Heartbeat - Season 1

PC Nick Rowan arrives in the North Riding village of Aidensfield as the new village Bobby, but he soon discovers the villagers are not so welcoming to outsiders and he must work hard to gain a place within their community. His tough sergeant, Oscar Blaketon, an "old school" cop, will show no mercy to men not up to the job. On his first day, Nick has his work cut out with an Australian prowler, two bike racers, rockers and mods, and a hostile publican, not to mention stopping the antics of Blaketon's nemesis - the roguish Claude Greengrass. Meanwhile, Nick's wife, Kate, grew up in Aidensfield and hopes to get a job working with Dr Ferrenby at the village surgery. She is dealt a bitter blow when Ferrenby rejects her services due to prejudice in the village. Undeterred, Kate is determined to fight for her job, and her medical skills are put to the test when a pregnant woman goes into labour.

The Ashfordly station is up for inspection, and Blaketon wants everyone to be on their toes, which means the herald of a new, busier, routine for the chain-smoking Alf Ventress and the laid-back Phil Bellamy. However, strange happenings on Kirlby Moor prompt Nick to investigate the disappearance of a fisherman and a banker, and he also has to deal with a drunk who has a reputation for exposing himself in public. Meanwhile, Alan Maskell tries to get his life together by starting a business. Trouble arises when he is rejected a loan from the bank, whilst Kate clashes with Ferrenby over how to deal with a fragile women who has just had a baby.

Nick gets a tip-off about Charlie Denby's record shop, one of the most popular places in Aidensfield for teenage boys. The tip-off accuses Denby of having "an unhealthy interest in young boys". Denby pleads innocence. With the evidence staking up and witnesses coming forward, a hate campaign begins. The Ashfordly team try to keep control, only for things to get a lot worse when a witch hunt turns into a murder enquiry. Meanwhile, Greengrass offers to do a spot of gardening for Rene and Francis Kirby. However, his attentions drift slightly when he comes across their valuable antiques.

When Nick investigates an arson attack on two barns, he receives information that leaves him hunting down an arsonist - and a rapist. Whilst investigating, he antagonizes some of Aidensfield's highly respected residents. Meanwhile, Greengrass attempts to get rid of a gang of poachers at Ashfordly Hall, whilst a patient with a dilemma causes Kate and Ferrenby to clash once again.

Nick becomes caught in the middle of a feud between two farmers that has been waging for 20 years. When three tearaway children are caught in the crossfire, the feud looks set to reach a tragic conclusion.

When a spate of burglaries leave the police with no leads, Nick suspects local saint Penelope Stiling is not as perfect as villagers think when items she purchased at an auction turn up at one of the crime scenes, whilst Blaketon is more concerned with protecting the next target, Ashfordly Hall. Meanwhile, Alan Maskell is getting married and his father asks Greengrass to organize the transport. At the wedding, Alan's best man causes a stir when he is found in possession of drugs.

Blaketon is certain his team will need no assistance at a ban-the-bomb demonstration. He begins to reconsider when Aidensfield becomes overrun with protesters against the Fylingdales radar station, and Greengrass makes matters worse when he allows the protesters to squat on the land of Ashfordly Hall. If that wasn't bad enough, an American ambassador is visiting the village, and Nick is under pressure to restore peace to the area before he arrives.

When Aidensfield is visited by a family of gypsies, the residents are up in arms against them. Nick discovers the family patriarch, Joseph, an old friend of Greengrass and Ferrenby, has returned to his native soil before cancer ends his life. As they attempt to help the family, Nick and Kate put their own lives at risk when they come under attack from local bigots, and village life descends further into chaos when the church is robbed, the shop is trashed and the vicar's daughter falls in love with Joseph's son.

When a retired Scotland Yard detective is shot dead in his cottage in Aidensfield, Nick is seconded to a Scotland Yard team to help them investigate. As Nick locks horns with an ex-con with a grudge and uncovers a domestic violence case, the other Ashfordly boys have their hands full when the local press goes into meltdown. Meanwhile, Alan Maskell tries to stop a crime - only to end up implicated in it.

Nick has been offered a job with the anti-drugs-unit within Scotland Yard, only to find his loyalties tested when Alan Maskell is charged as an accessory to car theft, although he helped the team to catch the real thieves. Betrayed and broken, Alan goes on the run, and Nick's search for him leads the bobby back to his roots. Can he convince Alan to face his court hearing and will he leave Aidensfield just as he and Kate are becoming part of the community? Meanwhile, Blaketon is in high spirits when Greengrass ends up in court for sheep rustling, whilst Kate grows concerned for George Ward, owner of the Aidensfield Arms, but he refuses to admit that his health is deteriorating.