Wycliffe: The Complete Collection

Meet Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe-a quiet, thoughtful family man whose remarkable powers of observation equip him well for interviewing witnesses and solving crimes on the rugged coast of Cornwall. You'll be swept into police department politics and local life on each baffling case, including the brutal murder of a bookshop owner, the body locked in a freezer, the fisherman killed when his boat explodes, the missing farmer, the headless skeleton, the stabbed honeymooner, the bludgeoned pub landlord, and unidentified bodies washed ashore. Jack Shepherd (The Golden Compass) stars as the gentle, astute and jazz-piano-playing Wycliffe in all five series and 38 episodes of this "wondrous" (Daily Star) British police drama, including the pilot and Christmas Special.

Series 1
The Four Jacks -
A young female archaeology student is found naked in bed with a gunshot wound to the head. A novelist contacts the police after receiving a series of warnings in the form of a playing card, and claims that his life is at risk.

The Dead Flautist -
The body of an amateur flautist is found on the Bottrell estate after an apparent suicide, but Wycliffe has doubts. Then police discover that a maid has disappeared from the Bottrell household.

The Scapegoat -
The body of an undertaker is washed up on the rocks. Wycliffe's investigation points to a brutal reenactment of a traditional pagan ritual involving human sacrifice.

The Tangled Web -
The body of a bedridden woman is found locked in her freezer. In separate incidents, a man with learning difficulties and a pregnant teenager are both reported missing.

The Last Rites -
The semi-naked body of a cleaner is found spreadeagled below the cross in a village church, prompting suspicion that she was the victim of a satanic cult, but Wycliffe is sceptical.

The Pea Green Boat -
A fisherman is killed when his boat explodes. His son, who stands to inherit, is quickly arrested, but Wycliffe is interested in a local developer, who has designs on some quayside property that the dead man owned. Investigations reveal a possible blackmail.

Series 2
All for Love
John Bonetti, a violent criminal, escapes from a prison van during a routine transfer and re-commences his career as a drugs racketeer. Wycliffe is convinced that Jane Hardy, a seemingly respectable artist and volunteer prison visitor, has helped Bonetti because she has fallen in love with him. How can he prove it?

The Trojan Horse
When Alex Keir reports the disappearance of his wife Alison to the police, Wycliffe is not entirely convinced that he is genuine. However, a ransom note goes some way towards changing his mind and then Mrs. Keir is found dead, smelling of drink, in a car crash. Was it murder?

Charades
David and Angela Miller are shocked to find the corpse of Ezra, a local villain, nailed to the back door of their holiday home. Suspicion falls on another local boy Gary Penhale, whose family once lived in the Millers'house and has been sending them peculiar threatening notes. Overly helpful Colin Drake, who has the hots for Lucy Lane, also contributes damning evidence against Penhale. But the knowledge that Angela was the recent victim of a hit-and-run, and that she is the moneyed half of the couple, whilst her husband's business is floundering, causes Wycliffe to look elsewhere.

Lost Contact
When fishermen discover the rotting corpse of a shotgun victim, Edwina Coryn tells Wycliffe she thinks it could be that of her husband, missing for a month. However Fiona Jay claims that her mentally unstable spouse, who has also gone missing, could be the dead person. Both women had financial problems because of their partners. Both women claim ignorance as to their husbands' fates. Which one is lying?

Four and Twenty Black Birds
Reclusive old farmer George Totts goes missing after his house is torched, as does a young mystery man who rang the emergency services. He turns out to be Stephen Ling, estranged son of the local vet, whose surgery is also set alight after a theft. The boy's hand is burnt and Wycliffe surmises that he is hiding old George. Certainly both he - and neighbouring farmer Mrs. Prentice - have something to hide.

Happy Families
Schoolgirl Ruth Penrose's body is found locked in a cupboard in a science lab by the caretaker, whose son Danny was seemingly her only friend. He goes missing after Ruth's twin Sheena has claimed he is the killer. It is apparent there was no love lost between the sisters, but would it extend to murder?

Wild Oats
Agnes Currow scares off robbers trying to steal a skull from an archaeological dig on her land but the skeleton is under thirty years old, leading Wycliffe to the aristocratic Rawle family desperate to maintain their lineage in the face of a youthful indiscretion by child-like daughter Tilly.

Breaking Point
Unconscious surfer Anne Carter is washed up on a beach but her injuries and theft of her belongings disprove an accident. Devoted ex-boyfriend John Corliston, prone to black-outs due to medication, confesses that he may have sub-consciously harmed her but the heroin secreted in her surf board lead Wycliffe down another path involving her employer. When Anne awakes from her coma he is proved right but Lucy and her fiance split after Anne's story is leaked to the local paper.

Series 3
Dead on Arrival
Wycliffe is called away from his silver wedding anniversary party when an lorry containing five corpses is found abandoned at the ferry terminal.

Number of the Beast
A series of unexplained killings is attributed locally to the "Beast of Bodmin Moor".

Slave of Duty
A faceless corpse is found buried in a stone wall, and the dead man's car is found dumped over a cliff. D.I. Lane gets involved with the principal suspect.

Total Loss
Lane and Kersey investigate the sinking of a fishing boat and the loss of one of the hands. They suspect insurance fraud, and quickly lose the trust of the local community.

Crazy for You
Wycliffe investigates the apparently motiveless murder of the wife of a psychiatrist.

Faith
The body of a baby is discovered, and investigation uncovers the existence of a pagan sect. Wycliffe is torn between work and family commitments.

Last Judgement
A magistrate is found hanged in an apparent suicide, but Wycliffe has doubts.

Old Habits
A young woman is found strangled in circumstances suggesting a connection with a string of unsolved murders from a decade earlier.

Series 4
Strangers
A bride and groom are married, three weeks after first meeting, and the wedding guests are recruited through an advertisement in a newspaper. Tragedy strikes when one of the newlyweds is found stabbed to death in the honeymoon hotel.

Close to Home
A businessman is stabbed to death by a stranger in the car park of a public house. The victim was the father of a friend of David Wycliffe's, and was not the respectable figure he appeared. Wycliffe's team is investigated by officers from internal affairs.

On Account
An extortionist has contaminated a jar of baby food in a supermarket and threatens to interfere with more product unless his demands are met. Officers from internal affairs continue to scrutinise the activities of Wycliffe and his team.

Lone Voyager
A woman disappears, and her yacht is later found scuttled. Investigations reveal a dispute with the owners of a local clay pit.

Seen a Ghost
A young woman driver deliberately knocks down another woman on a pedestrian crossing. The internal inquiry into Wycliffe's team is concluded.

Bad Blood
A landowner is murdered, and suspicion falls on a couple who had been facing eviction from their tied cottage. Wycliffe is concerned about the threat of vigilantism.

Sup with the Devil
A pub landlord is bludgeoned to death, and an informant suggests that his ex-wife and her husband might have been responsible. D.I. Lane mishandles the investigation.

Old Times, New Crimes
Wycliffe is subjected to press attention and an internal investigation when a trial collapses. Questions about an old case add to the pressure.

Series 5
On Offer
Kersey investigates the suspicious death of a salmon poacher. Wycliffe, still recuperating from the attempt on his life, and Lane, now Acting DCI, consider their futures.

Time Out
A prostitute claims that a client has confessed to murdering another girl.

Standing Stone
A friend of Kersey's reports his wife missing when she fails to return home from evening class, then her tutor is found murdered.

Feeding the Rat
A climbing enthusiast is killed in a cliff fall, and an informant claims that the man was pushed.

Scope
A police officer, whose wife had been having an affair with another officer, is murdered.

Land's End
Lane takes time out from an investigation into the deaths of two drug dealers to defend her boss against allegations of corruption.

Based on the novels by W.J. Burley
Adapted by Edward Canfor-Dumas, Steve Trafford, Russell Lewis, Andrew Holden, Roy Heyland
Original Music by Nigel Hess
Executive Producers Steve Matthews and Jenny Reeks
Produced by Geraint Morris
Directed by Ferdinand Fairfax, Martyn Friend, A.J. Quinn

"Jack Shepherd [Wycliffe] hits the perfect note." - The Mirror

"A favourite with millions of viewers." - Sunday Mail