Judge John Deed: Season 4

2005

Created by G.F. Newman
6 episodes
Drama
War

Judge John Deed is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for... More

Judge John Deed is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Sir John Deed, a High Court judge who tries to seek real justice in the cases before him. It also stars Jenny Seagrove as the barrister Jo Mills, frequently the object of Deed's desire. A pilot episode was broadcast on 9 January 2001, followed by the first full series on 26 November 2001. The sixth and last series concluded on 18 January 2007. The programme then went on an indefinite break after Shaw became involved in another television programme, and he and Seagrove expressed a wish for the format of the series to change before they filmed new episodes. By 2009, the series had officially been cancelled. The six series produced make it the longest-running BBC legal drama. The factual accuracy of the series is often criticised by legal professionals and journalists; many of the decisions taken by Deed are unlikely to happen in a real court. The romanticised vision of the court system created by Newman caused a judge to issue a warning to a jury not to let the series influence their view of trials—referring to an episode where Deed flouts rules when called up for jury duty. Another episode led to complaints about biased and incorrect information about the MMR vaccine, leading the BBC to ban repeats of it in its original form. All six series have been released on DVD in the UK.

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Where to watch Judge John Deed: Season 4

Judge John Deed: Season 4 is available to stream in... More Australia now on BritBox Australia and BritBox on Prime.

Judge John Deed: Season 4 episodes

Lost and Found

Jo Mills was planning to take time off work, but... More then she agrees to defend a man who escaped trial sixteen years before after he was charged with attempted murder. Jo is partly attracted to the case because she recognizes two of the detectives who are mixed up in it.

Above the Law

Deed has three drug-dealers in his court accused of a... More vicious gang killing, and he comes under pressure from government law officers to hear the case without a jury. A witness is killed, and the jury starts to melt away. If the case is abandoned, the dead witness's evidence will be lost, but Deed wrestles with his conscience over setting what to him would be a terrible precedent. Meanwhile, Jo's application to adopt Michael is turned down by the Adoption Panel, who feel she is too busy with her legal career to look after a child. Deed encourages Jo to challenge the Panel's decision in the High Court.

In Defence of Others

Deed has the case before him of a man charged... More with killing a paedophile, but the jury find the defendant not guilty. After his acquittal, the man calls a press conference and sends out a message calling for similar actions elsewhere. Meanwhile, Marc Thompson, Michael's real father, arrives in England from overseas. This seems to end Jo's hopes of adopting Michael, but she starts dating the new arrival, sending Deed into a jealous rage. Deed then unwisely starts a new affair with a woman appearing in his court as a claimant in an action, and Jo decides to move with Marc to South Africa.

Defence of the Realm

Deed's fling with a woman claimant in his court gets... More him into hot water. His brother judges are appalled, and Deed finds himself exiled to Warwick.Meanwhile, Jo is sitting as a judge in a trial in which a company secretary is accused of stealing more than four million pounds from the arms king Sir Tim Listfield. Allegations are made during the trial about senior politician Neil Haughton, the close friend of Deed's former wife Georgina - Haughton is said to have taken bribes to over-pay on government defence work. Jo is threatened, and Deed comes home to help her.

Separation of Powers

Deed has an environmental case before him, in which a... More company operating a large-scale waste incinerator is accused of damaging people's health by air pollution. Jo Mills represents the parents of a damaged child, but is losing. Then it comes out that the company deliberately hid a fault at the incinerator which made its emissions far worse. Meanwhile, Rufus Barron comes up with evidence to support the claim that Neil Haughton took a bribe on a defence contract. Then the evidence is lost, and Haughton demands that Deed should be impeached for unprofessional conduct.

Popular Appeal

An angry contestant in a TV show kills another... More competitor on camera, and the show's producers face charges of manslaughter in Deed's court. Meanwhile, Deed is pressing for an inquiry into the death of Rufus Barron, a man who had been accused of embezzling money from his employer, the arms dealer Sir Tim Listfield. Sir Tim becomes violent when Deed keeps questioning the 'accident' which killed Barron.