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The Best Episodes of DCI Banks

Every episode of DCI Banks ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into 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...
Genres:CrimeDrama
Network:ITV1

Best Episodes Summary

"Undertow: Part 2" is the best rated episode of "DCI Banks". It scored 7.9/10 based on 282 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 10/5/2016. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Cold is the Grave: Part 2".

  • Undertow: Part 2
    7.9/10282 votes
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    #1 - Undertow: Part 2

    Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 10/5/2016

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Cold is the Grave: Part 2
    7.8/10386 votes
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    #2 - Cold is the Grave: Part 2

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/21/2011

    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

    Writer: Robert Murphy

  • Ghosts: Part 2
    7.8/10280 votes
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    #3 - Ghosts: Part 2

    Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 4/8/2015

    No description available

    Director: Kenneth Glenaan

    Writer: Paul Logue

  • Cold is the Grave: Part 1
    7.7/10401 votes
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    #4 - Cold is the Grave: Part 1

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/14/2011

    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

    Writer: Robert Murphy

  • Strange Affair: Part 1
    7.7/10379 votes
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    #5 - Strange Affair: Part 1

    Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 10/10/2012

    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

    Writer: Robert Murphy

  • Strange Affair: Part 2
    7.7/10356 votes
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    #6 - Strange Affair: Part 2

    Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 10/17/2012

    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

    Writer: Robert Murphy

  • Wednesday's Child: Part 2
    7.7/10299 votes
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    #7 - Wednesday's Child: Part 2

    Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 2/10/2014

    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

    Writer: Robert Murphy

  • To Burn in Every Drop of Blood: Part 2
    7.7/10268 votes
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    #8 - To Burn in Every Drop of Blood: Part 2

    Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 9/7/2016

    The apparent suicide of a young girl drags Banks deeper into the dark world of 'untouchable' criminal Steve Richards.

    Director: Robert Quinn

    Writer: Nicholas Hicks-Beach

  • A Little Bit of Heart: Part 2
    7.7/10257 votes
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    #9 - A Little Bit of Heart: Part 2

    Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 9/21/2016

    Following the murder of a recently rescued hostage, Banks and his team must untangle secrets and lies from the closed world of the Chinese community.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Dry Bones That Dream: Part 1
    7.6/10340 votes
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    #10 - Dry Bones That Dream: Part 1

    Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 10/24/2012

    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

    Writer: Rob Williams

  • Dry Bones That Dream: Part 2
    7.6/10320 votes
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    #11 - Dry Bones That Dream: Part 2

    Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 10/31/2012

    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

    Writer: Rob Williams

  • Innocent Graves: Part 1
    7.6/10329 votes
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    #12 - Innocent Graves: Part 1

    Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 11/7/2012

    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.

    Director: Mat King

    Writer: Andrew Payne, Rob Williams

  • Innocent Graves: Part 2
    7.6/10323 votes
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    #13 - Innocent Graves: Part 2

    Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 11/14/2012

    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.

    Director: Mat King

    Writer: Andrew Payne, Rob Williams

  • Wednesday's Child: Part 1
    7.6/10342 votes
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    #14 - Wednesday's Child: Part 1

    Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 2/3/2014

    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

    Writer: Robert Murphy

  • Bad Boy: Part 2
    7.6/10305 votes
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    #15 - Bad Boy: Part 2

    Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 3/10/2014

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

    Director: Stephen Woolfenden

    Writer: Catherine Tregenna

  • What Will Survive: Part 2
    7.6/10287 votes
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    #16 - What Will Survive: Part 2

    Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 3/11/2015

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

    Director: David Richards

    Writer: Nicholas Hicks-Beach

  • Buried: Part 2
    7.6/10285 votes
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    #17 - Buried: Part 2

    Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 3/25/2015

    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.

    Director: Craig Pickles

    Writer: Nicholas Hicks-Beach

  • Ghosts: Part 1
    7.6/10289 votes
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    #18 - Ghosts: Part 1

    Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 4/1/2015

    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.

    Director: Kenneth Glenaan

    Writer: Paul Logue

  • To Burn in Every Drop of Blood: Part 1
    7.6/10292 votes
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    #19 - To Burn in Every Drop of Blood: Part 1

    Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 8/31/2016

    When a young man is found brutally murdered, Banks' instinct drags his team into a world of organised crime.

    Director: Robert Quinn

    Writer: Nicholas Hicks-Beach

  • A Little Bit of Heart: Part 1
    7.6/10260 votes
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    #20 - A Little Bit of Heart: Part 1

    Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 9/14/2016

    When a devoted husband and father goes missing, a ransom demand takes Banks and his team on a journey into the Chinese community.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Undertow: Part 1
    7.6/10263 votes
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    #21 - Undertow: Part 1

    Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 9/28/2016

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Playing with Fire: Part 1
    7.5/10582 votes
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    #22 - Playing with Fire: Part 1

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/16/2011

    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.

    Director: Paul Whittington

    Writer: Robert Murphy

  • Playing with Fire: Part 2
    7.5/10491 votes
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    #23 - Playing with Fire: Part 2

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/23/2011

    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.

    Director: Paul Whittington

    Writer: Robert Murphy

  • Piece of My Heart: Part 1
    7.5/10311 votes
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    #24 - Piece of My Heart: Part 1

    Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 2/17/2014

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

    Director: Edward Bazalgette

    Writer: Robert Murphy

  • Piece of My Heart: Part 2
    7.5/10299 votes
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    #25 - Piece of My Heart: Part 2

    Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 2/24/2014

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

    Director: Edward Bazalgette

    Writer: Robert Murphy