Channel 4 is bringing back 24 hours in police custody ambush with a new two-part special, The Ambush, beginning on August 30 at 9pm. The first half will air after a long spell of repeats, with the second episode following on September 6 at 9pm.
The case at the center of 24 Hours in Police Custody: The Ambush involves a 17-year-old boy who was seriously injured by the road. Detectives turned to a network of CCTV cameras to piece together what happened, and the footage captured a suspicious meeting, a waiting vehicle, and masked men emerging with baseball bats before chasing their victims.
CCTV and the vehicles
Few witnesses were willing to talk, so the investigation depended on the camera network rather than statements from people at the scene. The footage helped police track the vehicles involved, turning a blurred sequence of events into something detectives could follow step by step.
One post from Channel 4 showed a notebook with a post-it note that read, "24H in Police Custody title: The Ambush, two-parter? Air date?" That tease signaled that viewers would get a fresh instalment after a run of repeats, not another recycled episode.
Channel 4 and the new run
The return matters because the programme has often aired repeat episodes, and this one gives viewers a dated two-part story instead of an open-ended preview. For viewers of Channel 4, the practical detail is simple: the first episode arrives on August 30 at 9pm, and the story continues a week later on September 6 at 9pm.
What the broadcast does not yet answer is how the 17-year-old boy reached the road before the CCTV evidence turned the case into what detectives describe as a planned ambush. That missing piece is what the two-part special is built to uncover.
