History     2001

After the huge cast changes in 2000, 2001 was a pretty stable year with only a few additions and departures. The most notable departure was that of Sergeant Bob Cryer, who had been in the show since 1984. His axing from the show upset many long-term fans, who considered Bob an institution and fundamental part of the show. Luckily, the producers had the sense not to kill the character off, making appearances in future episodes possible. Other changes included a revamp of the shows titles from the episode Going Under which aired on 20th February. Cast footage was played in slow-motion and faded in and out using a rectangular dissolve effect. There was also a rearrangement of the theme tune.

In that year, DC Riley panicked when his brother's business scam got a little too close to a major CID investigation (Upon Information Received); Quinnan was under pressure to sort out things at home (No Victim); and everybody was on edge when blunt-talking Smith volunteered to protect two gay witnesses (PC Smith). DS McAllister's (pictured) bulldozer approach got her into trouble with Ackland over a sensitive case; and Chandler came under pressure to clean up the Larkmead Estate (Family Honour). A hotdog war hit Sun Hill (Out Of The Frying Pan); and CID faced a race against time when an attacker who preyed on gay men threatened to kill his next victim (Cruise Control)

Chandler (pictured) showed more than a professional interest in DC Spears (Real Crime); the stress of being torn between two women took its toll on Quinnan when he lost control with a suspect (Home and Away); his wife discovered he was having an affair with Page and announced she was leaving him (Going Under); and the relief started to wonder whether Quinnan was out of control when he was accused of attacking a young criminal (Faultline). Sun Hill was forced to accept the legacy of DS Beech, and Meadows discovered that he was not the only one with a questionable past when he dug up some dirt on Chandler (Long Shadows); Carver used his personal experiences of alcoholism to help out a friend (Higher Power); and Clarke enjoyed a secondment to CID, as trouble at the rugby club made Conway discover his friends weren't quite who they seemed (Touched By Evil).

Smith considered his future in the Met (The Leopard [Part 1]), as Klein's relationship with the relief hit the rocks (The Leopard [Part 2]); Smith later transferred to SO19 (Tolerance), his new position bringing him back to Sun Hill in a tricky hostage situation, when he accidentally shot Sergeant Cryer (Return of the Hunter). Sergeant Craig Gilmore (pictured) arrived at Sun Hill amidst rumours about his sexuality (Tour Of Duty); Lennox was paired with old colleague Liz Rawton when he was seconded to the Serious Crimes Unit (Lies Of Silence); and Boyden and Hagen went on a camping trip with a group of young offenders (Over The Hill).

Cryer (pictured) was reluctant to attend his retirement bash (Hitting Home); Hagen made a career-changing decision (Value Judgement); and the new area car driver, PC Des Taviner, made a strong impact on his arrival at Sun Hill (A Week Of Nights). A dead man disappeared from under Quinnan's nose on his first day back, raising fears from his colleagues that he had gone back on the beat too soon (Still Crazy); DS Singh found himself drawn undercover into a car-crime ring, as he mixed business with pleasure (Complicity); and Hollis uncovered a plot to rob a jewellers, but then fell under suspicion regarding the death of an old lady (Happy and Glorious). A mad gunman on the loose gave Chandler problems with the local press (Gun Crazy); a road rage court case and a dead copper put Worrell in an awkward position (The Jury's Out) and Clarke helped Taviner track down stolen diggers whilst moonlighting in telesales to pay off her debts (Envy).

A bad day at school and the appearance of an old flame stirred up painful memories for PC Hayward (The Dark Side); Chandler gave Spears her own project as the CCTV cameras in Sun Hill came under attack (Eye Of The Lens); and Carver investigated the accidental death of an old soldier, resurrecting dark secrets from the past (Another Country). In a 4-parter, Webb was sent undercover to infiltrate a gang of football hooligans along with McAllister, Riley and Quinnan (Britanniamania); renegade cop Don Beech (pictured) found Sydney was closer to Sun Hill than he imagined when DI Claire Stanton came looking for him (Beech On The Run); and after faking his own death, he returned to London to mastermind his most audacious crime to date (Beech Is Back).

Rickman's loyalties were torn when faced with the return of her ex-lover Leroy Jones (On a Clear Day); Jones got caught up in a murder investigation, but Rickman was not convinced he was guilty as some liked to think (Come Live with Me); and Spears (pictured) returned to school to investigate a violent all-girl gang (Crush). During a crackdown on Sun Hill's money lenders, Boyden found himself paying off crooks to clear his daughter's debts (A Pound Of Flesh); Stamp and Page found themselves in difficulty when Boyden's daughter placed them both in danger (Debt of Love); and Boyden found himself relying on a jilted Vicky Hagen after a heavy-handed raid put his career on the line (Hidden Agenda). Hagen left Sun Hill after being publicly humiliated in the station for sleeping with a man accused of rape (Sacrifice); Lennox was forced to doubt his judgement when he fell for the beautiful victim of an art fraudster (Value Of Nothing); and an escape bid turned into a hostage situation when Glaze went undercover in prison (Money Man).

At the end of the year, a weekend away became a nightmare for Spears whilst Acting-DI Liz Rawton returned to Sun Hill looking for a serial rapist (Night Games); Spears was shocked when DS Cork turned up at the station as the rape case profiler after he'd attacked her (Aftershock); she began to think he was the serial rapist (Compulsion); but later discovered Ferdinand was the real culprit (Slash and Burn). Taviner (pictured) led the new special constable, Terry Knowles, astray (Special Attention); and Knowles was sorely tempted to allow his heart to rule his head when he discovered a paedophile living near his sister's house (The Risk Factor).