Hot Metal

A new type of metal has been developed, and a team of mercenaries spot an opportunity to steal it and weaponise it, using a powerful silencer to get the job done.

Hot Metal is definitely stronger than the two previous episodes, but it's still not quite as sharp as the early run of the series. I can't entirely explain why - it just lacks a bit of spark, as if the stakes never quite rise to the level the setup promises.

All the familiar ingredients are present: helicopter searches, deadly laser beams, explosions, Ed getting tied up again, and those Poundland devices that bleep obediently whenever touched.

Once more they raid the catalogue of British villainy, this time giving us Raad Rawi and Nickolas Grace. Both are solid, but more "angry customer in Costa" than fully-fledged Bond nemesis.

My favourite scene is, unsurprisingly, the moment Ros fires a gizmo onto a truck from a helicopter - the episode earns bonus points for that alone.

McLachlan remains dry for the entire runtime, which is impressive, considering he's spent half the series looking as though someone's just hosed him down.

7/10 (and without the helicopter bit, it would have been a 6).