This Cleddau/The One That Got Away episode 5 recap contains spoilers... Paul Harvey tries to pin the blame for all the murders on his adopted son, Mel Owen, and when Ffion learns of how Rick coerced a witness during the original investigation, she begins to wonder if he's telling the truth. Yet when the prison guards uncover Harvey's mobile phone, they make some shocking discoveries...
Paul Harvey (Ian Puleston-Davies) and DI Ffion Lloyd (Elen Rhys) sit down to discuss the night Sian Hinton’s body was found in the woods. He explains how he locked Robbie — aka Mel Owen — in the box room after returning from being interviewed by Ffion and Rick. He claims Robbie climbed out of the window and used his van to commit the murder.
But why is Paul only mentioning this now, Ffion asks, as the information could have been used in his defense? He claims he was simply trying to protect his son and would do anything to keep him out of prison. “Then why are you grassing him up?” asks Ffion presciently.
Harvey then goes on to claim that on the day Mari Quinlan was murdered, she left on foot and he drove off to buy groceries, returning to find Robbie incoherent and covered in mud in the kitchen. He claims Robbie killed both nurses because he thought they were going to take him away from Paul and Anna. But is he telling the truth? Ffion seems to be wondering if he is.
When they arrive back in Pembroke, Rick (Richard Harrington) begs Ffion not to tell DCI Vaughan (Ioan Hefin) about her chat with Paul Harvey, saying he’s trying to pin the blame on Owen because he knows he can no longer be questioned. Yet there's a bombshell waiting for them both when they get back to the station, as the team informs them Owen’s DNA is not on the scarf, but the DNA of Abbi and another person is. Who is this other person?
Rick's misdeeds unmasked
DCI Vaughan seems convinced they have Abbi's murderer, which seems a very reckless presumption. Ffion says she’ll check Owen’s den to see if he has gloves, but she actually heads to Alex Hinton’s house, to go over his statement from the night his wife was murdered 12 years ago. She says they have reason to believe another person was driving Paul’s van that night and he had an accomplice.
As she continues questioning him, the truth begins to come out and it turns out Rick put pressure on Alex (Sule Rimi) to say it was Harvey behind the wheel on that fateful night, which would explain why Rick was so against Ffion returning to question Alex.
While Ffion goes to check on Anna Jennings (Eiry Thomas) and to tell him Robbie has passed away, Rick heads to the hospital to make up with Helen (Rhian Blythe) and to take a DNA swab to eliminate her from inquiries over Abbi’s scarf. She can tell there’s something on his mind, but he doesn’t tell her what happened in Worcestershire.
After Anna tells her Paul is lying about the day Sian Hinton was killed, Ffion confronts Rick about the lies he told during the investigation into the nurse’s death. “You act like a local hero,” she says bitterly. “But it’s all a sham.”
Helen abucted!
At the station, Celyn (Aled Pugh) reveals some new evidence about a dark text message conversation Paul Harvey has been having with someone called "John Shaw", who also visited him in prison. They discuss the thrill of murder and he sent Harvey a message the day after Abbi was killed saying “she deserved it”.
Despite this, DCI Alan Vaughan doesn’t think Shaw it’s worth investigating (!!!) and nor does the increasingly wayward Rick, as apparently all the evidence points to Mel Owen (but absolutely DNA evidence we hasten to add!). Thankfully, Ffion does.
Meanwhile, Rick confesses how he pressured Alex Hinton to change his story to DCI Vaughan, who seems pretty sympathetic, yet reluctantly suspends him from duty until he can find out what’s to be done.
Later on, Ffion opens up to her father about her fears and regrets, while his carer Jamie (Sion Alun Davies) listens outside the door in a sinister fashion. We’re pretty sure he’s John Shaw. That night, while Helen is cooking a romantic meal for Rick, someone arrives at her house and abducts her!
