Bergerac

- Season 2

(1983)

Mrs. Honeyman and her son Eric, disgruntled ex-employees of Charlie, are caught stealing a necklace from his safe by Jim's young daughter Kim, whom they take with them onto their boat, hoping to escape to France. When the boat breaks down they ring Charlie to demand a ransom. Charlie disagrees with Jim about police involvement and drives off with the ransom money. Fortunately Jim has him followed.

Comedian Andy Galbraith and Charlie are on the judging panel of a local beauty contest, after which beaten finalist Christine Bolton accuses Andy of attempted rape. Everything points to the charge being trumped up by a sore loser, whose ex-boyfriend also arrives to put the financial screws on Andy. The appearance of Andy's neglected wife finally helps Jim to get at the truth.

Charlie's attempt to enter local politics is blighted when Donald Early, an old flame of hotelier Diamante Lil who Charlie crossed some years previously, threatens to expose a secret from his past. Charlie is in the frame when Early is murdered, though the killer is part of the entourage of shady American businessman Eugene Field, who is on Jersey to do dubious business. Marianne Bellshade, the businesswoman leasing Field his villa, is in danger when she helps Bergerac but ends up as the sergeant's girlfriend.

Jim is sent to France to help solve the murder of an unidentified Jersey resident. He turns out to have been Jack Moberley, a private eye, who was trailing eccentric lawyer Lionel Carteret on behalf of his family. Lionel has plans to marry a countess, whose house has been repossessed by the local casino, due to her late husband's gambling debts. When a gun is found in her bedroom it would seem that she killed Moberley, but there are other suspects, including Lionel and his family and the casino owner.

Whilst staying at Diamante Lil's hotel with his wife Eva, inveterate liar Vincent Parkin is mugged by a young crook called Mitch but refuses to finger him at the identity parade. Mitch is involved with ex-con Frank and his glamorous barrister lady-friend Felicity in a plan to rob a safe of a cache of diamonds. After Vincent's lies are exposed at a party thrown to give him a free holiday after his ordeal, Jim suspects that this seemingly harmless old man is also part of the gang.

Portuguese stuntman Antonio is killed in an apparent hang-gliding accident though the pathologist claims he was strangled. A dental appointment card is found by the body and, though dentist Paul Verrier denies all knowledge, his patient, rock climber Jean-Pierre, comes to tell him he killed Antonio in self-defence. The dentist and the climber are engaged in stealing rare falcons nesting on the cliff and Antonio surprised Jean-Pierre as he was about to take one. After Jean-Pierre has killed again, Jim finds himself halfway down a cliff with him.

Guileless young Indian faith healer Ravi Chavan, a money-spinner for the New Dawn Foundation, run by greedy Barry Hardaker, comes to Jersey to ask the foundation's accountant Ivor Wyatt to see that the money he has earned for the foundation goes to Indian charities. Ravi is unaware that Wyatt and Hardaker and his wife have embezzled funds and, rather than allow Ravi to find out, they have brought over a hit-man from France to silence him. Jim has to stop them.

Inspector West arrives in Jersey in pursuit of escaped prisoner Keith Prescott, who, a decade earlier, hacked into police computers and stole two million pounds. The presence of Keith's ex-wife Catherine and the landing of a mysterious plane suggest he is on the island and seeking plastic surgery from a doctor Lister. West arrests a man who answers Prescott's description but Bergerac comes to work out that more than one person could be on the island requesting Dr. Lister's services.

The morning after Simone, a Belgian stable girl, is found dead on a beach, Marianne identifies her as an escort girl whom she saw at a bankers' convention. Bryony Green, the stable owner, is initially unhelpful but later admits that she is one of several people who agreed for money to nominally employ the girls, who are in fact part of a call-girl ring. Simone's friend Nikki, who saw her die unintentionally at the hands of a man who liked rough stuff, has gone into hiding but Jim persuades her to help him set a trap for Simone's killer.