Pie in the Sky is a British offbeat police comedy drama programme starring Richard Griffiths and Maggie Steed, created by Andrew Payne and first broadcast in five series on BBC1 between 13 March 1994 and 17 August 1997 as well as being syndicated on other channels in other countries, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The series departs slightly from other police dramas in that the protagonist, Henry Crabbe, while still being an on-duty policeman, is also the head chef of the title restaurant set in the fictional town of Middleton and county of Westershire.
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Pie in the Sky is a British offbeat police comedy drama programme starring Richard Griffiths and Maggie Steed, created by Andrew Payne and first broadcast in five series on BBC1 between 13 March 1994 and 17 August 1997 as well as being syndicated on other channels in other countries, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The series departs slightly from other police dramas in that the protagonist, Henry Crabbe, while still being an on-duty policeman, is also the head chef of the title restaurant set in the fictional town of Middleton and county of Westershire.
Season 5 episodes
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DI Crabbe's first job with his new team of PC Guthrie and WPC Morton is to guard a new housing development which has been subjected to vandalism. Nearby villagers claim that one of the houses is built in the path of a centuries old right of way. Henderson is in trouble for growing and selling varieties of tomatoes not approved by the E.E.C. And the new waitress in the restaurant gets the cold shoulder from Gary, who is missing the recently departed Nicola.
Episode credits
Directed by Bill PrydeWritten by Andrew PayneGuest stars Maggie Steed, Malcolm Sinclair, Nick Raggett, Robert Daws, Oliver Ford Davies, Charmian May, Hannah Miles, Stephen Churchett
Henry Crabbe (Richard Griffiths) is posted to guard a jury deliberating in a fraud case, who have been sequestered in a ghastly hotel. Crabbe has to find out who is intimidating the jurors, and how the villain is getting to them. Meanwhile he comes to the aid of the hotel's talented cook (John Thomson) who is cruelly oppressed by the jobsworth manager. Back at Crabbe's restaurant an obnoxious customer is giving new waitress Sally (Marsha Thomason) a hard time.
Episode credits
Directed by Simon MasseyWritten by Niall LeonardGuest stars Keith Barron, John Thomson, Richard Garnett, Joseph Bennett, Aline Mowat, Richard Henders, David Boyce, T.R. Bowen
Fisher sends Henry and the squad to a meat factory where animal rights protesters are demonstrating against the owner,Mr. Trubb's use of veal in his Trubbs' Thunderbolt sausages. However, Henry finds to his surprise that the sausages contain soya and are wholly meat-free. Margaret, meanwhile, is concerned when her friend Julia, a wealthy widow, falls for a pilot much younger than herself and agrees to finance a bucket shop for him.
Episode credits
Directed by David Innes EdwardsWritten by John MilneGuest stars Maggie Steed, Malcolm Sinclair, Nick Raggett, Sheila Gish, Julian Wadham, Stephen Frost, Arbel Jones, Gabrielle Blunt
Henry and his team are called to a private boarding school where police Commander Colin Stilwell's son Alex has been beaten up by local youths. Henry initially encounters a wall of insular hostility from the establishment before Alex points him to another pupil, who has blackmailed the Chemistry teacher into manufacturing Ecstasy tablets, which he is selling around the school. Gary meanwhile creates a new blend of mustard and attracts the attention of a large food manufacturer who offer to market it. However, they want to alter the recipe, making it taste more bland, whereupon Gary, taking a leaf from Henry's book, puts his culinary principles first and tells them that the deal is off.
Episode credits
Directed by David Innes EdwardsWritten by Robert JonesGuest stars Malcolm Sinclair, James Faulkner, Leo Faulkner, Katharine Rogers, Joe Peluso, Martin Delaney, Glyn Grain, Patrick Pearson
Henry has to solve a series of thefts from lorries and gets unexpected help from private security firm Troubleshooters. Their accuracy is such that he is suspicious of how they came to know of the crimes and believes that there is a possible informer within police ranks feeding them information for a reward. Troubleshooters are due to play the police eleven in an important football match. Both teams boast an ex-professional, in the police team's case Kirk Flowerbridge, who has a murky past and a liking for the drink. Fisher tasks Henry with minding Kirk and keeping him sober for the match. In the process of helping Kirk,Henry gets to identify the informer.
Episode credits
Directed by Rob EvansWritten by Robert JonesGuest stars Malcolm Sinclair, Neil Stuke, Mark Womack, David Hargreaves, Bruce Byron, Ciaran O'Doherty, Trevor Fox, Nicholas Lopez
As Fisher launches a campaign to make the police more popular with young people a boy called Nicky comes to Pie in the Sky, claiming he is there for work experience. Henry uses him in the kitchen and he impresses everyone but then the till is robbed and Nicky, who was not sent by any school, goes missing. His mother last saw him a week earlier, the night an off-licence was robbed by a violent teenage gang. Henry tracks Nicky down to a childhood haunt and finds out that he was bullied into joining the gang and now regrets it, which he proves by leading them into a police trap.
Episode credits
Directed by Morag FullartonWritten by Ann-Marie di MambroGuest stars Malcolm Sinclair, Nick Raggett, Kelly Reilly, Kevin Bishop, Harry Peacock, Gabrielle Cowburn, Angela Saul, Joanne Rafferty
The Crabbes holiday in London in a flat owned by ex-policeman Nick Spencer whilst he is in America on business. However Margaret finds his packed suitcase under the bed and hears an answer-machine message from his daughter warning that her violent ex-con boyfriend Danny is on his way to see him. Henry discovers Nick in hiding whilst Margaret discovers Danny's corpse in the dust-bin, killed in self-defence by Nick. Henry's loyalty is put to the test, as is the patience of Sally and Gary when the agency staff turn out to be a quarrelsome married couple.
Episode credits
Directed by David Innes EdwardsWritten by Andrew PayneGuest stars Maggie Steed, Denis Lawson, Miranda Pleasence, Benedict Sandiford, Nicola Walker, Michael Attwell, Anthony Trent, Jessica James
As Henry mysteriously loses his sense of smell he is intrigued when Fisher seems obsessed with arresting tyre exporter Peter Watson and suspects that Fisher, about to divorce his wife, is having an affair with Mrs. Watson. In fact she has discovered that her husband is defrauding her charity and is using Fisher to trap him. Having seen the case through Henry, feeling used by Fisher to catch Watson, resigns from the police and immediately regains his sense of smell. With Gary turning down the offer of work at another kitchen, Henry and his staff and colleagues have every reason to drink to the continuing success of Pie in the Sky.
Episode credits
Directed by Rob EvansWritten by Andrew PayneGuest stars Maggie Steed, Malcolm Sinclair, Nick Raggett, Mary Woodvine, Derren Litten, Anthony O'Donnell, John Bowler, Maureen Bennett
Andrew Payne, John Milne, Richard Maher, Robert Jones, Niall Leonard, Lizzie Mickery, Jim Doyle, Andrew McCulloch, John Flanagan, Paul Hines, Matthew Leys, Christina Reid, Ann-Marie di Mambro
