| C H A R A C T E R
PC Steve Crane | |
|---|---|
 James Carlton as PC Steve Crane | |
|
Episodes |
35 |
|
First Episode |
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Last Episode |
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Family |
Babs Crane (mother) |
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Relationships |
Hannah Starosta (dated) |
PC Stephen "Steve" Crane (deceased), was played by James Carlton. He appeared in 35 episodes from 2003 - 2004.
Biography[]
PC Steve Crane arrived from Manchester, fresh-faced and keen, to take over as the Aidensfield bobby after Mike Bradley's promotion to CID. He was first seen at Ashfordly Police Station and was on time much to the surprise of Sgt. Dennis Merton and P.C.'s Alf Ventress and Phil Bellamy.
Throughout his time as the village bobby, Steve had a lot of ups and downs. He was made a Community Youth Involvement Officer by Merton after he successfully managed to gain the trust of a young biker and his girlfriend and arrested the bullying ringleader.(Speed) He also managed to prevent the children of a dead farmer from being split up with the help of Oscar Blaketon and Dr Liz Merrick (Waifs and Strays). However, he found himself suspended when a maid at Ashfordly Hall fell pregnant and claimed that Steve was the father although this was not true (Mountains and Molehills).
During an investigation into the disappearance of a six year old girl in the episode "Little Angel", Steve found himself alone on a bridge with the girl and her father (who had arranged for his daughter's kidnapping). During the ensuing struggle between Steve and the father, Steve fell off the bridge (presumably pushed), and, in spite of all the efforts of Bellamy and Merton to save him, he plummeted to his death. Steve was succeeded in Aidensfield by P.C. Rob Walker.
Personality and appearance[]
PC Crane with his investigative smile and Parting and brushed back fine black hair was very keen and good at his role. Steve Crane's voice and integrity to solve problems was seen in every programme.
Relationships[]
Ashfordly Police Sergeants
Sgt Dennis Ian Merton
Steve got on with his sergeant and was very loyal to him. Sgt Merton respected Steve and thought he was good at his job. After Steve successfully investigated some stolen cars, Dennis offered him the chance to become a Community Youth Involvement Officer to which Crane accepted. After Steve's death, Dennis blamed himself.
Sgt Jennifer Noakes
Whenever Dennis was absent from duty, Acting Sergeant Noakes would stand in for him. It appeared that she took a liking to Steve which made him uncomfortable.
Other Ashfordly Police
PC Alfred "Alf" Ventress
Steve got on well with Alf. At the very beginning however, when Alf and the young constable were investigating a break-in, he understood Steve's keenness to impress everyone on his first day but Alf told him that he wouldn't go looking for trouble where there is any as Steve would only antagonize people. At one point, Alf wondered about Steve and Sergeant Noakes due to the way she looked at him and that she fancied him but Steve told him to not be daft.
PC Philip "Phil" Montgomery Bellamy
Similarly to Alf, Phil was a bit worried about Steve because he seemed, at the time, to be a bit keen and ambitious. He even grew a bit jealous when Gina described him as very attractive and a touch of the film stars. However, they soon got on and always had a beer together after work. When Phil was preparing to marry Gina, he thought of asking Steve to be his best man, but he did not know him that long. This was after Mike Bradley let him down due of a CID operation he was involved in. When Steve was hanging on for his life, Phil risked his life to save him but unfortunately, Steve fell to his death and Phil watched on in horror. He was very saddened after he failed to save his friend.
PC / DC Michael "Mike" Dunstan Bradley
Mike was Steve's predecessor as the village Bobby in Aidensfield. Whilst he was seconded to C.I.D, Bradley stayed with Crane in the police house. Mike left for work one day and the police house was in a mess but by the time he returned, it was completely clean which brought a smile to his face. Similarly to Alf and Phil however, Mike became a bit worried about Steve being too keen at one point as he noticed that a photo of Jackie was removed on the mantelpiece which annoyed Mike. They moved on after this and became good friends. Steve later attended Mike's farewell party when he was leaving Aidensfield.
Aidensfield doctors
Dr Liz Merrick
Steve got on well with Liz and they both arrived in Aidensfield at the same time. After the death of a farmer, his children were going to be put into care and be split up but both Steve and Liz, alongside Oscar Blaketon, prevented this from happening. She was very saddened by Steve's death.
Other medical staff
Jenny Merton
Aidensfield Arms staff
Georgina "Gina" Ward
Steve met Gina and she showed him the directions to the police house. She also thought he was good looking but much younger than her. When Phil and Gina were preparing to get married and Phil was let down by Mike Bradley to be his best man, Gina suggested Steve as their best man.
Oscar Blaketon
Steve was the first policeman to serve as the Aidensfield Bobby since Oscar retired from the force. They got on very well with each other and at one point, they both, alongside Dr Merrick, successfully prevented the children of a recently deceased farmer from being split up. When Steve was investigating a husband trying to kill his wife, Oscar told him that policing was about percentages and that he can't cover for every eventuality, although he said that if a copper of his had a hunch, he would always tell him to follow it up. Both Steve and Oscar suffered terrible consequences whilst they investigated the disappearance of a young girl with Oscar suffering a heart attack and Steve falling to his death.
Susie Ward
When Susie arrived in Aidensfield for her probationary period, she was not happy about police officers like Steve to be served in the Aidensfield Arms. Her boyfriend Jamie had escaped from custody and PC Crane gets more than his hands full keeping an eye on Susie in order to catch him.
Diane Crichard
Diane arrived in Aidensfield to help Gina whilst she was pregnant. She met Steve and they got on very well. She sarcastically knew that he was a policeman because he had a "rim" on his forehead where his helmet had been. She described him as one of the most eligible bachelors in Aidensfield. They kissed but Steve apologized as there was a man who he spotted that was believed to attempting to murder his wife. He described it as a "Call of Duty".
"Loveable rogue" lineage
Vernon Scripps
Aidensfield Garage staff
Bernard "Bernie" Scripps
David Stockwell
Other regular characters
Lord Ashfordly
Lady Patricia Brewster
Ben Norton
Katie Maxwell
Steve fell in love with Polish violinist Hannah Starosta in season 12 episode Music of the Spheres. Hannah's father, Marek Starosta, wasn't very happy about her relationship with Steve and even threatened to kill him if he went near his daughter again. They were both very much in love but their relationship ended as quickly as it started when Hannah went to America to fulfil her destiny, to become a top-class violinist.
Gallery[]
