The Body Farm

8:30pm – Saturday, June 30 on ABC1

Ray Quinn (Ryan Pope) was killed in what appears to be a robbery at a classic car garage. The owners, Mick (Jamie Draven) and Martin Flannery (Wayne Foskett) are keen to clean up the scene so that they can return to business as usual. After an initial investigation, Eve (Tara Fitzgerald) is convinced there is nothing usual about the case. It’s much more than a robbery gone wrong.

Ray is from a travelling community who are highly suspicious of the police and refuse to tell DSI Hale (Keith Allen) anything. They say they’ll deal with Ray’s death themselves.

Eve and DSI Hale then discover that a young girl, Amanda (Grace Cohen), is also missing and possibly in a lot of danger.

Eve must earn the trust of Ray’s family by assuring them that she is a scientist, not a police officer, and is only motivated by finding justice for Ray. Their own pursuit of justice is sending them on a path that may end up concealing the truth forever.

8:30pm – Saturday, June 23 on ABC1

The body farmers are called in to investigate the death of a prominent human rights lawyer, Richard Warner (Tim McInnerny – Black Adder, Notting Hill). As they analyse his severely burned body, questions arise about the cause of the fire.

Warner had recently been visited by one of his old clients, Joseph Marial (Msimisi Affolderback-DlaminiI) an asylum seeker from Sudan, who had been deported a year ago after he was found guilty of assault.

Warner defended him but was unable to get him acquitted. Warner’s son, Nick (Jonas Armstrong), is convinced that Joseph is responsible for his father’s death but there appears to be no proof.

When Oggy (Finlay Robertson) and Mike (Mark Bazeley) lead the team in a reconstruction of the fire in the lab, fresh evidence comes to light.

8:30pm – Saturday, June 16 on ABC1

Eve (Tara Fitzgerald) and the team are called to a women’s prison to carry out tests on the body of an inmate, Beth Fox (Sarah Patel). The body has been found badly bruised, injuries which would indicate that she has been beaten to death. However, Eve suspects something even more sinister has happened.

Following the discovery of the body, a serious riot has broken out, which makes it difficult for the team as they try to gather evidence. Panic in the prison continues to spread, and Eve is under great pressure to discover what happened to Beth before the press get involved.

As they investigate further, Oggy (Finlay Robertson) becomes obsessed with another inmate, Tess (Vicky McClure – This is England). DSI Hale (Keith Allen) realises that an escaped prisoner could be a serious danger to the public. The team are frustrated as each one of their theories is proved wrong until, finally, Eve makes a shocking scientific discovery which throws the Home Office into a panic and catapults the team into a frantic race against time.

8:30pm – Saturday, June 9 on ABC1

On DSI Hale’s (Keith Allen) request, Eve (Tara Fitzgerald) visits a fishing village to take a look at the body of a dead man, identified as 35-year-old Connor Ryan (Brendan Mackey), found floating at sea during the night.

Connor was a crew member on a fishing trawler that has since been found adrift in perfect working order. Two other crew members, the female captain, Patsy Fay (Zara Turner) and marine biologist, Tom Wilkes (David Harewood) are missing.

‘The Clara’ is owned by Connor’s alcoholic brother-in-law, Rob (Joe Dattine) and was hired by Wilkes to collect samples for a local geological study. When Hale discovers that Patsy has a previous conviction for drug smuggling, the investigation launches into murky waters.

Meanwhile Oggy (Finlay Robertson) is lamenting all the changes to farm life that working with DSI Hale has brought. His chat with ‘Old Tom’, a skeleton decaying on the farm in a tree, is cut short when Eve brings Connor Ryan into the lab.

8:30pm – Saturday, June 2 on ABC1

Eva (Tara Fitzgerald – Waking The Dead) and the team discover the body of a young male prostitute, dumped in the estate of wealthy businessman, Harold Penton (Michael Byrne – Coronation Street, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). Evidence suggests that someone had sex with Jason shortly before his death, but the exact cause is difficult to identify as he had a host of diseases. Penton is a recluse and very keen to protect his privacy.

His bodyguard, Jimmy West, does his best to prevent Hale from getting too close insisting, along with Penton’s doctor, that he is too ill to be questioned. The team find the squat where Jason had been living.

They discover Jason’s lover, Sam (Nico Mirallegro) who is in a very bad way. Sam is wracked with guilt because Jason disappeared while going to score drugs for him. The team make a connection between Penton and Jason via a drop-in centre for drug addicts. This connection is compelling but the team still struggle to prove who is responsible for Jason’s death.

8:30pm – Saturday, May 26 on ABC1

Waking The Dead’s forensic pathologist Dr Eve Lockhart (Tara Fitzgerald) is back with a new team and a new lab, The Body Farm where the boundaries of forensic research are pushed to the limit.

Working alongside Detective Inspector Craig Hale (Keith Allen – Robin Hood, Bodies, Trainspotting), Eve is backed up by Rosa (Wunmi Mosaku – Moses Jones, Silent Witness) and Mike (Mark Bazely – The Queen, The Bourne Ultimatum) – two eager scientists fascinated by the effects nature and her creatures have on the victims.

Then there is scientifically brilliant Oggy (Finlay Robertson – How Not To Live Your Life) who struggles to cope with the outside world, even experimenting on himself as a ‘living donor’.

When DCI Hale asks for Eve’s help to investigate an unusual crime scene, she sees an opportunity to bring funding to The Body Farm, but working on real crime scenes will take her team out of their academic comfort zone.

They visit a derelict tower block featuring human remains splattered over the walls of a small flat. They discover that teenagers are using the tower for wild parties.

The team begin to connect evidence with the attempted suicide of a young girl weeks before. Using cutting edge techniques they have been developing, Eve and the team discover the cause of a blast that destroyed the bodies of two young men, and uncover the secrets hidden deep with the victims.