PC Des Taviner  played by Paul Usher

First appearance    A Week of Nights part I (04/05/01)     

Des Taviner, a trained Area Car driver, thought he was top of the pile. Ex-Robbery Squad, he transferred to the station in May 2001. He wasn't exactly subtle, and didn’t see the point in wasting his time with tact and diplomacy. His handling of the public didn’t always go down well with his colleagues, and he often came across as rude and abrupt. However, Taviner was a dedicated officer, and he was good at his job. He took a hands-on approach to his work and was brave and fiercely loyal to his friends. He saw the Area Car as his domain though – anyone accompanying him in it was to take their orders from him. He was a womaniser on and off-duty as well as a hard drinker. He liked nothing better than a chase or a punch up. Taviner could be quite prejudiced and bigoted in his views, which didn't endear him to many of the relief, but they knew that at the end of the day, his heart was in the right place. Surprisingly, he developed an odd-couple friendship with Reg Hollis.

No-one was more surprised than Des when he fell for Sgt. Sheelagh Murphy in a big way. He was ready to move in with her and become a father but one thing stood in his way. It was the little matter of being responsible for causing the Sun Hill explosion which killed 6 of his colleagues. He came clean to Sheelagh but in turn she demanded that he come clean to the Super. Seeing no way out Des became manic and drove into a burning building with Reg in the passenger seat. Reg pulled through but only Des' charred radio was found...

Des began a life on the run and tried to coerce Sheelagh and baby Niamh to join him. Sheelagh toyed with the idea but soon came to the realisation that Des should come clean and face up to his actions. In the end, MIT caught up with him and he was remanded in custody. As Des waited in the Sun Hill cells for transfer to another nick, he was beaten to death by a manic depressive.