TV Series · 1999
The Vice
90 min · Crime, Drama · Ended
Composite
4.9
IMDb
7.5 / 10
769 votes
TMDB
5.6 / 10
8 votes
Local
— / 10
No votes
Synopsis
The Vice is an ITV police drama about the Metropolitan Police Vice Unit. Spanning five short series from 1999 and 2003, it follows the London Metropolitan police force's vice squad, where prostitution, underage sex, and such organised crime are regular occurrences. Most episodes end where the main villain is caught but often not in a 'naturally' concluded way expected from other TV dramas, and often ending with more unanswered questions than answered. Leader DI Pat Chappel struggles to manage the balance between his private and professional lives — as do the rest of the team. Working in the seedy underworld leads to a continual dilemma — the tension between the Vice Squad and vice-related crimes runs throughout the series and gives the show a rich viewing experience. The line of the team staying on the right side of the law is often blurred, as almost every member at different points submits briefly or permanently to the dubious temptations, sometimes with drastic consequences.
Trailer
Streaming availability
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The Roku Channel
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Streaming data provided by JustWatch.
Cast
Crew
Art
- David Warren Production Design
Costume & Make-Up
- Andrew Edwards Costume Design
Production
- Stephen Smallwood Producer
- Rob Pursey Executive Producer
- Ken Baker Associate Producer
- Doreen Jones Casting Director
Sound
- Peter Salem Original Music Composer
Seasons & episodes
Series 1 (6 ep)
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1. Daughters (1)
Jan 4, 1999 · 50 min
DI Pat Chappel finds himself involved in a turf war between two rival pimps when he investigates the murder of a prostitute. Whilst gathering evidence against his prime suspect, he takes the high-class Nikki under his wing and learns that her pimp is physically abusive towards her.
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2. Daughters (2)
Jan 11, 1999 · 50 min
Chappel resolves to help Nikki after she refuses to give a statement to the police, and gets personally involved trying to protect her from Hinkley, ostensibly, a respectable family man. Less than pleased at the attention he's receiving, Hinkley needs Chappel's help when his own daughter is kidnapped by a rival pimp.
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3. Sons (1)
Jan 18, 1999 · 50 min
WPC Cheryl Hutchins takes on more than she can handle while undercover, when she discovers that a nightclub boss has a side hustle in S&M films. This also brings back painful memories to Chappel.
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4. Sons (2)
Jan 25, 1999 · 50 min
Hutchins is making slow progress in her bid to find the young boy involved in a porn film, but believes his parents are hiding important information about his past. Meanwhile, Chappel's professional relationship with Dr Weir becomes personal.
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5. Dabbling (1)
Feb 1, 1999 · 50 min
Tasked with investigating an escort agency who are providing a sideline in drugs trafficking and prostitution to their more than satisfied customers, Chappel sends PC Dougie Raymond undercover as a punter to gather evidence. Dougie successfully manages to secure the intel, but soon finds himself hooked on prostitutes.
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6. Dabbling (2)
Feb 8, 1999 · 50 min
When Raymond falls hopelessly in love, he attempts to woo the one particular girl into a real relationship, instead of a business arrangement. However, when she subsequently leaves the country to traffic drugs, Raymond goes on the rampage and jeopardises the entire case... and his career in Vice.
Series 2 (8 ep)
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1. Home Is the Place (1)
Jan 10, 2000 · 90 min
When Chappel finds a young girl prostituting in Soho, he attempts to uncover her identity, learning that she absconded from a children's home in Sheffield. Paying a visit, he discovers all is not as it seems, that young girls are being lured away, with the promise of gifts and a life of luxury, in order to work the streets of London.
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2. Home Is the Place (2)
Jan 17, 2000 · 50 min
A huge web of lies and deceit covering up a dangerous child abuse ring is discovered to be limited not only to those now living in the children's home but to past residents as well. Chappel suspects the involvement of one of the staff members, and encounters a terrifying chain of events.
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3. Walking on Water (1)
Jan 24, 2000 · 49 min
Tasked with investigating an illegal gambling and prostitution ring operating out of a pub, Chappel and Hutchins posing as thrillseekers. However, after Chappel nearly blows his cover, he's shocked to discover that the haunt is frequented by former Vice officer Dougie Raymond.
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4. Walking on Water (2)
Jan 31, 2000 · 49 min
Chappel begins to use Raymond's connections as a means of gathering evidence, but when Dougie's level of enthusiasm – and hope that his efforts may win him his job back – backfire, Chappel's reliance is left in tatters.
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5. Betrayed (1)
Feb 7, 2000 · 50 min
When the team raid a brothel operating as a massage parlour, they discover that the young female employees have been smuggled into the country from Eastern European refugee camps. One girl offers to testify against the ringleader, but only if she is given round-the-clock protection.
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6. Betrayed (2)
Feb 14, 2000 · 50 min
Chappel assigns Joe Robinson to the case, unaware that the girl is actually harbouring feelings for Robinson. When his wife Shirley becomes suspicious of his interactions with the girl, Robinson finds his marriage on the rocks and the impending pressures of the job becoming too much. Chappel is forced to find new evidence after the girl reveals that she's pregnant and no longer willing to testify.
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7. Lovesick (1)
Feb 21, 2000 · 49 min
Robinson and Hutchins are on a stakeout, watching a violent pimp suspected of attacking one of his girls. When the pimp confronts him, Robinson, still wound-up from the last case, as well as the impending collapse of his marriage, attacks the john in front of several onlookers. When the pimp is found murdered the next day, the blame is soon directed to Robinson's door, with evidence of his run-in from the day before.
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8. Lovesick (2)
Feb 28, 2000 · 49 min
With Robinson's increasing aggression and temperament, it seems to paint him the prime suspect. However, Chappel believes otherwise and sets out to find the real killer.
Series 3 (4 ep)
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1. Out of Mind
Jan 17, 2001 · 73 min
Chappel's former boss Frank Vickers is found lurking in the basement during a raid on a Soho brothel, and the team learn that Chappel has a more-than-shady past involving former prostitute Jane Farrell, with whom he fell in love. Vickers is determined to clear his name, and Chappel's life looks set to be blown apart when Vickers reveals some very sordid secrets to his colleagues in Vice. Chappel goes in search of Jane, and discovers that one of her friends, whom he was friendly with, disappeared some years previously and has never been found. When Chappel finds the body in the basement of the brothel, he becomes determined to prove Vickers' involvement in her death.
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2. Into the Night
Jan 24, 2001 · 73 min
Attending the trial of a prostitute accused of murdering her pimp, Chappel tries a little gentle persuasion in an attempt to get the prosecuting barrister to press harder to gain a conviction, unaware of his own personal troubles. When the barrister is caught with a prostitute in a car park by Cheryl and Kirsty, he uses the excuse that he is 'gathering first-hand research' for Chappel and is let off with a caution. However, when caught again, Chappel realises he's unleashed a more dangerous beast than he ever could have realised. Meanwhile, Joe and Kirsty start to develop an explosive relationship, and when Jane loses her new job and goes back on the game, Chappel soon has new problems.
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3. Force of Nature
Jan 31, 2001 · 73 min
Chappel goes undercover in a prison for sex offenders in order to flush out the ringleaders of a prostitution racket, which involves both the inmates and the prison staff. Reports suggest that inmates are being threatened with violence unless they allow the ringleaders to have group sex with their wives and girlfriends. However, it turns out to be a far more sinister conspiracy. Robinson, unhappy with the situation, tries to get Chappel out, but being so close to collecting the vital evidence, Chappel decides to stay undercover. Posing as Chappel's girlfriend, Hutchins is targeted, while Chappel's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic.
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4. Falling
Feb 7, 2001 · 73 min
Chappel hopes to resume his relationship with Jane despite her descent into prostitution, but his plans are threatened when Vickers begins sniffing around. The team are visited by DC Damon Hills, who informs Chappel that he suspects Vickers of being bent, and wants to bring him down by whatever means possible. Using Hills, Chappel sets up a secret sting operation, soon realising that not only is he being double-crossed but Vickers has sent Hills to trap him. Determined to give his enemy the treatment he deserves, with Jane's help, he invents a fake, but believable, rape claim in order to ensure that Vickers goes down for as long as the law will allow.
Series 4 (3 ep)
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1. Trade
Feb 18, 2002 · 73 min
When prostitutes are murdered in the financial heart of London, Chappel reaches out to working girl Sandra, warning her to stay away from the unit's prime suspect, arrogant financier Gordon Ellis. Chappel uncovers a link between the murder victims and Ellis, but Hutchins isn't so sure that CCTV footage supposedly capturing the second victim with Ellis is concrete. As Chappel grows dangerously involved with Sandra, he becomes obsessed with nailing Ellis, and sends PC Kirsty Morgan undercover in an attempt to prove his involvement. Meanwhile, a sceptical Robinson receives news of his promotion, and announces he is leaving.
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2. No Man's Land
Feb 25, 2002 · 72 min
Chappel is delighted when retired prostitute Clara comes forward and offers to give evidence against Keith Beaumont, a former porn baron whom Chappel suspects is still operating. However, past encounters with Beaumont begin clouding his judgement and enthused by her boss' take on the task, Morgan offers herself as bait in a dangerous undercover honeytrap. Suspecting that Morgan may well have slept with Beaumont, Robinson persuades his new boss to allow him a week's secondment back to Vice to give Chappel a hand in his quest to prove Beaumont's guilt.
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3. One More Time
Mar 11, 2002 · 72 min
Chappel goes undercover as an insurance-broking lodger to investigate a suspected porn merchant, who makes a sideline in dirty movies whilst running his own above-board video rental shop. However, when he learns that the residence is in fact the base for a paedophile ring, the case is recategorised and taken from Vice, leaving Chappel furious upon discovering that the case has been handed to Robinson – his first assignment since his promotion to Inspector. Meanwhile, as Hutchins begins questioning her loyalty to Chappel, the latter—unable to continue allowing the repeated abuse of a 12-year-old girl—attacks the prime suspect, eliminating any chance of bringing down the ring.
Series 5 (1 ep)
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7. Lust
Jul 1, 2003 · 50 min
Robinson and Cole are trailing a suspect whom they discover has involvement with a major drugs and prostitution racket, but are shocked when they find his boss having dinner with Lorraine. Vickers is desperate to use Johnstone's relationship with the pimp for his own ends when he realises if publicly known, it would have a deleterious impact on Vice, and is determined to sacrifice her while there's still time. As he strikes a deal with the pimp, Robinson unknowingly sends Johnstone undercover to gather information. Meanwhile, Morgan's relationship with Vickers becomes treacherous, and Robinson is quickly catching up. Determined to nail Vickers to the wall, Morgan lodges a sexual harassment complaint.