Ashes to Ashes

The team is working on the kidnap of a young girl, Dorothy Blonde. Dotty's father, David, wants to go it alone and when newly promoted Ray Carling panics while running the sting, it seems the family may have been better off without CID's involvement. Gene is forced to put his career on the line as he's unable to stand by and watch a young girl lose her life.

When DC Chris Skelton opens CID's post and discovers a human hand, Gene Hunt and his team find they have a murder to solve. The trail leads them to a dating agency and Alex soon finds herself posing as a lonely single when she goes undercover. Later, when Gene discovers that Alex is also investigating what really happened to Sam Tyler, he is forced to intervene.

It's the run up to the 1983 General Election and pressure is mounting on Gene Hunt and his team as they investigate a series of politically motivated arson attacks. A local fireman is eventually identified as the prime suspect. Meanwhile, Alex is still being haunted by the police officer with the 6-6-20 epaulette numbers and is struggling to work out why he keeps visiting her.

Gene Hunt and the team are hot on the tail of a van they believe contains a large amount of heroin. When the Quattro blocks the van's escape route, the team are faced with a woman brandishing a sawn-off shotgun, but bullish Gene shows no fear and heads straight over to take on the female blagger. However, things suddenly take a strange turn when Gene seems to let her escape.

When Gene Hunt's former Manchester colleagues, DCI Litton and DI Bevan, turn up on his patch he immediately smells a rat. They're in pursuit of northern comic Frank Hardwick who's wanted for stealing from the Police Widows Fund. However, Gene and Alex are suspicious of their real motive.

All hell has broken loose at Fenchurch East prison; the inmates are rioting and Gene is ready to go in all guns blazing to teach the lags a lesson. However, things don't go to plan; the riot team are hugely outnumbered, and in the chaos of the retreat Sgt Viv James is left behind. Chris and Ray are sent in undercover to get Viv out, but they too soon find themselves in mortal danger.

Jim Keats has almost finished his report into Gene and his team, but he's still pushing Alex to find out what really happened to Sam Tyler. When reports come in of a disturbance at an illegal drinking den, Gene goes in all guns blazing. The men at the club dismiss the disturbance as nothing, but when Ray spots blood on the floor and discovers a body, it leads Gene into a murder investigation.

Tension mounts in the last ever episode of Ashes to Ashes as Gene Hunt and his team are investigating a diamond heist following the murder of three London gang members. But Alex is distracted and, with encouragement from Jim Keats, she decides to pursue her own investigation to the bitter end - did Gene really murder Sam Tyler?