TV episode review
UK airdate 7 May 2010

A prison riot leads to tragedy for Gene and his team...

No question, this series of Ashes to Ashes is getting darker, and it's looking increasingly as if there's going to be no happy ending for Alex or any of Gene Hunt's team. Last week, we wondered if Sam Tyler might still be alive; and this episode sees someone claiming to be Sam – but is he convincing enough to persuade Alex that he has a way out for her, particularly when she knows he's a conman?

Jim Keats also shows his true colours, willing to do whatever is necessary to bring Gene Hunt down. Up to now, he's seemed to err on the side of caution: a proponent, like Sam Tyler was, of less brutal methods. But when there's a chance that Gene might come out of the riot looking like a hero, he takes steps that are bound to have major consequences.

There's no time for any real humour this week, although there's a blackly comic moment between Ray and Chris when the odds look decidedly against them, while the second half of the episode, once the stakes have been raised, is some of the tautest drama the franchise has produced. Not to be missed. Paul Simpson

VERDICT: 8/10