A married TV cop is facing the sack after he was been accused of having a sexual relationship with a vulnerable female colleague and asking her to lie if she was asked about it.
PC Faulkner, who starred on the popular Channel 5 show Police Interceptors, is alleged to have pursued a relationship with a fellow officer, known only as Officer A, while she was under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
The father of two, who is also known by fans as 'Mustard', is alleged to have provided the officer with his personal telephone number on social media in September 2019 having observed her being served with gross misconduct papers.
Officer A then went on 'stress-related' sick leave for approximately six months, and PC Faulkner commenced the role of her Federation Representative where he was supposed to make sure her interests were looked after.
However, "he is accused of engaging in an affair with the officer and denying the existence of the relationship and asking Officer A to 'lie about affair".
It is alleged PC Faulkner told his supervisor words to the effect that there was nothing going on between him and Officer A.
Cleveland Police have alleged that when Officer A went off sick, PC Faulkner knew or ought to have known that she was vulnerable at the material time.
They claimed he asked Officer A to lie about the existence of your relationship, should she be asked about it.
He has been accused of gross misconduct and a public hearing has been scheduled next week.
PC Faulkner who is married to another serving officer will face allegations of discreditable conduct, authority respect and courtesy, and honesty and integrity during a public hearing.
The cop was part of Durham and Cleveland Road Policing Unit which thrust him into the limelight of the popular Channel 5 show between 2015 and 2018.
The series has focused on a number of different forces but Durham and Cleveland Road Policing Unit has been the most heavily featured in five series of the show.
In his profile for the show he is described as an operational firearms commander, lists his favourite sportsman as racing driver Jenson Button and his guilty pleasure as ballroom dancing.
PC Faulkner became a firm favourite with fans, even signing autographs in the centre of Durham.
In April 2020 PC Faulkner spoke to the Northern Echo alongside his wife Jane a response officer in Stockton and posed with a picture with his two children to talk about how his job has changed since the pandemic.
He said, "It's such a difficult time for many families, and with us both being key workers we're having to manage our time differently now and it does have an impact.
"We've seen real praise from local people who are genuinely thankful for the work that we do, and it does give us a real boost.
"I've offered to volunteer to help other services in my free time as I think anything extra you can do to help at the moment is a positive step."
Cleveland Police have said they cannot comment outside this process until the hearing has finished.