Returning to ITV1 on 3 December is Caroline Quentin who reprises her lead role as DCI Janine Lewis, a single mother of four children who juggles the demands of family life with her high-profile job in a new series of Blue Murder. Filmed on location in Manchester, three brand new 90-minute episodes have been produced for the ITV1 winter schedule and feature the likes of Kate Ford, Thomas Craig, Richard Fleeshman, Jill Halfpenny and Luke Bailey.
In Not a Matter of Life and Death, Kate Ford plays Adele, a mysterious witness to a violent murder who is reluctant to tell the police what she has seen.
As the investigation progresses, DCI Lewis and her team find themselves drawn into the hedonistic world of professional footballers, their “wags” and hangers-on. The drama also stars Thomas Craig as corrupt football agent Chris Milligan and Luke Bailey as Caleb Kent, brother of professional football star in the making, Dwayne Kent.
Desperate Measures begins with the execution-style shooting of respected local doctor, Donald Halliwell (Simon Williams). The initial suspicion is that Dr. Halliwell has been shot by robbers who have carried out a series of raids to steal controlled drugs from his surgery, but detectives then discover the Doctor’s respectable suburban life may not have been all that it seemed. Paula Wilcox also guest stars as Doctor Donald Halliwell’s wife, Pamela Halliwell.
The series ends with Crisis Management featuring Jill Halfpenny and Richard Fleeshman as mother and son, Jackie and Ben Holroyd. Jackie is an Army mechanic with the Alexandria Battery and when a body is found at the Cranham Edge Barracks where she is based, she and her son find themselves caught up in a murder investigation.
The returning cast includes Ian Kelsey as DI Richard Mayne, Paul Loughran as DS Butchers and Nicholas Murchie as DS Shap. The new series also features the return of DC Lisa Goodall played by Rhea Bailey, sister of acclaimed singer Corinne Bailey Rae.