Steve and Gerry head to Glasgow for a week to help set up a new cold case division there. Steve’s past comes back to haunt him as they tackle the case of a man murdered in 1993, and everyone they meet seems to be hiding some piece of information concerning the case. Will they find out the truth?

About

The ninth (or tenth, if you are going strictly by air date) episode of series nine of New Tricks, ‘Glasgow UCOS’ aired 29th October 2012 on BBC One. The series was created by Roy Mitchell and Nigel McCrery and this episode was written by Roy Mitchell and directed by Philip John.

It stars Denis Lawson as ‘Steve McAndrew’ and Dennis Waterman as ‘Gerry Standing’. Guest starring this episode are Anthony Calf as ‘Robert Strickland’, Kate Dickie as ‘DCI Fiona MacDougall’, Neve McIntosh as ‘Cathy Sinclair’, Hilton McRae as ‘Frank McNair’, Kathleen McDermott as ‘Charlene Scott’ and Sandy McDade as ‘Helen Wray’.

Viewers may remember Hilton McRae from The Kit Curran Radio Show: The Big Break, as well as Star Wars and The Justice Game.

This episode is notable for being the first without Alun Armstrong or Amanda Redman. Their unavailability for filming was known early on in the writing process and this is a good solid episode without them. It’s also the tenth episode aired of the series, due to the plot closely resembling actual news allegations at the time. However, the DVD labels it as episode nine and as ‘Part of a Whole’—the other remaining episode of the series—feels like a series finale, with higher stakes, I’ve retained the DVD order.

Availability: Available for purchase in the UK on DVD and digitally. Episodes also occasionally pop up on iPlayer, and television reruns are common—be aware that broadcast reruns are often cut down to fit in the hour timeslot with advertisements. Also available on DVD and digitally in the US.

Glasgow UCOS

Steve and Gerry have been left to their own devices in the UCOS office—which apparently means playing golf with an AFC wimbledon mug (Brian’s) and a walking cane. Their fun doesn’t last for long. Strickland informs them that a new UCOS division is being set up in Glasgow, and their help is required.

“What, like this one?” “I doubt it will ever be quite like this one, Gerry.”

Gerry, native London boy, is not impressed at the idea of spending a week in Glasgow. Steve isn’t impressed either when he learns that they are expected there tomorrow, given that it’s a seven hour drive. Gerry has been to Scotland precisely once; in 1973, when England beat Scotland 5-0 in the football.

When they make it into the Glasgow office, Gerry is asked to give a presentation on the history of UCOS. Being unprepared, this does not start well. But he gets into the swing of things and ends up giving a bang up talk. Afterwards, there’s another mix up. Fiona MacDougall, the DCI in charge, was originally hoping to have a selection process for them to help with—but the candidates aren’t coming until next week.

McDougall does have a case for them though: James Soutar. He was beaten to death at a bus station in 1993. The entire case is an odd one. Soutar left a large fortune behind, mostly to children’s charities, but he left £15,000 to a 16-year old girl in care: Catherine Sinclair. The investigative officer on the case was Frank McNair, a cop suspected of corruption.

McNair also had an affair with Steve’s ex-wife Trisha. When he found out, Steve punched McNair, Trish vanished into thin air taking Steve’s son Stewie with her. He hasn’t seen them in nine years. Gerry thinks Steve’s judgement is compromise and insists that they do things by the book.

“Scotland is a nation with its own unique identity, with a two-thousand year history of separate laws, customs, and education. Or we just don’t want you English tossers to know what we’re talking about.”

Gerry and Steve go to see Ogilvy, the procurator fiscal of the time. He’s in a care home with demetia and has no idea what they are talking about. They then go to see Cathy Sinclair, who now runs a nice restaurant. She says that the money did completely change her life, but she has no idea why he left her it. Still, she owes him everything.

McNair is next; they find him at a golf club. Steve is visibly uncomfortable to be in the same room as him, and McNair takes every opportunity to rile him up. They leave, Gerry returning to the flat while Steve heads out to dinner with Charley. Their heartwarming catch-up is interrupted when Steve receives a text: Gerry’s been arrested.

The next day they go to see Helen Wray, head of social services. She doesn’t seem to remember Soutar and it takes her a little while to remember Cathy Sinclair. Gerry and Steve go through the care home records, looking for something there. Gerry finds an old photograph in the archives of a group of women, one of whom looks a lot like Charley—but nothing relevant to the case.

As they leave, Gerry notices they’re being followed. They split up. Gerry goes to see Charley to confront her about the picture. Charley is reluctant—she’s never told Steve she was brought up in care.

Steve’s old DCC Roy Fraser confirms that McNair was corrupt, but thinks that covering up a murder might be beyond him. Gerry discovers that girls were going missing from the care homes around the time Soutar was murdered; disappearances that stopped after Soutar was dead.

Charley, Gerry and Steve all go for dinner at Cathy Sinclair’s restaurant. Cathy doesn’t know what to make about their theory that Soutar was responsible for the disappearances. Afterwards, Gerry takes his leave. When he gets home, he discovers that Steve’s flat has been ransacked.

Charley and Steve return the next morning. Gerry apologises to Charley about not giving her a heads up that they were going to see Cathy Sinclair—who Charley knew back in care—but Steve overhears the conversation. Charley relates a story of how she got in trouble, and one of the care workers offered to get her out of it if she agreed to entertain some men. She refused.

Nothing has been taken from Steve’s flat, making the break in more mysterious. Charley goes through the case file; she doesn’t recognise Soutar, but she does recognise Helen Wray, who was a frequent presence in her care home.

Roy Fraser is asked if he knows anything about the missing girls. He seems surprised that the care sex ring has been covered up, and warns them to be careful given that someone is following them. McNair thinks the missing girls and Soutar are unrelated, insisting that Soutar was murdered for his sexual proclivities instead. At the golf club, though, they notice Ogilvy—the procurator fiscal at the time—is a member. Steve knows something is being covered up.

Helen Wray is evasive about the idea that she has any responsibility for anything—including the four missing girls. Steve, however, has a plan. He purposely dropped his mobile inside her house and left it recording—and it’s picked up a call she made. It’s clearly incriminating.

They discover she called Ogilvy. They have more immediate problems though: they’re being followed. There’s a shotgun. The mystery BMW comes to the rescue, with McDougall inside. Fuming, Steve and Gerry insist on collaring Ogilvy personally. Ogilvy isn’t as senile as he seems, and upon realising what they know, decides to throw himself off the roof of his care home.

Helen Wray is arrested. She insists that Soutar wasn’t part of the ring. She does give up the names though—Roy Fraser’s is among them. Fraser is not the nice guy Steve thought him to be. He refuses to comment on the allegations McDougall puts before him, but denies murdering Soutar.

Those responsible for the sex ring are taken down, and that’s a result—but they still don’t know who killed Soutar. Steve won’t let it lie. McDougall slipped up, referring to James Soutar as ‘Jimmy’, and so he follows her—right to Soutar’s grave. McDougall was one of the girls in care who was coerced into the sex ring—and James Soutar saved her. Soutar has discovered the sex ring, but knew that the people running it were too well connected. Instead, he paid to get girls out of Glasgow, providing train tickets, flats and bank accounts to the four girls who went missing. Including McDougall.

At Soutar’s grave, the boys notice someone—not McDougall—has left white roses on his grave. It was Cathy Sinclair, who Soutar had been trying to get away. But Cathy believed that Soutar had killed her friend—not that he was offering help. She killed him believing he was an awful man. It was only later that she realised her friend was still alive, and that she’d done a horrible thing.

Case done, the boys have one last thing to do before they go home: McNair. They’ve got the dirt on him now and a police officer waiting to arrest him once they’re through with him. McNair tries to goad Steve again, but Gerry sticks up for Steve and punches McNair out.

Verdict

First off—I really appreciate that they went to the trouble of creating a separate set of credits for this episode, featuring just Dennis and Denis (collectively known on set as the Denii, apparently.) It highlight the firm friendship established between these characters, even so early on. Also, that they went up to Glasgow to film this episode. It really adds something to the episode, and we get some wonderful sweeping Scottish scenery in the mix.

Gerry is not so keen on Glasgow. He cracks jokes about deep fried pizza and haggis. Steve asks him if he’s got his passport—not necessary—as they cross the border. And then there’s the running joke of Gerry being unable to hold his whiskey, falling asleep before he even manages to get under the covers.

By dint of going down to two leads, and being back in Steve’s old stomping ground, we find out a lot about Steve this episode. We get to meet Charley, his girlfriend, and discover that his wife, Trisha, walked out on him, taking his son with him.

There’s a significant piece of information about the circumstances of Trish’s departure missing in this episode that is revealed later on in New Tricks. (Trish McAndrew eventually makes an appearance.) Whilst her affair with McNair—and Steve’s reaction to it—were a large part of her leaving, that’s certainly not the whole story.

Steve and McNair really don’t get on. Steve is a parcel of barely contained rage throughout all their scenes, and he has to be restrained by Gerry on multiple occasions—until, of course, Gerry can’t restrain himself any longer. McNair certainly delights in winding Steve up. It’s a very different dynamic to when we last saw the actors, in Kit Curran, where Lawson was the one winding up McRae’s character.

Charley—now, Charley is interesting. In some ways, she’s actually very good for Steve. They’ve been together for a good long while—she says they met when he was still reeling from Trish leaving. She’s supportive of his quest to find his wife, understanding that it’s about finding his son and getting closure, not about him having feelings for her anymore. What they have, a partnership that gives them both support but also space to their own things, works really well for them. He’s a decent guy—the best thing that’s ever happened to her in her words.

But there are also still secrets between them. She’s never told him about the fact that she grew up in care, or was arrested. Given Steve’s tendency to play things close to the vest, I think it’s safe to assume that there’s things he’s not telling her too.

It is also impossible to overlook the age gap. Charley is—assuming she’s the same age as Cathy Sinclair, which is reasonable—thirty-five. Steve is, well, sixty—or somewhere there about. Whilst I commend Charley on swinging an attractive older man (Lawson is the very definition of a silver fox), Steve deserves a bit of judgement over that one.

All in all—I love this episode. It’s all about Steve, of course I love it. Lawson is excellent in it, and it’s great to finally get some background details on Steve. Losing half your main cast is always tricky and this episode was never going to please everyone—but I think it does a damn good job with what it has. Kate Dickie is great as McDougall and if the BBC were to do a spin-off of New Tricks, she’d be great leading it. (I don’t think this was a backdoor pilot for a spin-off, but there’s no denying that it bears similiarities to one.) If you want to see Steve do his thing, hear a bunch of Scottish accents and see some beautiful Scottish scenery? This is the episode for you.

Next time

Strickland’s the one with the personal issues this time, as his past association with the intelligence services puts him in the line of fire. The team try to untangle an interlinked unsolved case; that of journalist Stephen Bisley who was killed in a hit and run. Will Strickland and friends make it out alive? All that and more on New Tricks: Part of a Whole.