In episode 4, Ridley (Adrian Dunbar) helped investigate the murder of a therapist. There were more twists than usual as the case was heavily linked to the arson that killed his family.
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The episode opened up with a flashback to the arson that killed Ridley’s family. During the night a hooded man poured petrol through the letter box before lighting a book of matches and dropping it through. Once the fire took hold the man ran off.
In the previous episode, inmate Michael Flannery (Aidan McArdle) begged Ridley to help him get out to see his dying mother, Gloria. Ridley refused to help and Flannery didn’t get to see her. He was allowed to attend the funeral though and was met there by his brother Cal (Nico Mirallegro). They were surprised to see Ridley had also showed up. Ridley was also surprised when some associates of a man named Adam Donnelly showed up with flowers. After the funeral he stopped by the grave of his wife and daughter where he found the flowers from Donnelly and promptly kicked them away.
On a local estate, Dr. Patrick Elliot (JP Conway) was harassed by a group of teenage girls. The ringleader, Rochelle Blaine (Olivia Pentelow) stopped him but he ignored her and walked by. On the way back to his flat he passed Rochelle’s mother Diane (Kellie Shirley). Later that night Patrick answered frantic knocking on his door. After some commotion Patrick toppled over his 10th-floor balcony and fell to his death.
His body was discovered the next morning by a caretaker. The police were called and DC Darren Lakhan (George Bukhari) briefed DI Carol Farman (Bronagh Waugh) when she arrived on scene. Dr Wendy Newstone (Georgie Glen) examined the body and found the injuries consistent with a fall from height. She found he also had bruising on his neck and upper torso, as well as a rip in his shirt. It looked like he’d been involved in some kind of struggle making it unlikely that he had committed suicide.
Ridley was already in the flat and updated Farman on his findings. There was no sign of forced entry and it looked unlikely to be a robbery as Patrick’s wallet was still inside. They discovered he worked as a clinical psychologist. Lakhan spoke to the neighbours and Diane confessed to seeing him.
Ridley and Lakhan paid a visit to Patrick’s place of work. They spoke to Dr. Samantha Larsson (Suzanne Packer) who explained he’d been suspended and was working through some issues including depression and anxiety. She said he often got too close to his patients and also explained that he was gay. Ridley asked if they could take a look at their medical records but Samantha refused.
Back at the station, Farman, Ridley and Lakhan updated the team on the case. DCI Paul Goodwin (Terence Maynard) told them to liase with Patrick’s phone provider to obtain phone logs and activity. He also they suggest a search to check for previous calls to the estate and CCTV. Goodwin also agreed to apply for a court order to obtain the medical records that Samantha had refused them access to. Ridley was called into Goodwin’s office to ask about his involvement with Flannery.
At Marlings, Annie (Julie Graham) told Ridley she’d heard that Eve Marbury pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He told her about the run in he’d had with Donnelly’s associates at Gloria’s funeral but felt they were just winding him up. A flashback revealed that Flannery was Ridley’s source that had helped him put Donnelly away. Flannery had come to the club worried about what would happen and Ridley promised him that he’d be protected. He also warned him not to ever come to the club again.
Lakhan uncovered that Patrick had made several complaints to the police. He’d claimed to be a victim of homophobic abuse from a gang of girls on the estate led by Rochelle. Patrick had also been burgled and had several items stolen including a watch and personal documents. Ridley and Farman brought Rochelle in for questioning and she said the abuse was just banter and that Patrick deserved it. Ridley showed her CCTV images that confirmed she’d spoken to him before his death. A cocky Rochelle denied going near his flat and said her girls would back up her story. However, one of them let slip that Rochelle had been to see her boyfriend Jared Boakes (Conor Deane).
The police spoke to Rochelle again to find out why she had lied to them and what she knew. The brought Jared in and searched his garage which uncovered the stolen watch. He confirmed that he’d seen her on the evening in question. He denied ever seeing the watch before but the police explained it was covered in his fingerprints. However they were unable to place him at the scene.
In the seized medical records, Ridley came across a file for Cal Flannery. He also found out that there had been five calls to Patrick’s phone from Gloria Flannery’s house. Ridley and Farman paid Cal a visit and he confirmed that he’d stayed in touch with Patrick despite his suspension. They wanted to know Cal’s whereabouts on the night of Patrick’s murder and he said he was at his mother’s wake. Farman wasn’t happy with the way Ridley dealt with the questioning and told him he needed to step away from the case.
Rochelle was released from custody and Diane told Farman that she remembered seeing a male at the scene who fit Cal’s description. Goodwin wanted Diane in to see if she could identify Cal from a line-up. Farman raised Ridley’s concerning behaviour with Cal.
A flashback revealed that Ridley was forced to give up Flannery’s identity as his source for the evidence against Donnelly. The pair met to discuss and Ridley tried to reassure him that revealing his identity was necessary to put Donnelly away and that he’d be safe. Flannery explained that Donnelly had called and threatened him. He wanted witness protection and Ridley said he’d try and fix things.
Ridley met again with Samantha to discuss Cal. She explained that he never had anyone to look out for him and that Cal had become attached to Patrick. Ridley wanted to know if Cal was capable of murder but Samantha said that was for the police to determine. Farman was annoyed that Ridley had continued to work on the case. Goodwin called him in but they were interrupted when Diane came in for the line-up. She correctly identified Cal as the man she had seen.
Cal was arrested and Samantha came in with representation for him as he had been identified as a vulnerable adult. During interview, Farman explained to Cal that witnesses confirmed he’d left the wake much earlier than he said and that he’d been drinking. He said he had no idea where Patrick lived but the police had found his fingerprints inside the flat. He said he’d returned a book and lied because he didn’t want to get in trouble for being in contact with Patrick. When pressed about being spotted at the murder scene, Cal became upset and said Ridley was trying to set him up. He said the police had nothing on him but that he was close with Patrick.
Ridley returned to the crime scene where the CSI team were processing everything. He took a look through the evidence they had collected and took a bag of flash drives. One had a recording of a meeting between Patrick and Cal where he spoke of the night of the arson that killed Ridley’s family. It turned out it was Cal who started the fire, not his brother. He didn’t know anyone was home and Ridley escaped the same fate as he was at the pub to celebrate nailing Donnelly.
Ridley went to see Flannery to tell him Cal was arrested for the murder of his therapist. Flannery said his brother didn’t have it in him but Ridley said they both knew that wasn’t true. Flannery played dumb but Ridley confessed about the recording. Flannery had taken the fall to protect his brother and refused Ridley’s pleas to tell the truth.
Ridley went to Farman and explained that Cal had gone to Patrick’s flat to try and recover the recordings of their sessions. Farman was astonished that he’d taken evidence from a crime scene and said she’d have to report his misconduct. Ridley was outraged to hear that they’d released Cal, explained he’d murdered his family and told her to get out and find him.
Cal took a call from his brother who wanted to know if he’d killed Patrick. Cal explained that Patrick had recordings as was going to go to the police. Flannery told him that Ridley had found the recordings and Cal hung up. A flashback revealed that the police tracked Flannery’s phone and picked him up at a service station. He confessed to sole responsibility for the arson attack. Goodwin apologised to Ridley who was inconsolable and wanted to know why Flannery did it.
With the new information, Goodwin tasked the force with finding Cal. Ridley had to be taken off the investigation and said that his forced retirement had been the right decision. Meanwhile, Cal turned up at the club looking for Ridley. He was fuming and smashed up the place with a crowbar.
Cal next turned up at Ridley’s house with a gun. He took a look around and then sat and waited. Farman’s son, Jack (Tareq Al-Jeddal) turned up to work on the boat. Cal said he was a friend of Ridley’s and was just waiting for him to come home. Jack said he’d give him a call but Cal pulled the gun out on him.
Farman went to visit Flannery at the prison and explained his brother had gone to ground. She said he’d tipped Cal off but he said he was trying to get him to turn himself in. She refused to believe him due to all the lies he’d told. He said that Cal would go after Ridley. Carol headed to Ridley’s and called in armed backup. Geri called to say Jack had gone to Ridley’s and wasn’t picking up.
Ridley arrived home to find Cal had Jack hostage at gunpoint. Ridley urged him to put the gun down and let Jack go. Cal decided to let Ridley inside so they could talk and let Jack go. A relieved Farman arrived to find Jack fleeing the scene. Jack updated her on what was going on.
Cal pointed his gun at Ridley and asked if he would try and talk him out of him. Ridley said he would. Cal said he liked the house and asked if Ridley thought about his family. Ridley said he did and then mentioned the recordings which proved Cal started the fire. He denied it but confessed that he killed Patrick for betraying him. A flashback revealed what happened on the night. Patrick had tried to get Cal to hand himself in.
Cal blamed Ridley for what had happened to his brother. Armed police arrived on the scene with Goodwin and took up positions around Ridley’s house. The police tried to call the house and Cal made Ridley shut the curtains. Cal asked if it would help if he said sorry and Ridley said no. Goodwin called Ridley’s mobile and Cal let him answer. He put it on speaker and Cal said he wanted the police to stand down before hanging up. Goodwin sent his team in and authorised them to shoot Cal on sight.
Instead of going to prison, Cal offered Ridley the gun to shoot him for payback. Ridley took it and held it to Cal’s head. Cal begged to be killed but Ridley stood down. He said he’d spend the rest of his life in prison. Cal charged him and the gun discharged, wounding Ridley. The police sniper took a shot and killed Cal.
Ridley was taken to hospital. He had a dream where he spoke to his wife Kate (Jacquetta May). He said he missed her and she noticed he’d finished the work on the boat and suggested they take it out on the lake.
Ridley was later discharged from hospital after recovering. Farman asked how he was and thanked him for getting Jack to safety. She apologised and Ridley invited her out for dinner. Ridley went to see Flannery again to tell him about his brother and that arrangements were in progress for his release. Ridley had arranged for him to get full witness protection.
Elsewhere in the episode, Farman attended a ultrasound scan with her wife Geri (Bhavna Limbachia). They discovered that they were having a baby girl.
At the end of the episode, Ridley headed to the club to perform. He belted out “Open Up Your Door” by Richard Hawley. He later took Samantha up on her offer to talk about his loss and took Annie out on the boat which he’d named the Ella Kate after his wife and daughter.
‘Ridley’ series 2 has not yet been announced by ITV.
