The Chase: Season 1

The workers at the Chevin Chase Veterinary Surgery in Yorkshire are surrounded in turmoil. Family and professional loyaties are stretched to the limit as family patriarch George Williams (Keith Barron, Coronation Street) marries Claudie, (Michelle Holmes, Life Begins) a much younger woman-then abruptly announces his retirement. Turmoil reigns, as this hotbead of personal relationships, infidelity, sibling friction and various pet peeves boils over. Created and written by BAFTA® Award-winning Kay Mellor (Band of Gold, Coronation Street), The Chase also stars Reece Dinsdale (Home To Roost), Janet Dibley (EastEnders) and Heather Pearce (Ultimate Force).

Episode 1 - Sarah Williams travels back to her childhood home for her father's wedding - but her return threatens to dig up long-buried secrets concerning her sister's husband. Meanwhile, the groom is too busy operating on a puppy to get to the church on time.

Episode 2 - Sarah prepares for her first day at work, but is made to feel unwelcome by her manager Deborah. Nevertheless, she rolls up her sleeves and gets to work on a Border collie. However, after diagnosing the problem, she is faced with a lack of necessary resources - prompting her to walk out.

Episode 3 - George waits for his passport to arrive so he can go on honeymoon, while Claudie makes her presence felt in the household, infuriating her stepchildren in the process. Meanwhile, chaos erupts on the day of Imogen's christening as Anna uncovers a secret, Sarah expresses an interest in ultrasound technology and George is unhappy at the rapid rate of change in his practice.

Episode 4 - Tom has a sleepless night after helping a cow give birth, and a lack of rest leads to him mistakenly castrating a prize stud dog. His worries are compounded when Anna becomes angry about his secretive behaviour, and a visit from his dying father makes matters even worse.

Episode 5 - Claudie's past catches up with her when Matt finds out someone is drawing money from his dead grandmother's pension, and an investigator informs him the money has been paid into an account in Malta. Meanwhile, tensions rise in the surgery when Deborah and Fiona propose cutting Margaret's hours because of her continual lateness - prompting Tom to believe there may be an ulterior motive to their suggestion.

Episode 6 - Margaret saves the practice from a PR disaster on the day of it's relaunch. However, the staff are surprised to see that the business's new sign doesn't bear George's name. Meanwhile, Clare jumps to conclusions when she overhears Rick speaking to another woman on the phone, and Sarah becomes distressed when she receives a worrying letter from David.

Episode 7 - Sarah's being besieged by her ex-lovers. David's arrived in the middle of the night, drunk from his stag do. Meanwhile, Adrian tries a more mainstream approach. Rick and Clare have had an evening full of declarations of love and the promise of more to come, but Rick is a man of principle. He knows he must discuss things with Deborah before he makes any new commitments in his life. Clare's paranoid and hurt suspecting a one night stand. Meanwhile, Deborah's shocked when Rick asks for a divorce. Elsewhere, it's Anna's first day back in surgery. Fiona's mum, Shirley, is looking after Imogen and Theo. When Theo falls over and cracks his head, Tom rushes a frantic Fiona to hospital. Tom finally has to face up to his responsibilities to his son and his family.

Episode 8 - Sarah faces a tough decision as Anna prepares for the anniversary party. George and Claudie return with a surprise visitor in tow - Cindy. Deborah tries to make life difficult following Rick's shocking announcement. However, with all the drama going on, no one seems to notice that Fiona is missing.

Written by Kay Mellor
Directed by Susan Tully, Ian Bevitt, Juliet May, Jennifer Perrott
Produced by Jacinta Peel, Hugh Warren
Executive Produced by Kay Mellor, Yvonne Francas
Original Music by Mark Hinton Stewart, Ben Bartlett
Cinematography by Peter Butler, John Rhodes
Film Editing by John Parker, Peter Hallworth, Russell Bedeen, Anthony Ham,liz Webber
Costume Design by Claire Findlay, John Lindlar