EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS

SERIES 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

SERIES 1
* Number in parentheses at end of program description is BBCWA library tape number.

1. THE CASE OF THE MISSING - Dawn French stars as a different character or characters each week in this new series. This week the local planning officer's had has been set in concrete by three hooded men in full view of 18 people on a bus. Overnight, WPC Softly is mysteriously promoted to Inspector to lead the investigation. (1)

2. THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA - Brazilian au pair, Maria, arrives to work for parliamentary candidate and multinational businessman Maurice Howling and his wife, Lydia. Before long, Maria discovers a cocktail of sexual and political intrigue which has fatal results. (2)

3. HE DIED A DEATH - Fading soap star Judy Talent is in the whodunit, "The Catflap" with a cast who in life would all gladly murder each other. (3)

4. A DETERMINED WOMAN - This is a tale of blind ambitions and scientific curiosity. Quantum physicist Rita Proops is made redundant but manages to carry on her research in the garage. (4)

5. MURDER AT TEA TIME - This week Dawn French starts as children's television personality Bunty Breslaw, who becomes insanely jealous of her young colleague. (5)

6. MS. HAT AND MRS. RED - This is a tale of suburban dopplegangers. Ms. Hat follows a trail that leads to luxury bath oil, geraniums and murder. (6)

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SERIES 2
1. OVERKILL - Tina Mellish is a woman at the end of her tether. During a suicide attempt in a hotel bedroom, Tina encounters an international hit woman planning to bump off a local businessman. (7)

2. LADY LUCK - Hairdresser Denise Cunningham is taken hostage by a fleeing bank robber and is forced to drive him to Scotland. Over the course of their journey they begin to evolve a strange friendship. (8)

3. A SEVERE CASE OF DEATH - When old Dr. Adams dies, Maud masquerades as his son in order to become a doctor in Victorian England. The real long lost son appears on the scene, and Maud must somehow get rid of him. (9)

4. WE ALL HATE GRANNY - 75 year old Lily goes to stay with her daughter Jocasta and son-in- law Tom. Tom has just been made redundant, and they are short of money. Jocasta plots to murder Lily for her money, but this is not so easy. (10)

5. MANGEZ MERVEILLAC - Travel and cooking writer Verity Hodge finds a corner of France than nobody else has written about or visited. Her best selling book changes all that with murderous consequences. (11)

6. SMASHING BIRD - Ray and his night club singer fiancé Vikki life in the 1960s East End of London. They are all set to give up their life of crime when a rather fatal explosion forces Vikki to become a killer. (12)

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SERIES 3
1. GIRL FRIDAY - Sally Fairfax is the most is the most devoted and efficient assistant her executive boss Harvey could desire. However, she is called on to provide more than the usual secretarial services when she witnesses a murder in the office. (13)

2. A LIFE OR DEATH OPERATION - Dr. Kate Marshall is both a surgeon and a television star. She faces a moral dilemma when she is called upon to perform life saving surgery on the one person who could ruin her career. (14)

3. DYING LIVE - Daisy Talwinning is sacked from her job in an abattoir and consoles herself by going on holiday to Planador. A case of mistaken identity ensues at the airport involving the execution of a very public figure. (15)

4. THE BODY POLITIC - Opposition Leader Jerry Bryce and his wife are getting ready to move to Number Ten. They make three rather grisly discoveries under the kitchen floor. (16)

5. CONFESS - Frank Foster is a former gangland king brought in for questioning about a murder. He did not reckon on facing Sergeants Hodge and Cole, both intent on promotion and both keen to hone their unusual interview techniques. (17)

6. DEAD ON TIME - Dawn French is a not-very-Grim Reaper in danger of being sentenced to Everlasting Woe unless she can perform some creative reaping. A story of death, revenge and wall-mounted shower units. (18).

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SERIES 4
1. FROZEN - Faced with post-war rationing in the impoverished village of Skinton, sisters Lily and Iris share a secret supply of cakes stored in their freezer. When the appliance breaks down, the arrival of a repairman leads to murder.

2. GOING SOLO - Tracy Phillips and Karen Sullivan seem an unlikely team to set sail together on a round-the-world yacht race.

3. WHOOPI STONE - A police investigative officer asks a bored WPC Barbara Greaves to bring three drug barons to justice.

4. CONFESSIONS OF A MURDERER - Harriet Snellgrove dreams of being arrested, but will she resort to murder in a bid to live out her fantasy?

5. ELVIS, JESUS AND ZACK - A TV producer fakes the death of a faded rock star in order to save her obituaries department.

6. DINNER AT TIFFANY'S - School mealtime supervisor Tiffany Drapes loves her job. This is in part because she is in love with Gloria, the alcoholic, gambling headmistress. But so is games teacher, Evangeline.