ITV’s new high stakes, high intensity thriller The Level is created by Shetland writers Gaby Chiappe and Alex Perrin.
The six-part series stars Karla Crome (Misfits), Noel Clarke (Doctor Who), Robert James Collier (Downton Abbey) and Lindsey Coulson (EastEnders).
The cast also includes Philip Glenister (Ashes to Ashes), Laura Haddock (The Inbetweeners Movie), Gary Lewis (Billy Elliott), Jo Absolom (Doc Martin), Amanda Burton (Silent Witness), Suzanne Packer (Casualty), Lorne MacFadyen (Grantchester), Jane Hazlegrove (Holby City), Ashley Kumar (EastEnders), Kelly Harrison (Happy Valley) and Rupert Procter (Peaky Blinders) and Ruth Madeley (Don’t Take My Baby).
Buy The Level on DVD on Amazon here.
Episode 1
Friday 30 September 2016, 9pm
Detective Sergeant Nancy Devlin is a good cop with a dark secret – a loyalty to haulier and drugs trafficker Frank Le Saux, to whom she has been close since childhood.
When a clandestine meeting ends in murder and Nancy is caught in the cross fire, her link to Frank suddenly risks being exposed. Nursing a bullet wound and desperate to cover her tracks, Nancy finds herself having to tread a very dangerous line when she’s seconded to the murder investigation in Brighton, her home town.
Here, Nancy can’t escape her past, in the shape of ex-cop father Gil Devlin and childhood best friend, Hayley, Frank’s daughter. Like Nancy, Hayley is newly returned to Brighton and already asking her mother, Cherie Le Saux difficult questions about the family business. Potential allies in adversity, Nancy and Hayley try to rekindle their friendship but Nancy’s guilty secret casts a long shadow.
Nancy must track down the killer while all the time concealing her own role from her new colleagues – among them the enigmatic DS Gunner Martin and eagle-eyed boss DCI Michelle Newman – as well as an old friend from London, DS Kevin O’Dowd. O’Dowd has always carried a torch for Nancy, but she can’t afford to let him get too close.
Nancy’s mission is suddenly made more dangerous when crime scene forensics reveal an unidentified missing witness. Now both the police and the killer are on the hunt. Can she hide in plain sight?
The investigation leads Nancy to pursue a corrupt customs officer, Delia Bradley. But when Delia is attacked and a vital piece of evidence goes missing, Nancy realises with horror that the killer is very close – and getting help from inside the police. . .
Episode 2
Friday 7 October 2016, 9pm
Sick from her bullet wound and mistrustful of her colleagues, Nancy desperately needs an ally – but she can’t open up to Hayley for fear of putting them both in danger.
When the police make a public appeal hoping to shake out the missing witness, Nancy is unexpectedly forced into the spotlight, leaving her exposed and bringing an old enemy out of the woodwork – Hayley’s ex-boyfriend, Shay Nash (Joe Absolom). Soon after Nancy receives a package, the contents of which, prove that someone is on to her.
Nancy’s suspicions focus on her partner, Gunner, who watches her like a hawk. A colleague from London, DS Kevin O’Dowd (Rob James-Collier), sees her distress and wants to help. Nancy warns O’Dowd there’s a leak on the team – but can’t say more for fear of exposure.
Meanwhile the murder investigation focuses on Frank Le Saux’s accountant, Theo Kettler (Rupert Procter). Already suspicious of Theo, Hayley questions her mother about the real nature of her father’s business, but Cherie Le Saux (Amanda Burton) is evasive. Isolated and anxious, Hayley turns for comfort to Le Saux family driver Darryl Quinn (Lorne MacFadyen).
When a witness links Theo to a Newhaven garage suspected of drugs trafficking, police mount a surveillance operation. Pursuing her own dangerous investigation, Nancy finds herself at the same location – only to stumble into a second shocking murder.
Episode 3
Friday 14 October 2016, 9pm
In the wake of the latest killing, suspicion shifts to garage owner and Le Saux associate, Duncan Elliot (Geoff Bell). Visiting Elliot, Nancy spots Theo Kettler’s missing car, and a tense chase ensues. When the driver escapes, Nancy and O’Dowd start to suspect Gunner of complicity. A vital piece of evidence is later recovered from the car, giving DCI Newman a breakthrough – but placing Nancy in even greater danger.
The pressure on Nancy becomes unbearable when new forensic evidence is revealed, turning her emotional world on its head and changing her sense of Frank forever.
Meanwhile, tensions surface among the Le Sauxs with Hayley and her brother Tate (Cian Binchy) at the haulage yard. Ex-boyfriend Shay Nash calls, ostensibly looking for a cargo which has gone missing on a Le Saux truck, but it’s clear he’s still drawn to Hayley. Nancy warns her to stay clear.
Nancy’s concern about Nash seems vindicated – especially when evidence identifying him disappears from the investigation. Nancy takes a big risk when she takes it into her own hands to prove Gunner is involved, but when her gamble goes wrong she finds herself running for her life – only to discover the threat is much closer to home…
Episode 4
Friday 21 October 2016, 9pm
After her near-miss with Gunner, Nancy is challenged by Newman. She’s treading a dangerous line and is in jeopardy of being exposed – until O’Dowd steps in to help. He tells Nancy that they must work in tandem, and together they question Nash. But Nancy’s no nearer to finding out who’s pulling the strings here.
The police urgently need to locate the Le Saux truck and its driver, missing since Frank was killed. Newman is convinced Elliot is behind the murders and that the truck holds the key. When Hayley tells Nancy that Elliot let slip information about a ‘missing witness’, Nancy realises he may soon be on to her.
In a reckless bid to accelerate the investigation, and turn the tables on the man who may be hunting her, Nancy proposes a high risk undercover op, in which she will pose as a bent cop to gain Elliot’s trust.
With only Newman aware of the op, Nancy now has more to hide from her colleagues than ever. But she can’t deceive her dad, Gil: when he realises what she’s doing, he tries to stop her. The ensuing row leads to a shattering revelation. Nancy barely has time to recover before Elliot is putting her under pressure – forcing her to break the law to prove her loyalty. Nancy finds herself caught up in a violent raid on the Le Saux haulage yard. The results are explosive.
Episode 5
Friday 28 October 2016, 9pm
As police comb the Le Saux haulage yard for clues, Nancy must hide her guilt from both a fraught Hayley and her colleagues – a task made more difficult when she realises to her horror that she’s left incriminating evidence at the scene.
Worse, Nancy hears that her mother has gone missing from her psychiatric ward. Believing him to be responsible, Nancy confronts Nash, but Nash coolly turns the tables, leaving her even more distraught. Emotional comfort comes from an unexpected source, and Nancy suddenly realises a relationship might be possible – if only she weren’t so compromised.
The missing truck is found but before the police have time to recover it it disappears again. Newman suspects Elliot now knows where it is. Nancy must use her undercover role to trap him into revealing its whereabouts. Newman mounts a risky armed operation to ensnare both Elliot and the truck. But events spiral out of control when Nancy goes unprotected into the lion’s den – with unexpected and bloody consequences.
As the shocking contents of the truck are revealed, the case seems close to being solved. But Nancy knows there’s more – and that the killer is still at large. Before she can go further, Nash plays his hand – and Nancy’s career is suddenly on the line.
Episode 6
Friday 4 November 2016, 9pm
Nancy’s personal and professional lives collide when she sees a connection between her mother and the missing truck. Suddenly, the full extent of Frank’s monstrous crimes becomes clear.
Shaken by recent events, Hayley asks Cherie some probing questions. Yet again Cherie doesn’t seem to want to face the truth. When Hayley is later let down by her ex-husband, it is Quinn who offers much-needed comfort. Hayley realises Quinn is the man she needs.
Stood down by Newman for being too emotionally involved, Nancy is forced to operate outside the law to prove her case against Nash. The evidence she passes on to Newman, with Gunner’s help, is enough to damage Nash, but not enough to prevent him taking his revenge. . .
Revisiting the evidence around the murders, Gil encourages Nancy to follow a new angle. As realisation dawns Nancy knows what she has to do. Suddenly, the hunt for the killer becomes a race against time, as those she loves are in danger. Gil is left fighting for his life, and a murderous Nash has Nancy in his sights.
With Newman finally back on her side, and a killer with nothing left to lose, Nancy races to a gripping showdown with the enemy – one last desperate push to save the person she loves most.
Buy The Level on DVD on Amazon here.
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