Bergerac: Roots of Evil (BBC-1 4 Feb 1990, with Geoffrey Palmer)

In Roots of Evil wealthy businessman Nigel Carter is being terrorised by persons unknown. Two armed men, dressed as local coppers break into his house and take potshots at him (deliberately aiming to miss but scaring him greatly). Jim and the boys turn up but Carter is not particularly interested in giving them any more info than necessary.

Jim is suspicious about why Carter doesn’t want their help and digs into his past. Jim learns that years before Carter’s daughter Joanna was kidnapped. Now a young woman she is studying at the Sorbonne but is due to spend the holidays at home on Jersey.

Carter is being blackmailed by a group of terrorists who are gun running and want him to pay for their latest consignment. A half million pounds in cash in fact. After Jim tells Joanna about her fathers recent troubles she confronts him and he tells her that he made a deal to get her released from her kidnap ordeal and then reneged on it.

Another strong Brian Finch story with Geoffrey Palmer as Carter and the lovely Lynsey Baxter as his daughter. Struan Rodger makes for a strong villain and his side-kick is played by future Eastenders mainstay Steve McFadden. In a rare example for the series the villains get clean away with Jim left unsure whether he has been played by Carter all along.

production details
UK / BBC One / 1×55 minute episode / Broadcast Sunday 4 February 1990 at 8.05pm

Writer: Brian Finch / Director: Richard Spence

Series: Bergerac Season 8 Episode 4

cast
John Nettles as Det Sgt Jim Bergerac
Geoffrey Palmer as Nigel Carter
Gary O’Brien as Station PC
Struan Rodger as Smith
Steve McFadden as Jones
John Telfer as Willy Pettit
Peter Gallagher as PC Green
Sean Arnold as Chief Inspector Crozier
David Kershaw as Ben Lomas
Terence Alexander as Charlie Hungerford
Denis Holmes as Colonel Foster-Biggs
Lynsey Baxter as Joanna Carter