Lovejoy(1986–1994)

The Firefly Cage

Having hired Eric Catchpole as an apprentice, Lovejoy sets out to unravel the meaning of a Japanese firefly cage.As Lovejoy and Eric are in hot pursuit (on Eric's motorbike) of a lovely lady with something they want, they hit a pool of water in the road and give a drenching to Jane (Lady Felsham), who is busy unveiling a plaque. When, later, Lovejoy rings the doorbell at Felsham Hall, complex chemistry begins, and Jane is soon showing Lovejoy around her attic...

The Axeman Cometh

Fair Exchange

Charlotte buys a painting from a hard-up couple, the Tabors, but finds she has been conned. Lovejoy decides to set matters straight.

Day of Reckoning

A former friend, Max Hunter, who believes Lovejoy had an affair with his wife, kidnaps Charlotte and plans to kill her. But he gives Lovejoy a sporting chance to find him by leaving a series of clues.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Tinker disappears, and Lovejoy sets off to find him. He arrives in Devon, where he discovers that Tinker's real name is Archie and that he has a sister whose hotel business is threatened by a rogue property developer. Charlotte and Beth join them and they look for ways to raise money to save the hotel. Meanwhile, Tinker has lost the key of Charlotte's safe-deposit box.

Double Edged Sword

A tough-talking business man hires Lovejoy to recover a sixteenth-century samurai sword which has been stolen from him. Another dealer, Lovejoy's mentor Jim Leonard, buys the sword at an auction, but it is promptly stolen from him by Joanna, the daughter of the original owner. Lovejoy stays on the trail.

Guns and Roses

Lovejoy takes an antique gun to a London gunsmith to be repaired, but the armorer is having landlord problems. Meanwhile, an acquaintance of Lovejoy's, Texas Greenberg, is on his way over to buy something special.

The Last of the Uzkoks

Lovejoy is called in by Lord Dunwich to value a silver communion set, and Lady Dunwich wants him to find her some antique prints of the lost town of Dunwich-by-the-Sea (which is now under the sea). Charlie has done a moonlight flit, leaving his old dad in charge of Felsham Hall, and there are some unlikely characters around - a mad Greek priest, a Dutch civil servant, and a strange woman...

Breaking the Broker

The police set up Tinker, so that they can get a favour from Lovejoy. They want him to check out an up-market pawnbroker who is suspected of receiving antiques stolen overseas.

Fruit of the Dessert

Lovejoy has a dangerous plan, which includes putting himself in the hands of a notorious moneylender and risking the future of his daughter, Vicky.But then, ""Those who hazard all do it in hope of fair advantages...""

Holding the Baby

Lovejoy buys a nineteenth-century dresser for a song, after getting advice from a Caribbean specialist. Meanwhile, Charlotte has mixed feelings about being left holding someone else's baby.

Just Desserts

At the beginning of series 2, Lovejoy has just come out of prison after serving a sentence for theft. He believes he was set up and returns to Suffolk hoping to find the villain and get even.

The Italian Venus

A mean landowner is reluctant to share an inheritance with his hard-up brother, who is a friend of Jane's. Then Lovejoy intervenes, as a favour to Jane, with a cunning plan which depends on a fake statue.

Friends in High Places

As the third series begins, Lovejoy returns to Felsham after a long break in Spain, where he was trying (without marked success) to learn to paint. He quickly seeks out Tinker (who has joined a monastery), Jane, who has a new look, and Eric, now working as a security guard. Victoria Cavero, an old friend of Jane's, comes to stay, and Lovejoy loses no time in falling for her. Victoria wants to sell a South American gold ring, and the ring sets in motion strange events for Lovejoy and Jane, including safecracking, kidnapping, polo and betrayal.

Out To Lunch

The Napoleonic Commode

Lovejoy is evicted from his rented cottage, as Freddy the Phone, his landlord (also known as Frederick Arthur Haig Montgomery Wavell Reeve) owes back taxes on it. So Lovejoy takes to the road and acquires a commode said to have belonged to the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte... and the next thing is to hunt down a continental expert to authenticate it. Did 'Boney' really sit here?

The Ring

With the naive help of Jane, Lovejoy sets up an unusual form of dealers' ring to bump up the price of a painting he has entered in an auction. Three old friends (Matron, Gideon and Henry the Hearse) rally round, but nothing seems to go according to plan...

Second Fiddle

Lindsey Parry-Davies, a leading violinist, wants Lovejoy to arrange for his Stradivarius to be touched up so that it will pass as a fake. The Lovejoy Antiques team is puzzled, but they call in the expert advice of Tommy Norris - king of the violin fakers.

The Colour of Mary

Charlie Gimbert returns home from overseas, popping up again in a new and unlikely role as manager to Murray McNally, a famous but disgraced snooker player. Murray wants Lovejoy to find him the billiards table which belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, and it seems that money is no object. A visit to Fotheringhay Castle leads on to a descendant of Mary's jailer, and then to an exhibition snooker match starring the real world snooker champion, Dennis Taylor.

Fly the Flag

A family struggling to pay death duties needs Lovejoy's help to raise the wind. Meanwhile, Beau Whittaker, working in a local parish church, finds a valuable old flag dating from the American War of Independence hidden behind a monument. A fierce battle quickly breaks out over the question of who is now the flag's true owner.

Judgment of Solomon

A retired senior Air Force officer wants Lovejoy to sell his large and remarkable collection of Jewish antiques, but Lovejoy's contacts the Solomons are suspicious about the provenance of the items. Meanwhile, Eric is arrested for theft while driving Jane's Range Rover.

The Galloping Major

On a visit to Frankie's scrap yard Lovejoy acquires an ancient cannon. He takes a trip to the Tower of London to see what he can find out about it, and while he's away an ordnance expert going under the name of Major Turpin tries to steal the cannon from under Eric's nose.

God Helps Those

In the latest of a series of antique shop 'ram-raids', a table Lovejoy has left with another dealer is smashed, and he uncovers a plan to steal a friend's silver. Meanwhile, Jane befriends a young man while doing some charitable work on behalf of the local hospital, and Charlie Gimbert is asked to find a rather special clock for a customer.

They Call Me Midas

Jim Leonard (Lovejoy's antiques mentor) resurfaces, wanting Lovejoy's help with a harmless little scam to catch out a famous dealer. The plot centres on a fake painting by Klimt... Eric plays the role of a rich gentleman farmer, Tinker falls heavily for Jim's wife, and Jane is also drawn into the scheme, but Lovejoy finds out just too late that he too is a victim.

Irish Stew

The Lovejoy Antiques team is in Ireland looking for new stock (and also hoping to find a painting by Jack Butler Yeats, for Jane to give her uncle). A bungled robbery leaves them in possession of a page from a rare ancient book, and the search is on for an expert - Brendan Hennessey.

Dainty Dish

The Lovejoy Antiques team is in Brighton, scouring the town for a really grand set of old china. Charlie Gimbert (as ever) causes some havoc, and then there's the story of the antique chairs...While on the china trail, Lovejoy chances on a stunning rip-off with hundreds of porcelain plates.

Taking the Pledge

Jamie, an old friend of Lovejoy's, turns up on his doorstep needing help with an urgent problem. He can't afford to retrieve a wonderful painting from a pawnbroker, and there are only a few hours to go. Lovejoy agrees to help Jamie raise the cash - but Jamie's estranged wife is also on the warpath...

Pig in a Poke

Lovejoy buys a set of James Gillray drawings, which turn out to be copies. While trying to sell them, Eric finds a stolen statue with an aristocratic connection at the house of some friends of Jane's. Then there's a Royal Visit to consider...

Who is the Fairest of Them All?

Jane's old dance teacher wants Lovejoy to sell a mirror. This then leads to a deal which involves the apparently one-eyed Roderick Frew. Jane informs Lovejoy that Alexander is broke, Felsham is in the hands of the receivers, and she is leaving.