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The Best Episodes of DCI Banks

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Every episode of DCI Banks ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of DCI Banks!

The Best Episodes of DCI Banks

A thrilling drama based on the novels by Peter Robinson. Stephen Tompkinson and Andrea Lowe star as the tenacious and stubborn Chief Inspector Alan Banks...

Seasons5

  1. Background image for Undertow: Part 2
    8.3/10(3 votes)

    #1 - Undertow: Part 2

    S5:E6

    Banks' mission to solve Annie's murder is made all the harder by the fact he has been taken off the case and sent on gardening leave - but that won't stop him.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  2. Background image for Cold is the Grave: Part 2
    7.8/10(408 votes)

    #2 - Cold is the Grave: Part 2

    S1:E6

    Emily Rydell has apparently been brutally beaten to death and DCI Banks quickly ends up being in the middle of a murder investigation with many suspects. After a surveillance operation establishes a link between the murder of Charles McKay and Brian Clough, Banks and Annie soon work out that the two cases have to be connected.

    Director:Marek Losey
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  3. Background image for Ghosts: Part 2
    7.8/10(299 votes)

    #3 - Ghosts: Part 2

    S4:E6

    No description available

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  4. Background image for Cold is the Grave: Part 1
    7.7/10(426 votes)

    #4 - Cold is the Grave: Part 1

    S1:E5

    An armed robbery ends up taking a much darker twist after the culprit is brutally murdered in his own home. Before DCI Banks can start to unravel the case, Chief Superintendent Gerry Rydell, makes a personal plea for Banks to look for his missing teenage daughter. Some naked photographs found on the Internet by Rydell’s wife, Rosalind, makes it look like that she could be in London. Banks reluctantly agrees to help and manages to track Emily down to the home of a drug dealer. Emily refuses to come back home with him but changes her mind. Annie, who has been leading the investigation into the robber’s murder whilst Banks has been away, thinks that the robbery could have been staged, but the victim’s accomplice refuses to talk. After Emily contacts Banks and suggests that she has seen one of Clough’s associates in Leeds, Banks wants her to tell him everything she knows about Clough. Emily refuses to tell Banks anything though. After a battered body is found in an Eastvale nightclub, Banks is shocked to discover that the victim has been identified as Ruth Walker, somebody Emily knew whilst in London. After the true identity of the victim is revealed though, both Banks and Annie find themselves involved in a conspiracy which has changed both investigations hugely.

    Director:Marek Losey
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  5. Background image for Strange Affair: Part 1
    7.7/10(408 votes)

    #5 - Strange Affair: Part 1

    S2:E1

    A mysterious phone message leads Banks to Harrogate to search for his estranged younger brother, while the team investigate the murder of a young woman.

    Director:Tim Fywell
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  6. Background image for Strange Affair: Part 2
    7.7/10(378 votes)

    #6 - Strange Affair: Part 2

    S2:E2

    When a body found at Halton quarry turns out to be his missing brother, Banks must return to his childhood home to inform his parents of the terrible news.

    Director:Tim Fywell
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  7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of DCI Banks

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  8. Background image for Wednesday's Child: Part 2
    7.7/10(320 votes)

    #7 - Wednesday's Child: Part 2

    S3:E2

    An 11-year old's body is found and Banks wonders if there is a connection between his death and Kyle's disappearance.

    Director:Bill Eagles
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  9. Background image for Undertow: Part 1
    7.7/10(3 votes)

    #8 - Undertow: Part 1

    S5:E5

    Banks and the team begin the painful job of finding out exactly who was responsible for Annie's death, an incident that has affected all their lives.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  10. Background image for Dry Bones That Dream: Part 1
    7.6/10(368 votes)

    #9 - Dry Bones That Dream: Part 1

    S2:E3

    When a hitman bursts into the luxury home of Keith Rothwell and shoots him dead in cold blood, Banks is struck by the strange reactions of his family.

    Director:Jim Loach
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  11. Background image for Dry Bones That Dream: Part 2
    7.6/10(344 votes)

    #10 - Dry Bones That Dream: Part 2

    S2:E4

    With Pamela Jeffries in a coma, Banks is even more determined to find Rothwell's killer. And against orders he decides to question MP Martin Fleming.

    Director:Jim Loach
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  12. Background image for Innocent Graves: Part 1
    7.6/10(351 votes)

    #11 - Innocent Graves: Part 1

    S2:E5

    Banks and his team investigate the murder of the daughter of an internet entrepreneur. The prime suspect is quickly identified, but Morton is not so sure.

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  13. Background image for Innocent Graves: Part 2
    7.6/10(347 votes)

    #12 - Innocent Graves: Part 2

    S2:E6

    In spite of the trial of Owen Pierce collapsing, Banks still believes that he is the murderer. But Morton tries to persuade him to keep an open mind.

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  14. Background image for Wednesday's Child: Part 1
    7.6/10(366 votes)

    #13 - Wednesday's Child: Part 1

    S3:E1

    When two bogus social workers come to Katy Heath's house and take her son away, Banks is drawn into a massive search for the boy - but is Katy telling the truth?

    Director:Bill Eagles
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  15. Background image for Bad Boy: Part 2
    7.6/10(328 votes)

    #14 - Bad Boy: Part 2

    S3:E6

    While Helen's career hangs in the balance, Banks risks everything to rescue his daughter who has been taken hostage by Jaff Kitson.

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  16. Background image for What Will Survive: Part 2
    7.6/10(306 votes)

    #15 - What Will Survive: Part 2

    S4:E2

    The team are dismayed to discover that an arson attack at the Osgood's house has injured Michael and killed his autistic son Robbie.

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  17. Background image for Buried: Part 2
    7.6/10(305 votes)

    #16 - Buried: Part 2

    S4:E4

    Geoff has become a marked man and Banks decides to put both him and his daughter Evie under watch at an anonymous hotel whilst he increases the search for Mullen.

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  18. Background image for Ghosts: Part 1
    7.6/10(309 votes)

    #17 - Ghosts: Part 1

    S4:E5

    When the body of an undergraduate is found dumped in a ravine, the investigation into his stabbing reveals he was far from being a model student.

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  19. Background image for Playing with Fire: Part 1
    7.5/10(613 votes)

    #18 - Playing with Fire: Part 1

    S1:E1

    In the first episode, DCI Alan Banks is taken to a canal where there has been a fatal fire. The crime is far from straightforward, and as another body is discovered the motive, as well as the intended victim, become increasingly unclear. However, the discovery of what appears to be a Turner landscape suggests that at least one of the victims was involved in an art forgery scam.

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  20. Background image for Playing with Fire: Part 2
    7.5/10(518 votes)

    #19 - Playing with Fire: Part 2

    S1:E2

    After Tom McMahon becomes the third victim following some suspicious fires, Alan realises that he is now attempting to catch a serial killer. His superiors warn him to keep his distance from the Aspern family who are trying to lodge an official complaint against him. Banks is determined to locate the ringleader of the art forgery scam which links two of the victims. Annie continues to see Mark Keane, despite Banks’ warnings. After Banks finally discovers the true identity of ‘Morrison’, he quickly realises that Annie could be in real danger.

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  21. Background image for Piece of My Heart: Part 1
    7.5/10(333 votes)

    #20 - Piece of My Heart: Part 1

    S3:E3

    When a journalist is found dead in a remote village, Banks notices a connection between the case and a mysterious death in the 1980s.

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  22. Background image for Piece of My Heart: Part 2
    7.5/10(321 votes)

    #21 - Piece of My Heart: Part 2

    S3:E4

    Banks races to locate a mysterious recording that appears to connect Jack Barber and the members of The Crystal Kiss together.

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  23. Background image for Bad Boy: Part 1
    7.5/10(320 votes)

    #22 - Bad Boy: Part 1

    S3:E5

    The discovery of a gun in the bedroom of a neighbour sees Banks involved in an internal investigation which could break up the team.

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  24. Background image for What Will Survive: Part 1
    7.5/10(332 votes)

    #23 - What Will Survive: Part 1

    S4:E1

    A young Estonian woman is found dead on a piece of waste-ground, suspected of being buried alive. As the team piece together her movements, they uncover a world of prostitution and drugs hidden behind a respectable veneer.

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  25. Background image for Buried: Part 1
    7.5/10(312 votes)

    #24 - Buried: Part 1

    S4:E3

    A husband and daughter struggle to come to terms with their grief when the body of wife and mother Anaan Kamel is found washed up by an underground river.

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  26. Background image for Friend of the Devil: Part 1
    7.3/10(461 votes)

    #25 - Friend of the Devil: Part 1

    S1:E3

    DCI Banks assigns DS Cabbot as SIO when the mutilated body of a woman is found on the Yorkshire Moors, while he investigates the murder of a teenaged girl whose body has been found in a storage room. Annie discovers that her victim was Lucy Payne.

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Best Episodes Summary

"Undertow: Part 2" is the best rated episode of "DCI Banks". It scored 8.3/10 based on 3 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/5/2016. This episode scored 0.5 points higher than the second highest rated, "Cold is the Grave: Part 2".