The Chelsea Detective: Series 2 (DVD)

The Chelsea Detective - Series 2

Starring: ? Adrian Scarborough, Sonita Henry, Peter Bankole, Lucy Phelps

A houseboat on the banks of the Thames may seem like an unlikely dwelling for a shrewd murder detective, but this is where DI Max Arnold likes to call home. Chelsea might be London’s wealthiest borough, with its opulent mansions and fast cars for the mega-rich, but it’s also a place of contradictions with sky-high tower blocks and a dark underbelly. A Chelsea local through-and-through, Max knows these streets better than anyone and it’s the murkier side of this borough with which Max is all too familiar. A place where people lie, cheat, steal – and commit murder.

Max’s unwavering determination to bring justice is served all too well by his unparalleled perceptiveness and knack for understanding how people tick. Whilst Max aims to bring stability to the streets of Chelsea, he often finds his home life can be a little off-balance. Still struggling with the separation from his wife – glamorous German art dealer, Astrid – Max finds comfort in spinning his classical records or playing the piano as he ruminates on matters both personal and professional.

Max is aided in his investigations by research wiz, DC Jess Lombard and diligent, enthusiastic, DC Connor Pollock, alongside their brilliant Chief Forensics Officer, Ashley Wilton. Joining the team this year is DS Layla Walsh, recently transferred from the Exeter police. As a detective, Layla speaks her mind and isn’t afraid to be forthright in her questioning – even if that means occasionally rubbing people up the wrong way. But Layla’s warm-hearted underneath her tough front, and fits right into the team, bringing a go-getter energy to proceedings. Together, they make a formidable unit.

Which is just as well, because this year they have some of their toughest cases to crack…

An art gallery manager is found stabbed following an exclusive exhibition. When the team analyse the scene, they find that many valuable paintings are missing. Was this an art heist that went badly wrong? Max’s investigation draws him into the elite Chelsea art scene – a world of betrayals, high-stakes theft and now murder.

Celia Swanson, a resident at a luxury retirement home, dies in mysterious circumstances in her room one night. Foul play is quickly suspected. With no signs of forced entry, it initially seems that the killer could have been a fellow resident or staff member at the retirement home. But Max later uncovers tensions in the Swanson family that extend back to Celia’s years living in Apartheid-era South Africa. It soon becomes clear that Celia and her husband, Cory, amassed their vast fortune via unethical and exploitative means. Was someone seeking retribution for these past injustices?

A successful psychotherapist, Iain Frankland, is murdered in his private practice. Early on, it appears that the most likely culprit is an ex-patient of Iain’s, one who has a history of invasive and temperamental behaviour. But as Max and the team dig further into Iain’s life, they soon realise that Iain was not the virtuous man he purported to be and that the dark truths revealed about Iain’s character will lead them to his killer.

Jack Felton, the charming young owner of a fruit and vegetable delivery company, is found brutally stabbed in his own home. Jack was a popular guy with a business that was on the up – so what went wrong? It’s not long before the team realise that there was more to the young entrepreneur than met the eye…

Starring: Adrian Scarborough, Vanessa Emme, Peter Bankolé, Lucy Phelps, Sophie Stone, Anamaria Marinca, Frances Barber, Jack Ashton, Esh Alladi, Raquel Cassidy

Rating: NR