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Time-travelling copper DI Alex Drake thought she’d made it home to the present day but wakes to find herself in a hospital bed back in 1983, having been shot by her boss, DCI Gene Hunt, three months ago.
Episode 1
Friday 2nd April 2010
Back in CID a lot has changed; Gene is on the run, Ray Carling has been promoted to DI and is running the show, DC Chris Skelton and WPC Shaz Granger have ended their romance and new discipline and complaints officer, DCI Jim Keats, is breathing down everyone’s necks.
Jim has been sent by Scotland Yard to investigate the shooting of Alex, putting Gene and his team under the spotlight. But it soon becomes clear that Gene and Jim have history as Keats throws some unexpected light on past events. Jim’s presence puts a strain on the team which is exacerbated when Gene is forced to turn in his badge until his name is cleared.
The team is investigating the kidnap of a young girl, Dorothy Blonde, who was abducted as her stepmother walked her to school. With a £50,000 ransom demanded for Dotty’s life the team has to work fast. However, Dotty’s father, David, wants to go it alone and when newly promoted Ray panics while running the sting, it seems the family may have been better off without CID’s involvement. Gene is forced to put his career on the line as he’s unable to stand by and watch a young girl lose her life.
Meanwhile, Alex is being haunted by the ghost of a young policeman and with a gentle nudge from Jim she decides her only hope of getting home is to discover the truth about Gene Hunt and unlock the dark secrets of the past.
Episode 2
Friday 9th April 2010
When DC Chris Skelton opens CID’s post and discovers a human hand, DCI Gene Hunt and his team find they have a murder to solve. The only defining feature on the severed limb is a strange burn mark and DI Alex Drake and the team discover there have been a string of single women murdered across the country, each left with the same crescent moon shaped burn. It seems all the women had one thing in common – they were members of the Crescent Moon Dating Agency.
When Alex registers with the agency and gets nowhere she decides to take matters into her own hands and invents speed-dating, much to the distaste of the agency’s owner, Elaine Downing. As Luigi’s fills up, Alex does her best to play the lonely single woman. DI Ray Carling and Chris find themselves an attractive pair of twins to charm, while Gene on the other hand is struggling to attract anyone of the opposite sex.
Meanwhile, WPC Shaz Granger, feeling let down by the force, has handed in her notice. However, Gene manages to persuade her to take on one final operation and go undercover to catch the man they believe is the killer. But as Shaz puts herself in the firing line it seems this may be her last sting in more ways than one…
Also, Alex is still working to discover the truth behind Sam Tyler’s death after her tip-off from Jim Keats that Gene had something to do with it. But when Gene discovers what she’s up to he can’t help but intervene.
Episode 3
Friday 16th April 2010
It’s the run up to the 1983 General Election and pressure is mounting on DCI Gene Hunt and his team when they investigate a series of politically motivated arson attacks. A fire at an Army barracks is soon followed by another more serious blaze at a polling station. As CID arrive to investigate, a quiet word from DCI Jim Keats in DI Ray Carling’s ear leads to the detective risking his life by running into the burning building to save a cleaner who is trapped.
However, Ray’s heroic intentions are short-lived as he is soon trapped, too. Fireman Andy Smith saves the pair and the usually macho Ray is overcome with gratitude.
As the arson investigation continues, Ray is devastated when an eye-witness identifies Andy as their prime suspect. The team working on the case discovers that Andy is an Army veteran who served in the Falklands; a war that changed him beyond recognition. However, when another fire starts while Andy is still in police custody, Gene has no choice but to let him go – despite not being 100 per cent convinced of his innocence.
Meanwhile, DI Alex Drake is still being haunted by the police officer with the 6-6-20 epaulette numbers and is struggling to work out why he keeps visiting her.
Episode 4
Friday 23rd April 2010
DCI Gene Hunt and his team, DI Alex Drake, DI Ray Carling and DC Chris Skelton, are hot on the tail of a van they believe contains a large amount of heroin. When the Quattro blocks the van’s escape route, the team are faced with a woman brandishing a sawn-off shotgun but bullish Gene shows no fear and heads straight over to take on the female blagger. Things then take a strange turn when Gene seems to let her escape.
It transpires that the woman is an undercover police officer and Gene is not happy that an operation is taking place on his patch. DCI Jim Keats is quick to shed some light on the situation; Louise Gardner from Hanfield police station has infiltrated the Staffords, a notorious crime family with whom Gene shares some history.
Determined to take over the operation, Gene manages to blow Louise’s cover. Jim is not happy, and the situation is made worse when Louise turns up at CID beaten and bruised. With Louise under Gene’s protection, the team have to work fast to stop Daniel Stafford getting his latest lot of heroin on to the streets.
As Gene and Alex close in, something is not quite right. Some of Louise’s reports are missing and it looks as if someone on the inside is bending the rules to help keep the Staffords on the streets. Meanwhile, the ghostly police constable with the 6-6-20 epaulette is still haunting Alex. She is increasingly convinced that he’s the key to getting home.
Episode 5
Friday 30th April 2010
DCI Gene Hunt immediately smells a rat when two former Manchester colleagues turn up on his patch. DCI Litton and DI Bevan are on the trail of Northern comic Frank Hardwick, who is wanted for stealing £2,000 from the Police Widows’ Fund. But their desperation to track him down leaves Gene and DI Alex Drake suspicious of their real motive.
Litton and Bevan quickly get their feet under the table at CID, with DCI Jim Keats offering them the full co-operation of the team and DI Ray Carling joining them in reminiscing about the good old days.
In a show of machismo, there is soon a race between Gene and Litton to get to Frank first. Gene resorts to underhand tactics and, in a desperate bid to catch the comic, attempts to plant stolen pornographic videos on him via “lady of the night” Gloria. However, it is Alex and WPC Shaz Granger who beat the boys to the punch and bring Frank in for questioning.
During the interrogation, Alex discovers that Frank is terrified of someone at the station. There is more to the case than meets the eye. The team needs to bring the corrupt cop down but it becomes apparent that Frank’s adversary may be smarter than anticipated. Meanwhile, Alex takes advantage of having some of Gene’s old Manchester colleagues around to delve deeper into the disappearance of Sam Tyler.
Episode 6
Friday 7th May 2010
All hell has broken loose at Fenchurch East prison; the inmates are rioting and DCI Gene Hunt is ready to go in all guns blazing to teach the lags a lesson. However, things don’t go to plan; the riot team is hugely outnumbered and, in the chaos of the retreat, Sgt Viv James is left behind.
DCI Jim Keats is quick to place the blame for Viv’s capture on Gene, casting further doubt in DI Alex Drake’s mind about Gene’s motives. The team gains access to the prison CCTV and Alex tries to negotiate with the leader of the revolt, Jason Sachs, but her pleas fall on deaf ears and time seems to be running out for Viv.
DI Ray Carling and DC Chris Skelton are tasked with bringing in Paul Thordy, a prisoner who managed to escape in all the commotion. However, during the interrogation, Alex is shocked when Thordy claims to be someone she knows – someone from her past.
Meanwhile, when Sachs asks for the press to be allowed into the prison it gives Gene the chance to send in Chris and Ray, but Sachs is no fool and soon realises they are undercover officers, leaving the pair in danger. Alex then makes a shocking discovery and as Viv, Chris and Ray’s lives hang in the balance, she has to set aside her differences with Gene to try to save their lives.
Episode 7
Friday 14th May 2010
DCI Jim Keats has almost finished his report on DCI Gene Hunt and his team but he’s still pushing DI Alex Drake to find out what really happened to Sam Tyler.
When reports come in of a disturbance at an African National Congress (ANC) illegal drinking den, Gene goes in, all guns blazing. The men at the club dismiss the disturbance as nothing, but DI Ray Carling spots blood on the floor and discovers a dead body, leading Gene into a murder investigation.
With the ANC members sticking together and claiming that none of them saw a thing, Gene interrogates a young girl, Tsitsi. It soon seems he’s found his killer but the ANC group leader, Tobias, can’t stand by and watch the terrified youngster be deported and confesses to the killing himself. Gene and Alex see through Tobias’s lies but attempting to discover the truth leads them into a world of illegal immigration and terrorism.
Episode 8
Friday 21at May 2010
Tension mounts in the final episode of Ashes To Ashes with DCI Gene Hunt and his team investigating a diamond heist following the murder of three London gang members. But DI Alex Drake is distracted and, with encouragement from DCI Jim Keats, she decides to pursue her own investigation to the bitter end – did Gene Hunt murder Sam Tyler?
When Gene discovers that Alex has gone, he races after her leaving Ray Carling, Chris Skelton and Shaz Granger to plan an ambitious sting operation.
As Gene desperately tries to reach Alex before she discovers the truth, Chris, Shaz and Ray’s world completely falls apart. It’s time for Alex and the rest of the team to find out the truth about Gene Hunt…