Bury My Half at Waltham Green

Arthur takes on a watching job: mind Albert Stubbs, an ex-bank robber fresh out of prison, until the whereabouts of a large amount of hidden cash can be established. Terry is handed the babysitting duties, which is never as simple as it sounds, because Albert is not the only one being watched. Another ex-bank robber, George, drifts into the picture and starts laying a false trail, and it slowly becomes clear that Arthur has not told Terry the whole plan.

The truth, when it comes out, is vintage Daley. The man Terry has been minding is a decoy. The real bank robber is someone else, and once he's out of prison Arthur and his associates will be free to go and find the money themselves. Nobody has thought to mention any of this to the man doing the actual work. It's a masterpiece of misdirection, right up until the moment everyone discovers they've been outflanked.

Nicky Henson's George and Kenneth Cope's Albert Stubbs make a fine pair of old lags orbiting the scheme, with Ann Lynn as Rose, Tony Selby as Jack and a removal man, played by Tony Allen, who hides Arthur's Mini in his van at just the wrong moment. Dennis Waterman and George Cole carry the running joke: Terry trying to do an honest job of watching while Arthur works out how to do him out of the proceeds. James Greene's barman, Terry Creasey's bar patron and Hal Galili's sauna client round out the margins, because even the small roles in this series are cast like they matter.

Paul Wheeler and Leon Griffiths wrote it, Christopher King directed.

And the surprise in store, when it lands, catches everyone, including the schemer. It's a reminder that Arthur Daley's plans always have a hole in them somewhere, and it's usually the bit he didn't tell Terry about.