Season 15 - Episode Guide

A reformed London gangster called Terry Molloy arrives in Aidensfield to start a new life and comes to the attention of the police when he saves Rob from a beating at the hands of a gang of reckless hooligans. Miller wastes no time in putting him in the frame when a safe is blown in Ashfordly, much to Rob's dismay. Worse still, Younger accidentally reveals Molloy's whereabouts to a snooping journalist, and the news soon reaches Molloy's former underworld associates. Meanwhile, Aunt Peggy causes a salmonella outbreak when her chicken-feed racket backfires, whilst Helen and Rob have embarked on an full-blown affair, and Ventress is concerned when his wife falls ill.

Ventress poses as a criminal to dig dirt on a dangerous driver who has accused Rob of using excessive force. However, the covert operation reveals startling information that casts doubt on Miller's integrity. Meanwhile, Lord Ashfordly asks Gina to help him interview for a new housekeeper, with one of the candidates being none other than Aunt Peggy! Elsewhere, David is delighted when one of his elderly customers gives him her late husbands model railway set, and Bellamy is appointed Federation rep and must deal with Younger's complaint about being treated like an odd-job man at the police station.

Miller gives chase to a gang of poachers on Ashfordly Hall in the middle of the night and accidentally knocks down an old tramp, who later dies in hospital, jeopardising the sergeant's future in the police force. Meanwhile, Aunt Peggy is knocked down a hole on Lord Ashfordly's land whilst poaching and remains there all night. However, it brings about another money-making idea when she decides to sue him for the "injuries" she sustained. Elsewhere, Gina goes to art college in York and finds herself attracted to her teacher, whilst an offer from an old friend leaves Blaketon tempted into selling the Aidensfield Arms to the brewery.

A gang of ageing villains spot a chance for one last, glorious crime spree when the villagers leave Aidensfield en masse to support Rob in a charity football match. Meanwhile, David is nervous when he is summoned for jury service and learns the accused is an old acquaintance of Aunt Peggy's, providing her with a new way of making easy money and leaving David paranoid that Miller wants to send him to prison.

Helen becomes involved in a suspected case of euthanasia when one of her patients suddenly dies, and Rob's desperate need to clear his girlfriend's name nearly blows their affair to the rest of the village. Meanwhile, Peggy and David start a strawberry scam involving Rosie's two brothers, providing an excited Geoff Younger with his first ever independent case.

An escaped killer causes a public outcry when he turns up in Aidensfield and commits a series of violent attacks on the locals, two of the victims being his own parents. Rob allows his feelings to jeopardise the recapture of the convict when Helen is kidnapped. Meanwhile, David faces a heartbreaking time when Claude Greengrass' beloved lurcher Alfred passes away. As the happy-go-lucky handyman sinks into depression, a concerned Peggy, Bernie and Rosie try to bring light back into his life.

Miller demands answers from Lord Ashfordly when a priceless Manet painting is stolen from a retired German art dealer's home, who is found in a critical state by Blaketon after a car accident. Meanwhile, Peggy tries to convince a pair of visiting bird-watchers that Aidensfield's wildlife includes a rare bird of prey, and David tries to wing it as an ornithological expert.

The residents pull together to raise money for a devout couple when their baby is diagnosed with a life-threatening condition and an operation in America is the only thing that could save her, whilst Rob intervenes when greed and a brotherly feud results in a fatal car crash and a series of serious assaults. Meanwhile, Peggy is up to her usual tricks as she frightens some holiday-makers when a rumour circulates that a local tourist spot is haunted, and Jack and Gina go for a walk in the woods - and come across a dead body!

David helps his young friend run away from home when the return of his troublesome father causes turmoil for his mother, but the dim-witted handyman inadvertently leaves the young boy with a paedophile. Meanwhile, Jack recruits Bernie in an ill-advised attempt to encourage Gina's creative ambitions when the Aidensfield Arms plays host to an art exhibition, whilst Lord Ashfordly's hires Peggy as a dog trainer for his out-of-control dog when the hound bites a window cleaner, who demands Miller has the dog put down.

Blaketon becomes the prime suspect in a murder enquiry when he is asked to spy on an adulterous coal merchant by his wife. After the man is found dead, his wife claims she and Blaketon are lovers, leaving Rob to lead his own investigation to clear the private detective's name. Meanwhile, Bellamy falls in love with a young widow with three children, living on the Ashfordly council estate, when he attends to a burglary at her house, and Peggy fails to back a winner when she buys a greyhound that refuses to run.

David fears Scripps family history has repeated itself when Bernie disappears after his sanity is questioned when a truck he recently repaired careers into a garden and a snooping journalist uses it to boost his credibility. Blaketon and Ventress take it upon themselves to track down the mechanic. Meanwhile, Helen's estranged husband Matthew returns to Aidensfield and his scheming lands Rob in serious trouble when he faces being transferred to another station. Pushed to the limit by her cheating ex, Helen decides to play her husband at his own games.

Lord Ashfordly and his staff go away for Christmas, leaving Ashfordly Hall in the hands of his lordship's old army pal after rumours of a planned robbery emerge. However, he soon arouses Rob's suspicion when he harbours a young tearaway and tries to teach him a valuable life lesson in a violent way when the thief repays his act of kindness by stealing Lord Ashfordly's valuables. Meanwhile, Blaketon and Peggy go into competition when they both open Santa's grottos at the pub and Bernie's garage, whilst Ventress' nose is put out of joint when his wife falls ill and Gina, Helen, David and Bellamy to draw straws on who gets to invite him for Christmas dinner.

The villagers are furious when Henry Stoddard, who was convicted of murdering Nick Rowan's predecessor, is released from prison. When the Aidensfield Arms is attacked and Ventress is nearly killed in a hit-and-run accident, Henry immediately comes under suspicion and protests his innocence in the 15-year-old murder case. Rob reopens the case in an attempt to stop further violence from spilling out, but he ends up casting doubt on Blaketon's integrity when evidence suggests another member of the Stoddard family was too blame. Meanwhile, Peggy is delighted when she discovers she may be a distant relative of Lord Ashfordly's and wastes no time by cashing in on her discovery and making herself quite at home at Ashfordly Hall, whilst Bellamy leaves the villagers stunned when he turns up at the pub - with his new wife Debbie!

A convicted young arsonist's rehabilitation is threatened when he is accused of a series of arson attacks - and his clandestine relationship with a former employer's daughter complicates his plea of innocence. Rob is reminded of his own troublesome childhood and tries to prove the youngster isn't guilty, but it becomes increasingly difficult when all evidence points to the contrary. Meanwhile, Blaketon and Jack team up and find themselves in a police cell when they oppose Peggy's new advertisement venture.

The Ashfordly team pursue Aidensfield's very own Bonnie and Clyde following a series of armed robberies. When the runaway heiress is injured whilst on the run, her ruthless boyfriend kidnaps Helen, who pushes her luck too far when she sets out to persuade the young women to ditch her violent partner-in-crime. Meanwhile, Peggy is incensed when Rosie takes over at the garage whilst Bernie is away and instructs a reluctant David to prove himself by organizing a funeral in a madcap scheme to get Bernie to leave the garage to the hapless handyman in his will.

Rob and the team are called in when a local judge becomes the target of a series of attacks and is subsequently terrorised by a blackmailer. As they discover what sordid antics the judge gets up to behind closed doors, the case takes a sinister twist when the prime suspect is shot dead on his doorstep. Meanwhile, Peggy and David buy a radio that tunes into police channels and sell the stories to the Ashfordly Gazette, which also gives them the opportunity to teach a pompous old enemy a lesson. It's not long before an outraged Miller discovers their scheme and delights at the chance to finally throw the book at his scheming nemesis.

Rob and Bellamy pick up a man claiming to be a local farmer who presumably perished in a London air raid in the 1940s. As no body was ever found, he claims to have lost his memory and soon causes a stir when he tries to pick up where he left off with his wife, who has remarried and is now trapped in a loveless marriage with a seriously-ill abusive man, who seems to know more about the circumstances behind his rival's disappearance than he is letting on. Meanwhile, Lord Ashfordly's behaviour takes a strange turn after he eats some of Peggy's peculiar batch of mushrooms, whilst Younger asks Rosie for driving lesson when Miller books him on an official police driving course, but she is horrified when their "romance" comes the talk of the village.

Lord Ashfordly's niece comes to stay in Aidensfield following the breakdown of her marriage, but immediately suffers another blow when her prize racehorse is kidnapped and held to ransom. Romance is in the air for Rosie as a biker gang turns up in town, and Bernie risks alienating his close friend when he joins Blaketon and other prejudice villagers in their suspicions about the bikers when the local church is robbed, whilst Gina and Bellamy race to save Debbie's daughter Jane when a seedy photographer takes an interest in her.

Local farmer Colin Judd is devastated when he is forced to place his property in the hands of an auctioneer following the death of his father - but is even more shocked to see his estranged brother Andy at the sale. Andy seems unusually desperate to get his hands on a box of old junk, which goes from one villager to another and puts Blaketon and Jack in danger when they stand in his way of getting it back. Debbie confronts an old flame and later gets into trouble for drink-driving, and David is left stranded in the middle of nowhere with a pompous couple when Aunt Peggy buys a horse and carriage for her new sightseeing enterprise.

Bernie is subjected to a series of violent attacks, leaving Rosie concerned when he refuses to involve the constabulary, whilst Rob is pushed too far by a violent farmer who causes a punch-up during the birth of his granddaughter. Meanwhile, Helen is horrified when her estranged father, who abandoned her family when she was a young child, arrives in Aidensfield desperate to make amends before cancer ends his life, whilst Peggy enters David into a fishing competition without his approval.

Bellamy is distraught to learn the extent of Debbie's alcoholism when she goes on a late-night drinking spree by the river, but her actions get her into trouble when she becomes implicated in the murder of a bank manager. Meanwhile, Joyce Jowett takes action when Peggy and David allow a colony of hippies to stay on their land when it brings about yet another money-making scheme, and Younger finds himself caught in the middle when the two strong-minded women come to blows, whilst Helen and Rob patch things up after their break-up.

Miller is delighted when his old Army captain shows up and makes him a business proposition, which he turns down without regret. However, when Rob and Bellamy are called to investigate a spate of car thefts, it becomes clear the sergeant's old friend has other matters to take care of in Aidensfield. Meanwhile, Bellamy struggles to look after Debbie's children whilst she is in rehab, but he regrets letting Peggy take his two stepdaughters on a day out when they are arrested for poaching on the lands of Ashfordly Hall, whilst Jack encourages Gina to explore her artistic side by posing nude in one of his paintings.

Despite Rob's efforts to keep his wedding secret, his enigmatic sisters and Gina enlist the help of the residents to organise a surprise party as the policeman prepares to marry Helen. The big day doesn't run smoothly when Helen's mother voices her disapproval and a man's complaint about noisy neighbours turns deadly when his mentally ill wife takes matters into her own hands. Meanwhile, Bellamy is delighted when Debbie returns from rehab a changed woman, Younger's dancing leaves a lot to be desired, Peggy uses old Christmas decorations for the wedding reception, Miller gains an admirer, whilst Gina sees Jack's true colours when she discovers he has sold the nude painting of her to an art gallery in London and wants them to move away from Aidensfield.

Rob suspects two cases are connected when a crashed car is found in a ditch and a spate of sheep rustling occurs at a local farm, whilst Helen is left to pick up the pieces when an old women suffering from dementia goes missing and is later found dead in the river. Meanwhile, Peggy is intrigued by an eco-warrior couple's slurry-fuelled generator, whilst Blaketon becomes concerned for Gina when she becomes distant following her break-up with Jack.

When a young girl is involved in a hit-and-run following a local dance, Miller gives the case top priority when he discovers the car involved belongs to the son of the councillor on the police committee, who is known for his reckless driving, whilst the case also puts Younger in a compromising position. Meanwhile, David as finally had enough of being treated like Peggy's skivvy and leaves her to run the taxi business whilst he becomes a window cleaner's assistant.

A prisoner is broken out of the Ashfordly station cells to pilot a helicopter on an armed robbery job, and Bellamy faces another heartbreaking time when Debbie begins acting strangely as a familiar face returns to the village. Rob and Helen look to the future as Helen moves into the police house, but their happiness comes crashing down when a disturbed boy takes revenge for the death of his dog. Meanwhile, an Ashfordly dentist takes a shine to Peggy, but she soon discovers he has an ulterior motive and recruits a struggling journalist to exact revenge.