Series 3 sees Inspector Jean Darblay return to Harlley after completing a course at the Police Staff College at Bramshill in Hampshire, despite being told by Divisional Superintendent Hallam (at the end of Series 2) that it was highly unlikely she would get her old position back.
Interestingly, there are no appearances by Hallam in Series 3, and it's not clear whether he is still there, as his name is never mentioned. On the other hand, Detective Chief Inspector Logan who appeared in both previous Series, makes regular appearances throughout Series 3. Jean has a good working relationship with Chief Inspector Logan, although there are a couple of times when the relationship becomes strained.
Jean's husband, Tom, who was transferred to Dover in Series 2, only makes one appearance in Series 3. At the start of the final episode(episode 14), Jean has just arrived back at Hartley, after visiting Tom at Dover. She drove down and back in her yellow hatchback, which appeared at the start of Series 3, and was obviously a replacement for the red Mini she drove in Series 1 and 2.
The Series 3 box set contains an exceptionally good quality four section fold-out arrangement, giving easy access to any of the four disks, with one disk to each fold-out section, and is far better than the Series 2 box set, which consisted of four disks packed into a simple two section foldout box, with the two disks on each side overlapping one another.
There are no disappointments in Series 3. The acting and story lines are probably better than the previous two series, with the final episode (14) titled "Where there's muck.." standing out as one of the best, without detracting from the quality of the other 13 episodes.
In Series 3,we get to see Sgt.George Parrish's wife for the first time - an attractive dark haired woman who makes a brief appearance, and we also see Inspector Jean Darblay with a new 1980's type hairstyle, and also a 'domed' type police hat replacing the former 'rounded' hat. Another point of interest in one of the episodes, is where BBC1 television closes down (presumably at midnight) after playing "God Save the Queen". That of course, was back in 1982, when series 3 was made.
In episode 14, Detective Chief Inspector Logan tells Jean that he is transferring to a higher posting elsewhere, and he offers Jean a position on his team, which would guarantee her eventual promotion, especially since her completion of the course at Bramshill.
The very last scene of Series 3 shows Jean Darblay walking arm in arm with Sergeants Beck and Parrish on their way to the Policeman's Annual Dance (The Policeman's Ball)at the Jubilee Hall in Hartley. This is the last time we see Inspector Darblay!