- 2 days ago
in Best Forgotten, the forensic psychologist uncovers fresh information about an unsolved robbery from 1952. But the newfound facts have some unwelcome implications as it's Joe's elderly uncle Tom and his friend who are implicated.
Written by David Napthine and Steven Chambers, these dramas star Jeremy Swift as Dr Joe Aston, with Paul Brennen as DC Patten, Janet Dibley as DI Reynolds and Andrew Harrison as DC Hamilton.
Produced and directed by Toby Swift and Mary Peate
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Written by David Napthine and Steven Chambers, these dramas star Jeremy Swift as Dr Joe Aston, with Paul Brennen as DC Patten, Janet Dibley as DI Reynolds and Andrew Harrison as DC Hamilton.
Produced and directed by Toby Swift and Mary Peate
Do you enjoy the variety on Oldtuberadio?
Like, Share and Subscribe to be notified of our new shows
#radio #crime #thriller #drama
To Support this channel please visit
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/oldtuberadio
https://ko-fi.com/oldtuberadio98
https://www.patreon.com/oldtuberadio
https://locals.com/Oldtuberadio
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FunTranscript
00:00To be continued...
00:30...and get fish and chips at the post office.
00:32Oh.
00:33Your memory, Frankie, is getting worse.
00:35There was too much batter in Billingham.
00:39Fifty year ago, Tom.
00:41Remember?
00:43No, Frankie.
00:45I can see it now.
00:47A fish supper at the post office.
00:49We're going to the chippy.
00:51Look, you can see it from here.
00:53No other lights next to the office.
00:55Aye, don't I.
00:56It was definitely a post office.
01:02The Recall Man.
01:04Best Forgotten.
01:06By Steve Chambers.
01:07With Jeremy Swift as Dr Joe Astin.
01:15Joe!
01:16I'm in the back.
01:18In the conservatory.
01:19No carpets.
01:25Very minimalist.
01:28Bloody hell, Joe.
01:30What?
01:31You're wearing overalls.
01:33It's a quaint local custom, Jeff.
01:34People wear them when they decorate.
01:36They're brand new, though.
01:37They've never been used before.
01:39Have they?
01:40With detectives like you, the people of Middlesbrough can sleep soundly in their beds.
01:44You're not the DIY type, Joe.
01:47Another example of copper's nose.
01:48That, and the fact the brushes are still in their wrapping.
01:51And the paintings haven't been opened.
01:53Is this an official visit, Jeff?
01:55Not really.
01:56I was in the vicinity interviewing a witness.
01:58Anything interesting?
01:59Sad, pointless, tragic, but not very interesting.
02:02If people thought just a little about things before they did them...
02:05We'd be out of a job.
02:06So, I was passing.
02:08I thought I'd look in on the new love list.
02:11Well, you've looked.
02:12And deliver your research notes.
02:15My research notes?
02:16I wonder where they've got to.
02:18Denial or Traumatic Amnesia?
02:21A Spectrum of Symptoms.
02:22By Dr Joe Aston.
02:25You've only got the title, then.
02:27I'm running over a few ideas.
02:29Denial.
02:30That's like me thinking I'm ugly, when in reality I'm devastatingly good looking.
02:33No, that's psychotic.
02:35Denial is more like seeing what you want to see.
02:38Or choosing not to see what's really there.
02:40Yeah.
02:41Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to...
02:43No, stop.
02:44It's not really you, Joe.
02:46You belong in the city, not in a leafy suburb.
02:49It isn't just me, Jeff.
02:50Helen and I bought it together.
02:52You're doing the decorating.
02:53I'm just doing the conservatory while Helen's away.
02:56Then again, decor.
02:58Very revealing.
03:00A window on the soul.
03:02Well, someone on the telly said that.
03:05Sounds like they should be writing my lecture.
03:06Perhaps a lecture's just another displacement activity.
03:09To avoid the decorating.
03:11I'm not trying to avoid decorating.
03:13You haven't done any yet.
03:14And I won't if you don't bugger off.
03:16Now leave me alone.
03:17Let me get started.
03:19You can't put paint on that.
03:22It's damp.
03:23Where?
03:24Down there.
03:25Look.
03:25Look.
03:29Wood's starting to swell.
03:32Looks like it's coming from outside.
03:38Aye.
03:39You can see where it's seeping underneath.
03:41Oh, old houses, eh?
03:43Let me have a look.
03:46You need to seal the patio.
03:48Oh, big job, that.
03:49Just a few groceries, Frankie.
04:00Aye, son, aye.
04:01But you shouldn't have bothered.
04:02I was passing.
04:04I know you find walking difficult.
04:06I'm all right.
04:07I don't need my wheelchair.
04:09I'm only sitting at the police's tomb.
04:11A couple of steak and kidney pie,
04:13some fruit and veg,
04:15and a packet of chocolate biscuits for that sweet tooth of yours.
04:17I can look after meself, Joe.
04:19I don't want charity.
04:22You were good to me when I was a kid, Frankie.
04:25Just return the favour.
04:27Aye, well, aye.
04:29There you go.
04:31Besides, I've got an ulterior motive.
04:33I need something from you.
04:34How do you make waterproof cement?
04:37What do you want to know for?
04:39That's a new house.
04:41I've got this problem with the patio,
04:43and the rain's getting under the flags,
04:44and I need to stop it.
04:46Measure twice.
04:47Cut once.
04:48That was our motto.
04:49Ah.
04:50All your year's experience.
04:52Thought you'd know the answer, Frankie.
04:55Really, the patio with a bigger runoff.
04:57That's the best way.
04:59I haven't got time.
05:01I thought if I replaced the mortar with some waterproof cement,
05:04it'd be a quick solution.
05:06It'll find its own level.
05:08Water.
05:09Aye.
05:09It was the same in the cellar in Billingham.
05:13What cellar?
05:15The rain kept coming in.
05:17After the post office due.
05:201952.
05:21It's only me.
05:23Uncle Sam.
05:24No.
05:25Aye, bugger me, Joe.
05:27Aye.
05:28We're honoured, eh, Frankie?
05:29Royal busy.
05:31He's brought some shopping in.
05:33Told him not to.
05:34Aye, Frankie.
05:35Aye, thanks, Joe.
05:36Want a cup of some?
05:37I wouldn't say no.
05:39So what brings you to our guy, Louse?
05:41Well, do I have to have a reason?
05:43To leave swanky Nunthorpe and come slummin' down Winnie Banks.
05:48That's it.
05:48So where, Frankie?
05:49Aye, Tom, aye.
05:51I grew up in Winnie Banks.
05:52Yeah, that's a long time ago.
05:54It's a blasted eat these days, Joe.
05:56Boarded up houses, dogs running free.
05:57You need a passport to get out of here.
06:01Spare me the sob story.
06:02Here's your tea, Tom.
06:03All right, Tom.
06:07But it's the way Nunthorpe, Joe.
06:08I mean, if you wanted somewhere posh, you should have gone the whole hog and moved to Stewart Park.
06:14I couldn't afford it.
06:15With all your degrees and qualifications.
06:18Actually, I fancied a place by the sea.
06:21Saltburn.
06:22Saltburn's canny.
06:23Aye.
06:24Saltburn.
06:25But Helen's a keen gardener.
06:27Didn't fancy competing with the North Sea.
06:29Oh, so she chose Nunthorpe.
06:32Yeah, we both did.
06:35I need some advice from Frankie about the new house.
06:38Aye.
06:38He was asking about the cellar, Tommy.
06:40Eh?
06:41It was wet down there, eh?
06:42Aye, but Joe didn't come round for that.
06:45Waterproof cement, actually.
06:46He was badly injured.
06:49Oh, aye.
06:50Who was?
06:51The postmaster in Billingham.
06:54Wounds to the head and chest, it said in the paper.
06:56Aye, but Joe doesn't want to hear about that, Frankie.
06:59Er, I might.
07:00Now, if you hadn't gone to grammar school and filled your head with rubbish,
07:03you'd know about cement, Joe.
07:05The robber who butted the postmaster.
07:08He was never caught.
07:10You talking about a robbery, Frankie?
07:12Aye, sir.
07:12Aye.
07:13In Billingham.
07:15He lived like a mole on the ground.
07:18Only came out at night.
07:20Can you remember where the robber hid?
07:22Aye, but he didn't.
07:22It was a long time ago.
07:24There was water nearby.
07:27Was it Saltburn?
07:28Where was it, Tommy?
07:30No, Frankie.
07:31I can't remember.
07:31It was dark.
07:33Tommy?
07:33It's all right, Frankie, man.
07:36I forget things, Joe.
07:38My mind goes blank on us.
07:40Don't upset yourself.
07:41It doesn't matter.
07:43Have a chocolate biscuit, eh?
07:45Aye.
07:46Here, Tom.
07:47And haven't you got some real work to be getting on with, Joe?
07:51Yeah.
07:52Yes, I have.
07:53He rambles, Joe.
07:59He gets confused.
08:00How long has he been like it, Tom?
08:01Aye, six months, a year.
08:03Has he been assessed, medically?
08:05He's old, Joe.
08:06They cannot cure that.
08:09When I was a kid, you and Frankie were the Winnie Bank lads.
08:12Always together.
08:13The thing is, little things upset him.
08:16Yeah, I just wanted to ask him about waterproof cement.
08:18Aye, well, you'll have to ask someone else.
08:20Well, look it up in a book.
08:21It's more your style.
08:23Frankie really wanted to talk about Billingham and the robbery.
08:26Well, leave it alone.
08:27If he wants to talk about it, why stop him?
08:29Frankie is a vulnerable old man.
08:31What good will raking up the past do?
08:33Might make him feel better.
08:36Do you know what happened, Tom?
08:37Some things are best forgotten, Joe.
08:41You should know that.
08:42What's Joe doing on your computer?
08:54Joe, Mum, he's supposed to be decorating.
08:56So what's he doing here, then?
08:57Oh, whatever it is, he's having a bit of trouble.
08:59Give him a hand.
09:00Find out what he's on with and tell me.
09:02Leave it to me, Mum.
09:06Come on, come on.
09:09What?
09:10Access denied.
09:11Why, it's me.
09:12Everything all right, Joe?
09:15Geoff, the computer won't let me in.
09:17Didn't expect to see you at the station this week.
09:20I know, but something came up.
09:21There's nothing wrong.
09:23Let me have a look.
09:25Keeps denying me access.
09:27Is this another displacement activity?
09:29Yeah.
09:30No, I just wanted to check up on something.
09:33Chris and those new overalls, yes?
09:35See, he's done it again.
09:37That's why.
09:39What?
09:39I've entered the right password.
09:40It isn't the password.
09:41It's the date you've entered.
09:431952.
09:44What's wrong with that?
09:45We've got no cases earlier than 1975 on the computer.
09:49I'll have to check the original files.
09:51You'll be lucky, Joe.
09:52What do you mean, where are they?
09:53Pulped.
09:54Fire risk.
09:55Took up too much space.
09:57They've been destroyed?
09:58Yeah.
09:59Transferred to Microfish.
10:00In the basement.
10:02Come on.
10:02There you go.
10:11There you go.
10:11You sure this is the right rule of film?
10:17All crimes in the force area for 1952.
10:20Organised geographically.
10:21Ayrcliffe.
10:22Billingham.
10:23Crook.
10:24Darlington.
10:24Hasington.
10:25All right, Jeff.
10:26What are you looking for, Joe?
10:27A search for the lecture?
10:28Sort of.
10:30Look, thanks for your help.
10:31I can manage now.
10:32Actually, I've had a few thoughts on me all about your lecture.
10:36Have you?
10:36I mean, traumatic amnesia.
10:39That's witnesses who can't recall what's happened because of some terrible experience.
10:43Oh, victims.
10:43What?
10:44You said witnesses.
10:45Victims also suffer from stress-induced memory loss.
10:47Yeah, of course.
10:48But the point I'm trying to make is that in most cases, trauma boils down to terrible violence.
10:53Witnesses have seen something so horrible that they don't ever want to remember it again.
10:57Spot on.
10:58But trauma doesn't have to be violence.
11:01It could be fear, bereavement, or even other things.
11:03Very good, Jeff.
11:04Excellent.
11:04Humiliation, for example.
11:06Like you not being able to work the computer.
11:08Brilliant.
11:08Am I?
11:09Not you, the microfiche.
11:10Look.
11:11Middleton Road Post Office, Billingham.
11:14Robbery with violence, November 1952.
11:18What's this got to do with your lecture?
11:20Nothing, probably.
11:22The robbery occurred at five o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon.
11:26D.C. Curtis attended the scene.
11:29No witnesses.
11:30Except the victim.
11:31Mr. Phillips suffered a fractured skull.
11:34Nasty.
11:34Look what it says at the bottom.
11:35Case open.
11:36It was unsolved.
11:37They got away with it, then.
11:39Maybe.
11:49It's good of you to see me at such short notice, Mrs. Phillips.
11:52Call me Sue, please.
11:55Everybody does.
11:56Actually, it's Miss.
11:58But I use Mrs. as protection.
12:00A woman alone is so vulnerable these days.
12:03Hey, can I get you something?
12:04A tea?
12:05A coffee?
12:06No thanks, Sue.
12:06You said on the phone that you were conducting some research, Doctor.
12:11Sorry, I've forgotten your name already.
12:13I can remember faces, but I'm terrible.
12:14Dr. Aston, Miss Phillips.
12:16Er, Sue.
12:17It's about your father.
12:19Dad?
12:19He died when I was little.
12:22When exactly?
12:241956 or was it 57?
12:27You fancy not remembering.
12:29That's understandable.
12:30Are you from the post office or whatever it's called now?
12:33No.
12:35But I did want to ask about the robbery.
12:37That's what killed him.
12:39Mum tried to get compensation, but the doctor said no causal link could be established.
12:43I see.
12:44I was only five when he was robbed, but I can still hear the ambulance bell.
12:49Mum's sobbing.
12:51Ruined her life, too.
12:53And what happened?
12:55This big lad came into the shop one evening, just before closing time, and demanded the takings.
13:02Dad fancied himself as John Wayne and put up a fight.
13:06Six months in hospital, it got him.
13:08Did he talk about the robber at all?
13:10Did he describe him?
13:11He couldn't remember anything except his gloves.
13:14The police interviewed him as soon as he was able to talk, but the injury scrambled his brains.
13:19What was it about the gloves, exactly?
13:21They were big and bulky.
13:24The robber dropped loose chains all over the floor.
13:28And there were no other witnesses?
13:30It was dark and raining.
13:31There was no one about.
13:32Middleton Road was badly bombed in the war.
13:35The poor stuffers was one of the few buildings left.
13:37Apart from the chippy.
13:38I see.
13:39They never caught him, you know.
13:42Knowing he was still out there bothered Dad.
13:44It bothered us all.
13:45Still does, even after all these years.
13:48And what happened when your father recovered?
13:50He didn't.
13:52When he eventually got out of hospital, he was a different person.
13:57How?
13:57He stopped smiling and we stopped going out.
14:02He got rid of the post office, but he never settled.
14:05Four years later, he took a stroke and died.
14:08He was only 47.
14:09Well, thank you, Sue.
14:13You've been very helpful.
14:15I often wonder if that's why I'm on my own.
14:18Something like that makes you wary of happiness because you know how quickly it can be snatched away.
14:23I'd better be going.
14:26What kind of doctor are you?
14:28I'm a forensic psychologist.
14:30You work for the police?
14:31Sometimes.
14:33Why are you here?
14:35Are you reopening the case?
14:37Oh, probably not.
14:39After all this time, why would you?
14:41And this...
14:42Have you caught him?
14:43No.
14:44But you know who did it?
14:45How would you feel if we did?
14:48Oh, I don't know.
14:50I've lived with it for so long, the idea that it might change frightens me.
14:56Can you understand that, Doctor?
14:58I think so.
15:00Look, if anything else comes to mind about the robbery, give me a ring.
15:047-8-9-0-6-4.
15:14Ring him, Tommy.
15:15He'll get a right shock.
15:16And the oldie arses, Frankie.
15:18It's a bloody mobile number.
15:20He'll get a shock, all right.
15:24Joe Aston.
15:25Hi, Joe.
15:26It's Tom, Uncle Tom.
15:28Tom, what is it?
15:29Has something happened?
15:30It's Frankie.
15:31He wants me to tell you something.
15:32Go on, tell him, Tommy.
15:34He's trying to, man.
15:36Put Frankie on, Tom.
15:37Let him tell me.
15:38I'm on me mobile, and Frankie cannot hear much on it.
15:41Aye, Tom, aye, that's right.
15:43I cannot hear a fat lot more myself.
15:46Anyway, it's 3-1 with a bit of PVA.
15:52What is it?
15:52The waterproof mixture.
15:54Frankie's remembered it.
15:553-1, sharp sand to cement.
15:58Then add a bit of PVA to the mixture.
16:00That's the waterproofing.
16:01Aye, that'll waterproof it, aye.
16:03Aye, well, they've got fancy ways of doing it these days, but that's what Frankie used
16:07to mix up.
16:08Well, tell him thanks, Tom.
16:10I think I've got all that.
16:10Aye, where are you, Joe?
16:12It sounds like the bloody Grand Prix.
16:15I'm in Middleton Road, Tom.
16:17Billingham.
16:17Of course, the party wasn't moved, Bill.
16:19I told you to leave it alone, Joe.
16:22I'm standing outside number 142.
16:25The post office.
16:26Not anymore.
16:27It's now the home of Tanfastic, a vertical tanning parlour.
16:31There you are, then.
16:33The trio's cooled.
16:35Tanfastic looks pretty warm to me.
16:38Actually, I'm thinking of getting the case re-opened, Tom.
16:4474 and he's got dementia, Joe.
16:46There's nothing diagnosed, then.
16:47The CPS won't look at a case where the main witness is senile.
16:51That's harsh.
16:51Not as harsh as the defence barrister going after a vulnerable witness.
16:55Do you want to pass up the chance of solving a vicious assault committed in pursuit of a
16:58robbery?
16:58It's over 50 years.
17:00The investigating officer and the victim are dead.
17:03There were no witnesses and no fingerprints.
17:05The assailant wore gloves.
17:06I've got a stack of 40 unsolved cases from this year already.
17:09How about tackling one of them first?
17:11Just because it's an old crime doesn't mean we should ignore it.
17:14The victim's daughter still lives in Middlesbrough.
17:15This department is understrength and overstretched.
17:17We haven't got time.
17:19Frankie doesn't have to be a witness, but he might lead us to someone who can be.
17:22Might even lead us to the robber end.
17:24If he's alive, he'll be a pensioner by now.
17:26Is that a reason not to investigate?
17:30If you remember, Joe, you made yourself unavailable this week because you had some decorating to do
17:34and a lecture to write.
17:35I know, but this is important.
17:37That lecture's important.
17:38The chief constable's bringing some of his ACPO mates along.
17:41Come and hear Frankie's story.
17:43If you don't think there's a case, I'll walk away.
17:44I'll think about it, all right?
17:50Frankie, this is Detective Inspector Anne Reynolds.
17:54That's a mouthful.
17:56Call me Anne.
17:57Aye, lass, aye.
17:59She's canny when she smiles, eh?
18:01I think you know my uncle, Tom Aston.
18:03You come to arrest us, Joe.
18:05I think Frankie knows something about the Billingham Post Office robbery.
18:09That's right.
18:111952 it was.
18:13Eh, Tom?
18:13And I think he'd like to tell us about it.
18:16Is that right, Frankie?
18:17Aye, son.
18:18If you don't want to, that's fine, Mr Roberts.
18:20We'll just walk away.
18:21Turn the bugger off, Frankie.
18:23But it's your Joe, Tom.
18:24With a lass.
18:26Just canny.
18:27Leave me alone, Joe.
18:28Mr Aston, I can make this official if you wish.
18:31I don't bloody wish.
18:32Interfering with police in the course of their duties is an offence.
18:35It's all right, Tom.
18:36I don't mind.
18:38Last time we talked, Frankie, you said the robber laid low after the robbery.
18:43Aye, that's right.
18:45He should have been punished hard, but he got away with it.
18:50Hidden a cellar.
18:51Terrible wet it was.
18:53Did you know the robber?
18:55Aye, son.
18:56The robbery was a mistake, like.
18:59He owed money to these hard lads, and he thought he could get himself out of the bother with one quick job, but it all went wrong.
19:07What happened to him?
19:08He went to live in Scotland.
19:10Aye.
19:11Aye, that's right.
19:12He's still there.
19:14Are you saying he's still alive?
19:15Alive and well.
19:17Hey, Tom?
19:18I'm seeing no, Frankie.
19:21Where in Scotland did he go?
19:23Somewhere up the west coast, I think.
19:26That's right.
19:28Aye.
19:28Do you know his name?
19:30I used to, but I forget things.
19:34That's all right.
19:35He's probably changed it anyway.
19:36Tell us about the cellar, Frankie.
19:38He was down there for a good wail, and it was damp.
19:43The rain poured in.
19:45Where was the cellar?
19:47I need the toilet.
19:49That's all right, Mr Roberts.
19:51I've heard enough.
19:52I'll not be alone.
19:53What do you think, Ann?
20:01He's lucid.
20:02He seems to know what he's talking about.
20:03Yeah.
20:04D.I.
20:07D.I.
20:07Reynolds?
20:09Yeah.
20:09All right, Geoff.
20:10I'm on my way.
20:11Joe, I've got to go.
20:13What about Frankie?
20:14I'm impressed.
20:16Why don't you talk to him at the station properly without distractions?
20:19We'll take it from there.
20:20Okay.
20:21Mr Aston?
20:21Aye.
20:25Don't look at me like that, Tom.
20:27I'm just doing my job.
20:29You're opening Pandora's bloody box, is what you're doing.
20:33I heard the door.
20:36Has she gone?
20:39Oh, I liked her, Joe.
20:41Would you like to meet her again, Frankie?
20:43Aye, so an aye.
20:45She's a canny lass.
20:46Oh, bloody hell.
20:51Okay, I'm going to switch on the tape recorder.
20:55Where's that lass?
20:57You said she'd be here.
20:58She will be Frankie.
20:59Frankie, you have agreed to this interview and agreed to it being taped.
21:05Is that correct?
21:07Aye, son, aye.
21:08All right, Frankie.
21:10In your own time, tell me what you know about the robbery.
21:13Is my brake on?
21:14On me chair?
21:15Yes, Frankie.
21:16I've checked it twice already.
21:19There are no windows in here.
21:21It's an interview room, Frankie, so you can tell me what happened.
21:23I explained about it before we came.
21:26Do you remember?
21:27Aye, Joe.
21:28Aye.
21:29The Milton Road Post Office was robbed on September 4th, 1952.
21:35The postmaster put up a fight and received a fractured skull.
21:39The robber was never caught.
21:41You know it all, then.
21:43That information's already on file.
21:45What else can you tell me?
21:47I'm not sure.
21:48After the robbery, what happened to the robber?
21:52He had in the cellar.
21:56Someone brought him fish and chips.
21:58Who brought the robber food, Frankie?
22:00It was wet.
22:00It was wet.
22:05Aye.
22:07When it rained, it poured in.
22:10Do you remember any gloves?
22:11Big, bulky ones?
22:14Gloves?
22:14I don't know.
22:16I forget things, Joe.
22:20Mind if I sit in?
22:23Frankie, is it OK if DC Patton joins us?
22:26Call me, Jeff.
22:26Everyone else does apart from the villains, I nick.
22:29And I won't tell you what they call me.
22:30You said that lass was going to be here, Joe.
22:32The inspector's been called away.
22:34She sent me in a place.
22:36I like her.
22:38She's canny.
22:39Are you OK to carry on, Frankie?
22:40Can we resume the interview?
22:42I'm thirsty.
22:43Want me to get you a cover?
22:45I don't know.
22:46Shall we carry on?
22:48Do you know where the robber is living now?
22:51Middlesbrough.
22:53Aye.
22:54Middlesbrough?
22:55You sure?
22:56Aye.
22:57Not the west coast of Scotland?
22:58All right, Jeff.
23:00Frankie, just to be clear, where is the robber living now?
23:03I don't know.
23:05I don't like it in here.
23:08It smells.
23:09All right.
23:10Let's take a break, eh?
23:14I'm going to go home now.
23:16How about some sausage and chips in the canteen, Frankie?
23:19Where's Tommy?
23:26There you are, Frankie.
23:27Sausage and chips with mushy peas.
23:30I can't eat fried food.
23:32The doctor told us.
23:33Aye.
23:35Think of it as a special occasion.
23:36It's a treat.
23:37A sauce, if you want it.
23:38You're going to go home after.
23:40You can go home whenever you like.
23:42That's good.
23:45There she is.
23:46Who?
23:47The canny lass who came to the flat with you.
23:49Oh, I'd better have a word with her.
23:51I'll be back in a minute.
23:54How's it going?
23:56Could be better.
23:57Jeff said he was all over the place.
23:59Maybe the police station upsets him.
24:01Or the weather.
24:02Or what he had for breakfast.
24:03Or whether he had a decent night's kip.
24:05You heard him at his flat, Anne.
24:06He was calm, lucid.
24:08And now he's not Joe.
24:09He's confused and unsettled.
24:11Add in his age and the possibility of dementia and we've got a no-no as a witness.
24:15Dementia does lead to fractured and repetitive pictures.
24:18Exactly.
24:19But Frankie's memory problems aren't with what happened.
24:22They're with the sequence in time.
24:24Who was there?
24:25Cause and effect.
24:25Sometimes you just have to walk away, Joe.
24:28I've got to get back to him.
24:30Keep me posted.
24:33You've not eaten much.
24:35I'm not hungry.
24:37How about some pudding?
24:38They've got apple pie and custard.
24:40Can I go home?
24:41How about another crack at making a statement first?
24:44Just a few minutes and then we'll give you a ride home.
24:47No!
24:48I want to go now!
24:50I want to go!
24:50No!
24:55Frank, you all right, Joe?
24:57Yeah.
24:58He's fine now.
24:59He's back in his flat.
25:01Wanted to know when I'd be round for another chat.
25:09Big active man, reduced to a wheelchair, living alone.
25:13Can't be easy.
25:15Tom visits most days.
25:17Thanks for the lift, by the way.
25:18That's no bother.
25:20I was going your way.
25:22Another witness?
25:23Sort of.
25:25Fiona in North Ormsby.
25:28Hit and run victim I mentioned the other day.
25:31Right.
25:36Sorry if I messed up the interview with Frankie.
25:38Oh, you didn't.
25:40Something upset him.
25:41He's a nice old guy.
25:42Yeah.
25:45I don't know why you pursued the case in the first place.
25:49Professional curiosity.
25:50Come on, Joe.
25:52You question my integrity, Jeff?
25:54Ah, just your logic.
25:55You care about Frankie and your Uncle Tom, don't you?
25:59That doesn't make me unprofessional.
26:01It makes you involved.
26:04You want my opinion.
26:06You're well out of it.
26:07Well, it isn't as if I haven't got things to do.
26:11Yeah, right in the lecture.
26:13Paying the conservatory.
26:14Yeah.
26:15I still haven't sealed the party, though.
26:18Get some warning if you don't want to do it.
26:20I never said I didn't want to do it.
26:21Actions speak louder than words.
26:24Hmm.
26:24I wonder what stressed Frankie out.
26:28Being surrounded by fit young coppers.
26:32You've admitted to feet, Joe.
26:35Leave it alone.
26:36Ah, I've missed something.
26:38I know I have.
26:39A builder and a painter and a decorator.
26:42I can manage the decorating, Jeff.
26:50Ensure surfaces are clean and dry.
26:52The clean, all right.
26:53Don't know about the dry.
26:54Stirlwell before use.
26:58Right then.
27:00Uncle Tom, what is it?
27:04Is Frankie with you?
27:06No.
27:06We dropped him off at his flat a couple of hours ago.
27:09He's not there now.
27:10Maybe he's gone out?
27:11He doesn't go out on his own, Joe.
27:13He needs someone to push his wheelchair.
27:15How'd the interview go?
27:17Not great, but he was fine when I left him.
27:20Then why's he run off?
27:21I don't know, Tom.
27:22I'm sorry.
27:23I told you to leave it alone, but you wouldn't listen.
27:26Look, I've called it a day, all right?
27:28The investigation's over.
27:30That's you all over.
27:31Start a fire and walk away from it.
27:34Frankie wanted to talk, Tom.
27:35I was just doing my job.
27:37Well, now he's gone missing.
27:39Tom?
27:40Tom?
27:41Ah, damn!
27:43Better phone Jeff.
27:46Who's this?
27:48Joe Aston.
27:49Dr Aston, it's Sue Phillips.
27:51You came to see me the other day.
27:53About my father?
27:54Uh-huh.
27:54I was wondering if there'd been any progress.
27:57Nothing useful.
27:58We've decided to discontinue our enquiries.
28:01Oh, that's a shame.
28:02I've got the impression that's what you wanted.
28:04That's partly why I rang.
28:06I can't stop thinking about it.
28:08I was wrong.
28:09If you caught him and there was a trial,
28:11I know it wouldn't be easy,
28:13but deep down I'd feel settled
28:15because it did finally come right.
28:18Hmm.
28:18I might even move away.
28:19I've always fancied the south coast.
28:22I see.
28:22I didn't want you to get the wrong impression
28:24and drop it because of me.
28:25Well, it doesn't work like that.
28:27So, er, Sue...
28:28Oh, and I've remembered something.
28:30Now, it's probably not important,
28:32but Mum used to say
28:33that Wednesday afternoon
28:34was the daftest time for the robbery.
28:37Why?
28:37What was wrong with Wednesday?
28:39It wasn't the day.
28:40It was the time.
28:42Wednesday was pension day.
28:43The safe was full of money in the morning,
28:45but by tea time,
28:46there was nothing left
28:47except a few pounds and coppers.
28:49Did your father say
28:50if the robber had a Scottish accent?
28:53I don't think so.
28:55Will you carry on with the case, Doctor?
28:57Yes.
28:58No, I...
28:59I don't know.
29:00Look, I'll be in touch if there's...
29:03If there are any other developments.
29:13Frankie!
29:15Oh, I've been looking all over for you.
29:17Hey, what are you doing
29:19in the middle of the playing fields?
29:21I couldn't get across the grass, Doctor.
29:23Oh, you're freezing, man.
29:25Oh, come on.
29:26The quicker we get you home,
29:27the better.
29:30How did you get here in the first place?
29:33I asked this lad.
29:35He pushed us, like.
29:37Oh, where do you think you were going?
29:39Hilda Street.
29:40I pulled it down years ago.
29:42I was looking for the cellar, Doctor,
29:45so I could show Joe.
29:46Yeah, but it wasn't on Hilda Street.
29:47It was St. Hilda's in Middlesbrough.
29:49It had to be a place where we weren't known,
29:51didn't it?
29:52I mocked up the interview.
29:55I let your Joe down.
29:56Aye, you live, Frankie.
29:58I'd best figure when I get back.
30:03Tom, you're not saying much.
30:06Yeah, well, you know what I think.
30:08Aye, Tom, aye.
30:10But I feel bad about things.
30:12Oh, man, another hour out here
30:14and you've been in hospital.
30:16A bit longer than you wouldn't have needed a hospital.
30:19Maybe.
30:20First things first.
30:22A drink.
30:23A pub?
30:24You need a brandy, son.
30:26And I need a pint.
30:27After the robbery, what happened to the robber?
30:38He hid in the cellar.
30:41Someone brought him fish and chips.
30:44Who brought the robber food, frankly?
30:47I thought you decided to drop the case, Joe.
30:50I have.
30:50This is research from my lecture.
30:51And this dusty old street plan
30:53cluttering up my desk.
30:55More research?
30:56It's Billingham in 1952.
30:58That's Middleton Road.
30:59One big building site
31:00apart from the post office.
31:02And the chippy.
31:03I still don't see where it gets us.
31:05I think Frankie told us
31:06a lot more than we realise.
31:08His story's full of inconsistencies.
31:10They could be caused by incipient dementia,
31:12but I don't think so.
31:14Listen.
31:16Hang on.
31:19Do you know where the robber is living now?
31:22Middlesbrough.
31:24Aye.
31:25Middlesbrough?
31:26You sure?
31:27Aye.
31:28Not the west coast of Scotland?
31:30Aye, Jeff.
31:32Frankie, just to be clear,
31:33where is the robber living now?
31:34No.
31:35I don't know.
31:36I don't like it in here.
31:39It smells.
31:41First he says the robber's in Scotland,
31:43then he's in Middlesbrough.
31:44It can't be both.
31:45There's a link.
31:46Frankie could be shying away from his memories.
31:48Well, why has he waited 50 years to tell us?
31:51Have you been shielding someone?
31:53There's no harm if I talk to him informally.
31:55He went missing last time.
31:56Imagine the headlines if the press get hold of it.
31:5918 pounds, 12 shillings and seven pence.
32:02That's how much the robber took.
32:03It doesn't sound much.
32:04It wasn't.
32:05He picked the wrong day.
32:07Look, Anne, Frankie wants to talk,
32:09and I'd like to listen.
32:10What's this got to do with your lecture?
32:13He's in denial about something.
32:14Denial?
32:15I'm sure I've heard that somewhere before,
32:17but I can't quite remember where.
32:18Yeah, very amusing, Constable.
32:20The information you requested just came through, Mum.
32:22You were right.
32:23One of them's got form.
32:25What's going on?
32:26I requested a criminal record check
32:27on Frankie and your Uncle Tom.
32:29Without consulting me?
32:31It's routine, Joe.
32:33They both have information
32:34about a vicious unsolved crime.
32:35And one of them's come up trumps.
32:37Frankie?
32:38No.
32:39Your Uncle Tom.
32:41Benefit fraud.
32:42Seven years ago.
32:43Tom always had trouble with money.
32:46I remember my dad talking about it
32:47when I was a kid.
32:47Maybe we should get him down here.
32:49Put him under pressure.
32:51See what comes out.
32:52Why not?
32:53Benefit fraud isn't evidence of anything.
32:55The robber was in Hamilton.
32:56You said yourself, Frankie,
32:57might be shielding someone.
32:59I started this.
33:00At least let me try and finish it
33:02before you charge in mob-handed.
33:04As a close relative,
33:04you shouldn't be anywhere near it, Joe.
33:06Well, a minute ago,
33:08you wanted me to drop it, Anne.
33:10I'm on leave, right?
33:11Let me talk to both of them first,
33:12unofficially.
33:13All right, but stay in touch
33:15and get that lecture written.
33:21Well, Tom, what do you think of the place?
33:23Nah, it's canny enough, Joe.
33:25Need to lick a paint
33:26to cheer it up, like.
33:28This is a conservatory.
33:30Oh, nice garden.
33:31See down there,
33:32that's where it's damp.
33:34It's nasty.
33:34You'll have to replace that wood
33:36before you can start painting.
33:38I've got a bloke coming round Saturday.
33:40Then I'll have to be rubbed down.
33:41Right.
33:42Hey, head full of brains,
33:43but you're harmless walkers
33:44with your hands, eh?
33:46I'm sorry about Frankie going missing, Tom.
33:49But you leave it alone now, eh?
33:51It's not that simple.
33:53Oh, I didn't think you'd driven me
33:55all the way to Nunthorpe
33:56just to see your new house.
33:58I talked to Frankie again.
34:00I recorded this.
34:01Yeah?
34:02I messed things up before, eh, Joe?
34:07There's nothing to worry about Frankie.
34:09You don't have to say anything
34:10if you don't want to.
34:12Fair away, then.
34:14You said that the robber
34:15hid in a cellar for a while
34:16and someone took him food.
34:18Aye, Joe's son, aye.
34:21Who was it, Frankie?
34:22Who helped him?
34:23Tommy did.
34:25Uncle Tom?
34:26Tommy Aston.
34:27Huh?
34:27That's it.
34:30He was a big help.
34:32Tom helped the robber.
34:33We both did.
34:35Where was his cellar?
34:37In a bombed-out house
34:39in St Hilda's.
34:41St Hilda's?
34:42Aye.
34:44It rained like
34:44and the water poured in.
34:47Why did you and Tom help him?
34:51I don't know.
34:53Tom wanted to.
34:55Why did he, Frankie?
34:56Why did Tom want to help the robber?
34:58He liked him.
35:00Took pity on him, I suppose.
35:03Why did you help the robber, Tom?
35:05Well, why should I tell you?
35:07To help Frankie?
35:08Frankie?
35:12Tell me about the robber, Frankie.
35:14What do you remember about him?
35:17He was a big lad.
35:18Aye.
35:19Like you?
35:20Ha ha.
35:21That's right.
35:22Did he wear gloves?
35:24Gloves?
35:26Aye.
35:27Didn't want to leave any prints.
35:29Can you describe them?
35:31Builder's gloves.
35:32Covered in gunge and cement.
35:35Yeah.
35:36What happened to him
35:37after he laid low?
35:39He went away.
35:41Aye.
35:42Aye, that's it.
35:44He went to live in Scotland.
35:46Where in Scotland?
35:47The West Coast.
35:49Does he come back to Middlesbrough?
35:51Sometimes.
35:52Aye.
35:54He wasn't a bad lad.
35:56But he'd done a bad thing.
35:58Why are you telling me all this, Frankie?
36:00He should have been punished.
36:02We all should.
36:06Frankie thinks he should have been punished.
36:08Leave it alone, Joe.
36:09Frankie's story involves you, Tom.
36:11Joe, man, half the time,
36:13he's away with a mixer.
36:14The robber wore builder's gloves.
36:16Middleton Road was one big building site.
36:19That's where you and Frankie were working, wasn't it?
36:21Aye, maybe.
36:23You helped the robber.
36:25Why did Frankie help you?
36:26We were friends.
36:27We did everything together.
36:28Looked after each other.
36:30Oh, you wouldn't understand, Joe.
36:32It's a working class thing.
36:34Try me.
36:35If I get sent down, who'll look after Frankie?
36:38He'll be put in a home and we'll both be in prison.
36:41Is that what you want?
36:42No, Tom.
36:42Yeah, you were the same when you were a kid.
36:45I was asking too many questions,
36:47getting yourself into trouble.
36:48Like when your dad had to go down to school
36:50because you'd been in a fight in your woodwork class.
36:53Oh, you're in a right state.
36:54Oh, I was beaten up.
36:55No, some kids attacked him.
36:57You give a good account of yourself.
36:59Lost your temper.
37:00Are you sure?
37:01I don't remember.
37:01Oh, aye, because you blanked it out.
37:04Which is what you should be doing with Frankie
37:06and all this muck you've raked up.
37:08I'm on your side, Tom.
37:10No.
37:11You changed sides long ago.
37:13That's not fair, man.
37:15All your degrees and your house in Nunthorpe.
37:18What do you know about me and Frankie?
37:20You seem to forget that someone committed a vicious crime
37:22and never got caught.
37:24Oh, don't grow up, man.
37:26You might live in Never Neverland,
37:28but I live in Winnie Banks
37:29where villains get away with things every day.
37:32You didn't.
37:34What?
37:34Benefit fraud seven years ago.
37:37You checked up on me?
37:39No.
37:40Someone else did.
37:41You really would shop your own flesh and blood,
37:45wouldn't you, Joe?
37:45I just want to know the truth, Tom.
37:47Oh, that's it.
37:48I'm away.
37:49Yeah, you can't walk all the way back to Winnie Banks.
37:51Just watch me.
37:53Anne, I was going to call you.
38:06What's happening, Joe?
38:07Have you talked to Tom?
38:08Yes.
38:09I need more time.
38:11Why?
38:11Have you found something?
38:13Possibly.
38:13If you know something relating to a crime, Joe,
38:15you must inform me now.
38:17I don't know anything.
38:19Don't forget which side you're on, Joe.
38:21In case it slipped your mind, ma'am,
38:23I'm still on leave.
38:24Which you requested,
38:25so you could write your lecture.
38:27The Chief Constable's been on again.
38:28Frankie Roberts is part of my research.
38:31Have you written anything yet?
38:33I've got the gist of it.
38:34Traumatic amnesia is commonly exhibited
38:36by victims and witnesses of violent crime.
38:39Hardly original, Joe.
38:40But on rare occasions,
38:41traumatic amnesia can also be found in perpetrators.
38:44Who is the perpetrator, Joe?
38:47I'll be at touch, Anne.
38:51Can I come in, Tom?
39:05I want to talk to Frankie.
39:06I think you've done enough damage.
39:08Who is it, Tom?
39:09You're not talking to him again without a warrant, Joe.
39:12Can I talk to you without one?
39:14Are they coming in?
39:14No, no, he's not stopping.
39:18All right, Joe, but this is the last time.
39:22I'm just popping out for a bit, Frankie.
39:24All right?
39:24Aye, sir, aye.
39:25I used to play on these fields as a kid.
39:34Oh, I meant what I said, Joe.
39:36You're not talking to Frankie again.
39:38I don't need to.
39:39You've told me everything already.
39:40You gave me the final piece.
39:42Well, it won't stand up in court.
39:44When you reminded me about the woodwork class.
39:47I'd forgotten the whole thing,
39:48but after you told me,
39:49it all came back.
39:51There was no young robber.
39:53Now, was someone attacking the postmaster?
39:56But he wasn't Scottish,
39:57and he didn't go and live in Scotland, did he?
40:01No.
40:03Not really.
40:04It was just you and Frankie.
40:08Yes.
40:10Yes, just the two of us.
40:11You were in debt to the hard lads, weren't you, Tom?
40:16I fell for this lass.
40:17I got carried away,
40:19and I took her out to posh places,
40:21and just pretended I was loaded,
40:23and I had to borrow,
40:25and then I couldn't afford to pay it back.
40:28It was you, Tom.
40:29You robbed the post office
40:30and attacked the postmaster.
40:31Oh, like I said, Joe,
40:33you're too clever.
40:35All right, though, Anna?
40:37No.
40:40It was Frankie.
40:42But you owed the money.
40:43Why did he do it?
40:44I was supposed to do it on the Wednesday morning,
40:48but I bottled it.
40:52Frankie was a real head case in those days.
40:55We were mates,
40:56and I was in a hold.
40:57So he went instead?
40:58I didn't know anything about it
41:00until he come back that night.
41:01Not that it helped much.
41:02He only got a few quid.
41:05I hid him in a bombed-out house,
41:07and I looked after him.
41:09What else could I do?
41:11What about the postmaster?
41:12How did you feel about him?
41:13Well, awful.
41:15In the early days,
41:16I agonised over it,
41:17and I knew it tore Frankie apart.
41:19You never thought of going to the police?
41:21Winnebanks was a tight-knit community.
41:23We looked after our own.
41:25Police were the enemy.
41:27Yeah, and there still are.
41:29Years went past.
41:30It was where you get comfortable,
41:31used to your life.
41:33Seemed no point in dredging it up.
41:35Then Frankie started talking about it.
41:38Aye.
41:39As his memory started to go,
41:40he couldn't remember what I'd said
41:43five minutes or four,
41:44but the robbery was crystal clear.
41:48Pared away at him.
41:50And that's why you took care of him?
41:52Well, I owe him.
41:54The benefit fraud wasn't for me.
41:56It was for Frankie.
41:58He just started with a wheelchair,
42:00and he was flat broke.
42:02I was just trying to help him out.
42:04Why did he say the robber
42:06had gone to live in Scotland?
42:07Well, Frankie hates the fact
42:10he lives in sheltered accommodation.
42:12When he first moved in,
42:13he told people he lived in Scotland.
42:16It was his little joke.
42:17Ah, Gile House, of course.
42:20He hates the thought of being
42:21a helpless old man in a wheelchair.
42:24Then I turned up and lit the blue touch paper.
42:26After all these years,
42:27I mean, what good could possibly come
42:30of putting Frankie on trial?
42:32We'll never know, Tom.
42:33What?
42:34Given Frankie's mental state
42:36and the lack of a corroborating witness,
42:38CPS wouldn't prosecute.
42:40Well, it was all for nothing, then?
42:43Maybe.
42:44I was just trying to help him, Tom.
42:48Go back to Nunthorpe, Joe,
42:50before you do any more damage.
42:53There's something I've got to do first.
42:55Someone who deserves to hear the truth.
42:57And the police?
42:59No, Tom.
43:03Doctor Aston.
43:16Hello, Sue.
43:17I was going to ring you.
43:18I've been over and over it in my mind.
43:21I'm almost certain the robber was a local lad.
43:24Yes, I know.
43:26Something's happened.
43:27Have you caught him?
43:28No.
43:30Look, can I come in?
43:30In Best Forgotten by Steve Chambers,
43:41Dr. Joe Aston was played by Jeremy Swift,
43:44DI Anne Reynolds by Janet Dibley,
43:47and DC Jeff Patton by Paul Brennan.
43:50Tom was Colin McClachlan,
43:52Frankie, Maurice Rowives,
43:54and Sue, Sheila Tate.
43:55The director was Mary Peat.
43:58The director was Mary Peat.
Recommended
42:45
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