Scott & Bailey is an ITV crime drama. The series debuted on 29 May 2011, and stars Suranne Jones, Lesley Sharp, Amelia Bullmore, Danny Miller, Nicholas Gleaves, and Pippa Haywood.
Main cast and characters Overview Actor Character Occupation Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 Suranne Jones Rachel Bailey DC / ADS / DS / ADI colspan="5" Lesley Sharp Janet Scott DC / ADS colspan="5" Amelia Bullmore Gill Murray DCI colspan="4" Nicholas Gleaves Andy Roper DS colspan="2" Danny Miller Rob Waddington DS colspan="2" Pippa Haywood Julie Dodson DCI / DSIAlso Starring colspan="1"
Rachel Bailey
Rachel Bailey (Suranne Jones) is an Acting Detective Inspector (A/DI) and the ranking officer within the Syndicate 9 Major Incident Team. A career woman, Rachel was aged 32 during series two. Since joining the Manchester Metropolitan Police in 2001, Rachel has earned the nickname "Sherlock" for her deductive and investigative skills. She is also a naturally skilled tier 3 interviewer, adopting a less friendly, abrupt style to acquire information from suspects. It was these skills that led to Rachel joining MIT in 2010, and her subsequent swift promotion from Detective Constable during the show's fourth series. Her personal life, however, is fraught with self-destructive (even childish) behaviour and strained family relationships that tend to adversely affect her work. In Series 3 she marries former flame PC Sean McCartney, but soon realises it was a mistake and has a fling with various people including DC Kevin Lumb, which causes tension with Janet when the pair sleep together at Janet's house. After a rocky start, she quickly adapts in her new role as Sergeant with a retiring Gill telling her she was proud of her. During the fifth series, Rachel will return to Syndicate 9 following a Vice secondment in London. In this capacity, Rachel is promoted to Acting Detective Inspector.
Janet Scott
Janet Scott (Lesley Sharp) is Rachel Bailey's working partner and close friend. She is a quick-witted, friendly and long-standing member of the team. Janet was 46 at the start of the series and attended Bruche alongside Andy Roper in 1982. She is more logical than Bailey, and finds satisfaction in her job, refusing repeated offers for promotion. Lesley Sharp describes her as "a woman who is at the top of her game in a job but who has deliberately chosen to stay in what appears to be one of the lower ranks" instead of progressing to a more senior position. Her marriage to Adrian disintegrates as the series progresses, which leads to an impulsive affair with DS Andy Roper before she breaks it off. She was inspired to join the police after the unsolved murder of her childhood friend Veronica Hastings, which she finally solves near the end of series one. Throughout the series, Scott is shown to be unflappable and calm in her interviewing style- switching between soothing and stern approaches, she is trained in tier 3 interviewing techniques. In series three, Janet is promoted to Acting Detective Sergeant. In series four, she is once again given the opportunity for promotion, but declines. Janet joined MIT in 2009, after a career break. Also in series four, Janet begins dating DC Chris Crowley. They separate sometime prior to the start of the fifth series. In series five, Janet's daughter is arrested for possession and distribution of indecent images of children.
Gill Murray
Gill Murray (Amelia Bullmore) is a Detective Chief Inspector, the head of MIT and a single mother to Sammy. Nicknamed "Godzilla" by Rachel, Gill is strict, abrupt and naturally sardonic, though she occasionally has a nicer side- this earns her unerring loyalty and respect of her syndicate. She has been close friends with Janet for over 20 years, and attended Bruche alongside Dave Murray and Mitch in 1984. In 2008, following her divorce from Dave, Gill is offered the opportunity to head Syndicate 9 MIT, which she runs with ruthless efficiency, pushing hard for results and refusing to accept failure. Her relationship with Rachel is largely work-based and at times strained by Rachel's impulsive, maverick nature. After being taken hostage and nearly killed in the Series 3 finale, as well as coming under pressure to retire, Gill becomes an alcoholic in Series 4, which leads a concerned Janet to report her to Dodson. She later retires with her reputation of integrity, honesty and efficiency intact. Gill is responsible for promoting Rachel to Detective Sergeant in series four. Gill is not replaced following her departure, and as such a series of temporary SIO's rotate through Syndicate 9 from other MIT departments. Rachel later takes this position on a semi-permanent basis, a transition she describes as "walking in a dead woman's shoes, while she's still watching".
Andy Roper
Andy Roper (Nicholas Gleaves) is a Detective Sergeant. He has been desperately in love with Janet since they attended Bruche together in 1982, though their relationship sours when she realises she does not reciprocate his rather intense feelings. After a shouting match in front of the team, Gill forces them into a room alone, where Andy admits that a previous marriage fell apart for similar reasons, causing him to have a nervous breakdown. Although they appear to resolve things, in the Series 2 finale he gives Janet misinformation that causes Gill to miss an appointment with the coroner, humiliating her. Since neither admits to causing the confusion, Gill tells the pair to decide which of them will leave the MIT. Later, Gill tells Andy he was overheard misspeaking and, believing he did so on purpose, forces him to transfer out. Andy leaves for Syndicate 6 with the others watching him pack his desk, he also exchanges looks with Janet and Mitch who he rightly guesses informed Gill. He also informs Janet's husband Ade of their affair resulting in their divorce as Janet deliberately pushed him to split with her during her affair with Andy.
Rob Waddington
Rob Waddington (Danny Miller) is a young, fast-tracked Detective Sergeant who was hired after Janet insisted she didn't want a promotion following Andy's departure. He is shown to be a decent officer, but lacks the confidence and leadership skills of Gill, causing the team to make fun of him at times. He also has a slightly flirtatious relationship with Janet, which Rachel exploits by sending him a sexually-suggestive e-mail using Janet's account; although she intends it as a joke, Rob is embarrassed enough to report it to Gill and Janet is infuriated. As part of his fast-track career progression, Rob leaves the MIT early in Series 4 for a sex crimes unit, leading to Rachel being promoted to DS. In his career, Rob was following in the footsteps of his father, whose competence is called into question when an old case is reopened during Rob's last week with MIT and leads Rob to clash with Rachel during the course of the investigation.
Julie Dodson
Julie Dodson (Pippa Haywood) is head of Syndicate 3 as a Detective Superintendent, and close friends with Gill Murray. Kevin used to work for her until he was moved to MIT, and he harbours a deep resentment towards her. Haywood joined the cast in the second series, notably when handling the inquiry into the murder of Nick Savage, and becomes more prominent in the latter half of Series 3 when asked to lead the Helen Bartlett case. Noting the character's close relationship with Gill, Haywood stated, "I like the double act between Julie and Gill Murray. When they are at work they have this reputation that they are fearsome; a force to be reckoned with, but there's also a lot of humour between them". Late in Series 4 Dodson is asked by Janet to investigate allegations that Gill is drunk on the job, putting a strain on their friendship when Gill's ability to lead the MIT is called into question. Following Gill's departure, Dodson assigns a series of temporary SIOs to Syndicate 9, staffed exclusively by Constables. She later promotes Rachel into the position of Detective Inspector. Dodson has a somewhat risk averse approach to investigations, most apparent in season 4 when Gill pushes for a massive taskforce investigation into the Pritchards while Dodson was less enthusiastic, opting for a more cautious, smaller target strategy. She is later apprehensive to Rachel's handling of the investigation as acting DI in season 5.
Supporting cast and characters Overview Actor Character Occupation Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 David Prosho Ian Mitchell DCAlso Starring Delroy Brown Lee Broadhurst DCAlso Starring Tony Mooney Pete Readyough DCAlso Starring Ben Batt Kevin Lumb DCAlso Starring Rupert Graves Nick Savage Barrister Also Starring Sean Maguire Sean McCartney PCAlso Starring Danny Webb Chris Crowley DCAlso Starring Steve Toussaint Will Pemberton DSIAlso Starring Jing Lusi Anna Ram DCAlso Starring
Nick Savage
Nicholas "Nick" Savage (Rupert Graves) was a wealthy barrister and Rachel's ex-lover. After he abruptly breaks up with her in the first episode, she abuses her police resources to track him down, discovering he was in fact married with two sons. He had an apartment in the city centre, which Rachel blackmailed him into letting her move into by threatening to inform his wife Caroline (Louise Delamere) of their affair. Rachel finds out she is pregnant with Nick's baby and plans to have an abortion, though she ultimately decides against it. However, she later miscarries, which Nick takes advantage of to reclaim the apartment after Caroline learns of his infidelity anyway and kicks him out. Rachel soon discovers that Nick had an affair with a female juror whilst defending a client and business associate, which if made public would destroy his career. When Nick hears of this, he gets back together with Rachel and (at her pressuring) proposes marriage, until Janet convinces Rachel he is only doing so to keep her from turning him in. In the Series 1 finale Rachel narrowly avoids being killed by a hit-and-run driver; she eventually learns this was done at the behest of Savage, who is arrested and charged with attempted murder.
Savage does not appear in Series 2, but is mentioned throughout. In the third episode Gill discovers that the attempted murder charge has been dropped. He is later released without charge; upon learning of this, Rachel goes on a bender with Janet and lets out months worth of anger and misery over the fact that he essentially got away with ruining her life. In the Series 2 finale Savage is attacked and brutally beaten, later dying in hospital. Dominic, Rachel's brother, is revealed to be the attacker, claiming he was driven to it after hearing his sister's anguish; she chases him down and berates him, but ultimately chooses to let him run. In Series 3 he is caught and sent to prison after an investigation proves that Rachel had nothing to do with the attack.
Kevin Lumb