History     2004

2004 began with a dramatic siege in which Cathy Bradford (pictured) took DC Kane's children hostage in Sun Hill's boiler room (# 181-# 184); Jim Carver appeared in court giving evidence to support the domestic violence charges against wife (# 185); and Supt. Okaro was shocked when his wife was brought in for questioning as part of a fraud case (# 186). Des Taviner reappeared to discover his baby daughter was dead (# 189); DI Manson ruffled DS De Costa's feathers when he took over a case from her (# 190); and a covert operation was planned to trap Taviner at his daughter's funeral (# 191). Ackland confronted Kent over the shocking discovery that he was her 'son' (# 193); it later materialised that he was at Sun Hill under a fake ID and was really no familial relation; and Polly Page returned to Sun Hill as a civilian CAD operator (# 194).

Undercover reporter Andrea Dunbar joined the relief as a PC (# 197); Taviner was finally subdued but died in custody after being placed in a cell with a mentally-unstable prisoner (# 199); and Klein was witness to a brutal contract killing (# 200). Kerry Young had doubts that she had consented to having sex with Sgt. Smith (# 204); Page (pictured) discovered the journalist she'd befriended was only using her to get a story (# 205); and Klein went deep into witness protection as Polly decided to leave Sun Hill for good (# 206). A bank siege ended in tragedy (# 208); Young's rape was emblazoned all over the press, raising questions about the possibility of a Sun Hill mole (# 210); and in a stand-alone special, DC Perkins went undercover in prison to try and infiltrate a paedophile ring (# 211).

Also that year, Manson set up an obbo based on information from ex-copper Don Beech (pictured) (# 212); Kent was assigned as Ward Officer on the Cole Lane Estate (# 213); and Okaro began to receive racist hate mail (# 214). Sun Hill mounted an operation to catch a gang who were planning a diamond heist on a boat (# 215); Meadows and Beech came face to face after 4 years, only for the latter to escape (# 216); and DC Drummond was shaken when his son revealed that he'd killed a prostitute (# 217). CID searched for a baby snatched from the back of a car (# 218); Hunter and Nixon were taken hostage by criminal Dennis Weaver, and Gabriel Kent raped Kerry Young (# 220). Sgt. Murphy was demoted (# 222); notorious criminal family the Radfords reappeared in Sun Hill, sparking bad memories for DC Thatcher (# 223); and Phil Hunter's younger brother Steve turned up for duty (# 224).

Ackland was run down by Stamp in the Area Car (# 225); Best went undercover to gather information on his estranged brother Joe (# 226); and Nixon continued her investigation into the serial rapist (# 229). Tait decided to up sticks and head back to Australia following the rape fiasco (# 230); Okaro was critically injured following a bomb blast (# 232); and Meadows reunited with old lover Rachel Heath (# 233). Young unofficially infiltrated the Radford family (# 235); Gold contemplated her future with CPS Lawyer Jonathan Fox; and in one of the most notable moments of the year, June Ackland and Jim Carver (pictured) finally tied the knot after working together for 21 years (# 237).

Also in 2004, Manson and Dunbar's (pictured) affair heated up (# 238); Young got in deeper with the Radfords (# 239); and Nixon's daughter went missing (# 240). Perkins confronted his brother over the abuse they suffered as children (# 241); McAllister's nanny was discovered to be working as a prostitute from her flat (# 242); and Okaro faced trial after being discovered in the possession of canabis (# 244). DC Suzie Sim showed that she didn't suffer fools gladly on her first day at the station (# 246); the extent of Carver's gambling debts became clear (# 247); and Meadows attended the funeral of old colleague Ted Roach along with Alec Peters and Bob Cryer (# 248). Senior officers discussed the possibility of a Sun Hill sniper (# 250); Young sabotaged her ex-lover's armed robbery (# 251), only to be gunned down in front of the station by Kent when she threatened to reveal his real identity (# 253).

Kent confronted the revelation that Young was carrying his child (# 255); Hemmingway's sister turned up the station traumatised after being attacked by her husband (# 256); and PC Roger Valentine joined the relief after a 5-year break from the Met. (# 257). All of Sun Hill were in attendance for PC Young's funeral (pictured) (# 258); McAllister bid farewell to the station after working there for four years (# 259); and Acting DC Best was made a laughing stock after mistaking prosthetic limbs for human body parts (# 260). Rob Thatcher discovered that Irene Radford, rather than her husband Len, shot dead his father in the 80s (# 262); Abi Nixon was finally recovered after being abducted, but chose to go home with her captor over her mother (# 263-4); and Jim Carver came clean to wife June about the extent of his debts - a staggering £67,000 (# 265), casting a shadow over her last day at Sun Hill (# 266).

At the end of the year, Kent was nearly gunned down by the Sun Hill sniper (# 267); PC Leela Kapoor joined the relief (pictured) when it transpired she'd blown the whistle on a colleague at Barton Street (# 268); and Carver finally crossed the line by pawning evidence (# 269). Irene Radford took Gina Gold hostage at gunpoint as AWOL Rob Thatcher appeared hell-bent on revenge (# 273); DS De Costa was rushed off her feet in the new Vulnerable Persons Unit and the relief gathered for Powell's anticipated stag-do (# 274).