventional detectives continues. She leaves all her money and property to her beloved cats, rather than her nephew, Harry, and niece, Caroline.
Her body lay undiscovered for two weeks and the cause of death is undetermined, but the fact that her cats were deliberately locked in the house, forcing them to start eating their owner's remains and any evidence, makes Jack Halford suspicious.
There appears to have been no love lost between the late Ms Hepple and her neighbour, Tim Cuswell, and while her carer, Dale, seems to have been devoted to her, his motives are questionable.
When the last of Dorothy's feline beneficiaries dies, her estate suddenly comes up for grabs. With no shortage of people laying claim to the estate, the team decides to reopen the investigation into Dorothy's death.
The team reinvestigates the Fifties murder of Frederick Tully, a young wages clerk at Battersea Power Station. Patrick Dunne was hanged for Tully's murder, but his granddaughter, Hannah, is waging a campaign to have Dunne posthumously pardoned.
The discovery of a suitcase containing used fivers in the attic of the Tully home sheds new light on the case, revealing a possible blackmail plot. And when Sir Edward Chambers, the key witness against Dunne, retracts his evidence, the team has reason to question the original investigation. However, with Hannah reluctant to co-operate with the police, it is left to Gerry Standing to charm her mother, June, in order to gain an insight into the case, which Standing takes a little too literally.
When Brian Lane is left to fend for himself for a few days by Esther, his dog, Scampi, digs up a skeleton on a routine walk on the common, as the drama about an unlikely team of crack detectives continues.
Back in the office, the team receives an unusual amount of interest in the details of the human remains from a local youth worker, Andrew Bartlett, and the widow of a notorious criminal, Jackie Small, who goes on to confess to killing her husband's lover, Tina Murphy.
Having discovered that the skeleton is actually 600 years old, Brian is keen to get involved in the case, but is forbidden to do so by Det Supt Pullman under DAC Strickland's instruction.
The boys finally convince Pullman to let them pursue both Jackie Small and Bartlett after Jack Halford looks into Bartlett's past and discovers he was interviewed in connection with the disappearance of an MP, Neil Williams, some years earlier. The MP's body was never discovered, but his then business partner, Michael Evans, is serving life for his murder. The team needs to find out if the common hides the grim remains of more than one victim, and Brian enlists the help of a local academic, Professor Alice Sandwell.
When a camera and film belonging to Stuart Sharpe, a photographic lab assistant murdered in 1987, are discovered in the toilets of a Soho pub, the team of unlikely crack detectives enters the glamorous, but murky, world of modelling to reinvestigate the young man's killing, as the drama continues.
After the film has been tested and processed, the team discovers two images that stand out from the standard christening and wedding shots – a junkie shooting up and a long-lens shot of a couple kissing. However, it is not the images found on the film that raises eyebrows, but the traces of sperm. The motive at the time of the original investigation was thought to be robbery, but the retrieval of the camera and film would suggest otherwise.
Stuart's brother, Kevin, a paparazzi photographer, identifies the shot of the couple kissing as one of his own pictures of footballer Denny Clacy. But who is the junkie featured in the other shot and what links the two images?
Gerry Standing's daughter, Emily, joins the team when she turns to Det Supt Sandra Pullman, rather than the man she believes to be her father, to help her fulfil her professional ambition. Apart from feeling snubbed, Standing isn't convinced that Pullman is the right role model for Emily as he doesn't want to see his daughter sacrifice her personal life for the job. But is Pullman about to prove him wrong about her life being all work and no play, when she becomes close to former model Chris Parr during the course of the investigation?
Meanwhile, Brian Lane starts to unravel emotionally and psychologically. Even by his normally eccentric standards, Lane's behaviour and fragile state of mind is alarming.
Det Supt Pullman's trust in her team is shattered when she discovers they have hidden an important secret about her past from her.
The news that her father, a DI, killed himself while under investigation for corruption, throws into doubt everything she believed in. Her mother, Grace, is in hospital following a stroke and Pullman wastes no time in confronting her, but she doesn't get the answers she's looking for. Unfortunately, her father's service records provide Pullman with some revelations she may never come to terms with.
Still reeling from the news, Pullman is asked to reinvestigate another family affair – the death of circus ringmaster The Great Miraculo, aka Bert Dignam, at the request of Christy Berlin, who has recently discovered that he was her biological father. But will the investigation at Spingles Circus be enough to distract Pullman from feeling utterly betrayed by her colleagues?
Ricky Hanson stands trial for Jack's attempted murder. Gerry is forced to face the consequences for lying to Emily. The team come across a dodgy organ donor scheme whilst reinvestigating the murder of a rich businessman.
The team reinvestigate the 1992 murder of actor Michael Austin who was shot dead by his wife on stage during the opening night performance of Death at the Masked Ball.
The team try and solve the murder case of a DJ who died live on air after an arson attack at the radio station he worked at.
Gerry meets the group Bad Faith who where favourites of his in the 1970's when the team investigate the death of it's lead guitarist.
The death of the Chief Brewer at Felspar's Brewery is investigated by the team.
The team investigate the unsolved case of a magic trick that ended up turning into a murder investigation.
The team come up against the Ministry of Defence when they investigate the death of a British soldier. .
In an effort to beat his alcoholism Brian Lane reluctantly agrees to go into rehab. Following a chance comment the rest of the UCOS team end up joining him as they re-investigate the death of a heroin addict who died at the clinic 9 years ago.
The team re-investigate the death of respected journalist Peter Edelmannwhen it looks like he didn't commit suicide like it was first claimed. It looks like he might have been killed by the US government to stop him publishing details of a UFO crash close to one of their military bases. As the team investigate they find out there is a much more shocking cover up going on.
Gerry sees a man behaving suspiciously at a children's playground and has his arrested. David Fleeting, the man that was arrested claims he saw seen his dead wife among the other parents at the playground. When David has his dead wife's body exhumed it is proved not to be hers. The team try to discover if his wife is still alive and who the dead body belongs to.
The Unsolved Crime And Open Case Squad relooks at producer Max Stone's death and Eva Roderick's disappearance when clips of her being assaulted in the 1990 film noir Shadow Show are posted on the internet.
After former call girl Alice decides to find religion and confess all her past sins the team find themselves investigating the murder of magnate Dean Scott. Alice admits she was with him the night of his death and continues that somebody forced their way in the house as she was leaving. This new evidence makes his death which was claimed to be suicide at the time seem unlikely.
Gerry celebrates his birthday with Emily and the team at the Comedy Club. Comedian Ray Harris is heckled whilst on stage. Sandra discovers that the niece of one of the hecklers disappeared with her boyfriend after campaigning to have Ray Harris banned 25 years ago. The team agree to look re look into Sarah's disappearance which soon opens a dangerous can of worms.
As the team enjoy drinks on DAC Strickland's sailing boat they hear an argument on a neighbouring gin palace. Halford intervenes and learns from the women involved, Leanne Sweeting, that her father was set up Lawrence Fisher, who she was arguing with. She continues that her father was made a scapegoat following a collision between his boat and a luxury cruiser owned by Grant Milburn, a business rival of Fisher. Milburn and four others died following the collision. Leanne is determined to clear her father's name and says she has found a witness who can help.
Sandra is forced to face a shocking revelation about her own past. The remains of Harry Eldridge is found 33 years after he went missing and the team are asked to reinvestigate the murder of Dr Simon Lockhart, who was found dead on a meat hook on Harry's stall on the day he went missing. The team soon discover that Eldridge had a much darker side. DNA tests on Eldridge's body end up matching to an unidentified person who is related to Sandra. Sandra is left feeling shocked about her own family's secrets.
After psychic Sebastian Carter tells Vicky Anderson that there is still some unfinished business surrounding her father's death, the team end up reopening the investigation. It is believed that Douglas Anderson died of a heart attack after disturbing an intruder at his home. As the team investigate they find out more about Douglas than what was on the surface.
Brian Lane spends time in the old-fashioned, respectful and tranquil surroundings of The London Library after being barred from his noisy, disorderly public library for causing a disturbance. After he finds out that a membership card is listed among the personal affects of a cold case victim, he decides to go under cover there as the team re investigate the death of university professor Dr Richard Symes, who died falling from the roof of his college three years ago.
When paedophile John Davies admits to the abduction and murder of a five-year-old boy, 25 years ago, the UCOS are suspicious of Davies's motives and they end up reopening the case to prove his innocence rather than guilt.
A rape at a bakery ends up being linked to two similar attacks at a chocolate factory which happened ten years ago. The team end up reopening all three of the unsolved cases. They soon find themselves stretched though as they find out about an unreported murder during the their investigation.
The team ends up re-investigating the death of a graffiti artist called Danny "Flak" Tyler after different graffiti claiming "I Killed Flak" begins to show up in different parts of London.
An exhibition of the late fashion designer Ritchie Levene's work ends up seeing the team reinvestigating his murder.
The team find themselves being drawn into a serious criminal underworld after they reopen the investigation into a fatal fire at Ealing's Union Club in 1996.
A debutante's abduction with links to the past troubles in Northern Ireland end up giving the team another complex cold case to solve.
The team end up reinvestigating the murder of a young boxer when the gun that used to kill him is discovered at the scene of an armed robbery 15 years after his death.
The team reinvestigate a 30-year-old safety deposit robbery, and they soon find themselves being drawn into a case involving police corruption that threatens the future of the UCOS itself.
After pathologist Bob Ruxton is suspended from his job on the grounds of negligence, the UCOS end up being forced to reopen one of his old cases. Dr Bernard Fletcher, who worked as a senior palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum, was discovered dead following a business event in the Central Hall. His autopsy had stated that his death was the result of a fall. A new examination of the post-mortem ends up suggesting that he had sustained a single blow to his head. Madeleine Simmonds says that her former colleague Dr Fletcher was a respected but outspoken scientist and his views were often at odds with those of the museum. The investigation ends up taking an unexpected twist after the team find out that Fletcher was having an affair with a colleague and that he was also getting evidence against Mondial Fuel.
After Peter Offord is arrested to do with with a warehouse robbery, DNA tests end up proving his innocence but link him to an vagrant who was strangled on a tube train 15 years ago. The UCOS decide to reopen the case.
The team find themselves becoming involved into a world of immigration loopholes, Albanian gangs and family feuds after they end up reinvestigating the death of an unknown man discovered on farmland back in 1996.
The team find themselves reinvestigating a really sensitive case,after new information come to light which links the unexplained death of popular market trader Kathy Green, to a series of drug rapes that have occurred in East London.
After psychologist Samantha Gerson shows up at UCOS to conduct a study on older men in the workplace, she ends up getting a mixed reception. Samantha also wants a favour and asks Pullman to look at her brother's case. Darren Gerson was the victim of a hit and run in May 2006 which left him with a serious brain injury and complete memory loss of anything about his life before the accident happened. Darren now is convinced that he is still a target because of the package he was carrying at the time.
Some old memories and feelings return to the surface after Sandra Pullman is reunited with an old flame. DCI Larson wants Sandra and her team to reinvestigate the murder of antiques dealer Mal Baxter. Mal was discovered dead in his home, having been struck over the head in what was originally thought to be a burglary that went wrong.
The team find themselves reinvestigating the disappearance of a prominent scientist after his wife receives a number of anonymous emails from somebody who claims to know the truth about what really happened to him. When the team investifate further DAC Strickland is warned off the case by Whitehall figure Stephen Fisher.
The team end up reinvestigating the murder of Eddie Chapman who was in charge of a notorious criminal motorbike gang called The Braves, after some new evidence is brought to them from an unexpected source.
The team end up reinvestigating the murder of an identified male found in a West London alleyway seven years ago after the victim is named on a website which highlights different unexplained disappearances. Christopher Collins, is named as the victim by Lisa Carlisle, who's husband had employed Christopher as a mechanic six months before his death.
The team re investigate the case of zoo keeper called Zac Halsey, who was mauled to death in the tiger at Harefield Zoo in 2006. It was ruled as a tragic accident but blood discovered in Zac's lodgings during a recent refurbishment at the zoo make it look like he was killed before being discovered in the enclosure.