Radio Times: Review by:; Alison Graham

If you’re a crime nerd like me, you doubtless love all the procedural stuff in Scott & Bailey, even though it doesn’t wear its knowledge lightly (Diane Taylor, a real detective inspector, is the series co-creator, with writer Sally Wainwright). There’s an over-reliance on initials – BIA, SAO, NPIA – and sometimes it can feel a bit too much like a manual on How to Investigate a Murder.

But that doesn’t bother me because, as a whole, Scott & Bailey is just great; a proper, absorbing hour with plenty of soapy elements encompassing the whole spectrum of TV Drama Men — from men as posh love-rats, to men as hopeless saps, through to men as murderers, it’s all there. And Scott and Bailey themselves (Lesley Sharp and Suranne Jones) are clever, dedicated women who are also vulnerable to the wiles of fellas (see above).

In the penultimate episode, a woman’s dismembered body is found in bin bags on a grim slab of Manchester waste ground. You’ll quickly latch on to precisely where the story is heading and, thanks to a lumbering great clue, you’ll know how it ends. But never mind, it’s gripping.

About this programme

5/6. Janet moves a step closer to tracking down Veronica's killer while investigating a recent murder that bears similarities to the cold case. Rachel finds out about an affair Nick once had with a juror in the middle of a trial - a revelation that could end his career. Detective drama, starring Lesley Sharp, Suranne Jones and Rupert Graves.