Family Favours

Peter Noonan's trial for attempted murder opens, and everyone expects a straightforward bit of legal theatre. Then Elliot Rossini takes an interest. Rossini is a Scottish gangster of the old school, the kind who expects the world to arrange itself around his convenience. But Noonan is his hit man, and Rossini wants the Kane lawyer to get him off, properly and without fuss.

The trouble is that Danny is not in a co-operative mood. Rossini tries to fit him with a robbery to make the point, and the attempt rebounds on him, which is the episode's small pleasure. For a man who spends most of his screen time threatening people, Rossini does not look comfortable on the receiving end. Victor Spinetti gives him the full theatrical treatment, all raised eyebrows and wounded pride, and the courtroom scenes are the better for it. His mistake is treating the Kanes like the families he is used to dealing with; they do not fold the way he expects.

Around the trial, the usual faces keep the plates spinning. DI Rosy Campbell, DC Webster and DS Fielding track the fallout, while Jonjo O'Brady and Polish Joe hang about looking loyal and slightly worried in equal measure. Carol Kane keeps the family side of things presentable, which is a full-time job once Rossini starts throwing accusations around. The verdict matters to more people than the man in the dock, and the Kanes are not the only ones watching the jury.

Murray Smith wrote it; Anthony Wilkinson directed. Don Henderson's Frank, Leslie Grantham's Danny, Barbara Wilshere's Carol and Kitty Aldridge's Rosy Campbell anchor the week, with Philip Martin Brown back as Noonan, Leon Herbert as Polish Joe, Peter Gowen as Jonjo O'Brady, Ben Daniels as Webster and Nigel Harrison as Fielding.

Family Favours is a quiet episode in the right way. The stakes stay personal, the violence stays mostly off screen, and the title does its work: everyone in this story is asking a favour, and none of them plans to return it.