Death Valley - Episode Guide

Disarming Welsh DS Janie Mallowan is desperate to solve some big cases and progress her career. While investigating the death by apparent suicide of wealthy property developer Carwyn Rees, she meets none other than John Chapel, the retired actor who played her TV detective idol, Inspector Charles Caesar. Eccentric and reclusive John uses his insight into character to deduce that Carwyn was murdered, though Janie is initially sceptical of his conclusions.

When forensics prove his theory right, Janie quietly asks him to help with the case. Having shut himself away from the world for years, John is initially reluctant to help. But together they work to solve an intriguing mystery involving an environmental activist, a grieving widow and a bitter business rival, painting the portrait of a man who kept a lot of secrets from those closest to him. And although John and Janie are not ready to admit it, this first case is the start of an iconic crime-solving partnership, and a friendship, too.

After a walker is found dead on a Welsh mountain trail, John's insight into the unidentified woman quickly turns this into a murder investigation. Janie ropes John into joining her mam Yvonne's walking group to help solve the case and crack the identity of this mysterious woman. John is reluctant to go out and socialise, but he can't resist the call of another mystery. John and Janie join forces to solve two mysteries: the identity of the victim and a cunning murder plot with a large dose of blackmail and revenge. Janie's fierce defence of one of the suspects reveals more about her past, while John finds himself out of the house and enjoying himself a lot more than he's ready to admit...

Janie is tasked with solving the murder of divisive best man Gethin Bennion the night before a wedding. What initially seems to be a burglary gone wrong quickly unravels complicated family dynamics and betrayed friendships, revealing just how far people will go for love. Janie is forced to face up to her personal experience of a friendship turned sour in order to connect with a suspect and crack the case. Meanwhile, John forms an unlikely connection with one of the suspects over art and painting, forcing him to re-evaluate the role that work played in his own marriage and the circumstances around his late wife's passing.

Following the murder of coastal town businesswoman and am-dram theatre director Menna Hughes, Janie is eager to solve the case and land the DI promotion she desperately wants. She enlists John's help, but bristling at Janie's insinuation that he might have ‘lost' his acting chops, John takes matters into his own hands and joins the cast of the theatre group's next play. What starts out as a murder investigation soon becomes a cathartic journey for John, who is unexpectedly reminded of why he fell in love with acting in the first place. As for Janie, witnessing a downtrodden suspect finally stand up for themselves inspires her to confront her own demons from the past.

A murder mystery event turns into a real murder investigation when famous Welsh actor and TV detective Anthony Hart is found stabbed to death at the dinner table. There's a lot of pressure on Janie to solve this murder, which isn't helped by the fact that John is close friends with Helena Hart, the sister of the deceased. John and Janie's investigation reveals not only a feud between siblings warring over property and their family's legacy, but also the pitfalls of fame and the kind of person Anthony really was. John finds himself rekindling his fledgling romance with old flame Helena, but ultimately, it's through an unexpected connection with a suspect that he is reminded of the dangers of living in the past, which inadvertently helps Janie let go of her own baggage. For Janie, this case is also the final hurdle before landing her DI position.

Janie has been avoiding John ever since Clarke learned the truth about their partnership and put her promotion on ice. But an unexpected gesture from Clarke's boss sees John's role as a consultant with Mid Wales police made official. This forces John and Janie to find a new normal and rekindle their connection. They're tasked with solving the murder of Janie's mechanic, Dean Ward, which took place during a school reunion party at Janie's old school. As John and Janie dig deeper into Dean's death, links emerge to DC Chaudhry's recently unearthed cold case, a body uncovered in a drain. This forces Janie to revisit the events that led to her teenage best friend Sian's suicide fifteen years ago. John's instincts about the case puts him and Janie at odds, eventually forcing them to acknowledge the importance of their friendship. But as the series comes to an end, John upends their reconciliation with unexpected news…

A community service group find themselves under suspicion when one of their members, car salesman Eddie Morris, is pushed off the tower of a ruined castle around which the group are working. John and Janie are brought together by DCI Clarke to solve the case. However, following the shocking revelation that John has been dating Janie's mam, Yvonne, tensions remain high between the two. Though they haven't spoken in months, our crime-fighting duo must now remain professional if they hope to solve Eddie's murder.

Janie tries to give the case her full attention while getting to grips with the demands of her new, long-awaited promotion to detective inspector. As if this weren't enough, she's also living with pathologist Baxter, having moved out of her mum's house as an act of rebellion while Yvonne continues her relationship with John. Meanwhile, John employs a different tactic for the investigation by going undercover, as himself, in the community service group. John hopes to gain a better understanding of the suspects and use his signature character analysis to seek out the guilty party.

In the community service group, John and Janie question their list of suspects, which include the deceased's spiteful ex-wife, a sarky young offender, a hardened criminal, a disgraced Welsh politician and their happy-go-lucky supervisor. With mounting pressures, both personal and professional, will Janie and John be able to put their differences aside and solve the mystery?

In the quaint fishing village of Abertonnau, a trendy food shack is burned down with its owner inside. Janie arrives to investigate the murder of chef Scott Winstanley. Despite her best efforts to coax a downtrodden John from his self-imposed seclusion, Janie is seemingly unable to recruit him to help on the case.

However, upon arrival at The Ship, a neighbouring pub to the food shack, Janie is surprised to learn of an unexpected guest staying at the inn. John Chapel has checked himself in for a few days. The stay is, by John's account, a chance to recover from heartbreak. Despite this, Janie knows John can't help himself when a chance to solve a mystery appears. The pair start to interview the locals, which include the owners of The Ship – a brother-sister duo who can't keep the pub alive, an abrasive visiting ecologist and the last fisherman in town.

John and Janie begin to understand what's really going on in Abertonnau under the calm surface of the town. Fierce business rivalries, a waning fishing industry and a rare breeding seal colony all make up pieces of the puzzle – but can John assuage his aching heart long enough to crack the case? And can Janie live up to her new DI responsibilities while still being the detective she wants to be?

On the set of an epic Welsh TV drama, The Mabinogion, a runner is found dead in a young starlet's trailer. John and Janie are called to investigate the crew, and as they journey into the glamorous world of TV production, Janie finds herself starstruck by the actors, while John is simply struck by how much of an outsider he feels.

They begin their interviews with the young lead of the show, Welsh actress Olivia Whitmore, who, to Janie's surprise, is incredibly down to earth. She and Olivia click immediately, causing John to question whether Janie is able to put her personal connection aside and stay open to all suspects. Janie's potential conflict of interest is soon put into perspective, however, when they encounter the next interviewee, Randall St Clair, the actor who played John's old Caesar sidekick, who is a little frostier with John than expected. The duo explore the rest of the crew, which includes a stalactite-obsessed set designer, a laddish medic and an old-school make-up designer.

On-set injuries, secret affairs and badly behaved owls all lead Janie and John towards the answer. But forced back into the world of his former life, can John summon what's needed to uncover the truth, and can Janie remain professional when her new friend is a prime suspect?

Janie arrives at a new age commune after its founder, Sebastian ‘Chief' Granger, is found impaled on a horse plough during a crucial vote on the the commune's future. DI Janie is on the case but seems uncharacteristically keen to put the murder to bed quickly. Her reasons become clear when one of the community members is revealed to be her estranged father, Michael. Janie enlists the help of her trusty consultant John Chapel, but gives him a clear warning that her father is as unreliable as he is charming and that John is not to be taken in.

Despite this, John finds himself clicking with Michael and is unable to understand Janie's harsh assessment of her father. This point of contention between our crime-solving pair causes them to split up for the investigation. As they interview the commune members, John and Janie meet the fierce de facto new leader, a vegan lifestyle influencer, together with her devoted husband, and an angry neighbouring farmer and her meek adult son.

Disappointing parents, hidden romances and vegan bean-curd cheese are at the centre of this case. As Janie looks into the murder, old, complicated feelings around Michael are brought to the fore. Will his presence in Janie's life prove to be the disruptive force she predicted, or is John's new friendship with Michael proof that bad dads can change?

On a hot Saturday, Janie is roped into running a rehabilitation course for rule-breaking officers at Trebach CID. An already unpleasant atmosphere goes from bad to worse when Clarke drops in to say hello to one of the attendees – his old boss Phil Holmes – and finds him dead in the men's toilets. With enough evidence to consider the death foul play, Janie locks down the office, considering all the attendees as suspects in Phil's murder. On Clarke's command, John joins the team to work against the clock and solve the case.

Having been put on the course for various conduct mistakes, the group are not the most honest coppers going. Clarke's old nemesis, an exercise-crazed PC, a high-ranking workaholic civilian officer, a mild-mannered dog handler and an up-and-coming young DS make up the suspects. Can Janie and John use their skills to suss out the culprit and gather enough evidence in time to make an arrest?

While focused on the case, Janie struggles to find time for her renewed relationship with her dad. Balancing the two men in her life – Michael and John – and solving a murder in a lockdown puts Janie through her paces. Skeletons from the past, reigniting old flames and curry on the hottest day of the year are all on the cards during this investigation. Can John and Janie bring Phil's killer to justice? And will Michael's continued appearances disturb John and Janie's dynamite partnership?

At the memorial service for a rugby club's groundsman, the discovery of another death shocks the attendees. When the body of the club chairperson, Rachel Jenkins, is found in a function room, Janie and John must scrutinise everyone linked to the rugby club. With Janie's big move looming, this is set to be her last case for a while, and John starts to consider how his life will look without her.

Whilst exploring the competitive world of rugby on the case, John and Janie encounter an eclectic mix of characters, including a star rugby player at the start of his career, his competitive has-been father, the recently widowed barmaid, a humdrum firefighter and the endlessly positive captain of the women's team. Janie worries the young rugby star might be doing too much to please his dad. John has similar worries about Janie. Despite Janie's misgivings, John gets to know the suspects on the pretext of putting on a one-man show in the club's function room. Though the two find themselves at odds once again, they must pool their skills to find the murderer.

During their investigations, Janie and John find washed-up athletes, pitch-side interviews and a scuba-diving accident will all lead them towards the answer. But once the case is solved, and the dust has settled, what will become of John and Janie's partnership?