List of Trial & Retribution episodes

The following is an episode list for the hit ITV crime drama Trial & Retribution. The series premiered on 19 October 1997, and broadcast its last episode on 13 February 2009. The show was written by Lynda La Plante, who is also famous for Prime Suspect and Widows. Each episode of Trial & Retribution is broadcast over two nights, and lasts between 90 and 200 mins in length. A total of twenty-two episodes of Trial & Retribution have aired to date. The list is ordered by the episodes' original air dates.

Series 1 (1997)

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Running time	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
1–2	"Trial and Retribution"	Lynda La Plante	Aisling Walsh	200 min.	19 October 1997 20 October 1997	TBA
Five-year-old girl Julie Harris goes missing from home after being seen playing in the local playground. Suspicion immediately falls on Julie's mother's new boyfriend, Peter James (Lee Ross). But when her body is found inside a sewage pipe, evidence points towards local misfit Michael Dunn (Rhys Ifans). When items relating to the case are found in his flat, Walker has no doubt that Dunn is responsible for Julie's murder. However, when it is revealed that a frantic young officer who found Julie's body planted the evidence, Dunn's trial is thrown into jeopardy. First appearances of regular cast members DS Michael "Mike" Walker (David Hayman), DI Pat North (Kate Buffery), DS David "Satch" Satchell (Dorian Lough), Dr John Foster (Richard Durden), Cllr. Derek Waugh (Nicholas Blane), Cllr. Robert Rylands (Corin Redgrave), Cllr. Willis Fletcher (David Fleeshman) and Judge Winfield (George Pensotti)

Series 2 (1998)

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Running time	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
3–4	"Trial and Retribution II"	Lynda La Plante	Aisling Walsh	200 min.	18 October 1998 19 October 1998	8.51 9.00
When young mother Susan Harrow fails to return home after a night out, her mother reports her missing to the police. Her body is later found on wasteground near to where she disappeared. A second victim, Marilyn Spark (Linda Henry), is attacked by the same assailant, however manages to survive and is taken to hospital for treatment. As a third victim is found murdered, Marilyn soon identifies the man responsible as Damon Morton (Iain Glen), and Walker must gather evidence to secure his conviction. When Morton's accomplice confesses to murder, Walker is suspicious. First appearances of regular cast members Cllr. Rupert Halliday (Simon Callow), DC Jack Hutchens (George Asprey), DS Jeff Batchley (Paul Kynman) and DS Barbara MacKenzie (Barbara Thorn)

Series 3 (1999)

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Running time	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
5–6	"Trial and Retribution III"	Lynda La Plante	Jo Johnson	200 min.	7 October 1999 14 October 1999	8.64 8.72
Fifteen-year-old Cassie Booth goes missing whilst doing her local paper round, and her blood-stained clothes are later found in a nearby boathouse during a police search. Walker is suspicious when the owner of the boathouse, Karl Wilding, has a dodgy alibi for the time of Cassie's disappearance. Meanwhile, Pat is forced to deal with a persistent complainer, Stephen Warrington (Richard E. Grant), who has been hounding the station. Pat becomes concerned when Warrington starts stalking her, but soon realises that there is a link between Warrington and Walker's murder case. First appearances of regular cast member DC Vivien Watkins (Sandra James-Young), Last appearance of regular cast member DC Jack Hutchens (George Asprey)

Series 4 (2000)

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Running time	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
7–8	"Trial and Retribution IV"	Lynda La Plante	Michael Whyte	200 min.	4 October 2000 5 October 2000	6.87 6.93
Pat is asked to investigate a fifteen-year-old case in which Gary Meadows (Steven Hartley) was murdered by his boyfriend, James McCready (James Wilby), a case which was originally investigated by Mike. As the only witness to the murder was Meadows' young daughter, who was only seven-years-old at the time and unable to offer any kind of witness statement, Pat is forced to reinvestigate other lines of enquiry, while Mike finds himself trying to cover his own backside when evidence reveals that a psychic was used in an attempt to uncover evidence relating to the case. First appearances of regular cast member DC Doug Collins (James Simmons)

Series 5 (2001)

Series five was originally recorded and due for broadcast in October 2001, continuing the regular yearly broadcasts in October. However, due to special programming regarding the September 11 attacks, the programme was removed from the schedule and was not rescheduled for broadcast until June 2002. Certain other territories, including Australia, still received the broadcast in 2001.

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Running time	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
9–10	"Trial and Retribution V"	Lynda La Plante	Aisling Walsh	200 min.	19 June 2002 20 June 2002	7.31 6.58
Walker is assigned to investigate the discovery of a seventeen-year-old skeleton underneath the patio of a former bed and breakfast. Disillusioned with having to investigate such a case, he is especially angered by the fact that he has been paired with Pat's ex-boyfriend Jeff. When two further bodies and the skeleton of a premature baby are also found at the property, Kathleen Norton (Maggie McCarthy) is charged and sent to trial. However, Walker isn't entirely convinced that the alibi of former guest Graham Richards (Sean Chapman) is enough to keep in the clear. First appearances of regular cast member DC Lisa West (Inday Ba), Last appearance of regular cast members DC Vivien Watkins (Sandra James-Young), DS Jeff Batchley (Paul Kynman), Cllr. Derek Waugh (Nicholas Blane), Cllr. Willis Fletcher (David Fleeshman) and Cllr. Rupert Halliday (Simon Callow)

Series 6 (2002)

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Running time	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
11–12	"Trial and Retribution VI"	Lynda La Plante	Ferdinand Fairfax	200 min.	6 October 2002 7 October 2002	6.10 5.96
Back on the murder squad, Pat is asked to investigate when a young mother of two, Diane Leach, is abducted from a local wood. The confession of a local sex offender complicates matters, as Pat looks into the possibility that the father of a young protégé of the woman may be responsible for her disappearance. Meanwhile, Walker has worries of his own, as his ex-wife Lyn is dating an abusive, unstable man, Eric Fowler (Tim McInnerny), who turns into a manic-obsessive when she decides to leave him. Mike decides to take matters into his own hands, resulting in Fowler's death. Last appearance of regular cast members DI Pat North (Kate Buffery), DC Doug Collins (James Simmons) and Cllr. Robert Rylands (Corin Redgrave)

Series 7 (2003)

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Running time	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
13–14	"Suspicion"	Lynda La Plante	Charles Beeson	200 min.	1 September 2003 2 September 2003	7.30 6.13
A severed female hand is found in the outreaches of Thames, which brings Róisín into contact with old friend Mike, who is now back in uniform after being found innocent at his murder trial. When a search fails to reveal the remainder of the body, a missing persons case which Mike has been personally asked to look at reveals the possible identity of the victim. When the au pair Carla Worth (Neve McIntosh) is found to have been posing as the dead victim to fool friends and neighbours, the victim's husband Greg (Charles Dance) is suspected of the victim's murder. First appearances of regular cast members DCI Róisín Connor (Victoria Smurfit) and Dr Jean Mullins (Gemma Jones), Last appearance of regular cast member DS Barbara MacKenzie (Barbara Thorn), DS David "Satch" Satchell does not appear in this episode, Last appearance of Inday Ba as DC Lisa West (Role re-cast)

Series 8 (2004)

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Running time	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
15–16	"Blue Eiderdown"	Lynda La Plante	Paul Unwin	140 min.	1 September 2004 2 September 2004	TBA
A young prostitute, Angela Dutton, plunges to her death from the eleventh floor balcony of a block of flats. The team discover that she was the daughter of a seventies TV star who was also found murdered twelve years earlier, wrapped in a blue eiderdown, although the killer was never found. Walker and Connor investigate seedy club owner Colin Thorpe (Colin Salmon), who was having a relationship with Dutton at the time of her death. A cover up involving a shady MP and the current DSI of the Vice Squad leads both Mike and Róisín into uncharted territory to find the killer. First appearances of Sarah Ozeke as DC Lisa West (Role re-cast), Last appearance of regular cast member Dr John Foster (Richard Durden)

Series 9 (2005)

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Running time	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
17–18	"The Lovers"	Lynda La Plante	Tristram Powell	140 min.	7 November 2005 8 November 2005	8.99 8.45
David Harrington vanishes while on his honeymoon in London, leaving his wife Susan distraught and frantically searching for him. Her father contacts Walker, believing the police aren't taking the case seriously, but there's very little evidence to suggest foul play. However, Lisa's review into the CCTV surrounding his disappearance throws up a possible lead, in the form of a man with striking similarities to American serial killer Ted Bundy. Tom Franke (Michael Feast) is brought to trial, only to plead innocent by way of insanity. Can Walker prove Franke is not insane? Last appearance of regular cast member Judge Winfield (George Pensotti)

Series 10 (2007)

Series ten is the first official 'series' to be broadcast, comprising five stories rather than one feature-length episode. The series sees the first appearance of DS Sam Palmer (Vince Leigh) in "Closure", while DS Lisa West (Sarah Ozeke) makes her last appearance in "Paradise Lost".

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Running time	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
19–20	"Sins of the Father"	Lynda La Plante	Andy Hay	140 min.	14 January 2007 15 January 2007	7.02 7.28
The apparently happy Harrogate family are torn apart when they return home to discover their eldest daughter, Emily, dead at the bottom of the cellar stairs. Connor and Satchell begin to sift through the case and discover that the family isn't as stable as it first appeared, especially Emily's step-father, John Harrogate (Greg Wise). Connor appeals to Walker for some backup, but Walker is having problems of his own with his son, Richard. The team identify Emily's ex-boyfriend Michael Sommerby (Andrew Lee Potts) as a suspect, and close the net when vital evidence is found.
21–22	"Closure"	Lynda La Plante	Edward Hall	140 min.	21 January 2007 22 January 2007	6.06 5.85
Young school girl Madeline Fuller is raped and murdered in a disused pump house, but Connor and Satchell still have no leads or witnesses two months into the investigation. When Walker orders a review of unsolved cases, they turn up a string of similar cases of raped and murdered teenage girls over the last ten years, and the team find themselves searching for an apparent serial killer. When Connor opts to bring in a profiler, Max Stanford (Michael Brandon), Walker is initially dubous as to his involvement, but Connor soon uncovers the killer's identity, much to Walker's surprise.
23–24	"Paradise Lost"	Julie Dixon	Alex Pillai	140 min.	28 January 2007 29 January 2007	5.45 6.21
After the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Milton Jones is arrested on suspicion of her murder. Walker is convinced that Jones killed her under the influence of drugs, but he insists that another man was present in their flat. Connor discovers that a serial rapist is targeting the black community by raping white women with black boyfriends. Walker brings Milton on to the investigation to help, but this causes more problems than solutions. But could Connor's relationship with barrister Neil Dench (Adrian Lukis), who is working on the case, jeopardise the investigation and the subsequent trial?
25–26	"Curriculum Vitae"	Phillip Gladwin	Tristram Powell	140 min.	4 February 2007 5 February 2007	6.19 6.87
Young mother Susie McDonald (Victoria Hamilton) returns home from work to find her baby girl Poppy dead in her cot, and her nanny, Leanne, has vanished. The child's father, Matthew (Dominic Rowan) is no help to the case, having disappeared from Poppy's life many years ago. With Leanne on the run, and having used a fake CV to obtain her job in the first place, it seems an obvious conclusion that she is responsible for Poppy's death. However, when the trail leads to a second baby's death from two years previously, Walker believes he has a serial killer on his hands.
27–28	"Mirror Image"	Lynda La Plante	Michael Whyte	140 min.	12 February 2007 13 February 2007	7.40 6.21
The murder of Police Commander Jack Delaney and his wife Honor puts Walker, Connor and the team under pressure to get a quick result. Jewellery has been stolen from the house, which would indicate a burglary gone wrong, but several relatives profit from their deaths and so they focus the investigation on the family. Connor is suspicious of the identical twin sons in particular, and suspects that they may have worked together in order to get away with patricide. A key piece of evidence from their Aunt Nicole (Kim Thomson) proves to be Connor's key to unraveling the mystery.

Series 11 (2008)

DCI Connor takes leave in the episode "Conviction" and does not appear in the episode "The Box", returning in "Tracks". This was to accommodate actress Victoria Smurfit's pregnancy, as "The Box" was the first episode to be filmed.

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Running time	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
29–30	"Rules of the Game"	Dudi Appleton, Jim Keeble	David Moore	90 min.	17 January 2008 24 January 2008	6.98 5.82
A suitcase is found abandoned at Heathrow Airport, and panic ensues, but it is soon discovered to be no terrorist threat. Inside is the naked body of Sofia Petrenko, a high-class prostitute, who has been strangled to death. The suitcase is traced to Vitali Malikov (Marcel Iureş), a Ukrainian billionaire who admits to hiring Sofia's services, but he claims she was alive when she left him. Walker arrests Malikov on suspicion of murder, but later has to release him, and soon realises he has become a pawn in a much bigger game. Connor discovers that Malikov may not have been involved after all.
31–32	"Kill the King"	Christian Spurrier	Giles MacKinnon	90 min.	31 January 2008 7 February 2008	6.64 5.60
A well-known paediatric surgeon, Jonathan Carlisle, is found dead, and Connor uncovers a conflict which arise following a recent operation which resulted in a young girl's death. Walker soon discovers the girl's father, Gary Webster (John Lynch), was the subject of a restraining order issued by Carlisle, and that he had been stalking him for months. Webster disappears before he can be questioned, a game of cat and mouse ensuing, and he is eventually cornered, but this leads to further complications. However, Walker's attention soon turns to Adrian Lawson (Ben Miles), Carlisle's medical partner.
33–34	"Conviction"	Julie Dixon	Paul Wilmshurst	90 min.	14 February 2008 21 February 2008	5.28 4.64
Terry Dyer has been recently released from prison, where he was imprisoned for a crime he still maintains he did not commit, and he returns to his East London estate in search of the truth. The father of the victim he was convicted of killing, Ken Randle, confronts and wounds him. Walker is empathetic to Ken's situation and releases him on bail, and then Ken soon becomes doubtful of Dyer's guilt, growing convinced that a friend of his son's, Nick Fisher (Tom Ellis) was involved in his murder, and soon long-buried secrets are unearthed, leading to an unexpected twist.
35–36	"The Box"	Lynda La Plante	Alex Pillai	90 min.	28 February 2008 13 March 2008	5.32 4.95
Walker goes on leave and returns home to Glasgow, where he is taking care of his increasingly senile mother. However, he soon becomes involved in the case of a missing woman, who is the sister of an old friend. Walker begins to delve into the life of her then husband, dentist Kevin Reid (Jamie Sives), and discovers a dark bond between him and his brother Ronnie. Soon, a body is discovered and is it is proved to be the missing woman. Kevin's second wife has also been reported missing – convincing Walker that one or both of the Reid brothers are involved in the crimes. Walker is paired with DI Moira Lynch (Kerry Fox).
37–38	"Tracks"	Dudi Appleton, Jim Keeble	Tristram Powell	90 min.	20 March 2008 27 March 2008	5.08 4.73
The body of a teenage girl, Maria Cole, is discovered in a chalk pit, and the tracks of three different vehicles are discovered at the crime scene. They eventually lead Connor and Walker to the local hardman, Ray Harper (Roy Marsden). His son Andy (Matthew Beard) and his friend Darren (Jason Maza) admit being at the pit on the same night, though they claim that they never saw the girl there. However, cracks soon appear in their story when CCTV footage reveals that they crossed paths with Maria before her death, later leading to the two boys being charged with her murder.

Series 12 (2009)

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Running time	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)
39–40	"Siren"	Damian Wayling	Julian Holmes	90 min.	9 January 2009 16 January 2009	6.29 5.68
An ambulance is run off the road, killing a paramedic, and the patient being transported inside is then shot three times by a masked gunman. The victim is revealed to be Sebastian Cole, the beau of media 'it-girl' Imogen Buller-Turi (Tamsin Egerton), which sparks a high media interest in the case, prompting Walker to intrude on Connor's investigation as it becomes clear that the murder is not a simple case of road rage, and that Cole was involved in something much more sinister which resulted in his untimely death. DCI McGill (Vincent Regan) of the drugs squad then invades Connor's investigation.
41–42	"Ghost Train"	Jane Prowse	Stefan Schwartz	90 min.	23 January 2009 30 January 2009	5.92 5.79
A young girl falls from a ferris wheel to her death at the local fair, which is initially thought to be nothing more than a tragic accident. But then Satchell's aunt, who is a fortune teller at the fair, approaches the team saying she believes there is more to it. The number of accidents at the fair begins to rise. Before long a second death occurs, leading the team into a murder inquiry. Young Tommy Gilbert (Martin Brody) is initially suspected of committing foul play, before Walker discovers that one of the fair's trusted employees may have been using his other part time job as a bargaining tool in blackmail.
43–44	"Shooter"	Tony McHale	Ben Ross	90 min.	6 February 2009 13 February 2009	6.00 5.55
A shop manager is shot during a jewellery raid, and an accomplice to the killers, Joe Miller, turns informer, revealing the culprits to be a notorious crime family – the Bilkins - but then he himself shot dead. Satchell witnesses the crime, and soon finds that his life and those of his family are in danger, but can find no safety from the influence of the crime family who wish to keep him silent. When his wife Kay (Ruth Gemmell) and daughter Abigail go missing, he becomes desperate. Donna Bilkin (Sally Dexter), using his weakness, leads Satch into a potentially life-threatening situation.

References