Ellis - Episode Guide

DCI Ellis and assistant DS Harper are sent to help troubled investigations, beginning with the mysterious death of 18-year-old Rowan Edwards. His girlfriend, Maggie, has not been seen since his demise, and Rowan's mother, an ex-MP, has doubts about the capabilities of the local force. However, the current Senior Investigative Officer is sure he has the murderer in his sights. 

Ellis and Harper arrive in the town of Callorwell to investigate the disappearance of local detective Jenny Rawler. Leighton needs Ellis to control the case: the DCI of the station is off with stress, and the force recently arrested the head of a major criminal gang but bungled the case and had to let her go. Jenny's colleagues are indifferent to her disappearance, believing she left of her own free will, but Ellis - and Jenny's husband - feel something is amiss... More so when she learns that when Jenny disappeared, she was days away from submitting a complaint of bullying against her colleagues. Rife with a toxic culture, the station blocks Ellis at every turn forcing her to reach out to the enemy...

Following the report of two missing honeymooners, Ellis and Harper are called to the village of Brindleton. With the newlyweds' phones found at the edge of a dangerous stretch of river, the working theory quickly becomes that of a murder-suicide. But when a severed hand is found near the honeymooners' camper van, it becomes clear that the pair have met with foul play. Intrusive internet sleuths have descended on the village, the local force is overwhelmed and under-resourced, and to solve this case, Ellis must evade the online frenzy in order to delve into the village's tangled past. 

When the body of Peter Barron, a respected local businessman, is discovered in the tiny village of Ashenham, shock quickly turns to suspicion. The local force is out of their depth, and ACC Leighton wastes no time in parachuting in Ellis and Harper. With her forensic eye, Ellis recognises the situation for what it is: murder. Pushing past the limited resources of the local force and resistance in the community, she's determined to unearth what really happened.

The owner of a thriving plant nursery and a well-known philanthropist whose influence reached far throughout the community; Peter was once a beloved figure. However, a recent decision to launch a prison work release scheme has caused outrage. For some, the scheme was a natural continuation of Peter's charity work, but for others, the idea of criminals integrating into their idyllic community was a step too far. And Peter, previously a unifying presence, found himself at the centre of a divided village with many wanting to see him held accountable.

With emotions running high, the inexperienced local officers are keen to narrow in on a prime suspect and bring the case to a close. But as Ellis digs deeper, she uncovers secrets closer to home: a close friend with a chequered past, a daughter paralysed with grief and an ex-flame embittered with resentment. Peter's murder brings old grudges, hidden pasts, and dangerous resentments to the surface, and the more Ellis uncovers, the more tangled the picture becomes.

In Ashenham, long held grievances simmer just beneath the surface, and Ellis is determined to drag them into the open. In the end, one question towers over Ellis' investigation: was Peter killed for his ideals, or does the answer lie in his own circle, among those who knew him best?

Peter's death continues to cast a lingering shadow over Ashenham. With most leads exhausted, the case threatens to stall completely, and the truth seems further away than ever. Just as Ellis and Harper find themselves at a critical stage in the investigation, the sudden disappearance of a local boy ignites a new urgency, pulling Ellis and Harper back into a desperate search that suggests the answers they seek may still be within reach.

Their search draws them to Ash Tor – an imposing landmark steeped in local history. Among its lichen-covered rocks, Ellis begins to sense an unsettling connection between the past and present. What once seemed like isolated events start to form part of a much larger, more intricate pattern. While following this line of enquiry, an unexpected figure emerges, offering the possibility of insight into Peter's final hours. Yet this fragile thread of hope comes with its own challenges. Extracting the truth requires not interrogation, but empathy, patience, and a delicate hand. For Ellis, it becomes a test not only of her instincts, but of her capacity for compassion, and her ability to read between the lines of what is spoken and what is left unsaid.

Forced to reassess everything she has uncovered so far, Ellis confronts a landscape shaped by contradictions, half-truths, and quiet evasions. What began as a straightforward pursuit of justice evolves into something far more unsettling: an unravelling of the stories, loyalties, and myths that have long defined Ashenham.