Set in a tiny village in the English countryside, The Fades creator Jack Thorne’s new murder-mystery drama Glue airs on E4 this autumn.
Overton: farming is its bread-and-butter. Racehorses are its beating heart. But beyond the rolling hills and behind the stable doors lies a green and not-so-pleasant land.
Episode 1
Monday 15 September 2014, 10pm
When the body of a local teenage boy is found underneath the wheels of a tractor, the villagers in this remote community – his friends – are forced to open up their world. The gang – Tina, an aspiring jockey, her boyfriend Rob, housemate Annie, local vet Janine, and farmer’s son James – have their lives thrown into disarray.
Outsider Eli – the brother of the murdered teenager – also struggles to cope with his grief. When a young and ambitious police officer, Ruth Rosen, is seconded to the murder investigation the situation becomes yet more complicated.
As everyone falls under suspicion, trust melts away, and the friends start to realise that from now on everything is different.
Episode 2
Monday 22 September 2014, 10pm
Suspicions are running high after the discovery of Cal’s body. Cal’s friends – Rob, James, Tina, Janine and Annie – are questioned by the police about what happened on the night of the murder. Or at least what they can recall of it, including who was last to see him alive.
In an attempt to raise spirits, Rob plans a surprise for James’s birthday, but he is not in the mood to celebrate and seems intent on uncovering a secret. What relevance does this secret have to Cal’s death?
Meanwhile, Ruth is charged with finding out who supplied the friends with ketamine – a mission that takes her to the heart of the case.
Episode 3
Monday 29 September 2014, 10pm
It’s Cal’s funeral and the traveller community are preparing to put his body in the ground. The friends are banished – denied the chance to say goodbye. Tina reaches out to Eli, but he’s haunted by the unexplained changes he’d seen in Cal in the last few years.
When Chris, who was in care with Cal, appears at the graveyard, Eli follows him hoping he has some answers, but uncovers disturbing secrets.
Meanwhile, Janine is still in custody. Only Rob can provide her with an alibi, but this will mean coming clean about being unfaithful to Tina. When Rob’s stalker sends him another threatening video, the pressure mounts to tell the truth and Rob is forced to make a choice.
Ruth finds herself in Dominic’s arms once more. Desperate to ignore her unravelling personal life, she throws herself into her work and uncovers CCTV footage of a hooded man arguing with Cal on the night he died. But who is he, and what did he want?
Episode 4
Monday 6 October 2014, 10pm
Tina is shocked when Dominic offers her a chance to ride Blackout in a big race. A race Blackout must win if Jackie is to sell the horse and save the farm. But Dominic’s agenda seems increasingly sinister.
As the police continue their search for the killer, tensions between the investigation and the traveller community hit an all-time high. Ruth is caught in the crossfire, and her uneasy relationship with Dominic reaches crisis point.
Eli, meanwhile, intercepts a message on Chris’ phone about Cal, and he arranges a meeting with the anonymous sender, but finds himself in danger.
Episode 5
Monday 13 October 2014, 10pm
It’s the annual Warwick Farm pheasant shoot and, in the circumstances, Jackie wants to cancel. James is adamant he can handle it, but that’s before Rob interferes.
Determined to find out who his stalker is, Rob puts James – and himself – in huge danger as they are drawn further into Cal’s mysterious life.
Meanwhile, Ruth is sick of being relegated to boring office work and strikes out on her own, following evidence that she hides from her fellow officers and that leads to startling new information about one of Cal’s closest friends.
Episode 6
Monday 20 October 2014, 10pm
James is in custody and the police throw Ruth a party to celebrate her success in bringing him in. The police remain convinced that James is guilty, but Ruth has doubts that draw her to Elizabeth Marshall’s hospital bedside.
James uses his one call from the police station to reach his friends. He needs someone to contact a mysterious man who will be able to provide him with an alibi. Rob isn’t convinced James’s plan will work, but finds himself on a dangerous mission. He drags Tina along, but she has a huge surprise in store for Rob.
Ruth reaches out to Marah for help with Cassie and gains a surprising insight into her heritage.
Episode 7
Monday 27 October 2014, 10pm
There have now been three murders. James remains in police custody, but the investigation is in disarray.
With Ian dead, Ruth is removed from duty on the murder squad and placed back on the beat, where she finally has to confront the possibility that she will never find Cal’s killer.
Meanwhile, Eli visits his father in prison to tell him some surprising and unwelcome news. Tina hatches a plan to leave town, but can she persuade Eli to escape the murky world of Overton before the mystery of Cal’s death draws him back in?
Episode 8
Monday 3 November 2014, 10pm
Caught between loyalty to the travellers and exposing who she believes is the killer, will Ruth do the right thing?
Bee’s back in town to comfort James, who has been released on bail. When one of the friends is kidnapped, a huge manhunt begins.
Ruth and Tina join forces to help with the search as the friends race across the countryside on horseback, desperate to help as the series reaches its thrilling conclusion.
What do you think of Glue so far? Let us know below…