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He saw active service in WWII, where he was in Monty’s Eighth Army and travelled with them through North Africa, Sicily and Italy. He met his wife, Isabella, in Naples and went back to get her after the war. They married and lived in London where he worked as a Chief Inspector. They couldn’t have children.

During his time in the Met, Gently vociferously opposed corruption, and his pursuit of justice resulted in his wife being murdered in a hit and run.

At Isabella’s funeral he handed in his notice and told his superiors that he felt his job as a copper resulted in his wife’s murder. But he took up ‘one last case’ in Northumberland to avenge her. On this case he met DS John Bacchus and decided that there was a wayward streak in this talented young man, which could see him become a dangerously corrupt cop. So, Gently chose to stay in the North East and take Bacchus under his wing.

Gently is known for being as straight as a die, but he breaks rules ‘for the greater good’. But he would draw the line at falsifying evidence – something Bacchus would do. Ultimately Gently’s an honest, by-the-book cop. His strength as a policeman is that he doesn’t make snap assumptions – like Bacchus does. He has a talent for looking into a person’s soul.

Gently is hugely concerned about Bacchus and DS Rachel Coles. Has he trained his protégés well enough to build on his particular brand of investigative professionalism and continue his legacy? Can he trust them to forge ahead without him? He will be deeply disappointed by Bacchus' behaviour and fear that all the years he has invested in him were for nothing. Their personal and professional relationship will be severely tested...