Suranne Jones and Lesley Sharp return in this crime drama exploring the personal and professional lives of two detectives. This series sees both Rachel Bailey (Suranne Jones) and Janet Scott (Lesley Sharp) in line for promotion but with only one sergeant's role up for grabs, they must compete against each other. Rachel's mum is back on the scene with a new boyfriend who Rachel discovers has a violent past. Janet has personal issues to deal with when her daughter decides to leave home. Rachel starts a new relationship, but because her lover is a senior police officer, she must keep it secret. And Janet unintentionally sparks trouble for boss Gill (Amelia Bullmore) when she raises concerns about Gill's drinking. Will Gill make it through to retirement with her reputation intact?
Episode 1 repeats Friday, April 1 at 11 p.m. - When both Scott and Bailey pass the promotion board with flying colors, it falls to Gill to choose who stays on as sergeant at Syndicate 9. When Janet is offered the job, she realizes the timing isn't right and turns it down. And as a second-choice Rachel delights in her promotion, Janet is asked to keep the truth from her. The story of the week involves the kidnap and murder of Robin McKendrick. When a photo of Robin, in the boot of a car, shows up on Facebook, Syndicate 9 know he's probably already dead. But the body they recover from a flooded quarry is a woman, and Rachel has just landed her first job as sergeant.
Episode 2 repeats Friday, April 8 at 11 p.m. - Rachel's first job as sergeant is a historical missing person's case, and her biggest challenge is to hide her contempt for the poor police work that hampered the original investigation. Honoring Gill, Janet keeps quiet about being first choice and instead shares another secret with Rachel; she wants a boyfriend. When Mandy Sweeting's body is discovered, 23 years after she went missing, Rachel's first case as sergeant takes on huge proportions. Wading through narrow-minded police work and re-interviewing bruised and bereft family members, makes this a particularly challenging.
Episode 3 repeats Friday, April 15 at 11 p.m. - After promising that the chaos of her personal life was behind her, Rachel is torn when she discovers that her mother's new boyfriend is a violent domestic abuser. Janet goes on her first date, but gets cold feet at the last minute, when the idea of having to sell herself to a stranger makes her heart sink. When Rich Hutchings is found murdered in the flat he shares with his husband Adam, their neighbor Barry, an outspoken and violent homophobe, is the prime suspect. But as Adam's friend, Tim, struggles to remember the events of their night out, it seems that Barry might be in the clear.
Episode 4 repeats Friday, April 22 at 11 p.m. - While Rachel chooses to keep her relationship with Det. Super Will Pemberton a secret, Gill lets slip that Janet was first choice for the sergeant's job, leaving Rachel floored. Unaware of Gill's indiscretion, Janet is baffled by Rachel pulling rank. A speed dating night leaves Janet unfulfilled, when she can't help interviewing every man as if they're a suspect. When a woman is found dead in a hotel room, Syndicate 9 has only a necklace and the name 'Lola' to go on. But a witness comes forward to report a sexual encounter that left her feeling uneasy, and it seems that a hook-up site could hold the answers.
Episode 5 repeats Friday, May 6 at 11 p.m. - Unable to get over being second choice, Rachel punishes Janet for not telling her. Thrilled to be chosen for a Vice initiative, Rachel's stung by Gill's jibe that she's sleeping her way to the top. Elise moving in with Ade, has made Janet feel inadequate as a mother, and while she hasn't given up on the idea of a boyfriend, she's certain he won't be found online. When an unconscious baby is admitted to hospital, staff are concerned that his injuries don't match his parents' explanations. But with a child-minder and her stoned boyfriend in the mix, it's unclear who had the baby's best interests at heart.
Episode 6 repeats Friday, May 13 at 11 p.m. - Troubled by Gill's remarks about Will, Rachel ducks out of going to an award ceremony with him. But Will has had enough and ends what was possibly the best relationship Rachel's ever had. Janet discovers that Elise's heart is being broken by Eleanor's son, and her maternal instincts make her want to bring her daughter home. When Tam and Pat Robinson are murdered in their pub, son Simon is left utterly alone, having lost his sister when he was three. But sister Carla didn't die, and when a connection is found between her and ex-offender Ben Townsley, it feels like Syndicate 9 is onto something.
Episode 7 repeats Friday, May 20 at 11 p.m. - Janet is unnerved to discover that Dodson can't ignore her concerns about Gill's drinking. And just as Rachel feels like she's on top of the job, she makes a fatal error that puts Janet and Chris in danger and makes Janet wonder whether their flirtatious behavior meant she took her eye off the ball. A man's body is found wedged between rocks on the moors. With nothing to identify him, a road block is set up and an appeal put out. When inquiries lead Janet and Chris to a nearby farm, they discover something much more sinister and shocking than they could've anticipated.
Episode 8 repeats Friday, May 27 at 11 p.m. - The discovery of slaves on the Pritchard farm has turned a murder inquiry into a huge, multi-agency investigation, bringing Dodson to Syndicate 9 to establish Gill's efficacy as SIO. Under investigation for the crash, a devastated Janet finds solace in Chris's calm reasoning, while the demands of the case mean Rachel misses her mum's funeral. When an incandescent Evie Pritchard smells alcohol on Gill's breath, she has all the ammunition she needs to discredit both the investigation and Gill Murray. But Scott and Bailey are determined to get Gill over the finish line, with her phenomenal reputation in tact.
Starring: Suranne Jones, Amelia Bullmore. Directors: Simon Delaney, Noreen Kershaw, Neasa Hardiman. Producer Juliet Charlesworth; Executive Producers Nicola Shindler, Tom Sherry. Co-created by Sally Wainwright, Diane Taylor; Based on an idea by Suranne Jones, Sally Lindsay; Writers Amelia Bullmore, Lee Warburton, Emily Ballou.
A Red Production Company production for ITV. Distributed by BBC Worldwide.
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