On the Box

TELEVISION has given the world many great detectives. For decades viewers have enjoyed the relentlessly shabby bloodhound questioning of Colombo, chuckled along to the almost light-hearted killings of Murder She Wrote or marvelled at the no-nonsense investigating skills of hard-nut detectives like Taggart, Morse and Frost.

When thinking back on their many exploits and the ingenious ways they solved the most difficult of cases, it seems a safe bet that the hapless DCI Jill Marsden will not be joining their ranks any time soon.

The resident Albert Square copper has been trying for weeks now to nail down a proper suspect for the murder of Archie Mitchell, and last night seemed to be no closer than ever.

This could be because instead of focusing on the obvious clues like fingerprints or forensics or CCTV - and if they've not installed CCTV in Albert Square then the police there have really missed a trick – she's taken to wandering around looking moody and accusing everyone in sight of being the killer.

Of course, it probably doesn't help her that pretty much everyone could have done it, or that whenever she asks someone they have a little look of panic.

Last night she appeared to be trying the Columbo-tack, hanging around the Queen Vic making a nuisance of herself in the hope that the killer might conveniently reveal themselves after one sherry too many.

Of course, it only worked for Columbo because he already knew who the killer was - it's evident to everyone in the Square, including her partner, that DCI Marsden doesn't have the slightest idea who the killer is.

Thank goodness, then, that at the end of last night's episode it turned out someone had lifted a few blood samples and the forensic results were, "very interesting".

Rather than lock up the killer, however, Marsden's going to hang on, turning this already barmy murder story into something resembling the Simpsons' famous "Who shot Mr Burns?" episode.

The sinister - and, to be honest, cheap – black glove was seen once again at the end, but it looks like Marsden will really have to get her skates on.