Heartbeat backdrop
Crime•Drama•Comedy

The Worst Episodes of Heartbeat

Every episode of Heartbeat ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Heartbeat!

Binge this in 15d 11h•Peaking at 8.9/10

Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.

Airs on
ITV1
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons18

All123456789101112131415161718

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
    Click to reveal
    Heartbeat Season 16 Episode 20 - The Medium Is the Message
    6.7/10(29 votes)

    #1 - The Medium Is the Message

    S16:E20

    No description available

    Director:Adrian Bean
    Writer:Mark Holloway

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. Heartbeat Season 9 Episode 21 - Desperate Measures
    6.9/10(34 votes)

    #2 - Desperate Measures

    S9:E21

    Roy Brooks gets a suspended prison sentence for horse theft, but later in the evening a racing horse is stolen from Lord Ashfordly and his estate manager is seriously knocked down. Bernie Scripps happens to tell Greengrass that he once was psychic.

    Director:Roger Bamford
    Writer:Neil McKay

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. Heartbeat Season 4 Episode 9 - Red Herring
    7.0/10(39 votes)

    #3 - Red Herring

    S4:E9

    A Russian defector is on the run. A Russian ship docks in Whitby and a fight amongst the crew breaks out in a local pub. One sailor thinks he's killed his skipper and asks Nick for Political asylum. When Nick and Alf take him to the immigration office he makes a run for it and they lose him. Blaketon is not impressed but when the sailor finds out that he didn't kill the Skipper he says he needs to get back on the ship. Nick and Claude arrange a plan to sneak the sailor back onto the ship and it works. During all of this Greengrass has been trout poaching with a priest! Dr Radcliff's daughter goes missing on a cliff side and a search is mounted for her - she is found unharmed.

    Director:Ken Horn
    Writer:Michael Russell

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. Heartbeat Season 18 Episode 12 - The Middle of Somewhere
    7.0/10(36 votes)

    #4 - The Middle of Somewhere

    S18:E12

    No description available

    Director:Roger Bamford
    Writer:Michael Eaton

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. Heartbeat Season 11 Episode 8 - Home to Roost
    7.1/10(39 votes)

    #5 - Home to Roost

    S11:E8

    Mr. Lawson, the owner of some disused houses, is furious when a commune arrives and takes them over. Lawson is suspected of breaking into the houses. One of the girls in the commune is pregnant, but Oscar persuades Lawson to allow her to stay there with the baby. An undercover journalist was responsible for the break in.

    Director:Diana Patrick
    Writer:Jayne Hollinson

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. Heartbeat Season 14 Episode 23 - Shadows from the Past
    7.1/10(28 votes)

    #6 - Shadows from the Past

    S14:E23

    Peggy sets aside her pitchfork for glamour in the hope of charming a wealthy widower. The local community is up in arms when a famous homicide case is reopened for investigation - but Sergeant Miller ends up with more murder than he bargained for.

    Director:Gerry Mill
    Writer:Peter Gibbs

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of Heartbeat

    READ
  7. Heartbeat Season 18 Episode 19 - Deadlier Than the Male
    7.1/10(29 votes)

    #7 - Deadlier Than the Male

    S18:E19

    No description available

    Director:Dominic Leclerc
    Writer:Peter Gibbs

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. Heartbeat Season 9 Episode 9 - Kindness of Strangers
    7.2/10(35 votes)

    #8 - Kindness of Strangers

    S9:E9

    An old man is very obsessed with his son who fell in World War II near the German border, a real war hero. A young couple is caught shoplifting but she simulates yjat the borth of her baby has started. Greengrass seizes a sudden opportunity to be the arranger of a local rally.

    Director:Gerry Poulson
    Writer:James Stevenson

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. Heartbeat Season 10 Episode 13 - Blind Justice
    7.2/10(31 votes)

    #9 - Blind Justice

    S10:E13

    Craddock dates his dance teacher at the 'North Riding Police Dance' but her son is a ruthless fast speed driver. Bernie is off to Northallerton to comfort a widow, so Vernon and David takes the job to repair Lord Ashfordly's Bentley.

    Director:Paul Walker
    Writer:Neil McKay

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. Heartbeat Season 10 Episode 20 - Unchained Melody
    7.2/10(28 votes)

    #10 - Unchained Melody

    S10:E20

    Jackie gets a visit from her old friend Caroline. She is surprised to learn that Caroline has a baby. Caroline needs a day off from motherhood and leaves the baby with Jackie and Mike while she goes to York to see some friends. Mike leaves the baby in a pram outside the police house, but when Jackie comes home from an errand the baby is gone. Jackie is not the only one who has a visitor. Lady Patricia visits her brother at Ashfordly Hall together with an old family friend Lord Hal Tadcaster. Well "together" may not be the proper word, because she would rather see him leave than stay. And with good reason since the CID suspects Tadcaster of being a drug dealer and asks the police in Ashfordly to keep an eye on him. The post office in Whitby goes on strike. Vernon Scripps gets the idea to start a courier service. And for once he does the dirty work himself.

    Director:Gerry Mill
    Writer:Susan Wilkins

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. Heartbeat Season 11 Episode 16 - Second Chances
    7.2/10(29 votes)

    #11 - Second Chances

    S11:E16

    Helen Jones returns home walking her dog and surprises a young intruder who strikingly resembles her run-away husband decades ago. Later David finds him in Vernon's barn, and soon Vernon is involved in the wine processing business.

    Director:Diana Patrick
    Writer:Douglas Watkinson

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. Heartbeat Season 14 Episode 24 - Every Dog His Day
    7.2/10(28 votes)

    #12 - Every Dog His Day

    S14:E24

    A group of young offenders come to stay at Ashfordly Hall, but soon find themselves under suspicion after a spate of disturbances in the village. Meanwhile, Blaketon and Ventress go on the hunt for a spinster's missing dog, and a £50 reward gives Peggy an idea.

    Director:Andrew Morgan
    Writer:Susan Wilkins

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. Heartbeat Season 16 Episode 6 - Pretty Woman
    7.2/10(30 votes)

    #13 - Pretty Woman

    S16:E6

    No description available

    Director:Jonas Grimås
    Writer:Mark Holloway

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. Heartbeat Season 3 Episode 5 - A Chilly Reception
    7.3/10(50 votes)

    #14 - A Chilly Reception

    S3:E5

    A local woman is getting prepared for her wedding, but someone it seems is trying to sabotage the event. An old boyfriend of the woman's then turns up still expressing feelings for her. The church is then sabotaged and Nick and Kate find that the culprit for the recent acts of sabotage is the bride to be's old boyfriend. A old friend of Greengrass' turns up and passes on to him a load of stolen sea food, which Claude then sells to the bride's family for the reception, which gives the her father food poisoning. Meanwhile, Kate's aunt Eileen pays her a visit telling her that she has some money that her Uncle Henry had left to her in his will. Kate initially refuses it, which puzzles Nick. Kate later explains that when she was young she found her uncle in bed with another woman, and he then tried to bribe Kate into not telling her auntie. However Eileen tells Kate that she was aware of her husbands affairs and lived to accept it. Kate then accepts the money and donates it to charity in me

    Director:Catherine Morshead
    Writer:Eric Wendell

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. Heartbeat Season 13 Episode 11 - Mountains and Molehills
    7.3/10(29 votes)

    #15 - Mountains and Molehills

    S13:E11

    Steve finds himself in trouble when a maid at Ashfordly Hall takes more than a shine to him. David invents a novel way to rid the estate of moles, and makes a new friend in the process.

    Director:Adrian Bean
    Writer:Susan Wilkins

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. Heartbeat Season 14 Episode 15 - Icon
    7.3/10(29 votes)

    #16 - Icon

    S14:E15

    Bellamy and Walker hunt for a batch of stolen Russian icons, and suspect the victim of an assault at the Aidensfield Arms might be involved when they discover his criminal connections. Vernon embarks on another harebrained scheme when he meets an Italian truffle salesman, while Helen is puzzled by a youngster's baffling medical history.

    Director:Noreen Kershaw
    Writer:Tracy Brabin

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. Heartbeat Season 16 Episode 23 - Where There's Smoke
    7.3/10(27 votes)

    #17 - Where There's Smoke

    S16:E23

    No description available

    Director:Adrian Bean
    Writer:Peter Gibbs

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. Heartbeat Season 4 Episode 2 - Witch Hunt
    7.4/10(41 votes)

    #18 - Witch Hunt

    S4:E2

    Insp. Crossley suspects an old woman of being responsible for an attack of food poisoning, but Kate soon discovers it was due to something entirely different - arsenic poisoning from old wall paper. Nick points out to Blaketon that the Insp. hasn't been keeping CID fully informed which soon puts an end to his presence in Ashfordly. The police are also surprised to discover that their new Inspector is a woman - Insp. Merchison!

    Director:Catherine Morshead
    Writer:Brian Finch

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. Heartbeat Season 4 Episode 7 - Trouble in Mind
    7.4/10(36 votes)

    #19 - Trouble in Mind

    S4:E7

    Mr Parker comes to Aidensfield unable to recall the last 7 years of his life. It is suggested that when he left the village back then, he left his family and disappeared after collecting his employers payroll. Kate contacts his wife Helen who agrees to see him. Complications occur when another woman turns up claiming to be his wife. Claude goes to see 'strangers on a train' at the cinema, he then receives a strange proposal from a man who took the plot of the film a bit too seriously. It involved strangers carrying out each others crimes. Greengrass isn't interested in getting involved in such a scheme but the stranger keeps pestering him. Claude still refuses but soon finds out his barn had been burnt down shortly after he admitted the insurance was worth more than the barn itself. The stranger kidnaps Alfred, Nick and Greengrass go to investigate, and Alfred is found much to Claude's relief.

    Director:Tim Dowd
    Writer:Johnny Byrne

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. Heartbeat Season 8 Episode 18 - The Angry Brigade
    7.4/10(32 votes)

    #20 - The Angry Brigade

    S8:E18

    Barry Dixon is released from prison but is followed closely by an insurance detective. Lord Ashfordly has closed a pathway to a waterfall, but that decision meets strong opposition when a couple of tourists, Mr and Mrs Tidy, is stopped somewhat brutally. Bradley and Jackie Lambert, an attractive lawyer, develop common ground.

    Director:Gerry Poulson
    Writer:Peter Gibbs

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. Heartbeat Season 8 Episode 22 - Old Ties
    7.4/10(28 votes)

    #21 - Old Ties

    S8:E22

    An old friend visits Gina, and Aunt Mary fears trouble. Two brothers open a restaurant, and they are surprised by more than a brick through the window. An archaeologist inspires Greengrass to dig for a treasure.

    Director:Gerry Poulson
    Writer:Chris Thompson

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. Heartbeat Season 9 Episode 7 - Always a Copper
    7.4/10(30 votes)

    #22 - Always a Copper

    S9:E7

    The Chief Constable makes Blaketon organize a crime prevention committee. A burglar spills some blood when leaving a site of his crime, and Greengrass is a tourist 'guide' for Norwegians looking for Viking items.

    Director:Paul Walker
    Writer:Michael Jenner

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. Heartbeat Season 10 Episode 22 - Consequences
    7.4/10(30 votes)

    #23 - Consequences

    S10:E22

    PC Bradley has been sent to investigate a break-in when he witnesses an explosion. It is the car of ambulance driver Frank Metcalfe which exploded when he turned on the ignition, and it looks like attempted murder because he has received anonymous phone calls and a threatening letter a couple of days earlier. The grocer Mr. Dale is attacked under similar circumstances. But they have nothing in common. The only lead is a blue Ford Transit van seen on both occasions and that the attacker has military training and access to the local arsenal. Pete Atkins fits these requirements, but he claims his innocence. Oscar Blaketon also receives anonymous phone calls. Is he the next victim? Rev. Meeks represents a foundation which offers Lord Ashfordly to finance the renovation St. Judes Church on his lands, and his lordship hires Vernon Scripps and David to do work for him. Meeks especially asks them to be on the lookout for a particular baptismal font from the church.

    Director:Gerry Poulson
    Writer:Johnny Byrne

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. Heartbeat Season 11 Episode 7 - The Rivals
    7.4/10(30 votes)

    #24 - The Rivals

    S11:E7

    A worker at a nearby carpet factory is injured when machinery breaks down. Until now, the boss Mr. Shields had ignored health and safety. It turns out to be sabotage, as Mr. Shields' girlfriend had wrecked the machinery to get the manager sacked.

    Director:Paul Walker
    Writer:Jane McNulty

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. Heartbeat Season 11 Episode 15 - The Great Ming Mystery
    7.4/10(30 votes)

    #25 - The Great Ming Mystery

    S11:E15

    The owner of a large house has recently acquired a ming varse. While he is on holiday, David looks after the house, however he leaves after he learns some other people have moved in. It turns out they are responsible for the missing vase.

    Director:Paul Walker
    Writer:Jane Hollowood

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Worst Episodes Summary

"The Medium Is the Message" is the worst rated episode of "Heartbeat". It scored 6.7/10 based on 29 votes. Directed by Adrian Bean and written by Mark Holloway, it aired on 7/8/2007. This episode scored 0.2 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Desperate Measures".