The WORST episodes of Dalziel and Pascoe

Every episode of Dalziel and Pascoe ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Dalziel and Pascoe!

A British crime drama based on the "Dalziel and Pascoe" series of books by Reginald Hill, set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Wetherton. The unlikely duo of politically incorrect elephant-in-a-china-shop-copper Detective Superintendent Andrew Dalziel (pronounced Dee-ell) and his more sensitive and university educated sidekick Detective Sargent, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe is always on hand to solve the classic murder mystery, while maintaining a down to earth wit and humour.

Last Updated: 2/28/2024Network: BBC OneStatus: Ended
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Cunning Old Fox
star
6.64
55 votes

#1 - Cunning Old Fox

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/8/2000

Dalziel and Pascoe have to investigate the murder of a member of the Harlesdon Hunt - tensions are high anyway with the anti-hunting element causing problems but Dalziel is not convinced a hunt saboteur is to blame, WDC Shirley Novello goes undercover amongst the hunt to try and find out thier secrets.

Directors: Matthew Evans
Watch Now:Amazon
On Beulah Height
star
6.65
89 votes

#2 - On Beulah Height

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/12/1999

Memories of a case fifteen years before are revived for Dalziel when an eight year old girl is found murdered in a local beauty spot. Meanwhile Pascoe has other things to worry about when his daughter falls ill with meningitis.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Guardian Angel (1)
star
7.07
14 votes

#3 - Guardian Angel (1)

Season 10 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/3/2006

A lethal chemical kills a woman at a supermarket, and Dalziel and Pascoe suspect terrorism. But as more people die, is there a serial killer in their midst?

Directors: Paul Marcus
Watch Now:Amazon
Dialogues of the Dead (2)
star
7.25
4 votes

#4 - Dialogues of the Dead (2)

Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/22/2002

Directors: Patrick Lau
Watch Now:Amazon
Foreign Bodies
star
7.25
51 votes

#5 - Foreign Bodies

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/15/2000

Dalziel and old flame Florence have their romantic getaway in Whitby ruined when a body is washed up on the beach there, when he and Pascoe investigate it takes them to a university and a possible involvement with Cold War Spies.

Directors: David Wheatley
Watch Now:Amazon
Above the Law
star
7.35
54 votes

#6 - Above the Law

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/22/2000

Dalziel and Pascoe investigate the murder of a judge, who though married was homosexual, the judges wife is a politician and because of fears that the murder may have something to do with that fact, Dalziel finds himself having to deal with Special Branch as well as solve thecrime.

Directors: Paul Marcus
Watch Now:Amazon
Great Escapes
star
7.39
23 votes

#7 - Great Escapes

Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/17/2004

Dalziel's car breaks down on the moors and unsurprisingly Pascoe won't come fetch him in the middle of the night Dalziel walks to a nearby pub and stays the night. The next morning he discovers a body while taking a walk and suddenly a bigger case unfolds. The landlord's son was convicted of murdering his wife but her body was never found. He has escaped while in transit and is expected to arrive at the pub to see his son. Suddenly the wife's body turns up, and it's clear it has been stored somewhere for a number of years. Dalziel does some digging and discovers the real murderer is much closer to home.

Directors: Colin Buchanan
Watch Now:Amazon
Walls of Silence
star
7.40
30 votes

#8 - Walls of Silence

Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/29/2001

A promising young musician, who has just been awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy, is discovered dead in a lake. The youngster has an unfortunate link to Andy Dalziel, a fact that causes him to be pulled from the case by ACC Belinda Kennedy. As they investigate the youngsters troubled life more secrets come out. Dalziel meanwhile picks up a lead on the case that links him to the youngsters family and solves another mystery.

Directors: Ashley Pearce
Writer: Matthew Hall
Watch Now:Amazon
Home Truths
star
7.42
24 votes

#9 - Home Truths

Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/5/2001

A young Indian woman is murdered after a heated meeting of a racially divided community who are discussing the fate of the local youth centre. Andy and his team are pulled in as there are no resources available. DC Novello drives through a riot and has her car window smashed before Dalziel & Wield come to the rescue. Dalziel is not made to feel welcome by the local Super - she calls him a country bumpkin! With the help of a Indian PC they follow up on leads - and in this case everyone has hidden agendas.

Watch Now:Amazon
Secrets of the Dead
star
7.45
20 votes

#10 - Secrets of the Dead

Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/12/2001

An old flame of Dalziel's dies of cancer and someone murders the village lawyer. Together these 2 events open a can of worms. Peter Pascoe goes to visit his daugther in America, right into the path of a hurrican, aptly named Hurricane Andy. A letter addressed to Andy reveals that he is a father, something he had been unaware of for over 20yrs. Before he can deal with this his son is murdered. In the end everyone has a secret and Dalziel manages to turn over every rock to expose the truth

Directors: Ross Devenish
Writer: Tom Needham
Watch Now:Amazon
Project Aphrodite (2)
star
7.45
44 votes

#11 - Project Aphrodite (2)

Season 12 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/15/2007

As Dalziel and Pascoe investigate their latest case, they uncover a lethal cocktail of power, money and jealousy beneath the glossy veneer of the cosmetics industry.

Watch Now:Amazon
The Price of Fame
star
7.47
30 votes

#12 - The Price of Fame

Season 8 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/10/2004

Dalziel is investigating the disapperance of a teenage girl who was addicted to the Internet. He gets rough with the only suspect they have and gets booted off the case. Then a girl gets murdered at a holiday resort. Not any girl - a popular girl who won a TV reality contest. Then one of the holiday makers turns up dead as well. There are plenty of suspects but no real motive. Dalziel comes back onto the case. Another colleague is investigating a diamond heist. After Pascoe discovers a suspect from that case, by falling into a swimming pool, it looks like the cases could be linked

Directors: David Wheatley
Writer: Tony McHale
Watch Now:Amazon
Under Dark Stars (2)
star
7.48
48 votes

#13 - Under Dark Stars (2)

Season 12 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/22/2007

As the body count continues to rise and with trust between them running dangerously low, Dalziel and Pascoe find their friendship as well as their professional partnership pushed to breaking point.

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A Death in the Family (2)
star
7.50
6 votes

#14 - A Death in the Family (2)

Season 10 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/11/2006

Dalziel's instincts are proved wrong, resulting in a race against time to save the life of a small child.

Directors: Richard Signy
Watch Now:Amazon
Soft Touch
star
7.52
27 votes

#15 - Soft Touch

Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/24/2004

What is the connection between an unidentifiable corpse found drowned in the canal with a two-year-old AK47 bullet lodged in his spine and the murder of a wealthy, successful businessman who has just returned from Russia with a new order and a new Russian bride-to-be? This is the mystery that Dalziel and Pascoe must solve if they are to discover the murderer before Dalziel is moved sideways into a desk job to make way for "new blood". The strange thing about the case is that nobody seems particularly upset about the death of the businessman. As they probe deeper into the case all sorts of jealousies, money problems and family conflicts are exposed. Also, the factory staff is trying desperately to conceal various wrongdoings from the police. Eventually, the murder weapon is discovered and a suspect confesses to the crime but is she the real murderer?

Directors: Paul Marcus
Watch Now:Amazon
Bones and Silence
star
7.52
78 votes

#16 - Bones and Silence

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/18/1998

Andy Dalziel is sole witness to the murder of his neighbour but has a hard time finding the evidence to convict the man, Philip Swain, he is convinced is guilty.

Directors: Maurice Phillips
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Dead Meat (1)
star
7.55
20 votes

#17 - Dead Meat (1)

Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/6/2005

Tigers at a private zoo are being fed a diet of human flesh. Could it be something to do with the mysterious Lord Harper who disappeared 20 years ago?

Directors: Patrick Lau
Watch Now:Amazon
A Killing Kindness
star
7.57
63 votes

#18 - A Killing Kindness

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/21/1997

A serial killer who murders young women who have just become engaged is at large, who after every death phones the local newspaper and quotes from Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Investigations centre around a fair, where the young relative of a psychic fortune teller who "saw" the death of Brenda Sorby is also murdered.

Directors: Edward Bennett
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Dead Meat (2)
star
7.57
14 votes

#19 - Dead Meat (2)

Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/7/2005

Dalziel is determined to prove the missing Lord Harper is still alive. Pascoe is convinced the tigers are hiding something.

Directors: Patrick Lau
Watch Now:Amazon
Under World
star
7.60
60 votes

#20 - Under World

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/21/1998

A dead miner is found when old mine workings are re-opened. He is found on the anniversary of his, and another childs death. The question is, did he kill the child or not? The case is brought to a head when a journalist rules out the other suspect on the front pages of a sunday newspaper, causing red faces for the detectives. As the story unravels itself Dalziel makes sure the truth comes to light

Directors: Edward Bennett
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Deadheads
star
7.60
65 votes

#21 - Deadheads

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/28/1997

Dick Elgood, an old fiend of Dalziel's, unofficially reports two strange incidents which nearly kill him and asks Dalziel to investigate. The subsequent investigation by him and Pascoe exposes a chain of bizarre, accidental deaths stretching back nearly three decades but not a single shred of evidence to suggest foul play! Each of the, seemingly unconnected, deaths have somehow or other benefited Patrick Alderman even though it could not be proven that he had any connection to the deaths. The trail leads to Penny Highsmith, an old flame of Dalziel's, but goes cold when she is shown not to be involved. The case is eventually closed with the death, in mysterious circumstances, of Dick Elgood, the victim of yet another weird accident.

Directors: Edward Bennett
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Under Dark Stars (1)
star
7.61
46 votes

#22 - Under Dark Stars (1)

Season 12 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/21/2007

Pascoe takes it personally when the trial of a child killer he investigated collapses, and against Dalziel's advice finds himself increasingly embroiled in the lives of one of the victim's families.

Watch Now:Amazon
The Unwanted
star
7.61
31 votes

#23 - The Unwanted

Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/30/2002

Pascoe returns home for the grand country wedding of a school friend. Soldier Ian Henslowe is marrying Jill Lowry, favourite daughter of wealthy farmer Ted Lowry. The reception is disrupted by the discovery of a dead body in the Lowry's pig sheds. The victim is Ian's best friend, fellow soldier Martin Wilkie. Dalziel, who's just returned from a hospital check-up for his dodgy heart, arrives to investigate. Ian's devastated when Jill admits that she was having an affair with Wilkie. Dalziel and Pascoe visit Wilkie's regiment and his home, only to find that it has just been ransacked and set on fire by an intruder; Dalziel tells Pascoe he is too close to the suspects to stay on the case; instead he can remain at his parents' and hope to pick up gossip. Pascoe does not get on with his father, who has always resented his son's decision not to go into farming, especially after the recent hardships of the foot-and-mouth outbreak. Instead, Bill Pascoe has relied for help on Pascoe's cousin, T

Directors: Patrick Lau
Writer: Manjit Singh
Watch Now:Amazon
Dialogues of the Dead (1)
star
7.62
26 votes

#24 - Dialogues of the Dead (1)

Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/21/2002

Wetherton CID struggles to track down a serial killer with a penchant for words, as Messrs Dalziel and Pascoe take on their most puzzling and challenging case to date. The sublimely confident killer leaves a dialogue for the police to find after each murder. These chilling documents, carefully written and lovingly illustrated, describe each killing in detail and, at the same time, are strewn with tantalising hints and clues. To celebrate the opening of a refurbished library and a new Heritage Centre, a short story competition is attracting reams of entries, one of which is so graphic that it prompts the police to revise their initial views of a recent fatal accident. This is just the first dialogue: worse is to come as the cocky killer starts writing about and executing a series of murders, in front of the police. So begins a desperate game of cat and mouse between a sinister killer and an increasingly concerned and apprehensive Dalziel and Pascoe, for whom the murders are getting agon

Directors: Patrick Lau
Watch Now:Amazon
Dust Thou Art (2)
star
7.64
11 votes

#25 - Dust Thou Art (2)

Season 9 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/21/2005

Is Dalziel to blame for Jackson's disappearance or could it be something to do with the mysterious art world?

Directors: Gwennan Sage
Watch Now:Amazon