History Characters / LawAndOrderUK

* ForgottenFallenFriend: Despite his importance as a character and his relationship with Ronnie, Matt is never explicitly mentioned again after the episode dealing with [[spoiler: his murder]]. Even when another of Ronnie's friends, [[spoiler: DI Wes Layton, is shot and killed]], there is still no mention of him and how similar the two events were for Ronnie. The closest reference we get is that Ronnie's grandson, born on the day [[spoiler: Matt died]], is named Matthew. Despite this clearly being done in his honor, it still fails to spark any discussion of him.

* KindheartedCatLover: Alesha is delighted to learn he has a cat in the episode "Deal", [[spoiler: and Ronnie is seen caring for it (and commiserating with it) in "Survivor's Guilt"]].

* MistakenForRacist: The attorney for [[spoiler: his killer]] implies that he was a racist simply because he was a white police officer. Alesha tearfully and angrily denies this.

* PrettyBoy: Charming, youthful-looking, blue-eyed and blond cop with a face of an angel.

* WeHardlyKnewYe: Appeared for only a series and a half [[spoiler: before his death]].

* BreakTheCutie: She's adorable, but gets drawn to hell: raped by her doctor, loses her friend/mentor before they get a chance to explore their feelings for each other, and another friend is killed saving her life before ''they'' can explore their feelings for each other. Unlike most examples of this trope, she appears to have come out of each tragedy stronger than before.

* IdiotBall: In "Alesha", where she tries to entrap a doctor who touched her inappropriately and gets raped.

* DeadPartner: And ''how''--his backstory includes a partner who was killed, Matt's the one who accidentally reminds him of this, eerily {{Foreshadowing}} his own fate, and [[spoiler: DI Wes Leyton (not his partner, but clearly a good enough friend for both of these tropes to apply) is gunned down at the beginning of the episode "Hard Stop"]].

* SurpisinglySuddenDeath: [[spoiler:He's abruptly gunned down a few minutes into "Hard Stop".]]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Appeared for only a series and a half.

%% * AwesomeMcCoolname

[[folder:Ronnie]]
!!DS Ronnie Brooks

[[folder:Matt]]
!!DS Matt Devlin

[[folder:Sam]]
!!DS Sam Casey

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: No explanation for his absence in Season 8.

[[folder:Joe]]
!!DS Joe Hawkins

[[folder:Natalie]]
!!DI Natalie Chandler

[[folder:Wes]]
!!DI Wes Leyton

[[folder:James]]
!!James Steel

[[folder:Jacob]]
!!Jacob Thorne

[[folder:Alesha]]
!!Alesha Philips

* EveryonesBabySister: As seen in the episode "Alesha", everyone in the group is infuriated by what's happened to her, they go all out to bring her rapist to justice. James can barely stand to watch the video of her rape, while Matt can't bring himself to watch it at all.

[[folder:Kate]]
!! Kate Barker

[[folder:George]]
!!George Castle

[[folder:Henry]]
!!Henry Sharpe

* RaisedCatholic: Mentions having lit a candle for a murder victim, "Once a Catholic...", but he's also clearly disillusioned with his faith--in the episode "Confession", he states that he hasn't been in a confessional in over 20 years, and the events of that episode offer a pretty strong indication of why this has happened.

%% [[folder:Henry]]
%% !!Henry Sharpe
%% !!!'''Played By''': Creator/PeterDavison
%%

%%* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute
%% [[/folder]]

[[/folder:Kate]]

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!!!Actor: Creator/BradleyWalsh

** Jimmy Valentine ''tries'' to pull this in "Honor Bound" and cites the many times he covered for a drunk or hungover Ronnie. But the fact that he expected Ronnie to repay him by turning a blind eye to him being a murderous DirtyCop completely eclipses his argument.¨
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!!!Actor: Creator/JamieBamber

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!!! Actor: Creator/PaulNicholls

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!!!Actor: Creator/BenBaileySmith

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!!!Actress: Creator/HarrietWalter

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!!!Actor: Creator/PatersonJoseph

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!!!Actor: Creator/BenDaniels

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!!!Actor: Creator/DominicRowan

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!!! Actress: Creator/FreemaAgyeman

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!!! Actress: Creator/GeorgiaTaylor

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!!! Actor: Creator/BillPaterson

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%% !!!Actor: Creator/PeterDavison

* MistakenForRacist: The attorney for [[spoiler: his killer]] implies that he was a racist simply because he was a cop. Alesha tearfully and angrily denies this.

%% * {{Expy}}: Lennie Briscoe, although less snarky.

* DecemberDecemberRomance: In "Honor Bound", we learn that he had a relationship with a similarly aged fellow officer. Problem is, [[YourCheatingHeart she was (and still is) married]], and one of their trysts provides him with an alibi for a drug theft he's been implicated in.

!!!Actor: Bradley Walsh

!!! Actor: Paul Nicholls

!!!Actor: Ben Bailey Smith

!!!Actress: Harriet Walter

!!!Actor: Ben Daniels

!!!Actor: Dominic Rowan

!!! Actress: Georgia Taylor

!!! Actor: Bill Paterson

* BreakTheCutie: She's adorable, but gets drawn to hell: Raped by her doctor, loses her friend/mentor before they get a chance to explore their feelings for each other, and another friend is killed saving her life before ''they'' can explore their feelings for each other. Unlike most examples of this trope, she appears to have come out of each tragedy stronger than before.

%% * BlackBestFriend: To Ronnie

* DisappearedDad: He is apparently unwillingly missing from his own son's life, only getting to see him once a month.
%% ** [[spoiler:And is ''not'' looking for Ronnie to [[WellDoneSonGuy replace him]].

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Subverted. Despite some obvious similarities with his predecessor--young, good-looking, absent (and possibly abusive) father, there were some equally obvious differences--Matt's temper was generally limited to certain issues, whereas Sam appeared to have a short fuse about ''everything''. Matt also clearly cherished the surrogate father he had in Ronnie. Sam seemed to resent Ronnie's attempts at being this--despite generally getting along, the two simply did not have the rapport that Matt and Ronnie did.

%% * BadassGrandpa

%% * BadassGrandpa

%%* BadassGrandpa

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!!DS Ronnie Brooks (Bradley Walsh)

* AffectionateNickname: Often called Matt "Matty", "Matty-boy", or "Sunshine". Fan were NOT pleased when he once referred to Sam by the last one.
* TheAlcoholic
* BadassGrandpa
* BewareTheNiceOnes[=/=]YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry: He's mostly a friendly guy, but like Matt, he has a handful of moments where you realize that ticking him off is a ''bad'' idea.

* CartwrightCurse[=/=]DeadPartner: And ''how''--his backstory includes a partner who was killed, Matt's the one who accidentally reminds him of this, eerily {{Foreshadowing}} his own fate, and [[spoiler: DI Wes Leyton (not his partner, but clearly a good enough friend for both of these tropes to apply) is gunned down at the beginning of the episode "Hard Stop"]].
* CoolOldGuy
* CunningLinguist: Speaks French.
* DeadpanSnarker: Not as much as his US counterpart, and it drops off noticeably after [[spoiler: Matt is killed]], but still there.
* DecemberDecemberRomance: In "Honor Bound", we learn that he had one of these with a fellow officer. Problem is, [[YourCheatingHeart she was (and still is) married]], and one of their trysts provides him with an alibi for a drug theft he's been implicated in.

* {{Expy}}: Lennie Briscoe, although less snarky.
* HeroicBSOD: Suffers this after [[spoiler: Matt is killed]]. It really doesn't help that the whole thing happened right in front of him and that he's already been through this. Has another one after [[spoiler: Wes is killed too]].
* KindheartedCatLover: Is seen caring for and commiserating with Matt's cat during "Survivor's Guilt", and walking off with it at the end (in a deleted scene).
* KnightInSourArmor

* PapaWolf: To Matt, mostly, obviously, but a few moments with Alesha also. Basically to anyone younger than him who he can sense needs a surrogate father figure.
* StraightMan

** Similarly, in "Haunted", when asked how he and his then-partner missed crucial clues, he admits to his alcoholism--and his partner's amphetamine addiction. The man reads him the riot act, mentioning the numerous things he did to help him during his drinking days--to the detriment of his own personal life--and rebuffs Ronnie' s feeble excuses--"I was under oath"--and attempts to make amends--"I only eat with family and friends. And I lost my family covering your ass."
** Jimmy Valentine ''tries'' to pull this in "Honor Bound"--much like in the above example, cites the many times he covered for a drunk or hungover Ronnie. But the fact that he expected Ronnie to repay him by turning a blind eye to him being a murderous DirtyCop completely eclipses his argument.

!!DS Matt Devlin (Creator/JamieBamber)

* AbusiveParents: Strongly implied--his contempt for a child abuser--"I know people like you", his [[BerserkButton feelings]] about victimized children in general, his empathy with an abused kid--"I've been that kid, Ronnie", and with a young woman who refers to her father as a "bastard"--"Are we related then, do you think?", but neither the extent nor specific perpetrator is ever made clear.
* BadassAdorable[=/=]HiddenBadass: He's gorgeous, amazingly polite... and in at least every other episode he runs down, disarms and disables a suspect, all while never cracking that well-mannered veneer.
* BerserkButton: Several--child abuse, established in the episode "Unloved", Alesha Phillips, established in [[http://www.tv.com/law-and-order-uk/alesha/episode/1261417/recap.html?tag=episode_header;recap Alesha]], and Ronnie Brooks, established in [[http://www.tv.com/law-and-order-uk/honour-bound/episode/1294062/recap.html?tag=episode_header;recap Honor Bound]].
--> (As he and Ronnie arrest Dr. Merrick, Alesha's rapist)
--> '''Merrick''' (yelps in pain as Matt cuffs him): "You're hurting me!"
--> '''Matt''' (CheshireCatGrin): "Yeah, I know. Didn't that feel good?"
* BewareTheNiceOnes[=/=]YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry: He's a pretty nice guy... until/unless you tick him off, usually by pushing one of the abovementioned buttons.

--> '''Matt''': Come on, man. Don't make me play "bad cop".
--> '''Ronnie''': You wouldn't like him when he plays "bad cop".
* ByTheBookCop: To the point where he once arrested a friend for using cocaine--[[WhatAnIdiot right in front of him]].
* {{Expy}}: Mike Logan, at least at first.
* FairCop[=/=]MrFanservice[=/=]PrettyBoy: And ''how'', to the point where numerous people have reacted to his good looks, ranging from come-ons and compliments to sarcastic put-downs--even the man suspected of [[spoiler: being behind his murder (he isn't)]] refers to him as "Pretty Boy Cop".
* [[spoiler: ForgottenFallenFriend]]: Despite his importance as a character and his relationship with Ronnie, Matt is never explicitly mentioned again after the episode dealing with [[spoiler: his murder]]. Even when another of Ronnie's friends, [[spoiler: DI Wes Layton, is shot and killed]], there is still no mention of him and how similar the two events were for Ronnie. The closest reference we get is that Ronnie's grandson, born on the day [[spoiler: Matt died]], is named Matthew. Despite this clearly being done in his honor, it still fails to spark any discussion of him. Coincidentally, this isn't the [[Series/HoratioHornblower first time]] this happened to one of Creator/JamieBamber's characters...

* InnocentBlueEyes: Of the "heroic" variety. To the point where they're the last we see of him.

* MistakenForRacist: The attorney for [[spoiler: his killer]] implies that he was this simply because he was a cop. Alesha tearfully and angrily denies this.

* PapaWolf: Inverted with Ronnie, as despite being the younger of the two, it's he who freaks out if/when Ronnie appears to be in any kind of danger.

!!DS Sam Casey (Paul Nicholls)

* DisappearedDad: [[spoiler:And is ''not'' looking for Ronnie to [[WellDoneSonGuy replace him]]. He is also apparently and unwillingly this to his own son, only getting to see him once a month.]]
* {{Expy}}: Mike Logan and Ed Green, as far as his temper and poor impulse control go. His behavior in the first two Season 7 episodes displayed some of Ronnie's lesser traits as well--a drinking problem, fragile relationship with his child.
* FairCop
* GoodCopBadCop. Guess which one he is.
* HeroicBSOD: Suffers this throughout "Tracks" (starting when he's unable to save a young victim of the train crash) and "Tremors".
* HotBlooded: Sam's got a short fuse.
* IdiotBall: Oh, Sam. You had to know that [[spoiler: joking to a black suspect about what you have to do to get two weeks in Barbados [[MistakenForRacist would come back to bite you, right?]]]] No? Well how about [[spoiler: sleeping with a perp posing as a "victim?']]
* KickTheDog: Subverted; he leads him outside by the leash.
* PermaStubble
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Subverted. Despite some obvious similarities with his predecessor--young, good-looking, absent (and possibly abusive) father, there were some equally obvious differences--Matt's temper was generally limited to [[BerserkButton certain issues]], whereas Sam appeared to have a short fuse about ''everything''. Matt also clearly cherished the surrogate father he had in Ronnie. Sam seemed to resent Ronnie's attempts at being this--despite generally getting along, the two simply did not have the rapport that Matt and Ronnie did.

!!DS Joe Hawkins (Ben Bailey Smith)
* BerserkButton: Taunting him about his light skin and presumably biracial heritage.

* {{Expy}}: Ed Green.
* FairCop

!!DI Natalie Chandler (Harriet Walter)
* DaChief
* {{Expy}}: Anita Van Buren.

* MamaBear: Is fiercely defensive of her subordinates, to the point where criticizing or harming them (Alesha's assault, [[spoiler: Matt's death]]) is essentially a BerserkButton for her, even as them screwing up provokes a reaction much like that of a disappointed/angry parent.

!!DI Wes Leyton (Creator/PatersonJoseph)
* BlackBestFriend: To Ronnie
* HappilyMarried: We only see his wife once, but this trope clearly applies.

!!James Steel (Ben Daniels)

* AwesomeMcCoolname / NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast

* {{Expy}}: Benjamin Stone, with Jack [=McCoy=]'s penchant for bedding his female colleagues.
* HeelRealization: Claims he gave up being a defense attorney because he couldn't sleep at night. Oddly enough, he fails to display this trope during some of the many stunts he pulls as a prosecutor.
* HelloAttorney
* OfficeRomance: As stated above, his relationships with his female colleagues. And his final scene with Alesha (as well as his reaction to her rape) reveals that he has feelings for her as well, even though it never gets beyond attraction.

** In "Anonymous", humiliates Matt Devlin in court over an error made during the investigation, accusing him of being both dishonest and incompetent (despite knowing full well that he's neither), discrediting not only his testimony, but possibly his tenure as a detective. When Alesha blasts him for this, he dismisses it as "collateral damage."
** "Skeletons". Similarly embarrasses an ex-lover over their past relationship and declares that her sole reason for testifying against him is to get back at him for dumping her. Alesha blasts him for this as well, asking if the woman's reputation was, of course, "collateral damage."

!!Jacob Thorne (Dominic Rowan)

* TheCasanova: Much like James Steel, he seems to have bedded or flirted with nearly half the female lawyers in London.
* {{Expy}}: Jack [=McCoy=], even moreso than his predecessor
* HelloAttorney

!!Alesha Philips (Creator/FreemaAgyeman)

* BerserkButton: Rape, thanks to her experience, as well as women [[FalseRapeAccusation who lie about it]].
** She doesn't like sexist putdowns either, or people trying to play the race card to garner her sympathy for a cop killer--especially since said cop was her friend and [[HeroicSacrifice died saving her life]].
* BrokenBird: And ''how''. Raped by her doctor, loses her friend/mentor before they get a chance to explore their feelings for each other, and another friend is killed saving her life before ''they'' can explore their feelings for each other. Unlike most examples of this trope, she appears to have come out of each tragedy stronger than before.

* EveryonesBabySister: As seen in the episode "Alesha", she also serves as a {{Berserk Button}} for everyone in the group--infuriated by what's happened to her, they go all out to bring her rapist to justice. And note that James can barely stand to watch the video of her rape, while Matt can't bring himself to watch it at all.
--> {{Iron Lady}} DI Chandler: "I'd like to cut off his dick with a rusty hacksaw and ram it down his throat!"
* {{Expy}}: No one in particular, just the "young, pretty, female assistant DA" that's been a standard of the original ever since Paul Robinette departed, though her youth and initial inexperience seem very reminiscent of Claire Kincaid, and she even shows a few flashes of Robinette himself (the abovementioned scene where she bristles at a defense lawyer's race-baiting, plus their race of course).
* HelloAttorney

** HeroicSacrifice: An AlternateCharacterInterpretation of the above. She essentially jumped on a grenade, knowing something bad would happen, in order to get justice for all of Merrick's other victims, and knowing he would never pay for her. Indeed, when Matt asks why she went back after he'd already assaulted her, she admits that she wasn't expecting him to rape her, but states, "Someone had to stop him. At least now we can lock the bastard up."

* UnresolvedSexualTension: With James and with Matt.

!! Kate Barker (Georgia Taylor)
* HelloAttorney

!!George Castle (Bill Paterson)

* AndStarring
* BadassGrandpa

* DaChief
* DecemberDecemberRomance: In the episode "Denial", it's strongly implied that he and the current victim had a relationship back in their younger days, and their present-day conversation indicates that the feelings are still there.
* {{Expy}}: Adam Schiff

!!Henry Sharpe (Creator/PeterDavison)
* AndStarring: Occupies this spot now that Bill Patterson has left.
* BadassGrandpa
* DaChief
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute

!!DS Sam Casey

!!DS Joe Hawkins

!!DI Natalie Chandler

!!James Steel

!!Jacob Thorne

!! Kate Barker

* BewareTheNiceOnes[=/=]YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry: Like Matt, has a handful of moments where you realize that ticking him off is a ''bad'' idea.