Trial & Retribution poster

TV series

Trial & Retribution

199712 seasons6.8 / 10

From the creator of PRIME SUSPECT

Devised and written by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series Prime Suspect, this vast police procedural follows police detectives in England as they investigate crimes and the trials that come about as a result.

Availability

Not streaming in United States

Trial & Retribution premiered October 19, 1997. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.

Synopsis

Devised and written by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series Prime Suspect, this vast police procedural follows police detectives in England as they investigate crimes and the trials that come about as a result.

Season 11 episodes

Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.

← Season 10

Episode 1

Rules of the Game (1)

1h

A suitcase is found abandoned at Heathrow Airport, and panic ensues, but it is soon discovered to be no terrorist threat. Inside is the naked body of Sofia Petrenko, a high-class prostitute, who has been strangled to death. The suitcase is traced to Vitali Malikov, a Ukrainian billionaire who admits to hiring Sofia's services, but he claims she was alive when she left him and that the case was a gift. D.C.S. Walker arrests Malikov on suspicion of murder, but later has to release him, and soon realises he has become a pawn in a much bigger game.

Episode credits

Directed by David MooreWritten by Lynda La PlanteGuest stars Vince Leigh, Martin Heathcote

Where to watch Trial & Retribution

Episode 2

Rules of the Game (2)

1h

Another working girl, Maryna, is put on trial for assaulting Malikov. She claims self-defence but the trial is mishandled and walker is even more adamant then before that he will get the Ukrainian. Roisin, however, believes that his obsession with Malikov is blinding him to the identity of the real killer of Sonya and takes the investigation down a different route.

Episode credits

Directed by David MooreWritten by Lynda La Plante

Where to watch Trial & Retribution

Episode 3

Kill the King (1)

1h

When well-known paediatric surgeon Jonathan Carlisle is found dead, DCI Connor uncovers conflicts stirred by a recent operation that resulted in a young girl's death. The team soon learn that the girl's father, Gary Webster, was the subject of a restraining order issued by Carlisle, and had been stalking him for months. But before he can be questioned, Webster absconds. After a tense game of cat and mouse, the police corner Webster at the zoo - but what will be the outcome of the stand-off?

Episode credits

Guest stars Vince Leigh

Where to watch Trial & Retribution

Episode 4

Kill the King (2)

1h

The aftermath of Gary Webster’s suicide begins – a DPS enquiry, a very shaken Palmer, and a shocked but stoic Gemma, still convinced of a cover-up at the hospital. Gary wasn’t the killer; all he ever wanted was a straight answer. Adrian Lawson offers a video recording of Amber’s surgery, showing that it was purely straightforward procedure, nothing untoward. His helpful nature doesn’t convince Connor, noting that he wouldn’t have given them something that might implicate either him or the hospital. In any case, Amber died in the ICU, six hours after the surgery. To get to the truth, they need to go back to whoever was in the ICU that night. Walker is unhappy about what he sees as his team wasting their time investigating hospital negligence, when Carlisle’s killer has still not been found. However, Connor is convinced of a connection between his murder and the death of the Webster’s little girl. Connor’s hunch nags at Walker and he pays a discreet visit to Gemma Webster. Promising that the police are investigating the case fully and properly, and revealing that Carlisle was killed with a massive overdose of fentanyl, he asks her once more if she has any information she hasn’t revealed so far. Gemma says nothing. With the spotlight of suspicion now falling on Lawson, Walker questions the Lawsons again. Adrian expresses shock and surprise when told that he was being implicated in Amber’s death. Adrian’s loyalty to his former boss and mentor starts to fade as, seething, he suggests that Walker look at what Carlisle was up to that night…

Where to watch Trial & Retribution

Episode 5

Conviction (1)

1h

Terry Dyer has been recently released from prison, where he was imprisoned for a crime he still maintains he did not commit, and he returns to his East London estate in search of the truth. The father of the victim he was convicted of killing, Ken Randle, confronts and wounds him. D.C.S. Walker is empathetic to Ken's situation and releases him on bail, and then Ken soon becomes doubtful of Dyer's guilt, growing convinced that a friend of his son's was involved in his murder, and soon long-buried secrets are unearthed, leading to an unexpected twist, while D.S. Satchell finds his career may be in danger.

Episode credits

Directed by Paul WilmshurstWritten by Lynda La PlanteGuest stars Gemma Jones, Vince Leigh, Martin Heathcote

Where to watch Trial & Retribution

Episode 6

Conviction (2)

1h

Dyer is released and Ken Randle confesses to Fisher's murder and goes on trial. However, Sarah comes to see Walker. She is anxious to tell him what really happened on the night that her brother was killed. As a consequence the charge of murder against Randle seems less likely but the remainder of his family will never be the same again.

Episode credits

Directed by Paul WilmshurstWritten by Lynda La PlanteGuest stars Gemma Jones, Vince Leigh

Where to watch Trial & Retribution

Episode 7

The Box (1)

1h

D.C.S. Walker goes on leave back to Glasgow, where he is taking care of his increasingly senile mother, he soon becomes involved in the case of a missing woman, who is the sister of an old friend. Walker begins to delve into the life of her then husband Kevin Reid, and discovers a dark bond between him and his brother Ronnie. Soon a body is discovered and is it is proved to be the missing woman. Then Kevin's second wife is reported missing - convincing Walker that one or both of the Reid brothers are involved in the crimes.

Episode credits

Directed by Alex PillaiWritten by Lynda La PlanteGuest stars Martin Heathcote, Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Where to watch Trial & Retribution

Episode 8

The Box (2)

1h

Whilst Anna's diary entries initially suggest that Ronnie was stalking her, they are eventually dismissed as forgeries. Ronnie also had an alibi for the time that Margaret went missing and it looks as if he is being framed, possibly by his brother, with whom there is an explosive showdown at a race course.

Episode credits

Directed by Alex PillaiWritten by Lynda La PlanteGuest stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Where to watch Trial & Retribution

Episode 9

Tracks (1)

1h

The body of a teenage girl, Maria Cole, is discovered in a chalk pit, and the tracks of three different vehicles are discovered at the crime scene. They eventually lead D.C.I. Connor and D.C.S. Walker to the local hardman, Ray Harper. His son Andy and his friend Darren admit being at the pit on the same night, though they claim that they never saw the girl there. However, cracks soon appear in their story when CCTV footage reveals that they crossed paths with Maria before her death, later leading to the two boys being charged with her murder.

Episode credits

Directed by Tristram PowellWritten by Lynda La PlanteGuest stars Vince Leigh, Martin Heathcote

Where to watch Trial & Retribution

Episode 10

Tracks (2)

1hfinale

Ray Harper is devastated to find that Andy has hanged himself. Darren admits that he and Andy were a gay couple but dared not tell their families. The case against him collapses and he is released. Mike Walker is having troubles of his own with his teenage son but when Roisin decides to visit Darren at his flat she is in for a shock.

Episode credits

Directed by Tristram PowellWritten by Lynda La Plante

Where to watch Trial & Retribution

Episode information updated Sep 3, 2026

More about Trial & Retribution

Cast

David HaymanMichael Walker
Victoria SmurfitRoisin Connor
Gemma JonesDr Jean Mullins
Dorian LoughDavid Satchell
Kate BufferyPat North
Inday BaLisa West
Richard DurdenDr John Foster
Sarah OzekeLisa West

Credits

Created by
Lynda La Plante
Written by
Lynda La Plante

Production details

Status
Ended
Series type
Scripted
Episodes
44
Original language
English

Networks & production

  • ITV1United Kingdom
  • La Plante Productions
  • Isle of Man FilmUnited Kingdom

Themes

courtroomcrime investigationpolice crime dramapolice detectivepolice procedural