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The everyday public and private lives of the detectives, policemen and policewomen who work at the inner-city Christmas Street police station in Manchester.
1998
New police drama series set in the police station of a northern city. Two constables come across the body of a young woman and a murder inquiry is set up. But for an already overworked CID team, resources are being stretched to their limit. Meanwhile, there's an armed siege in an old peoples' home and a new Pc begins his first day on the job.
When a member of the Police Authority is burgled, he expects instant results. An empty baby-seat in a car involved in a traffic accident sends Terry on a frantic search for the missing child. The arrival of DS Jane McCormack puts Ray's nose out of joint. And a robber sporting a bright-red comedy wig and glasses has escaped with cash from a betting shop.
Terry surprises what he thinks is a burglar, but first impressions can be deceptive… Terry returns from his morning run to find an intruder in the house. CID is desperate to find Geoff Morrison, the father of Hayley and the prime suspect for her murder. Pc Sue Chappell and Pc Steve Jackson are faced with an emergency situation.
Determined to celebrate in style, at her 25th birthday bash WPc Sue Chappell ends up in the arms of Det Sgt Ray Pickering and they're not the only ones letting their hair down! Sue's had a day to remember after facing a gun-toting robber but when she has second thoughts about the job, hotheaded cop Steve shows an unexpected side to his personality… Pc Richard Law is visited by a deranged young man looking for his brother. Sue's birthday celebrations are marred by an interview that leaves her shaken.
Work is hectic at Christmas Street station as Paul and Colin have to deal with a drunk driver, and the rest of the shift faces prostitutes, a wife beater – and witnesses who claim to have seen UFO's! The relief shift on night duty is being kept busy with a prostitute and her client causing a disturbance, a case of wife battery and constant reports of UFO sightings. Meanwhile, the murder case is going no-where and Tony has nothing left to go on.
It's teeming with rain which has the advantage of keeping villains off the streets, but it means Pcs Redfern and Sydenham have to go looking for Pc Green, who always avoids working in a downpour. The paperwork for the murder inquiry is almost complete and, although Jane has doubts about the confession, Tony refuses to listen to her opinion.
Out shopping on his day off with his girlfriend Alison, Terry plays the hero when he nabs a shoplifter. But back on the beat, though, he bumps into an old school pal and realises being a boy in blue has its downside… A second body has been discovered and a new incident room is set up. To Ray's disappointment, DS McCormack is recalled to the case and the inquiry's progress is hampered by the loss of some important pathology reports. Meanwhile, Steve and Colin are on patrol when they see a chance to catch a recently released prisoner.
The murders of the two girls have been linked, so Ray and Jane have to get the investigation back on track.
Terry gets into trouble after arresting his mum's boyfriend and Sue has a big decision to make – and they both have to come to the rescue when their foolhardy colleague Steve is stabbed and thrown into a canal. Ray wakes up to a wrecked flat and some more bad news. Meanwhile, Tony gets the murder investigation off the ground by interviewing all male students.
Det Insp Tony Baynham and his team are sent on a wild goose chase in pursuit of their murder suspect. And there's Steve Jackson's attacker to catch and young Terry Sydenham needs his job back. The murder team are playing a game of wait and see as their prime suspect disappears.
1999
DI Baynham and the Christmas Street team are joined by new recruit Pc Judy Byrd.
Terry's gone and those he's left behind have all been affected in a big way. His mum is beside herself with grief and his partner on the job, Pete Redfern, doesn't know what to do with himself. Hot-headed Steve Jackson however has decided the best thing to do is join the Armed Response Team… Tony and Ray chase a vigilante who hunts down drug dealers.
New Recruit Pc Judy Byrd has the thankless task of stepping into Terry's shoes, when she's paired with his former partner Pete. To make matters worse, the whole team's still in mourning and she doesn't know how to deal with their grief. Meanwhile, a seemingly drugs-related death at the hands of an angry mob, on a supposedly crime-free estate, baffles Tony and Ray, whose investigations are also hampered by a pair of hapless street robbers intent on pulling a major job in the city centre.
As DI Tony Baynham prepares to tie the knot with Maggie, he thinks all he's got to worry about is being late – but he hasn't taken into account the flooded reception, an old mate who wants to kill himself or the return of his old flame Lucy! And he shouldn't count on DS Ray Pickering for sound advice! Pc Sue Chappell has a touching encounter with a child murderer. Tony's wedding day arrives, bringing more than a few surprises and the suspicious death of a baby lead Steve to believe the father is responsible.
The Christmas Street team have to control a riot among residents on a estate who have discovered there is a paedophile in their midst. Paedophile Michael Dennison, kidnaps Pc Sue Chappell and takes her down into the dingy underground tunnels of the city and the hunt is on to find her.
Fruit and vegetables are supposed to be good for us, but that's not the case when an aubergine, a carrot and a banana go on a robbery spree… The team has a lot on its plate when an oversized aubergine robs a building society and a man in a carrot costume mugs a customer in a restaurant. Tony Baynham returns home early from his honeymoon.
CID prepares surveillance on Les Glover, a club owner and drugs dealer who is gathering cash for a big deal. Meanwhile, the uniform team lays bets on the identity and gender of Colin's new partner.
Pc Pete Redfern is not a happy bobby. Still not over the death of his young protégé Terry, he's now looking after another fresh-faced probationer, the very irritating Judy Byrd. A call comes in to Christmas Street, warning that an officer will die by 5.00pm that day. Not much notice is taken until it is discovered that a character named David Crane – who has been in prison for stabbing Pete Redfern's partner Mance – is on his way up north.
Looks like the game's up for DS Ray Pickering. Station boss Chief Inspector Barnard has found out that Ray's got to know his young daughter in the biblical sense. Loose cannon Pc Steve Jackson, having been booted out of the Armed Response Unit, decides he wants to start a family. How will his poor wife Debs react to such an unusually mature proposition? A 15-year-old boy is reported missing, and Colin and Nick have to sort out a hen party.
A team from the station stakes out a post office, hoping to foil an armed robbery, but the plan is compromised when DS McCormack gets caught up in the action.
A man is brought in who claims to know the identity of Pc Terry Sydenham's murderer. A car left by Nick as a decoy is stripped by thieves. Terry's Sydenham's death has cast a shadow over the Christmas Street team, so they're relieved when his killer is finally captured – but will Sgt Mackey be?
Connor Rice has been arrested and charged with the murder of Pc Terry Sydenham. However, with no hard evidence available there's a chance the thoroughly nasty drugs dealer could walk free. Not something Terry's mentor Pc Pete Redfern wants as he prepares to retire… Gagan continues to interrogate Connor Rice; Steve and Sue are caught in a pursuit through the city centre; and Tony receives bad news.
2000
Christmas Street's new CID chief, Jack Carter, immediately upsets Chief Inspector Barnard by arresting local dignitaries. Pcs Jitlada and Green become involved with a homeless young couple who are being chased by an armed bounty hunter.
A one-man crime wave hits Christmas Street in the form of an impostor and DI Jack Carter and DS Janet Miller investigate local drugs dealers – one of whom turns out to be the son of Chief Inspector Barnard's new love.
After a bungled drugs bust, DI Carter is left to salvage something from the few scraps he has. Carter and the team were after ambitious small-time dealer Gerald Ridley but chances of them getting him now look slight. Later, Pcs Green and Lawtry go to help social services take two children into care. However, it turns out they're ill-prepared and unequipped to deal with the mother and find themselves in the middle of a hostage situation.
Pc Clive goes in for some heroics involving one of Mulholland's tenants, and DI Carter goes after the gangster. But will Mulholland fall? Andy offers to work off his debt to dodgy landlord Mulholland – but ends up having to set fire to a house.
Carter's confidence is shaken to its core when he pushes his luck too far. Miller finds herself having to go beyond the bounds of duty when she tries to stop two brothers dealing in stolen videos. A girl tries to have her dad arrested to end his life of crime – but her plan has tragic consequences.
Alfie Stokes is a sadistic, underworld-type who now claims to have found God, and he's DI Carter's star witness in the prosecution of Barry Roberts, a local drug dealer. But then former sergeant Yvonne Mackey turns up with some difficult question… Back at Christmas Street, Nick is livid that Sgt Dobson forgot to enter him for his sergeant's exams and threatens to take action.
Two young burglars break into DI Carter's house and steal his illegally held replica Colt 45 pistol, leaving everyone involved in hot water. Meanwhile, Colin is drawn into a couple's kinky fantasies while on a surveillance operation.
The gang is called in to break up a bare-knuckle fight but, in the ensuing fracas, an old woman collapses and dies. When her body goes missing, the team pursues a modern artist who wants to use a corpse in his latest masterpiece.
Pc Pete Redfern is having a rough couple of days. Nobody attends his police Q & A session on the Carcroft Estate, he's splattered with ‘water' bombs and then he's suspended for clipping a ‘lippy' boy around the ear. Then local lad Euan (one of the bombers) goes missing, but the Christmas Street cops don't get involved until late in the day – perhaps too late. Suspended Pc Pete Redfern's knowledge is sorely missed when the police try to find him.
DI Carter is put in a safe house after an arch enemy, Mark Dixon, is released from a psychiatric unit intent on revenge, convinced that Carter set him up. Dixon, a vicious rapist and murderer Carter put away some years ago, has already killed Carter's old sergeant. Meanwhile, Pcs Green and Law are assigned an undercover operation to find a local bootlegger.
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Ashley Jensen
Paul Nicholls
Matthew Lewis
Ben Morton
Jimi Mistry
Kumar Joshi
Connie Hyde
Emily Hamilton
Ian Aspinall
Kate Gartside
Katie
Lorraine Ashbourne