The BEST episodes directed by Tom Cotter

#1 - Closing Ranks

Heartbeat - Season 7 - Episode 4

There is an out break of handbag snatches in the area, the police know who the perpetrators are but can't prove anything. Phil decides to take matters into his own hands when his Gran is the next victim. To ensure a conviction he plants her purse on the suspect, and asks Nick to go along with it, he does, but in court the suspect's solicitor finds holes in the evidence and Blaketon realises what's happened. The case is dropped. Blaketon is angry and threatens to report Phil and Nick for the incident but informs them the next day, that just this once he would let the matter drop. Blaketon then turns to Alf for help with the case, and they set up a successful identity parade, which provides enough evidence to make the charges stand up in court. Meanwhile Jo is having problems with her mother disapproving of Nick and Claude is told there's more to a stuffed ram than meets the eye!

#2 - The Coffin

The Ray Bradbury Theater - Season 2 - Episode 9

An aging inventor builds a custom designed casket as his final creation... and to inflict revenge on a greedy brother.

#3 - The Reckoning

Ballykissangel - Season 3 - Episode 10

Peter returns to BallyK with a lot of things on his mind. Ambrose catches him, and most of the regulars, at Fitzgerald's after hours, and all face charges. Assumpta's pleas that it was a private party fall on deaf ears. Assumpta and Peter are double-booked to baby-sit for Kieran, and it gives Peter the opportunity to tell her how he feels. She wants to know exactly what he wants, but it is clear that he still doesn't know himself. The pub regulars are let off the hook after it is revealed that they were only drinking cans bought from Kathleen's shop. Peter and Assumpta discuss their situation again, and Peter takes time to make his decision. A disparaging remark about Assumpta, made by Father Mac, helps Peter to make up his mind. He wants Assumpta, whatever it takes. They make plans for him to leave the priesthood and work at the pub. But tragedy strikes at the pub, that night. Assumpta has been having problems with the fuse box and she is electrocuted as the lights fail again. Father

#4 - Obsessions

Heartbeat - Season 6 - Episode 13

Nick rescues a young woman from a house fire. She soon becomes obsessed with Nick , phoning him at Jo's calling into the station, calling round at the police house and spending time with Katie. When Nick makes it clear he isn't interested, she first plants her bracelet in his uniform and tells Blaketon he's stolen it. She then causes trouble between Nick and Jo when she tries to convince Jo that he and she are having an affair. This makes Jo feel insecure, but Nick convinces Jo that the woman is just making trouble and tells her that he loves her. The woman sees Nick and Jo out one night and attempts to knock Jo down with her car, but she is stopped in time.

#5 - Amongst Friends

Ballykissangel - Season 3 - Episode 11

Peter says a final goodbye to Assumpta and takes off on a long walk. Ambrose eventually finds him at the statue of the Blessed Virgin where he and Assumpta once met and talked. Ambrose is angry that Peter seems to think that he is the only one who is grieving. He went to school with her, and every person in BallyK had something to do with her upbringing. He takes Peter home where Father Mac, who wants to know whether Peter will be staying with the Church, confronts him. It's not something Peter wants to think about. A journalist is trying to dig up some dirt about Assumpta, but is blocked at every turn by her friends. Peter organises a wake on the hillside, and the next day he conducts Kieran's christening. Afterwards, he leaves the town without saying goodbye to anyone but Brendan. He takes one look back at the village and leaves in much the same way that he arrived.

#6 - Pig in the Middle

Heartbeat - Season 7 - Episode 2

A long lost friend of Claude's comes to stay called Ellen Highwater, she moves in with him for a brief period. At first Claude takes full advantage of her cooking and cleaning but eventually she takes things too far, especially when she takes some of his money for the shopping and she even suggests Alfred should have a kennel! ‘Sweaty Betty' has a vendetta against Special Constable Cowley, who mysteriously goes missing. Betty is the suspected of having something to do with it but Nick is surprised when she tells him that she has an alibi, in that she was with her ‘boyfriend' on the night in question. Jo has to move out of her cottage when her dad can't renew the lease, but luckily Maggie offers her, her spare room.

#7 - Value Judgement

The Bill - Season 17 - Episode 31

A man matching the description of a local paedophile is seen lurking outside a local school, but when the police visit him, he denies it. Outside the school, PC Reg Hollis sees three men fighting, and one of them bundles a struggling young boy into a car, one of the men in the fight runs but is arrested, and he denies knowing the boy. PC Vicky Hagen pursues in the Area Car, but dents the side when she swerves to avoid a head-on collision. The police investigate the case as an abduction, but the boy's aunt reports that he is safe and well and living with his mother - or as safe as he can be, since his mother is living with local scumbag Shane Weller. The boy Jack's mother tells Sgt. Boyden that the man they have in custody is Murad Gocek, Jack's Turkish father, and that he wants to take the boy back to Turkey with him. When Jack goes missing for real, his aunt tells Boyden that his father is staying in a hostel, and that Weller is on his way there. As the police arrest Weller's thugs, Weller drives his car towards a fleeing Gocek and his son. PC Hagen drives between them, totalling the Area Car which, in addition to her two recent PolAccs, results in the instant loss of her police driver's licence.

#8 - The Small Assassin

The Ray Bradbury Theater - Season 2 - Episode 6

A woman is terrorized by her newborn infant.

#9 - Unfinished Business

Heartbeat - Season 5 - Episode 12

Alf is showing Nick the plot of land that he's bought on which to have a house built. But he's not pleased when Claude turns up with the digging equipment! Claude sets out to work but the digger soon becomes jammed. Claude goes down in to the excavation to see what's wrong and ends up trapped on an unexploded bomb. The army is brought in to diffuse the bomb and the police have to evacuate the whole village. One woman protests to leaving as a man has died in her bed and its not her husband. One little boy is missing, but Nick finds him hiding in a shed, unfortunately the bomb goes off causing the shed to collapse. Nick and the boy are fine but one soldier is killed.

#10 - Safe Place

The Bill - Season 6 - Episode 20

Roach is not getting far after a bank robbery. It appears to be an exact copy of a robbery that occurred eight years before. The same employee was involved in both robberies and has signed himself into a psychiatric hospital. Viv goes undercover. He appears to be a natural born victim.

#11 - It's All in the Game

Heartbeat - Season 5 - Episode 10

It is Katie's christening, and everyone is celebrating at Nicks house afterwards, when an old girlfriend of his, Gill, from the Met turns up for a visit. Nick and Gill are asked to go undercover to investigate the criminal activities of the owner of a well known gambling club. Blaketon thinks that Mr Armstrong is going to cheat in an up coming racing event by tampering with the favourite horse, ‘Fab Four'. The police are on to him, and he soon notices he's being watched so he kidnaps Gill and hides her in a horse box. Nick and Phil come to the rescue.

#12 - Vacant Possession

Heartbeat - Season 5 - Episode 5

Ruby asks Blaketon to dinner, they then meet on a number of other occasions, Phil and Alf enjoy teasing Nick over his mum's potential romance with Oscar! - but to Ruby's disappointment, Blaketon doesn't take the hint, and Ruby pronounces him ‘dead from the neck down'! An illiterate man , Eddie is outraged when a cottage to rent was promised to him by his Aunt but it ends up being sold. His girlfriend calls of their wedding because they don't have a house. Another man is after his girlfriend and sets out to frame Eddie for smashing several windows, but Nick eventually uncovers the truth. Greengrass tries his luck at selling some of his property, but it back fires. Auntie Eileen comes to visit, but the way Ruby sees it is that it leaves her free to go back to London, as she assumes Eileen will stay and help out for a while - which as we know, it ends up being a bit longer than that!

#13 - Burnside Knew My Father

The Bill - Season 6 - Episode 21

Papa Reeves, an old friend from D.I. Burnside's uniform days, plans to end the life of his terminally-ill wife. Burnside takes time out from interviewing a suspected armed robber to convince Reeves that if he does so, not only will he be charged with her murder, but Burnside could also be charged as an accessory. With the robber's solicitor demanding his immediate release, Burnside has an ace up his sleeve: a surveillance photo of the man committing the crime. Meanwhile, W.P.C. Ackland deals with a domestic dispute between a mother and son when the boy is found locked out of the flat wearing only his underpants.

#14 - Friendly Fire

Heartbeat - Season 7 - Episode 8

Nick is suspicious when a lay preacher is injured in a shooting accident but eventually uncovers the truth behind the incident. Claude is doing his utmost to make money out of the famous Aidensfield bun for which he has been given what he thinks is the secret recipe to look after! Gina's relationship with Steve is developing but she also receives the bad news that George will never be well enough to come back to the pub.

#15 - The Waiting Game

Ballykissangel - Season 3 - Episode 8

The town catches lottery fever after it is announced that the winner bought the Lotto ticket in Kathleen's shop. The win is worth £6 million. Nobody knows who it is and the normally calm community begin to suspect each other. Ambrose's latest mission is an undercover job in Cildargan. It's a dangerous task and Niamh's worries are entirely justified. Peter is visiting his dying mother in Manchester and Father Mac's superiors are desperate for him to find the lottery winner so that the church can benefit from the win, a suggestion which appals him. In fact, the whole town has become engulfed in greed and jealousy. It is finally revealed that the winner was a tourist. Siobhan and Brendan begin to come to terms with their new relationship.

#16 - Pack Up Your Troubles

Ballykissangel - Season 3 - Episode 9

Assumpta returns from talking to Leo in Dublin and is upset to discover that Peter's mother is dying and he is visiting her in England. Brian finally has some money and starts up his new business - paint balling weekends designed to motivate businessmen. The teams end up rampaging all over the village and one ends up being shot by Eamonn for trespassing on his land. Siobhan and Brendan's news finally becomes public when she can't treat Eamonn's sheep because it's a risk to the baby. Peter's mother has died and Dr Ryan asks Assumpta to 'phone him.

#17 - Safe As Houses

The Bill - Season 6 - Episode 103

Carver and Dashwood look after a very important witness. An attempted break-in could mean a move. Lines and Martella take over and there is a break-in by armed gunmen which turns out to be a fit up as the man is killed before he gets into the car.

#18 - Charity Begins at Home

Heartbeat - Season 6 - Episode 17

Aidensfield is hit by a snow storm and a plane makes a crash landing. A couple were on board but the pilot runs from the scene just as his wife goes into labour.. Nick eventually has to deliver the baby himself. He and Jo then take mother and baby back to the cottage, but there are problems because the baby is premature.. The escape pilot turns out to be a wanted man, and its Claude who helps Nick catch him! Phil and Alf get stuck in a snow drift when Alf was meant to be playing Santa, meanwhile Claude is brought in as a replacement - but Alf is rescued in time so two Santas turn up at the nativity play! In the final scene Nick proposes to Jo.

#19 - Decisions

The Bill - Season 6 - Episode 93

Reg welcomes Bob back from leave after the shooting. Top brass want to treat him with 'kid gloves' and don't want him to tkae his firearms refresher course. A social worker tells Bob of an old lady who had her purse snatched with her keys. She feels someone should visit her. On the way Bob finds obstruction at a market. At the house Bob finds weapons all around the house in case the thieves ise her keys. The old lady comes to the station with blood on her knife.

#20 - Kids Don't Cry Anymore

The Bill - Season 7 - Episode 15

June sees a boy being bullied at a playground. On investigation she finds a lunch box with packets in it as well as a notebook with a list of names and some drawings. The list is of drugs but the prices are kids prices and the packets hold grass clippings and flour - almost like the children are playing shop. She goes to the local school to see if she can get some names. Dashwood's transfer has been turned down. Burnside thinks Brownlow stopped it because Dashwood is dressed smarted than Brownlow. The retired head of the murder squad offers to help Dashwood. Roach's ex senior officer comes into CID asking for help with a case. He is now head of a security firm and wants to impress the partners and wants Roach's help because Ted is a good thief taker. Roach doesn't want to help because he still hasn't forgiven his boss for putting an innocent man in prison. He nicks a man at the pub with stolen watches.

#21 - A Good Night Out

The Bill - Season 12 - Episode 111

The results of the sergeants exams are in, and W.P.C. June Ackland has passed - but P.C. Gary McCann hasn't. As the relief organise a big night out in celebration of Ackland's promotion, McCann volunteers for night shift duty with P.C. Reg Hollis. Ch. Supt. Brownlow offers to pull some strings at Area to allow Ackland to stay as Sun Hill rather than transferring. Ackland politely invites Brownlow to the pub, and is horrified when he accepts. When Brownlow finally heads home, Dave Quinnan calls several minicabs to go out for a late night curry, but June and Polly are seperated when their cab driver makes off with their bags and warrant cards after being pulled over by a Stafford Row probationer, P.C. Oliver Oxley. Oxley is about to arrest them until the Stafford Row CAD officer vouches for June. June helps Oliver overcome bullying at his station, while they search for her missing bag. With the help of McCann, Hollis, and some Stafford Row officers, the cab driver is found and arrested.

#22 - A Little Help

The Bill - Season 14 - Episode 25

Rawton and Skase realise they may be onto a serial attacker.

#23 - Driving Me Crazy

The Bill - Season 14 - Episode 43

Quinnan and Ackland pursue a dangerous driver.

#24 - Target Man

The Bill - Season 14 - Episode 48

While football fever grips Sun Hill, Deakin hopes to get his man by following a tip-off. With Hollis to help him, how can he fail?

#25 - Deep Secret

The Bill - Season 14 - Episode 73

Garfield teams up with an attractive young journalist when the wreckage of a World War II Spitfire is discovered in Sun Hill.

#26 - Christmas Star

The Bill - Season 14 - Episode 120

#27 - To Catch a Cobra

The Bill - Season 15 - Episode 17

Burnside is on the trail of two Indian crime bosses but just how far is DS Boulton willing to help?

#28 - Tinderbox

The Bill - Season 15 - Episode 31

Senior officers at Sun Hill and Barton Street are dragged off to a team-building exercise.