Not so shy and retiring

RIDLEY’D WITH GUILT

A retired detective is convinced to consult on a murder case

TV preview by Sarah Olowofoyeku

IN a dark forest, shots are fired. The next morning, a body is found – with shotgun wounds to the upper torso. In ITV’s latest crime drama, Ridley, which airs later this month, the Copperton police are called to the scene. It’s Detective Inspector Carol Farman’s (Bronagh Waugh) first day on the job after being promoted, and she’s got her work cut out.

As well as rallying her team to find out who killed the sheep farmer, Carol calls on her predecessor, retired Detective Inspector Alex Ridley (Adrian Dunbar). Ridley, who mentored Carol for five years, isn’t in the best frame of mind. Not only is he experiencing the loss of his position in the police force, but he is grieving the death of his wife and daughter too.

Hiding away in the home he shared with his family, he is struggling with the reality that he won’t get them back. He is also grappling with guilt. It appears he may have had something to do with the house fire that killed his loved ones.

But, convinced to re-join the force as a temporary consultant on the case, he finds a sense of purpose again. And he spots a detail that could lead the team to answers, not just about the recently committed crime, but also about a missing child case from years earlier.

Ridley hadn’t been able to shake that incident. He knew something was not right with how the case had been resolved, and was still thinking about it 14 years on. Jean Dixon (Elizabeth Berrington), a former colleague, had warned him to move on, saying: ‘From one ex-copper to another, you can’t solve them all, Ridley. It doesn’t pay to dwell in the past.’

But as the narrative unfolds, the question emerges, is she really trying to protect Ridley or is she covering up her own mistakes?

She isn’t the only one with something to hide. The dark pasts of other characters soon come to light. Ridley creator and writer Paul Matthew Thompson says: ‘It is a show about redemption, about making amends, about guilt.’

Such themes are relevant beyond the small screen. Whoever we are, we have all said or done things that we feel guilty

about, things we must make amends for, but also things from which we can find redemption. It’s an idea that’s at the heart of another narrative. The Bible tells the story of God who created a people that he It’s a show loved, but who then turned their about backs on him. It led to all types of pain and suffering. But then, God redemption came up with a way for them to be redeemed. Humankind could never make amends for the mistakes and hurt it had caused God. So he sent his Son, Jesus, to do it for them. Jesus took on the eternal consequence for people’s wrongdoing – death and separation from God, but then he came back to life, rendering those mistakes and, ultimately, death powerless. For us, this means that no matter how bad our offence, if we believe what Jesus did, we can experience redemption. We must deal with the earthly consequences of our mistakes and make things right where we can. But if we are truly sorry, we can be freed from our guilt and forgiven by God. Convinced?