ITV’s crime-fighting double act is back for a third series with a fresh set of murders and plenty of surprises along the way. The crime drama follows the lives of D.C. Rachel Bailey and D.C. Jill Scott at work in the Manchester Metropolitan Police Major Incident Team, as well as at home, where things are far from simple. Unlike most detective series, the writers of Scott and Bailey focus on the characters and developing their stories, avoiding the predictableness of a ‘whodunnit?’ in favour of convincing real life drama with clout.
In series one we witnessed the ups and downs of Bailey’s relationship with nasty Nick Savage, played by Rupert Graves (V for Vendetta, Garrow’s Law). By series three, with the barrister out of the picture, Rachel appears to be struggling to adapt to her new life with Sean: a happy-go-lucky traffic cop who might just be the man to curb her self-destructive tendencies. That’s not Bailey’s only problem – when she’s not questioning her marriage, she’s trying to keep her mother under control. Series three promises a further peek into her back story, with the arrival of Sharon Bailey played by Tracie Bennett. Whilst this pub-crawling embarrassment of a mother adds humour to proceedings, her presence also allows us to see a new side to Rachel, who thus far seems to have adopted DC Scott as a mother figure and forgotten all trace of her younger self.
Meanwhile, Janet Scott is still dealing with the fallout after her divorce from teacher Ade whilst taking care of her daughters and pursuing her work in the police. However, she’s far from perfect. As her series two affair with fellow MIT member Andy suggests, there’s more to her than meets the eye. Amongst all this murder and life drama, there’s comic relief from Amelia Bullmore, who co-wrote with Sally Wainwright two of this series’s eight episodes. The straight-talking detective chief inspector played by Bullmore completes the trio of women who bring a fresh, modern angle to the programme as working women trying to juggle various aspects of their lives. The feisty Mancunians’ hold on the major incident team is due to be loosened, however, with the arrival of ex-Emmerdale star Danny Miller as DS Rob Waddington. An exciting addition following his turn in ITV drama Lightfields, Miller is sure to stir things up.
There is always a concern with a third series that the drama will have run its course or that it will fail to meet expectations. For Scott and Bailey the writers needn’t worry. With a good mix of humour and drama as well as complex characters like these, the work of MIT’s finest has only just begun.
Four stars
Scott and Bailey is on Wednesdays ITV 1 at 9pm
