NEW TRICKS

BBC1, 9Pm

IT’S SOHO in in the grimy 1980s, and we have a classic chase scene: a goodie pursues a baddie down narrow streets and across railings before catching him, delivering a neat punch to the stomach, and declaring “You’re nicked!”

Then we flash forward to the present day and see that the good cop from the 1980s was Gerry Standing (Dennis Waterman) in his dashing young days and, with a cigarette dangling from his lip, he insists that he’s “still got it”.

This is the start of the 12th series of New Tricks, but the BBC have confirmed this will be its final run, meaning lots of familiar faces (including Nicholas Lyndhurst, Tracy-Ann Oberman and Denis Lawson) will now be looking for work. As the opening credits roll, seemingly hundreds of famous names flash on screen. This series has certainly been kind to older actors.

This episode, spread over two parts, concerns the discovery of a body, that of a former policeman, which has lain undisturbed in a basement for 30 years.

A Russian billionaire bought the house in question for £7million and his costly renovations uncovered the corpse, which is now reduced to a damp skeleton.

The passage of time means it is impossible to determine how he was murdered. However, a signet ring found on the body causes Gerry some panic.