Acting DC Gary Best    played by Ciaran Griffiths

First appearance    # 020 (25/06/02)     

Gary Best was a cocky Northern 'lad' with a lot to learn. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, but whilst he may not have been the most academically bright, his background meant he knew how the fringes of society operated. He was brought up on the local estate in Blackely, on the outskirts of Manchester, a place not renowned for its entertainment facilities. Most of his mates from school are now either dealing drugs or doing them. His best mate since he was 6 is serving a custodial for hotwiring cars. In short, Gary could have gone one way or the other - if he wasn't in a uniform, he'd be on remand.

Gary had a troubled upbringing - life inside the Best family was brutal. Their dad knocked him and his younger brother about, and it only stopped when Gary reached the physical maturity to be able to hit his dad back. He was fiercely protective of his mother, whom in his eyes could absolutely do no wrong and whilst Gary's dad may have ruled the house by force, his mum instilled him with a strict sense of right and wrong and the value of a hard day's work. During his early teenage years, Gary saw the police as an 'us v. them' situation, but got to know a few through a shared love of Man City. Joining the force was as much a two fingers up at his dad as it was a genuine ambition. He also decided to take the decision to shop his dad to the police for domestic violence, a decision the ultimately divided his family and made Gary an outcast from his home.

Gary's weakness was that he thought with his heart and not his head - he was all for rushing in rather than standing back to assess a situation. As time has worn on he found himself growing up whether he liked it or not - a reunion with his estranged father escalated this and unfortunately on the verge of making their peace his father was killed. Gary's life essentially broke down into four distinct and easy components: women, football, lager and the job - in that order. After a dedicated undercover performance, Gary was accepted as a trainee DC by the Met. - but not exactly by his colleagues!

Following a drugs operation in which he was shot and nearly paralysed, Gary was reunited with his estranged mother who encouraged him to leave Sun Hill and transfer to Manchester where he could be with his family.