Shakespeare & Hathaway – Private Investigators

BBC1, 2.15pm

In the tradition of all those reassuringly dependable daytime dramas that stretch back to Crown Court and beyond, the Stratford-upon-Avon sleuths return to wrap up crimes neatly in lightly comic and unpretentious style.

As the ten-part fourth series kicks off, Frank Hathaway (Mark Benton) and

Luella Shakespeare (Jo Joyner), both right, are on the case investigating what appears to be high-tech corporate espionage. A local start-up firm has been hit by a malware attack on the eve of a multi-million-pound product launch.

Could it be the work of competitors – or might it be an inside job? Then the stakes are raised even higher when a body is found and it becomes a murder investigation, and the race is on to find the killer before the death toll increases. ★★★★☆