The Bill (1984–2010)

Episodes follow uniform officers and detectives from an inner London police station as they enforce law and order on a day to day basis.

7 wins & 26 nominations.

Storyline

Uniform officers and detectives from Sun Hill police station enforce law and order on a day to day basis. A policeman's job is much more than just catching criminals; in order to survive each day they must deal with frustrating members of the public, and often their own colleagues. From petty thieves to violent drug dealers, life is never easy for the members of the Metropolitan Police Force.

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Plot Keywords:

police | detective | uniform | police station | panda car | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Canley Gazette - fictional online news site (official tie-in site) Facebook

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 1988 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Lov og uorden

Filming Locations:

Kew Bridge Steam Museum, Green Dragon Lane, Brentford, Middlesex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Thames Television, Talkback Thames

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min 25 min (1988-1998) 50 min (1984-1988, 1998-)

Sound Mix:

Mono Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Burnside (Christopher Ellison) was originally called Tommy when he guest starred in series one and two, but when he appeared as a regular character from 1988 onwards his first name was changed to Frank. This was because there was a real-life Tommy Burnside serving in the Metropolitan police at the time.

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Quotes

CSE Eddie Olosunje: DC Jo Masters... You're wondering how I did that aren't ya?
DC Jo Masters: Not really, no.
CSE Eddie Olosunje: Its your perfume. 'Sensual for Women' innit? Suits you... Kinda like me...
DC Jo Masters: I hear you have a match on a partial print for me Eddie?
CSE Eddie Olosunje: Yeah it was easy, you know what the stoners are like, sloppy. Always takin' their gloves off. I think its the loss of motor function.
DC Jo Masters: Let me guess... Tray Simpson, forty-thee Rudkin Road?
CSE Eddie Olosunje: Yeah.
DC Jo Masters: Ahh... Wondering how I did that, aren't ya?

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Crazy Credits

There were actually three versions of the credits featuring the plodding feet. There was a blue-tint version used in the original episodes in the 1980s, a 1990s fuzzy, overcast version and mid-1990s fine weather version.

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Connections

Referenced in Ideal: The Christmas Special (2005)

User Reviews

Plot Mislaid

The Bill was compulsory viewing for its first decade or so, but its relatively-new executive producer and his team of gossip-writers have conspired to reduce it almost to farce, presumably driven by a desire to attract those who habitually switch off after the serial soaps.

That is sad enough, but even sadder is the fact that even its degraded form, The Bill remains one of the better current offerings on television, purely for the two or three minutes per episode now devoted to the original concept.

Perhaps we should be grateful for those few minutes, which those attracted to the programme for other reasons may ignore while making or taking bets on which of the Sun Hill staff will soon have a child kidnapped, or prove to be corrupt, have a serious problem with alcohol or drug abuse, turn out to be either adopted or the parent of a long-lost illegitimate child, become unfaithful or a bigamist, go mad or murder several colleagues.

If only we'd known.