Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
WHO SHOOT YOUR BOSS?
Hit police drama Suspects is back with a bang – and a new cast – when the star of the show Fay Ripley meets a grisly end. But whodunnit?
An early morning phone call makes DS Jack Weston’s blood run cold. A distraught Daisy, daughter of his boss DI Martha Bellamy, is insisting that he come to their house immediately. There Jack discovers Martha’s lifeless body lying in her bed. She’s been shot in the head from close range.
It’s a sensational start to the new series of Suspects, Channel 5’s acclaimed police drama in which the actors largely improvise the dialogue. Fay Ripley’s character Martha was the star of the first four series and her death means big cast changes. James Murray arrives as Martha’s replacement DCI Daniel Drummond and Being Human star Lenora Crichlow plays DS Alisha Brooks. Neil Stuke, from BBC1’s hit drama Doctor Foster, joins as nightclub owner Mo Jones.
The investigation into Martha’s murder will be the focus of the whole series, whereas previously the team spent one or two episodes on each case. ‘Channel 5’s controller Ben Frow told us to take it to the next level,’ says Paul Marquess, Suspects’ co-creator. ‘He was very keen that we told a story across all six episodes.’
The discovery of Martha’s body sparks an investigation that quickly escalates. The DI’s missing husband Adrian is initially a suspect, but then his car is found in a multi-storey car park. He’s also been shot dead, his body hidden in the boot. An examination of Adrian’s iPhone reveals a video in which he snorts cocaine and cavorts with a woman in a nightclub, identified by trainee detective Gary Roscoe as The Crown. Is Adrian’s behaviour linked to the double murder? At The Crown, CCTV footage shows the owner Mo arguing with Adrian outside the club on the night of the murders.
Previous series of Suspects focused solely on detectives at work, but we now get to see them at home too. Damien Molony, who’s played Jack from the beginning, says, ‘The first thing viewers will see is Jack coming down the stairs of his home, being revulsed by the smell from the milk bottle he grabs, and then taking the fateful call from Daisy.
‘The golden rule of Suspects in past series was to stay out of the coppers’ private lives but clearly that’s changed. Jack comes across a woman at The Crown nightclub, Rose, with whom he has a per- sonal connection. The full extent of that connection is gradually revealed.’
The writers haven’t made the new series too personal, though. Previously there have been suggestions of romance between Jack and his colleague DC Charlie Steele, but there’s no sign of that being taken any further. ‘They go on a journey together but it’s not a romantic one,’ says Clare-Hope Ashitey, who plays Charlie. ‘It would have been too easy to
make a romantic connection between them but I’m glad it didn’t happen.
‘They have a closer and in some ways weirder dynamic, although their connection is shaken during this new series. That said, they have the same aim: the arrest of Martha’s killer.’
Some viewers might be surprised by how calm the detectives are after Martha’s death. There are no outpourings of grief, just determination. ‘A police officer I met talked about investigating an attack in which his son was beaten up,’ says Damien. ‘He said he went into autopilot and became ultra-professional. It makes sense. You’re trained as a police officer to shut off the emotional part of your brain. That’s what Jack does when he finds Martha’s body.’ Tim Oglethorpe Suspects: The Enemy Within starts on Wednesday at 10pm on Channel 5.