Ashes to Ashes - Season 3 (2010)

Hunt is out to get father-and-son gangsters Terry and Daniel Stafford,who have bumped off rival drug dealers in the area, and is annoyed that undercover cop Louise Gardiner has been sent into his manner behind his back to work with the Staffords. There is no love lost between the Staffords,each out to get control of the racket from each other,and when her cover is blown Louise is attacked by Daniel,who gets beaten up by Chris as a result. However this jeopardises any charges against young Stafford. He is released and apparently abducts Louise, Hunt's team giving chase...

Two loutish policemen, Litton and Bevan, whom Hunt knew in Manchester, turn up on his patch in pursuit of ageing comic Frank Hardwick,who has allegedly robbed the Police Widows Fund. However, when someone takes a pot shot at Frank ,Hunt and his team suspect that the visitors are lying. In fact he has evidence of their corruption and is fleeing for his life. With Frank safe at Luigi's Hunt takes great pleasure in playing the couple off against each other at a police gala.

Hunt heads a team sent in to quell a prison riot during which station officer Viv James is taken captive by scary lifer Jason Sacks. Sacks' cell-mate Paul Thordy escaped during the riot but is caught. He tells Alex he is Sam Tyler,though he was Sam's last arrest before he died.Ray and Chris pose as journalists going in to interview Sacks and are also taken prisoner by him.Alex does a deal with Thordy,allowing a successful storming of the jail though there is a surprise and a fatality. Jim Keats is useless throughout,his main concern being to get Alex to find out if ...

The penultimate episode where the investigation of Gene Hunt is almost at an end, with Alex being pulled in two directions. Jim still wants to know whether Gene had anything to do with Sam Tyler's death, and Alex is best placed to find out everything they need to know so he's leaning hard on her to get the information. Gene and his team are called to an ANC illegal drinking den where things are not as they first appear to be. Initially it's a simple case of a public disorder but things soon take a turn for the worse.

The question remains - did Gene hunt kill Sam Tyler? Alex needs to know and all is revealed in the final episode. Meanwhile the rest of the team are dealing with a Jewelry robbery and triple homicide: diamonds are missing and the bodies of three gang members have been discovered. Things don't help with Jim Keats stirring up trouble as usual between team members.