SO what makes Leeds-based DCI Alan Banks, played by the dourly delightful Stockton-born Stephen Tompkinson, such a good copper?
"Banks has a real sense of justice and belief in the system," says Tompkinson. "He will strive as hard as he can to make sure bad people get put away. He's not out for his own ends at all. It's a vocational job for him and he can't act any other way. His real strength is his sense of decency. He's not prepared to break the rules. But Banks isn't all perfect.
"His faults are in his personal life. He's not able top to accept what's in front of him and move forward in life. I think perhaps he's too scared. He's had one divorce and is frightened of messing up again, so he's stuck in limbo."
All eyes of DCI Banks fans are on his on-off relationship with DS Annie Cabbot (Andrea Lowe), who seems to have given up on her police boss and gone back to her former boyfriend.
"Annie told Banks she couldn't hang around forever as she has to think of her daughter, Isla. Annie has moved on and renewed her relationship with David, who is Isla's father. There's not really anything Banks can do about it, but watching Annie walk away from him is hard and whether he acts on that, we'll have to see.
"It's possible that Annie is with David out of convenience, but the question is whether Banks can hold down a relationship with Annie and still be the talented policeman we know him to be. He needs to prioritise which is more important to him, especially as he's not getting any younger."
Thankfully there's plenty of crime for the DCI to focus on when the body of university graduate Josh Tate is found dumped in a ravine.
And while his flatmate Spencer (James Bloor) claims he was the quiet type, the team soon gather startling information about Josh – he was obsessed with Spencer's lap-dancer girlfriend and, with a real bit of plot-stealing from Breaking Bad, was manufacturing ecstasy with the help of his biochemistry tutor.
Meanwhile, struggling DI Helen Morton (Caroline Catz) finds a former lover Martin Hexton (Cal MacAninch), an undercover officer, turning up, just as her husband is demanding a divorce. When evidence seems to point to a club owner being Josh's murderer, the team head to arrest him, but they find him badly beaten and it seems Hexton is responsible.
The Quizeum (BBC4, 8.30pm)
JUST when we thought there couldn't be another vehicle for Griff Rhys Jones' talents on the box, apart from more documentaries, he pops up in this quiz show which is a kind of University Challenge for arts experts.
Mr Jones is touring museums around the UK, with teams of expert panellists, who compete against each other to examine artwork and paintings.
Tonight's instalment comes from the Wallace Collection in London, and one of the greatest bequests of art to have been left to the British nation.
The collection includes Old Master paintings from the 14th to the late 19th Century, with works by Titian, Velazquez, Rubens and Van Dyck, as well as one of the finest collections of French 18th Century art in all media.
Dr Janina Ramirez, medieval art and historian, Lars Thorp, a historian specialising in European and Chinese ceramics, art critic and historian Andrew Graham-Dixon and Anna Keay, director of the Landmark Trust, are competing in the treasure hunt which also involves contestants making their own buzzing noises to answer questions. And you thought the BBC splashed out recklessly.
The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door (Channel 5, 8pm)
THIS documentary series uses eyewitness testimony and footage from camcorders, CCTV and phones to examine traumatic, shocking, humorous and occasionally bizarre experiences of people who have become involved in disputes with neighbours. The programme also reveals how long-fought battles result in Asbos, evictions and sometimes violence.
