Girl, Whitstable Beach – As the third series of Whitstable Pearl begins, Izzy (Penny Downie) takes photographs from the beach. She takes pictures of a young woman before a man tries to steal her camera. During the scuffle, Izzy falls and hits her head. At the restaurant, Pearl Nolan (Kerry Godliman) and Dolly Nolan (Frances Barber) try a dish. They tell Ruby Williams (Isobelle Molloy) what they think about it. Tom Grant (Robert Webb) joins them moments later. He shows Pearl an advertisement for auditions for The Sound of Music. Dolly wants him to consider her for the role of Maria. Mike McGuire (Howard Charles) joins them. He asks them about getting a drink later. Izzy comes in and asks for Pearl. DS Nikki Martel (Sophia Del Pizzo) comes in to help investigate.

Nikki learns about the camera snatching. Izzy convinces Dolly to give her a drink. Pearl tells Izzy she owes her some money since she sold a couple of her prints. Izzy wants her to use the money as a down payment for her services. Later, Pearl tells Tom that Izzy believes her camera was stolen because of who she was taking pictures of. Pearl explains it was a woman named Gemma Malone who had twins. She went missing seven years ago and left Luke to raise the kids alone. Tom is going to speak to Mike about the possibility of playing Hans Zeller. Later, Ruby refuses to get back on stage. Pearl discusses whether Izzy actually saw Gemma on the beach. Pearl and Dolly speak to Gemma’s mother who doesn’t think it was Gemma on the beach. She insists Luke was controlling and couldn’t say anything without his say-so.

She urges them to ask Luke what happened to Gemma. Pearl visits Luke (Rob Compton) to ask about Gemma. Luke thinks Izzy Cooper was just drunk. He admits he goes through it every day. He just wants to make sure the girls don’t hear it. Pearl speaks to Dolly about it in the van. Pearl finds it odd that Luke doesn’t have any pictures of Gemma up. Pearl doubts he would since Gemma walked out on him and the kids. Pearl thinks someone else would’ve seen Gemma on the beach. Pearl will speak to people near the beach. She speaks to Dan at Witts-Tables Furniture Shop. He agrees to let her look at the CCTV footage. Tom is shown pictures of the woman later. He admits it could be her. They try another one of Ruby’s dishes. Pearl speaks to Mike and Nikki about the photographs. Nikki doesn’t think the woman is Gemma. She says Izzy saw a redhead in a baseball cap.

Nikki also points out that Izzy is an unreliable witness. Pearl visits Luke to ask him to look at the photos. He’s convinced it’s not Gemma. Luke believes Gemma felt suffocated and Val didn’t help her state of mind. That’s why he tries to prevent Val from seeing the girls too often. While Luke is busy with the kids, Pearl steals something from his garbage. When she shows the presents to Val, she learns that the tags are in Gemma’s writing. Val knows she interfered at times. She’s convinced the writing is Gemma’s though. Nikki confronts Joey (Connor Curren) because she believes he stole a bank card. He tries to flee. Mike is nearby so he helps apprehend Joey. He ends up dropping his food and breaking his bracelet. In an interview room, Joey denies hitting any old lady over the head. He claims he found a wallet on the beach. Mike asks about the camera.

Joey says it was an accident. He claims he sold the camera to someone at the Neptune. Mike visits the guy in question. Pearl checks on Ruby who seems to be staring at Amanda Wexell. Ruby asks her to try another dish. Pearl likes it so she asks what she’s going to call it. Mike enters with good and bad news. Mike gives Pearl the camera and explains that the case has been closed. The film is missing. The kid claimed he was high and couldn’t remember what he did with the film. Mike refuses to authorize a search for it. Pearl calls Jenny to ask her about someone selling a stolen camera in her pub earlier. Jenny (Lauren Akosia) arrives with the film roll later. Ruby agrees to add her name to the list for Maria. Mike joins them. Val enters and says it was Gemma’s birthday two days ago. Gemma used to go down there and leave a little bottle of rum for him. They go to the beach to look for a bottle of rum. Mike tells Pearl he’s happy to be back.

Pearl tries to find out where he’s been and if everything is okay. Mike just keeps saying he went for a walk. Tom finds a bottle just above the waterline as well as a necklace. Val is convinced it is Gemma’s necklace. Luke is asked about it. He says it could be hers. Pearl asks him about the toys in the bin. He admits he thought it was a sick joke. He refuses to believe it is Gemma. Later, Ruby gives Pearl the photos. Pearl calls Dolly to ask for a favor. She needs Izzy, Polly, and Val. Pearl accuses them of staging the photos. Val says the woman in the photos is a student from the art college. They also planted the other items. They worry that the case will be closed and Gemma will be declared legally dead. Polly thinks Pearl should listen to them. Val says Luke put his hands around Gemma’s neck once. Later, Peal visits Luke at home. She shows him the photos and says Izzy was right.

Pearl returns to the car where she tells Izzy and Dolly that he’s rattled. Val calls and speaks to Izzy who tells her to do what he says and they’ll follow him. After the call, Izzy says he’s asked Val to babysit the girls two hours early. Pearl and the others follow him into the woods. Izzy wants to get out and confront him. Pearl takes possible pepper spray and decides to follow him. She finds him digging something up. When he confronts her, Pearl warns him that the police are on the way. Luke says she wanted to leave so he made it earlier for her. He claims it was like she wanted him to end it so he did. Mike arrives and Luke is promptly arrested. Moments later, Pearl tells Val she’s sorry because they’ve found a body. Later, Mike tells Pearl that his bracelet broke. He argues that one day back on the job is not good for the soul.

He steps away to take a call. Dolly speaks to Pearl and suggests she likes the new Mike. Pearl doesn’t think he’s found inner peace for his wife. Pearl says he has nothing. Dolly argues that he has her. Mike returns and tells Pearl that he went to Camino de Santiago for a pilgrimage walk. His wife had a bucket list of things that she wanted to do. Since she never got around to it, Mike decided to do it for her. Val hangs out with the girls and they create a makeshift memorial for Gemma on the water. Later, Dolly returns and gets upset that she’s playing Mother Superior. Ruby will play Maria. Ruby named her new recipe Dolly’s Ocean Stew.

 

Whitstable Pearl Review

The opening episode of Whitstable’s Pearl third series wasn’t much different than the rest although it seemed to be a bit dumbed down. A local photographer, Izzy, was taking photos on the beach when she was mugged and her camera was stolen. Pearl learned that Izzy thought she was photographing a missing woman named Gemma.

Later, Izzy and Gemma’s mother Val admitted that they concocted the whole thing because it might be the only way to get to the bottom of the story. They pointed the blame at Gemma’s husband Luke and thought the plan could lead to his arrest. Ultimately, the plan worked when Luke led the women to Gemma’s burial site.

The idea was interesting although it turned out a bit corny and too perfect in execution. If Luke had killed Gemma, he would’ve realized that she was dead and buried. He probably wouldn’t be stupid enough to return and dig her up just to make sure she was indeed dead. The whole thing was a bit silly honestly.

Furthermore, the camera thing was a bit unrealistic. There’s a good chance that someone would’ve ruined the film because they would’ve opened the camera without rewinding it. After all, Joey was a petty thief and not a fancy photographer. Plus, he’s young and would probably be used to digital cameras. The story required a lot of conveniences to reach this conclusion.

It’s also getting to the point that Mike and Pearl’s relationship is just overdone. Mike was upbeat for about five minutes before he turned back into a whiner. It’s time to do that or move past it because it’s beyond old. Despite these complaints, the episode wasn’t terrible. At the very least, the scenery is always nice and the show always takes viewers to interesting areas such as the burial site.

Plus, it’s pretty timed so it doesn’t really overstay its welcome. The episode was okay although it’s definitely dumb at times and certain storylines are getting obnoxious now. The episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Whitstable Pearl can be found here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link.

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