The opening episode of the sixth series of New Tricks picks up with alcoholic Brian Lane having completely lost his grip on sobriety. And his wife, Esther, blames his pals at the Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS): Gerry Standing and Jack Halford, and their boss, Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman. If they really want to help Brian, says Esther, they need to stay away from him while he recovers at the Trinity Clinic, which is run by monks. But trouble follows Brian like a shadow. At the clinic, in conversation with Father Bernard (guest star Richard Wilson), Brian stumbles across the suspicious death of drug addict Robert Smith in 2000. His neck was broken and he had methadone in his body, even though it's strictly forbidden at the clinic. The UCOS squad want to investigate but, thinking of Esther, Sandra insists Brian takes a back seat. The team needs someone on the inside at the clinic, though, and Gerry volunteers to go undercover as a sex addict. Well, he does have a way with the ladies but the therapist, Anna Greening (guest star Faye Ripley), is a bit too much woman even for Gerry! There are old wounds and new to be healed at Trinity Clinic…Are the UCOS squad up to the job?
