Crown Court Season 13 Episodes

Episode 1

Gingerbread Girl: Part 1

Wendy Grant agreed to bear a baby for the Breakspears, a childless couple, for £6500, an agreement illegal in English Law. The baby, Anna, was born with a serious but treatable heart defect, and the Breakspears withdrew from the deal. Anna was then left outside their house before dawn on a cold morning; she suffered exposure and died. Mrs. Grant is now charged with murder, the prosecution claiming that she abandoned the child knowing she would come to serious harm or die. She asserts her innocence. She admits she was angry with the Breakspears and left the baby for them to care for but that she never thought Anna would not be discovered quickly and safely collected.

Episode 2

Gingerbread Girl: Part 2

WPC Trenchard explains how she discovered Anna and the position of the carrycot. DS Harris details events Wendy's arrest, including her collapse and subsequent hospitalisation. Wendy explains the initial approach regarding surrogacy.

Episode 3

Gingerbread Girl: Part 3

Wendy completes her evidence, claiming to have no recollection of the events of the night that Wendy died or indeed signing a confession. The court hears from both husbands. The Judge highlights lack of moral responsibility in sunning up.

Episode 4

Oddball: Part 1

Factory owner Arnold Jackson accuses former employee Jake Elliott of torching Fairyland, his factory. Elliott's daughter gives evidence, stating that she was once close to Jackson.

Episode 5

Oddball: Part 2

Jennifer Jackson completes her evidence. The Court hears from two former employees at the factory, one in favour of Jackson, one who claims he was a poor boss. Elliott's fiancée provides him with an alibi for the night of the fire.

Episode 6

Oddball: Part 3

Dolores Garcia completes her evidence, adamant that Elliott was with her the night of the fire. David Turner a Warden at Elliott's hostel proves a character reference. Elliott changes mind and decides to give evidence.

Episode 7

The Son of His Father: Part 1

Mary Ginsel stands accused of blackmailing her local MP Sir Roland Richardson. The Prosecution allege that Miss Ginsel falsely accused Sir Roland, whom she met at her philately society, of being the father of her young son and then threatened to expose him to the press if he did not pay her maintenance. Miss Ginsel admits that she asked him for money but says this was justified because he was the father of her child and that she made no threats towards him.

Episode 8

The Son of His Father: Part 2

Philatelist Leonard Alldis explains why Sir Rowland quit his post and outlines a meeting with Mary. Mary defends herself, insisting Sir Rowland was the only man she'd been intimate with, adamant he's the father of her child.

Episode 9

The Son of His Father: Part 3

Mary insists her relationship with Lee Sinclair was platonic. Sinclair makes a surprising admission, and claims he saw Mary receive money from Sir Rowland. The jury decide.

Episode 10

Whisper Who Dares: Part 1

Ministry of Defence worker Joseph Guilfoyle and journalist Robert McBride are jointly charged with offences under the Official Secrets Act. The Prosecution claim that Guilfoyle removed a file from the Huckstone Edge research centre where he worked and passed it to McBride who then published details in the radical magazine "The Outsider". They claim that McBride is a communist agent working for Polish intelligence. Both men assert their innocence and argue they were solely motivated by their unhappiness at what they saw as harmful research at the centre including serious psychological damage to research subject and soldier Louis Tucker.

Episode 11

Whisper Who Dares: Part 2

Dr. Rosemary Kennerly details her relationship with McBride, and states when she discovered that he'd ended it, she reported the theft. Dr. Monk, who worked with Tucker explains the potential harms of his research being made public.

Episode 12

Whisper Who Dares: Part 3

Joseph Guilfoyle begins his defence, explaining that in his naivety he wasn't aware of the importance of the documents and that security at Huckstone Edge was mild. The Court hears shocking evidence from Louis Tucker.

Episode 13

Citizens: Part 1

24 mins

Joseph Kiernan, a scrap metal dealer from a traveller background, is accused of the theft of a copper cylinder from the shed of Ronald Sibley. The Prosecution say that Kiernan was seen after midnight in the garden of Mr. Sibley and the next morning was seen by a police officer hiding the cylinder under his lorry. Kiernan does not deny handling the cylinder or being in Mr. Sibley's garden but says the cylinder was planted to incriminate him and he was simply retrieving it - the case against him is motivated by hostility towards travellers.

Episode 14

Citizens: Part 2

Gordon Sibley is asked if he intentionally planted the missing item on Kiernan. PC Franklin explains how he came to find the missing cylinder on Kiernan. The defence begin with Kiernan explaining why his prints were on Sibley's shed.

Episode 15

Citizens: Part 3

Mr. Parry makes an application to question Kiernan about his previous crimes. Kiernan puts forward the defence that his back would have been too bad to lift a hefty metal cylinder. Fulchester's traveller liaison officer gives evidence.

Episode 16

Dirty Washing: Part 1

Wed, Feb 1, 1984

Nurse Catherine Lloyd is accused of maliciously wounding laundry supervisor John Laing, by attacking him with her protest placard, when he attempted to break the picket line and return to work.

Episode 17

Dirty Washing: Part 2

Paul Walker, the trainee who was in the van with Laing explains seeing Nurse Lloyd running at the van, with a crazed look on her face. Lloyd's boss, Denise Jeffries criticises Lloyd's political affiliations, but says she's a good nurse.

Episode 18

Dirty Washing: Part 3

Ann Merritt calls her single witness for the defence, Catherine Lloyd herself. Lloyd makes it perfectly clear that the injury that occured to Mr. Laing was an accident, and that she was sorry for that he got injured, but not at her hand.

Episode 19

Her Father's Daughter: Part 1

Ann Willett, 32, is charged with the murder of her husband James, it is alleged that she hit him on the head with a steam iron. Frank Johnson The Ambulance driver is first up to give evidence.

Episode 20

Her Father's Daughter: Part 2

Dorothy completes her evidence, protecting her dead son, who'd been a getaway driver in an armed robbery. Miss Bishop, from the flat directly above The Willetts, explains what she heard the night of the attack. Willett begins her defence.

Episode 21

Her Father's Daughter: Part 3

Teresa is called back to give evidence, to build on her shocking revelation the previous day, Mr Harvesty decides to continue with the case as it stands. Ann's psychologist explains her mental health, before she answers more questions.

Episode 22

There Was an Old Woman: Part 1

Alice Atha died at the age of 73. A post mortem revealed signs of emaciation and tuberculous meningitis. Her daughter Grace Barber and son-in-law Harry Barber are accused of her manslaughter through neglect. They allege that the couple were indifferent to her welfare, leading to her starvation which triggered the meningitis for which they failed to seek medical help. The Barbers deny the charges. The Defence case is that Mrs. Atha chose not to eat despite their best efforts and that - while lethargic and weak - she did not display signs of significant illness before her death.

Episode 23

There Was an Old Woman: Part 2

The court hears evidence from pathologist Professor Mason, he describes the state of Alice Atha's body, and what he thought caused her death. Grace Barber begins her defence, suggesting her mother's poor health began long ago.

Episode 24

There Was an Old Woman: Part 3

Grace and Harry Barber each give their evidence, stating that Alice arrived with them in a dreadful state, and that they did their utmost to feed her and provide care. Keith Saunders suggests a financial incentive for wanting her death.

Episode 25

Burnt Futures: Part 1

Sixth former Sam Tait signed a confession to police admitting that he set fire to his school. He has now retracted that statement and asserts that he was pressurised by police into admitting arson. The prosecution argue that Tait has a long record of disobedience and disaffection at school and his school file shows him as having been punished for starting a fire two years earlier. However he denies the offence and says he has an alibi that he had been in a lesson until moments before the fire. He then went to smoke in the toilets with a friend and would have had no time to start the blaze which occurred elsewhere in the school.

Episode 26

Burnt Futures: Part 2

Episode 27

Burnt Futures: Part 3

Episode 28

Mother Figures: Part 1

Antiques dealer Stephen Hodges is accused of assault causing actual bodily harm against Jacqueline Coombes, the estranged wife of his partner Andrew Coombes. He is accused of striking her following an argument when she came round to visit Mr. Coombes. Hodges denies the charge and says he didn't hit Mrs. Coombes. The defence accept that she was injured but that she sustained the injuries falling outside.

Episode 29

Mother Figures: Part 2

Episode 30

Mother Figures: Part 3

Episode 31

Big Deal: Part 1

Sound engineer Dennis Boyle has accused band manager Joseph McGoldrick of assault, and also accused him of being in possession of cocaine and supplying it. Boyle describes the events that led to the Police needing to be called.

Episode 32

Big Deal: Part 2

The court hears evidence from D.C. Joy, who details the arrest and personal injuries he suffered at the bands of McGoldrick. The prosecution suggest Joy has a personal interest in the case.

Episode 33

Big Deal: Part 3

Eamonn Donnelly is surprised to discover McGoldrick is defending himself. Violet Kettle offers a strong defence for the accused.

Episode 34

Love and War: Part 1

An unusual relationship developed between arms dealer Russell Steadman and CND campaigner and feminist Hilary Rogers. She now has a strong antipathy towards him. Indeed she has accused him of deliberately driving his car at her causing her serious injuries. He is now on trial facing the charge of grievous bodily harm. He does not deny he struck her in his car but insists the incident was entirely accidental, resulting from poor visibility on the night in question when she was wearing dark clothing and moved into his path.

Episode 35

Love and War: Part 2

Mrs Bowles explains that she'd spent some time with Hilary prior to the incident, she says that she witnessed Steadman drive directly for Hilary and that he did nothing to help. Hilary's friend Miss Franklin claims Steadman was violent.

Episode 36

Love and War: Part 3

Russell Steadman makes the case for his defence, stating that he wouldn't sacrifice his career for revenge over Hilary. Russell's boss Henry Bowles recalls the incident very differently to his wife. The Jury have to decide.

Episode 37

Paki Basher: Part 1

Rahim Shah is accused of maliciously wounding Lance Lee Deakin. Deakin claims to have been casually waking down a street, and being confronted by the uncle of the accused, then being attacked by Shah. The defence claim Deakin is racist.

Episode 38

Paki Basher: Part 2

The two other boys in the incident, Michael Rofe and Terry Day give evidence, both describe meaning no harm and simply antagonising Mr. Mehemundi for fun. Sgt. Bone explains what he found at the scene of the crime and lack of evidence.

Episode 39

Paki Basher: Part 3

Rahim Shah gives his evidence, he claims that he came to the aid of his uncle, Mr. Mehemundi, who was being attacked by three youths, Mr Lloyd contests Shah's evidence, claiming he learned karate, to carry out his own form of justice.