This is a list of all main, supporting, and recurring characters from BBC One's police procedural comedy drama New Tricks. Overview Main characters UCOS Brian Lane Brian Lane (Ex-Detective Inspector) (Alun Armstrong) (2003–2013): Born in 1946, Brian 'Memory' Lane is an exceptional detective, possessing a keen attention to detail and a remarkable instant recall memory for obscure details regarding cases and officers who investigated them. He often gets around by bicycle. He is married to long-suffering but caring Esther; they have an adult son called Mark. Brian is socially inept and eccentric, a recovering alcoholic with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. He frequently uses underhanded methods to access private records, and his bizarre behaviour when gathering information or testing out theories tends to get him into trouble. Brian left the force under a cloud, having been held partly responsible for the death of Anthony Kaye, a prisoner in his custody at the height of his alcoholism. He maintained that it was a conspiracy against him; his colleagues believed that he simply refused to admit his own mistake. In Series 5, following Jack's temporary disappearance and several bad experiences on cases, Brian resumes drinking, and attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings again. When she finds out, Esther walks out, and later forces Brian into treatment; he has not been shown to have suffered lapses since. Brian is an AFC Wimbledon fan, and he once missed a celebratory drink with his UCOS mates to support his team. A keen war-gamer, in one episode he digs out his old board and figurines and wins a tournament. In the opening story of Series 10, Brian assaults the last serving officer that he believes to be involved in the conspiracy following Kaye's death, in a final effort to achieve justice. He at last proves that three policemen in charge of the custody suite, whose failure to check on Kaye allowed him to die from drug-related complications, then conspired to pin blame on the arresting officer, Brian. Rather than risk another cover-up, Brian passes on a taped confession by the senior officer to Kaye's mother, which in turn forces Strickland to fire Brian. Actor Alun Armstrong left the show after filming the tenth series. Jack Halford John 'Jack' Halford (Ex-Detective Chief Superintendent) (James Bolam) (2003–2012, 2013): The highest-ranking retired officer on the team, and the first to be approached by Sandra when setting up UCOS, Jack Halford is the unofficial