Virdee episode 5 recap: 'One king in this city'

This Virdee episode 5 recap contains spoilers... We finally get a look at the serial killer who's been terrorizing Bradford, violent criminal Jai Pawa (Ramon Tikram) who has escaped prison in India to wreak his revenge in Yorkshire. Elsewhere, the bitter war between Riaz and Vasil reaches a deadly endgame and Saima (Aysha Kala) finally discovers the truth about her brother...

We head back to Punjab in 2017, where Jai Pawa (Ramon Tikram) is being questioned about how he transported heroin from India to England. “Do you want to be the most powerful man in the whole of Punjab?” Pawa asks his captor to help him escape so he can get back to Britain. "Who is she?"

Back in the present, Harry wakes up covered in a sticky substance and being stung all over by wasps. He escapes the basement, yet is taken into the hospital suffering from anaphylactic shock.

Khalil (Danyal Ismail) and UKCA officer Rebecca Armitage (Elaine Tan) begin searching the basement and find a freezer with a dead body covered in leeches inside. It’s the building’s owner Matthew Henford, Pawa’s former accountant. “He testified at his trial,” says Khalil.

When Harry comes around he tells Khalil that he suspects the killer is Jai Pawa, which means the video footage from Punjab Central was somehow faked. “There’s a wider conspiracy at play here,” says Boardman (Silas Carson). Indeed, the British Consulate soon confirms that Pawa has escaped from jail and the video was faked.

However there’s another clue in the mix, as it seems Riaz’s partner Sophie Brodenham (Nichola Burley) was once part of Pawa’s crew and turned on him, disappearing into witness protection. Or not as the case may be. Later on Pawa calls CC Boardman and tells him he intends to surrender “on one non-negotiable condition. DCI Harry Virdee.”

Boardman quickly arranges for Harry to be unsuspended and begs him to go and meet Pawa in the park to get his son back. Saima (Aysha Kala) is furious that her husband is considering it and confronts him with the secret burner phone. “You deserve the truth,” he says. “But right now Alastair’s life is in danger, so please trust me.”

'They aren't the men we think they are...'

Across the city, Ateeq Farooqi (Yousef Naseer) reports to Vasil Sharma (Andi Jashy) and explains who the boss of Bradford West is and how he’s gained his confidence. It seems the young dealer is a double agent. “Our plan worked,” says Vasil. “You are a real soldier.”

Yet when Ateeq meets Riaz later on, it’s clear the Bradford West leader doesn’t completely trust him and gives him a speech about why he got into the game. “People, family, ethics,” he says, channelling David Brent. “I create real jobs from all this,” he explains, painting himself as a philanthropist drug dealer, compared to Vasil, who uses kids as runners.

However when Riaz heads outside, a gunman on a motorbike opens fire on him, while Ateeq, who organised the attempted hit, looks on stunned.

Across town, Tara (Nina Singh) asks Saima about Paul King, whom we assume is the white youth Harry killed back in 2001. How Tara - a journalist with access to the internet - hasn’t heard this story about her family is beyond us, but there we go. “I don’t think Harry and Riaz are the men we think they are,” she tells Saima.

There are more intrafamily goings-on happening at the hospital, where Saima’s father Ubaid Hyatt (Javed Khan) goes to meet Ranjit Virdee (Kulvinder Ghir), telling him how the Hindu’s discrimination reminds him of the white yobs who attacked his family back in 2001. “Nothing will come between Harry and Saima,” he says. “Let us share in a little of that happiness.”

'One king in this city...'

Back at Riaz’s place, Enzo (Tomi May) manages to remove the bullet from his boss' arm, before the drug kingpin threatens to “drop every body Vasil has. There can only be one king in this city.” Before telling Enzo to spread word that he’s dead, hoping that Vasil will drop his guard and they discover who betrayed their location.

With the big police operation in City Park, Riaz thinks it’s the perfect time to hit Vasil and he tells Sophie it’s time he “got his hands dirty”. However he has other problems, because his sister is in his office and has discovered his gun. Secret phone? Gun? It’s not looking good mate.

Vasil is brought to Riaz's hideout and beaten along with Ateeq, who’s been revealed as the snitch ("snitches get ditches" remember) yet Riaz’s sister Saima is secretly watching on through a doorway. “Vasil is not afraid to die,” says the gang leader, shortly before Vasil shoots him dead. It’s a shocking moment for Saima, who flees in her car. However as she drives away, she’s rammed by a mysterious figure we can only assume is Jai Pawa.

In City Park, Harry’s call to his wife rings out, yet he has no time to worry about that because the arranged handover of Alastair Boardman (Jack Archer) is due to take place. “Any threat, use your weapon,” says his boss DS Clare Conway (Elizabeth Berrington).

Pawa lets Alastair go and allows himself to be arrested, which is great news for everyone concerned, although when Harry spies a piece of Saima’s jewellery around his neck, he realises the horrid truth. “If you tell anyone I have her, she dies,” he tells the detective. “Now we’ll see just how far you’ll go to save her life.”

Shhhiiiiiiiiiittttttttt...