Law & Order: UK

When as ex-premier league footballer is beaten to death with a tyre iron on a London street one evening in what looks like a robbery gone wrong, the investigation leads Matt and Ronnie to everyman, Mike Jones. He was seen in the area at the time of the murder, has motive and, once arrested, has his DNA matched to the murder weapon. Proclaiming his innocence, Mike points the finger at a well known East End gangster who he says he saw at the scene of the crime on the evening in question. The police are at odds as to who to believe. Trying the accused is no mean feat for James Steel, who is up against the eccentric defence barrister Jason Peters.

When high court judge Rachel Callaghan is shot in an underground car park, in what looks like a car robbery gone wrong, it soon becomes apparent that a hitman was hired to kill her. Despite being shot twice, the judge is left on life support in hospital with her husband and daughter by her bedside. The question on everyone's minds is who wanted the judge dead - a career criminal she's been pursuing a case against? Or someone a little closer to home?

When a pregnant junior doctor, Alice Cullen, is found beaten to death in the car park of the hospital where she works, the prime suspect becomes her boyfriend, who cannot provide a solid alibi for where he was at the time of the killing. Mobile phone traces put him in the right place at approximately the right time, but when his therapist provides him with an alibi for that evening, DS Devlin and DS Brooks begin to suspect they are having an affair. On arrest, what initially seems like a crime of passion soon unravels into a conspiracy involving senior level government officials. Risking their careers and defying the instruction of the Director of Public Prosecutions, James and Alesha must get to the bottom of this case before another life is destroyed.

When a fire at his home leads to the death of a teenager with severe disabilities - DS Devlin and DS Brooks soon discover the fire was no accident. The investigation draws our cops in many different directions, but the finger of blame soon points towards the last person anyone would have expected. Complications develop in prosecuting the defendant when the CPS find themselves up against 'win-at-all-costs' defence lawyer Dominic Peck whose outrageous ego threatens the fair outcome of the trial. With Peck constantly shifting the goalposts and misinforming his client, James finds himself acting as both defence and prosecution.

An unfolding tragedy takes unexpected twists and turns as what initially looks like a cot death of 6 month old Alex Raines is later diagnosed as shaken baby syndrome leaving Matt and Ronnie with a murder investigation on their hands. But with many possible suspects - the neglectful mum, the absent dad, the resentful nanny or her short-tempered soldier boyfriend - who should our cops arrest? During the trial and pitted against the indefatigable Helena Marsden, the very framework of this family is pulled apart and the CPS are forced to do some investigating of their own.

The body of a missing child is found with a note reading 'They Must be Destroyed' - a terrifying echo for DS Brooks of an old case in which he was involved. Andrew Dillon - an out and out racist - was convicted six years ago of killing three young boys in similar circumstances. With Dillon safely locked up in prison, it looks like there may be a copycat killer picking up where Dillon left off. Or could there be an alternative and more terrifying truth?