Channel 4 viewers praise police for outsmarting ‘arrogant’ surgeon in ‘horrific’ TV episode

If you were watching Channel 4 last night (19 February) then you'll have been treated to a classic episode of 24 Hours in Police Custody where officers investigated a surgeon who claimed his house had been burgled.

Sometimes there are utterly horrific episodes of the show where viewers can stare right into the eyes of people who've committed terrible crimes, while at other times they can enjoy the sight of criminals being caught in the web of lies they weave.

Last night's episode certainly belonged to the latter category, with viewers calling it the 'best episode' of the show as well as the 'most entertaining, most interesting, and most hilarious'.

Although initially shown in 2019, the episode was back on Channel 4 in their 9pm slot last night (19 February) and people enjoyed the treat of one of the best episodes of 24 Hours in Police Custody.

It all focuses on the case of a mysterious burglary of the house of surgeon Anthony McGrath, who called the cops to report that a window into his home had been smashed and thieves had broken into his cellar.

Channel 4

The surgeon said around half-a-million quid's worth of items had been stolen including a range of antiques, a Persian rug, various clocks and a fireplace.

It would have been a tragic crime had it been true, but veteran detective Dave Brecknock of Bedfordshire Police started having suspicions that all was not as it seemed.

A dig into the surgeon's finances uncovered that McGrath was 'skint' and was asking his insurance company to pay out right away.

Digging deeper into the burglary, DC Brecknock asked for pictures of the stolen items and it turned out the picture that the surgeon sent the police of the supposedly stolen fireplace had been taken three months after the crime.

Police tracked the GPS of the phone used to take the picture to a house owned by the surgeon's family in Ireland.

Hauling the surgeon in for questioning, they found he seemed to 'have an answer for everything', but as the classic episode of 24 Hours in Police Custody showed, they were able to work out what happened.

Channel 4

Viewers of the episode said it was the 'most entertaining, most interesting, and most hilarious episode' they'd ever seen of the show.

Someone else said it was 'brilliant' to see the man 'get his comeuppance' and lots of people dubbed it their 'favourite episode' of 24 Hours in Police Custody.

"I've seen this episode before but love seeing the surgeon try to worm his way out of it," another wrote.

Meanwhile, detective Dave and his collection of biscuits found plenty of admirers among the viewers - especially his hankering for Viscounts.

If you want to know what happened to the surgeon, in 2019 he was found guilty of fraud by false representation and committing acts with intent to pervert the course of justice and sentenced to eight years in prison.

At his trial, Judge Barbara Mensah described 'greed and arrogance' as being McGrath's downfall because he 'didn't think an insurance company or the police would question a man of your standing'.