| E P I S O D E
Sweet Sorrow | |
|---|---|
| Season 18, Episode 24 | |
| |
| Air date | 12th September 2010 |
| Written by | John Flanagan |
| Directed by | Roger Bamford |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Pass the Parcel |
Next N/A |
Sweet Sorrow is the final episode of the 18th and final season of the ITV's British period drama series Heartbeat and the show's 372nd episode overall. It first aired on September 12, 2010.
Synopsis[]
A troubled and wounded man arrives in Aidensfield, occuring at the same time as the discovery of a woman's body on the moors, which starts off a chain of events, leading to the life of one long-time resident hanging in the balance.
Full Summary[]
A man, who is deeply traumatised, with bloody wounds on his head, runs through the woods. He arrives at Peggy and David’s house and sneaks inside to eat sausages cooking in a frying pan. Peggy and David are outside cleaning up an old tandem bicycle when they see the man and begin to chase him. He races to David’s parked taxi cab, hot wires the engine, and steals it. David is furious and phones the Police to report his taxi and, more importantly, his stolen sausages!
The man takes David’s taxi to Bernie Scripps garage and asks for petrol. Sensing the taxi has been stolen, Bernie questions him and phones the Police when he runs away, abandoning the taxi. PC Joe Mason begins a search for the man, and finally finds him wandering, still traumatised, through the village. Joe takes him to the station and, upon questioning, the man claims to have lost his memory and can’t remember his own name.
Sergeant George Miller calls and asks for Joe’s immediate assistance, an unidentified woman has been found dead on the moors. They transfer the body to the station and begin a murder investigation. Joe believes the traumatised man may be linked to the woman’s death but he can’t be sure because the man is suffering from amnesia, most likely caused by several blows to the head.
Sheena Buckley arrives at the station claiming the traumatised man is her husband, Gordon Buckley. She produces a photo to prove it, but her presence fails to trigger his memory. Sheena and Buckley are then asked to identify the dead woman. Sheena has never seen her before, but a slight unsettling feeling is stirred within Buckley. With nothing concrete to go on, Sergeant Miller is forced to release Buckley on bail and Joe arranges for him and Sheena to stay at the Aidensfield Arms.
Meanwhile at the pub, Oscar Blaketon and Alf Ventress make plans to go on a camping holiday to France to tour the old war battlefields. Gina and Dawn joke that they will never survive, let alone get there as planned on a push bike! Staying as a guest at the pub is James Moncrieff, who claims to have fought during the war in a battalion close to Alf. He befriends the pair and suggests they prepare for their trip with a night in a tent on the moors. The rest of the locals make a bet that Alf and Oscar won’t be able to survive one night.
Later, Peggy and David meet Alf and Oscar by Bernie’s garage with the tandem bicycle. It’s not what they had in mind but they give it a go. James Moncrieff arrives and takes the men in his jeep to a rural spot on the moors in readiness to pitch up for the night. Alf and Oscar put the tent in place without a hitch but when the weather turns sour they are quick to pack in the whole idea. Not wanting to lose their bet, they find refuge in another pub, the Dog and Bone. Peggy pre-empts their movements and discovers the pair enjoying a pint of lager, so despite their efforts their bet is lost.
Upon hearing news of the dead woman, James Moncrieff discloses to Sergeant George Miller that he is an undercover agent working with the foreign office. He identifies the woman as another agent, working closely within East Germany. He tells Miller the foreign office are interested in Buckley as they believe he has been turned by the other side and killed female agent. DI Jackson from Special Branch arrives and George is warned not to get involved in a high-risk government case.
George Miller warns PC Joe Mason to stay away from Buckley. Meanwhile Buckley’s memory has returned and he asks Oscar to take him to a house on the moors. Oscar leaves him close by and returns to Aidensfield. However, when Oscar discovers Joe is not to go near Buckley he sees it as one last chance for him and Alf to prove themselves as private investigators. They head to the house and find Buckley, who is armed with a gun. Buckley claims he is employed by British Intelligence and the house is a safe-house where he was to meet the female agent. He says the female agent must have been followed from East Germany as they were both attacked and she was murdered. He returned to the house to get a vital microfilm that mustn’t get into the wrong hands.
Buckley asks to use Oscar’s car but as they leave James Moncrieff and DI Jackson arrive armed with guns and accuse Buckley of being a traitor. Buckley pleads with Alf and Oscar to believe him. Disobeying Sergeant Miller’s orders, PC Joe Mason arrives and realises Moncrieff and Jackson are lying and will kill Buckley if he, Alf and Oscar don’t stop them. A fight begins and Oscar throws himself at DI Jackson to prevent Buckley being shot. However, he is then caught off guard by Moncrieff and seriously injured. Joe and Buckley manage to apprehend the villains and Oscar is a hailed a hero as his life hangs in the balance…
Regular Cast[]
- Peter Benson as Bernie Scripps
- Steve Blakeley as PC Geoff Younger
- John Duttine as Sgt. George Miller
- Derek Fowlds as Oscar Blaketon
- Lisa Kay as Carol Cassidy
- David Lonsdale as David Stockwell
- Joe McFadden as PC Joe Mason
- Tricia Penrose as Gina Bellamy
- Nikki Sanderson as Dawn Bellamy
- William Simons as Alf Ventress
- Gwen Taylor as Peggy Armstrong
- Rupert Ward-Lewis as PC Don Wetherby
Guest Stars[]
- Nicholas Farrell as Gordon Buckley
- Clare Holman as Sheena Buckley
- Pip Torrens as James Moncrieff
- Toby Gaffney as DI Jackson
Trivia[]
- This is the last ever episode of Heartbeat
- Final regular appearances of Derek Fowlds as Oscar Blaketon, William Simons as Alf Ventress, Tricia Penrose as Gina Bellamy, David Lonsdale as David Stockwell, Peter Benson as Bernie Scripps, Steven Blakeley as PC Geoff Younger, John Duttine as Sgt George Miller, Gwen Taylor as Peggy Armstrong, Lisa Kay as Carol Cassidy, Joe McFadden as PC Joe Mason, Rupert Ward Lewis as PC Don Weatherby and Nikki Sanderson as Dawn Bellamy.
- Deaths: Peter Benson died on 6th September 2018 (aged 75), William Simons died on 21st June 2019 (aged 78), Derek Fowlds died on 17th January 2020 (aged 82)
