Epsiode Descriptions
The Bearded Lady
Hetty is not pleased about passing her 60th birthday. She informs her recently retired husband Robert (Derek Benfield), "I'm not 60 and I never wiII be. I'm not a senior citizen -- and I'm not joining any club!" Instead, much to Robert's dismay, Hetty gets a part-time job at the local Post Office.
But when she grows suspicious of a young couple who come in each week to cash pension checks that clearly are not theirs, Hetty decides to investigate, enlisting the help of Geoffrey Shawcross (Dominic Monaghan), a 17-year-old she catches shoplifting. (She considers turning Geoffrey into the police, but, in true Hetty fashion, decides to reform him instead.) Geoffrey follows the couple to a deserted factory, where he discovers that they are living with a group of other homeless people. When Hetty and Geoffrey confront the couple, they admit that the pension checks belonged to Mary, another homeless woman -- and then Mary is found dead.
Announcing to Robert (in the middle of the night) that she believes she has a natural gift for sleuthing, Hetty decides to go into business as a private investigator, and, despite the lack of any paying clients or capital to launch her agency, to hire Geoffrey as her assistant. "I'll need a devoted sidekick," she tells her husband. "They all have one."
The Wainthropp Detective Agency is a scrappy organization. Hetty places an ad in the
local Yellow Pages, but unfortunately, it ends up in the "Personal Services" section -- right next to the massage parlor listings. Lacking a car, Hetty has to get around by bus, or, when Geoffrey can manage it, a borrowed motor scooter. But the ever determined Hetty and Geoffrey persevere, and the dynamic duo's investigation into Mary's death leads them to the mysterious death of a professor, a potential cover-up by a chemicals company, and a wealthy industrialist determined to hide the tragic truth about his sister.
Eye Witness
Hetty is called on by a pair of worried parents whose deaf-mute son, Malcolm (David Bower), has disappeared while out bird-watching on the day he was to meet his mail-order bride from Thailand. Malcolm is on the run because he has witnessed the strangulation of a beautiful model-turned-journalist by her lover, Sergeant Steve Lennox (Ray Ashcroft), a rogue policeman. After doing the deed, Lennox sends the woman's body over a cliff in a car -- and takes off after Malcolm. Hetty and Geoff's search for Malcolm proves more difficult than expected -- especially after Sergeant Lennox is assigned to work with Hetty on the case.
Widdershins
"Where is he?" becomes "Why would he?" in Hetty's next case. Hetty and Robert travel to the small village of Readsby, where his revered elderly uncle, a former professional soccer player, has apparently committed suicide. But Hetty doesn't believe it -- for one thing, where's the suicide note? And when she begins to suspect that the villagers of Readsby, once a notorious haven for witches, are engaged in satanic practices, she's determined to prove that they were somehow involved -- with surprising results.
Safe as Houses
In Hetty's final case of the season, an old friend of Hetty's - her partner in a music-hall routine years ago -- seeks her help in locating her troubled foster daughter, Chrissie. A teenage mother, Chrissie has disappeared just as a series of arson attacks on local homes have occurred -- and Chrissie has a history of setting fires. As Hetty and Geoffrey look for Chrissie, a local newspaper photo competition reveals more than the photographer intended, prompting Geoff to dress in drag -- blonde wig, high heels and all -- to confront the arsonist. Hetty picks up a much-needed reward for her work in this case, and at the presentation of the check, proves that the new gumshoe hasn't lost her knack for the ol' soft-shoe!
Introduction | Episode Descriptions
| Cast and Production Credits
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