As the episode begins, DCI Colin Sutton (Martin Clunes) returns home to his wife and daughter. Louise (Claudie Blakley) congratulates Colin for finding out what vehicle the suspect drives. Colin apologizes for shutting out his wife. She tells him about their hotel for her brother’s wedding. Colin joins Kat (Anna Burnett) on the couch. At the office, Jones tells the group about the Ford Courier van. Despite knowing the type of car, Colin and Jones admit their evidence is lacking. There are 25,000 similar vehicles in circulation. Colin gives them some additional evidence in hopes that they’ll be able to find the car. Jo (Katie Lyons), Colin and Jones (Steffan Rhodri) visit a local cinema. They use the cinema screens to get a closer look at the vehicle. Monica (Tracy Wiles) helps them out.

The picture gets bigger, but not clearer. Chris (Jay Taylor) kids with Colin when he returns. Colin doesn’t appreciate it. Then, he lets Andy Murphy (Peter Forbes) know that he isn’t going to Spain. Colin speaks with him in private. Andy agrees to keep the team on the van while Colin is away. Colin prepares to go to Spain with his wife. They meet with Steve (James Corrigan), who is Angus’ best man. Colin gets a call from Jo. She tells him that another camera has picked up a similar van going past Twickenham Green two nights after Amelie was killed. The van is registered to the MET. Colin decides to leave the airport. Louise is not happy with his decision. She goes without him. Jo and Colin meet with the man in charge.

They’re told that a Patricia Wilson had the van at the time. They’re shown the van. Colin immediately realizes that it is the wrong van. When Colin returns to the office, Clive Grace (Stephen Wight) questions what to do next. Colin tells him that he doesn’t want them to stop now. He wants them to keep going. Jo and a comrade watch white vans from a bridge. Chris arrives and ridicules the decision too. Louise tries to convince Colin that he should quit the case. She doesn’t want a failure to define his career. She doesn’t believe his van method is going to work. Jo also tells Colin that the team is not happy looking for the van. Colin meets with a police officer who was in the mobile station on Green after Amelie was killed. She asks him about a statement that a woman gave.

Colin gives his team a pep talk. Colin asks Clive and Jo to come with him. He tells them not to get tunnel vision. He tells them about the statement Johanna Collings. The statement mentioned Johanna’s ex Levi Bellfield. He is familiar with the area and hates blonde women. He uses a white van and is currently on bail. They find that the vehicle was sold by Epstone Motors to a gypsy named Levi. They get an address for him. Colin doesn’t want to bring him in just yet. He just wants to watch him. They visit the address and the van is nowhere to be found. Levi (Celyn Jones) exits the house on his phone. Levi drives off a few seconds later and they follow his truck. They follow Levi to the school. He loses them. Colin decides to put a surveillance team on him.

When they return to the office, Clive tells them about the case of Sarah Knight (Hannah Rae). She was involved in a hit and run. There are some similarities. Sarah gave the police a good description of the suspect’s vehicle. Levi was stopped driving a similar vehicle around that time. They contemplate what Levi gets out of it. They listen to Sarah’s 999 call. Colin tells Jo to call the team back tonight. He wants to put more emphasis on Bellfield. Andy agrees to put him under surveillance. Colin gets a text message about his birthday and the party. Chris is not convinced. Colin tells him that it is their job to get him off the pavement before he hurts someone else. Colin believes that Levi could be connected to the murder of Milly too. They visit Collingwood Place.

Bellfield lived there in 2002. Colin decides to track his possible steps. Colin gets a call from Kat. He ignores it and speaks with Brian. He speaks to him about Levi. Brian isn’t eager to add Levi to the list of possible suspects. Kat is angry when Colin returns home. He takes her home. Colin asks Louise about Bellfield. Louise cannot help. She was ordered not to talk to him about Milly. They argue a bit before Louise heads to bed. Levi is followed. He speaks with two young girls. Colin tells Danny to stay put. Levi tries to convince the girls to go with him. He gets angry. The girls eventually get on the bus and leave. The two girls are brought in and questioned. The girls say that Levi talked dirty to them despite knowing how old they are. Colin tells the team that Levi hunts at bus stops. Clive tells them about Sarah’s case. They found the van that Levi sold and it matches Sarah’s description.

Colin wants warrants to search the homes of friends belonging to Bellfield. Andy tells Colin that the New of the World just called. They know that a suspect is under surveillance. He wants to have Levi picked up before the story is made public. Later, Chris and Colin meet with Bob Cox (Lloyd Hutchinson). He is involved with communications. Andy isn’t sure they’ll be able to stop them. Bob believes they should negotiate with them. He wants the journalist along when Levi is arrested. Andy seems to like the idea, but Chris and Colin do not. Later, Colin runs into Dave. They discuss the Marsha case. Chris likes the way he handled it. The press agrees to the deal.

 

Manhunt Review

Manhunt has gotten really good. The opener was a tad bit slow, but this episode was far better paced. It remained interesting from start to finish. The acting is excellent. There isn’t a whole lot of action. Nevertheless, the show really keeps you guessing from one second to the next. It is fun watching the mystery unravel. It is a little cliché though. With most similar shows, the lead detective risks his personal life to solve the case. It is no different here. The episode was great. It deserves a solid 8 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Manhunt now!