Law & Order

Series seven, episode one
It’s out with the old and in with big budgets for the new series of ‘Law & Order UK’. The first episode – one half of a two-parter – opens with a devastating crash that results in a derailed commuter train and 15 deaths. It’s also where we meet ‘Peep Show’s Johnson. At least, with that toothy grin and commanding voice, it’s hard to imagine Paterson Joseph as anyone else, especially when his new role as detective inspector Wes Leyton doesn’t stray far from the autocratic boss.

Along with feisty crown prosecutor Kate Barker (Georgie Taylor), who swans around in skirt-suits and Ugg boots, these two new players replace DI Chandler and CP Phillips. But mainstays Brooks (Bradley Walsh) and Casey (Paul Nicholls) are still on hand. Except this time the complications come when the culprit’s defence is ‘diminished responsibility’. Is it possible that the confessor could, in fact, not be guilty? This tense instalment – made all the more so by a minimal soundtrack – illustrates how the ‘Law & Order’ team, both old and new, juggles justice and morality.