Law & Order: UK

For most of Law & Order: UK's run, the lead-in of the show began with the discovery of a crime, usually a murder. The scene typically begins with a slice of everyday life in London, perhaps in a fish and chip shop or Indian takeaway. Some civilians would then discover the crime victim, or sometimes the crime would occur in a public place with civilians as victims or witnesses.

The police are represented in the show by Metropolitan Police Force Murder Investigation Unit (referred to as MIU), with two Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives, a senior detective sergeant (DS) and a junior detective sergeant (DS), who report directly to their boss, a detective inspector (DI) or detective chief inspector (DCI). During the preliminary crime scene examination, the detectives make their first observations, form initial theories, and engage in witty banter before the title sequence begins.

The detectives often have few or no good clues, and might not even know the victim's identity, but must usually chase several dead ends before finding a likely suspect. They begin by collecting evidence at the crime scene, often receiving a briefing from scenes of crime officers (SOCOs) who have already conducted a preliminary investigation. They visit the forensic pathologist for information about cause and time of death, or about the victim's identity from dental records or fingerprints. The police will also inform relatives, interview witnesses, and trace the victim's last known movements by talking to the victim's family, friends, co-workers, or known associates. They will visit the crime laboratory for evidence such as fingerprints, DNA and ballistics results. They will receive information from colleagues who have checked the financial and criminal records of both victims and suspects. In some instances, psychologists or psychiatrists are called in for insight into the criminal's personality, behaviour or modus operandi. The detectives then report to their commanding officer who advises or directs them on how best to proceed. For example, when suspects have been identified, the commanding officer decides if there is enough for a search or arrest warrant, perhaps after consulting the CPS office to see if the case is strong enough; and whether any back-up from uniformed officers or armed police is needed. The detectives will then arrest the suspects, sometimes after a chase through the streets of London. The scene then shifts to the interrogation room where the detectives interview the suspect(s) until the latter request(s) a solicitor, who then arrives to typically advise the suspect to remain silent; and then from the interrogation room to the offices of the Crown Prosecution Service, where crown prosecutors decide if they have enough to press charges.

Towards the middle of a show, the police will begin to work with the prosecutors to make the arrest, though sometimes the CPS team will on occasion appear early on to arrange a plea-for-information deal or to decide if the detectives have enough evidence for search warrants and/or arrest warrants before arresting the suspect or suspects and an arraignment scene will follow.

The matter then is taken over by a pair of crown prosecutors, a senior crown prosecutor (sometimes referred to as a chief crown prosecutor) and a junior crown prosecutor (sometimes referred to as a crown advocate) from the London office of the Crown Prosecution Service. They discuss deals, prepare the witnesses and evidence, and conduct the Crown's case in the trial. The crown prosecutors work together and with the coroner's office, the crime laboratory (including fingerprint analysts, DNA profilers and Ballistics analysts), and psychologists and/or psychiatrists (if the defendant uses an insanity plea) all of whom may be needed to testify in court for the prosecution. The police may also reappear to testify in court or to arrest another suspect, but most investigation in the second segment is done by the CPS office, who always consult with the local London CPS Director for advice on the case. If the case is very weak then the police would re-investigate.

Unlike many legal dramas (e.g. Kavanagh QC and Rumpole of the Bailey), the court proceedings are shown from the prosecution's point of view, with the regular characters trying to prove the defendant's guilt, not innocence. The second half usually opens with the arraignment of defendants and proceeds to trial preparation, including legal research and plea negotiations. Some episodes include legal proceedings beyond the testimony of witnesses, including motion hearings, (often concerning admissibility of evidence); jury selection; and allocutions, usually as a result of plea bargains. Many episodes employ motions to suppress evidence as a plot device, and most of these end with evidence or statements being suppressed, often on a technicality. This usually begins with the service of the motion to the CPS team, follows with argument and case citations of precedent before a judge in court, and concludes with visual reaction of the winning or losing attorney. In some episodes, the audience may not explicitly see the final verdict of the trial or outcomes of any ensuing legal agreements. If the CPS loses a case against a defendant, the episode may occasionally show the CPS pursuing additional charges against the said defendant.

Many episodes use outlandish defence scenarios such as diminished responsibility (e.g. "genetics"/"television"/"God"/"the devil made me do it" and intoxication defence) and temporary insanity (e.g. "black rage"/"white rage"/"sports rage"). Also episodes revolve around moral and ethical debates including the right to die (euthanasia), the right to life (abortion) and the right to bear arms (gun control). The episode usually ends with the verdict being read by the jury foreperson and a shot of both the winning and losing parties. The scene then shifts to the Crown Prosecution Service's London office where the team is leaving the office to go home while contemplating either the true guilt of the accused, the defence scenarios they used or the moral or ethical debate of the episode.

The first four series of Law & Order: UK starred Bradley Walsh, Jamie Bamber and Harriet Walter, Ben Daniels, Freema Agyeman and Bill Paterson. Each commission consisted of thirteen-episode seasons to be broken up in 6–7 episode series. Series one was broadcast in February 2009 and concluded in March 2009 with seven episodes being broadcast. The second series followed in January 2010 and consisted of six episodes. The series was renewed for another thirteen episodes and the first seven were broadcast as series three in September 2010. The remaining six were broadcast in March 2011 as series four. The first major cast departures came at the end of the fourth series, with Ben Daniels and Bill Paterson leaving the series. Walsh, Bamber, Walter, and Agyeman all remained in their roles.

The next series was broadcast in July 2011 and saw Jamie Bamber leave in the fifth series finale. Dominic Rowan and Peter Davison joined the main cast, replacing Daniels and Paterson. The next seven episodes were broadcast in January 2012 as series six, and saw Paul Nicholls join the cast as Sergeant Sam Casey. Jamie Bamber made his final uncredited appearance in the first episode of the series, in both flashback and photograph. It was later announced along with the commission of a seventh series that Harriet Walter and Freema Agyeman would depart off-screen, thus this was the final season to feature them as part of the regular cast.

The departures of Walter and Agyeman meant that Bradley Walsh was the only remaining cast member who had appeared from the first episode. A seventh series of six episodes aired from 14 July 2013, after being filmed in November 2012.[14] The seventh series, broadcast eighteen months after the sixth series, won its time slot for all six episodes.[15] Georgia Taylor and Paterson Joseph joined the main cast, while Paul Nicholls departed during the final episode of the series. On 28 June 2013, Bradley Walsh confirmed on This Morning that an eighth series had been commissioned and would start filming in October 2013. ITV later confirmed that Law & Order: UK would return in 2014 with an eight episode series, and that Ben Bailey Smith had been cast as DS Joe Hawkins who replaces Paul Nicholls as DS Sam Casey.[15] The series began airing in the UK on 12 March 2014.[15] Paterson Joseph departed the main cast in the penultimate episode of the series, and was replaced by Sharon Small as Inspector Elisabeth Flynn. Former cast member Harriet Walter returned for a single-episode guest appearance.

In June 2014, broadcaster ITV and producer Kudos issued a joint press release announcing that series 8 would be "the last to be transmitted for the foreseeable future".[3]

• Ronnie Brooks (Bradley Walsh, series 1–8), is a Detective Sergeant assigned to London's Major Incident Unit. A recovering alcoholic and absent-father, Ronnie values his job more than anything. He lives to see justice served. Ronnie is the light-hearted leader and mentor of his Junior Partner, and has turned down numerous promotions in order to make a difference on the streets.
• Matt Devlin (Jamie Bamber, series 1–5), is a Detective Sergeant and the junior partner to Ronnie's senior role. Flirtatious, tech-savvy and people-smart, Matt formed strong bonds with both Alesha and Natalie. It was no surprise then, that when he was gunned down outside a court-house, the team were inconsolable.
• Natalie Chandler (Harriet Walter, series 1–6; guest star series 8), is the mother-figure to Ronnie's father-figure and the Senior Investigating Officer at the M.I.U. She departed to care for her mother, who was in the late stages of a terminal disease.
• James Steel (Ben Daniels, series 1–4), is a senior crown prosecutor employed by the London CPS.
• Alesha Phillips (Freema Agyeman, series 1–6), is Steel's partner and a junior CPS prosecutor. A tough lawyer raised on the streets of London, Phillips had a flirty relationship with Devlin until his death. She departed the CPS to become a senior prosecutor in Greater Manchester.

• George Castle (Bill Paterson, series 1–4), was the first director of CPS London and the supervisor of Phillips and Steel.
• Jake Thorne (Dominic Rowan, series 5–8), was Phillips second partner, and a senior crown prosecutor.
• Henry Sharpe (Peter Davison, series 5–8), succeeded Castle as the director of CPS London and was the direct supervisor to Thorne and Phillips.
• Sam Casey (Paul Nicholls, series 6–7), is a Detective Sergeant who has worked at M.I.U. for several years. Originally assigned to investigate the death of Devlin, he was partnered with Ronnie on a full-time basis sometime during the subsequent year. He is a part-time dad, and presumably left the force to focus more wholly on the upbringing of his child.
• Kate Barker (Georgia Taylor, series 7–8), replaced Phillips following her promotion. Loud and nosey, Barker was a defence barrister before joining Thorne, making it exceedingly difficult to build a professional relationship upon their adversarial experiences.
• Wes Layton (Paterson Joseph, series 7–8), worked with Ronnie during his days on the beat. Assigned to the MIU temporarily to cover Chandler's leave, but became her permanent replacement shortly thereafter. He was assassinated during series 8 as part of a series of gun-crimes that also targeted Sharpe.
• Joe Hawkins (Ben Bailey Smith, series 8), was Ronnie's third and final partner. A newly promoted DS, he is far more working class than his predecessors and as such possesses greater street smarts. Eager to learn, he's a fresh mind for Ronnie to mould, and he's fiercely loyal.
• Elisabeth Flynn (Sharon Small, series 8) joined the team after she was promoted following an on-the-job injury. Her personal crusade was against knife-crime, making it ironic that that was the first case that fell onto her desk. She sees Ronnie as a dinosaur, and has a deep desire to modernise the police force. She appears only in the final episode of the series.