The WORST episodes of Law & Order: UK

Every episode of Law & Order: UK ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Law & Order: UK!

The longest running crime series in U.S. television history is making its way across the pond for a UK reworking. Series creator Dick Wolf is set to give Law & Order a makeover-for fans in the UK. Law & Order: UK promises to retain the grittiness of the original series, but be uniquely British.

Last Updated: 3/26/2024Network: ITV1Status: Ended
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Vice
star
7.08
136 votes

#1 - Vice

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/9/2009

An ex-vice officer is found beaten to death in a Paddington underpass. Investigating, DSs Ronnie Brooks and Matt Devlin uncover some uncomfortable truths about the victim's private life. In court, Crown Prosecutors James Steel and Alesha Phillips face an old sparring partner of their boss, whose client claims to have acted in self-defenc

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Shaken
star
7.14
121 votes

#2 - Shaken

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/4/2011

When Alex Raines, a 6-month-old child, dies, it first seems that it was an instance of cot death. However, the investigation reveals that her death was due to shaken-baby syndrome.

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Samaritan
star
7.16
109 votes

#3 - Samaritan

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/11/2010

A police officer is killed in a shoot out with a drug dealer. Based on the testimony of another dealer, Brooks and Devlin must determine whether back up was slow to arrive and left the officer to die because he was gay.

Directors: Andy Goddard
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Immune
star
7.16
157 votes

#4 - Immune

Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/13/2012

A bungled robbery leads to an innocent hero being shot dead and a hostage with a potentially life threatening medical condition being seized by two armed gunmen. It's up to Ronnie and Sam to beat the clock and find the hostage in just ten hours.

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Community Service
star
7.17
109 votes

#5 - Community Service

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/25/2010

A homeless man is found beaten and unconscious in a park. Because he is bipolar his testimony is disjointed and make him unable to identify his attacked. A neighbourhood resident is charged with the premeditated attack.

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Hounded
star
7.19
154 votes

#6 - Hounded

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/16/2010

When the body of a 16 year old girl is found dead in her home in the middle of the afternoon, the investigating police cannot be sure a crime was even committed. With no forensic evidence and nothing to suggest the victim didn't die of natural causes, Matt and Ronnie question why they have been called out in the first place. However, the mother's victim believes she was raped because she never slept naked. On further investigation, an unlikely murder weapon is uncovered and a likely suspect - someone with whom Crown Prosecutor James Steel has a history. Determined the accused is guilty, James pursues him with every power available. Like a man possessed, he pushes the boundaries of the law to the legal limit. Is our hero persecuting an innocent man or justified in his convictions?

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Confession
star
7.23
126 votes

#7 - Confession

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/30/2010

This week's case hits close to home for DS Matt Devlin when investigating the death of a police officer, and his best friend, PS Pete Garvey. Devlin and Garvey had known each other since childhood and when Matt discovers Pete had recently been in contact with their childhood parish priest Jonathan Nugent (Matthew Marsh), his suspicions are alerted as Pete claimed to have been sexually abused by him as a child. With nothing but suspicions and unfounded rumours to go on, a murder charge cannot be brought against Nugent. Now a married man with a family of his own, can Matt really be sure they've got the right man? James and Alesha take an unusual approach in order to bring a charge - any charge - against the accused in a desperate attempt to get the case home.

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Care
star
7.24
254 votes

#8 - Care

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/23/2009

When a London hospital is evacuated it leads to the discovery of a tragic death. DS Ronnie Brooks and DS Matt Devlin are assigned to the case and it leads them to the Kings Cross area of London.

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The Wrong Man
star
7.24
214 votes

#9 - The Wrong Man

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/10/2011

Brought into A&E with flu-like symptoms and leaving in a body bag, Suzanne Morton’s death is treated as suspicious by DS Ronnie Brooks and DS Matt Devlin as they investigate a hospital department which has had three such untimely deaths within six months. With an extremely busy A&E ward the night Suzanne died, can our heroes find the killer before the killer finds their next victim? Senior Crown Prosecutor, Jake Thorne is pulled in opposite directions when the chief suspect in the case claims to have been framed for the murder by others within his department. With a conspiracy of silence permeating the hospital staff, it’s clear that there’s more to this case than meets the eye and only by penetrating the web of professional loyalties can the truth emerge

Directors: Marisol Adler
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Unloved
star
7.28
191 votes

#10 - Unloved

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/2/2009

A 13-year-old boy is found kicked to death at Euston rail station. DS Ronnie Brooks and DS Matt Devlin discover that the boy's mother is a reformed drug-addict whose boyfriend is suspected of physically abusing her son, and are concerned about events at the boy's foster home. When the case comes to trial, the accused is represented by James Steel's ex-girlfriend, who advances the novel line of defence that the accused was genetically predisposed towards murder.

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Sacrifice
star
7.32
104 votes

#11 - Sacrifice

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/1/2010

A man found in a park, with his kidney stolen. It seems a respected doctor is involved. George Castle defends a friend in the case.

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Denial
star
7.34
188 votes

#12 - Denial

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/14/2011

A judge is badly injured when she is shot during what appears to be a car robbery. The investigation reveals that a hitman had been hired to kill her.

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Honour Bound
star
7.35
101 votes

#13 - Honour Bound

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/15/2010

A drug sting apparently goes bad resulting in the death of an informant. Devlin feeling something was not right about the situation digs into the past of the involved detective. Unfortunately this brings up a question of Brooks involvement in a drug theft from six years earlier.

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Unsafe
star
7.35
129 votes

#14 - Unsafe

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/16/2009

The discovery of a body in a shallow grave by the Thames prompts DSs Ronnie Brooks and Matt Devlin to reopen an eight-year-old murder case. The man convicted of that murder is given leave to appeal and chooses to represent himself in court. James Steel, who prosecuted at the original trial, once again represents the Crown. With questions over the handling of the prosecution case, James's career is on the line. And the murders are not yet over.

Directors: Andy Goddard
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Alesha
star
7.41
111 votes

#15 - Alesha

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/6/2009

DSs Brooks and Devlin investigate allegations of sexual assault made against a Harley Street gynecologist by one of his patients. They find no conclusive evidence, but Alesha Phillips of the CPS is determined to secure a case against the doctor.

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Trial
star
7.43
126 votes

#16 - Trial

Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/27/2012

The murder of an elderly janitor in his home is carried out with such precision and planning that the only evidence the killer leaves is designed to lead the detectives around in circles.

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Haunted
star
7.45
124 votes

#17 - Haunted

Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/20/2012

When a petty criminal makes a deathbed confession to the murder of a teenage girl, Ronnie is left shaken to the core as he is forced to reopen a case he thought he had put to bed fourteen years ago.

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Paradise
star
7.46
89 votes

#18 - Paradise

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/30/2009

DSs Brooks and Devlin investigate an arson attack on a Turkish social club, which left seventeen dead. A complex investigation leads to the arsonist, but there is doubt as to whether he was working alone

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Love & Loss
star
7.48
77 votes

#19 - Love & Loss

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/8/2010

When a teenage girl dies of a heroin overdose. Devlin and Brooks must find out how and why she came to be a drug mule.

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Safe From Harm
star
7.48
161 votes

#20 - Safe From Harm

Season 8 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/19/2014

While investigating the fatal stabbing of a psychiatrist with a caseload of violent adolescent patients, Ronnie and Joe's first instinct is to question those he was treating. However, the case takes a disturbing turn when the detectives discover a hidden sleeping compartment in the victim's office which has clearly been used recently by one of his underage visitors - and evidence comes to light suggesting he may have been having an affair with one of them.

Directors: Mat King
Writer: Tom Grieves
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Mortal
star
7.51
101 votes

#21 - Mortal

Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/11/2013

Following a break-in, a frail, elderly woman is found dead in her flat. DS Brooks and DS Casey suspect a robbery gone wrong and treat it as murder. Tipped off by the victim’s granddaughter, Connie, the investigation turns towards the live-in carer who has gone missing. But the carer, Cecile, claims she was fired because she disobeyed Connie’s instructions not to feed her grandmother. Further investigations throw more suspicion on the granddaughter who is charged. Despite her brief arguing that it is impossible to prove Connie is responsible for her grandmother’s death, Chief Prosecutor Thorne has the bit between his teeth when he tells the jury Connie was the only real family the victim had, and she left her to die.

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Flaw
star
7.52
174 votes

#22 - Flaw

Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/12/2014

Ronnie and new partner Joe lead the investigation into the death of jeweller Harry Bernstein, who has been found with his hands and teeth missing. His wife, her lover and a former business associate are all possible suspects, but the case takes a surprising turn when the victim's sister receives a gruesome delivery. She's on the jury for the trial of a drug dealer and murderer who Ronnie has been trying to nail for years, and the threat to her points to jury tampering, so Jake and Kate have to take a dramatic approach to win the case. The problem is, they're up against a formidable defence barrister.

Directors: Mat King
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Hidden
star
7.53
76 votes

#23 - Hidden

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/18/2010

Devlin and Brooks investigate the case of a 10 year-old girl, Jodie Gaines, who was kidnapped, and then found two weeks later dead, in a rubbish bin. A suspect is found but all is not as it seems.

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Pride
star
7.55
152 votes

#24 - Pride

Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/2/2014

The hunt for the killer of a seemingly innocent family man brings Ronnie into contact with his old boss, former DI Natalie Chandler, whose father is accused of the crime. She wastes no time in persuading the detective to go above and beyond the call of duty to exonerate her dad and find the real culprit - even if that means getting him into trouble with an increasingly frustrated Wes.

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Buried
star
7.55
97 votes

#25 - Buried

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/23/2009

The remains of an eight-year-old boy are uncovered, twenty-five years after he was reported missing. DSs Brooks and Devlin re-interview the man arrested during the original enquiry. The boy's childhood friend reluctantly agrees to undergo EMDR therapy and appears to recall the events of the night that Tommy disappeared, but George Castle is sceptical about the value of her recovered memories.

Directors: Mark Everest
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