The BEST episodes of Heartbeat season 12

Every episode of Heartbeat season 12, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Heartbeat season 12!

Heartbeat is based on the Constable books by Nicholas Rhea, set in the fictional 1960s Yorkshire town of Aidensfield. The first seasons focus on the lives of London policeman Nick Rowan, who moves to the village with his doctor wife Kate. Nick's police colleagues feature in the series, under the leadership of the crusty but kindhearted Sergeant Blaketon. Blaketon's nemesis is Claude Jeremiah Greengrass, poacher and occasional small-time fence. Greengrass is a regular patron of the Aidensfield Arms hotel, run by George Ward and his pretty niece Gina. It's here at the pub that we see much of the day-to-day social interaction in the series.

Last Updated: 9/27/2024Network: ITV1Status: Ended
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star
10.00
4 votes

#1 - A Dog's Life

Season 12 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/20/2002

Private drama is played out in public when Lord Ashfordly hosts the County Sheepdog Trials. But Bernie and David find it inconvenient when Vernon offers their services.

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star
10.00
3 votes

#2 - Absent Friends

Season 12 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/11/2003

When a farming couple go missing, Jenny and Liz are left minding the children. Vernon takes a reluctant Bernie on a country hotel mini-break.

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10.00
3 votes

#3 - Mackerel Sky

Season 12 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/4/2003

An ex-con uses Jenny to put pressure on Sgt Merton. A newly affluent Vernon organises a charity auction.

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10.00
4 votes

#4 - House Rules

Season 12 - Episode 22 - Aired 4/27/2003

illagers are curious when a mystery woman comes to live with Steve Crane, and Vernon gets a lucky break when he ventures into the modern art market.

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10.00
4 votes

#5 - Moving Target

Season 12 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/13/2003

The village is horrified when it seems there is a sniper on the loose, and Bellamy rethinks his priorities after a near miss with a bullet. DI Shiner makes Mike an offer it would be hard to refuse.

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10.00
4 votes

#6 - Missing in Action

Season 12 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/30/2003

Lesley wishes her father was still alive to give her away at the wedding. Bernie visits the chiropodist to have his bunions treated. Gina organises Lesley's hen night.

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10.00
3 votes

#7 - The Third Man

Season 12 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/23/2003

Mike takes on his first big CID job after getting a tip-off. Vernon persuades Dr Merrick that the surgery needs a face-lift.

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10.00
3 votes

#8 - For Whom the Bell Tolls

Season 12 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/5/2003

Lord Ashfordly is concerned about falling royalties from High Rigg Quarry and asks Blaketon to investigate. The police are concerned about a quantity of explosives which have gone missing from the quarry just before a visit by the defence minister.

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10.00
2 votes

#9 - Bread and Circuses

Season 12 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/29/2002

Bellamy is smitten with Alice, the victim of a handbag snatch. Merton and the others are trying to track some valuable porcelain figures stolen in Whitby when a similar theft occurs at Mr Osbourne's.

Directors: Jonas Grimas
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10.00
3 votes

#10 - Sins of the Fathers

Season 12 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/22/2002

Mike is reacting badly to Tricia's death and has an altercation with an underage drinker in the pub. The boy hits him but is let off by the magistrate - who turns out to be his father.

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10.00
3 votes

#11 - Harmony

Season 12 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/10/2002

Merton's cousin, the famous singer-songwriter Deborah Vine, arrives in Aidensfield to find a secluded location in which to work.

Directors: Noreen Kershaw
Writer: Peter Gibbs
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10.00
2 votes

#12 - Where There's Muck

Season 12 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/3/2002

Ventress tries to stop a bankrupt farmer from taking revenge on the bank. When Vernon goes into the horseradish business he discovers that he can't stand the heat in the kitchen.

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10.00
3 votes

#13 - A Girl's Best Friend

Season 12 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/13/2002

Mike discovers that a couple's wealth has not brought them happiness. Vernon is concerned that his dabbling with hypnotism has sent David barking mad.

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10.00
3 votes

#14 - Hung for a Sheep

Season 12 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/16/2003

Ventress thinks the new PC, Steve Crane, is a bit too anxious to prove his worth. Vernon attempts to impress another new arrival, Dr Liz Merrick, with his community spirit.

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star
9.60
5 votes

#15 - Skeletons and Cupboards

Season 12 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/6/2002

Ventress fears for his job and his sanity when Blaketon sees a man whom they certified dead fifteen years previously. Meanwhile, the villagers are sceptical when Vernon finds gainful employment Meanwhile Mike is worried about Tricia as she returns to work, but she is determined that she is ok.

Directors: Noreen Kershaw
Watch Now:Amazon
star
9.20
5 votes

#16 - Caped Crusaders

Season 12 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/6/2003

Liz receives anonymous phone calls late at night, and Alec and Dean dress up as Batman and Robin.

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star
7.80
5 votes

#17 - Dirty Len

Season 12 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/24/2002

Mike searches for a link between a dead farm worker and a spate of animal deaths. Alfred leaves David high and dry in Whitby. Meanwhile Tricia is upset, because of her patient dieing. She soon starts to feel guilty over the death of Len. She thought that it was tetanus but lad results come back with poison and she blames herself for not picking up on it. Even though there was nothing she could have done she still blames herself and feels that she was bad doctor.

star
7.75
4 votes

#18 - The High Life

Season 12 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/9/2003

A gang of mods cause havoc in the in the village and David is all set to join their gang. Jenny worries when a visit from her brother puts a strain on her relationship with Merton.

star
7.75
4 votes

#19 - Lily of the Valley

Season 12 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/20/2003

PC Crane and Dr Merrick worry about the welfare of an elderly farmer's widow. David helps Blaketon front a protest against a local quarry, but Vernon is working for the opposition.

star
7.75
4 votes

#20 - Music of the Spheres

Season 12 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/18/2003

Things get complicated for Steve when he falls for the beautiful daughter of a Polish violinist staying at Ashfordly Hall. Vernon is visited by two long-lost cousins claiming to have an irresistible business proposition.

star
7.40
5 votes

#21 - Growing Apart

Season 12 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/1/2002

When Tricia gets involved in a domestic dispute, she can't stand the heat in the kitchen. Vernon attempts to take the horticulture industry to new heights.

star
7.00
3 votes

#22 - No Man's Land

Season 12 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/17/2002

Gina has a near miss with a local farmer defending his land against ramblers. Villagers are puzzled by Vernon's bizarre personality switch.

star
7.00
3 votes

#23 - Horses for Courses

Season 12 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/15/2002

Mike is horrified when Tricia gets involved with a racehorse trainer, and Vernon has a surprise visit from a long-lost sibling.

Directors: Noreen Kershaw
star
7.00
3 votes

#24 - Out of the Blue

Season 12 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/12/2003

Vernon and David are travelling in a tanker which overturns spilling its load. Vernon is taken to hospital with memory loss and David claims not to know what they were carrying. The police discover that the tanker has false number plates and its contents are contaminating the water supply.

star
5.50
4 votes

#25 - A Many Splendoured Thing

Season 12 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/8/2002

It is Christmas in Aidensfield and Lord Ashfordly decides to throw a ball to celebrate his marriage, but his elegant young bride is not what the locals expect. Vernon jeopardises Bernie's funeral business by finding a more festive use for the hearse. Tricia also gets the wrong end of the stick at the Christmas party. She thinks that Mike is proposing when he gives her a jewelry box, however it only contains a locket but she manages not to let him see her disappointment.