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

When filming on location, the show does not have permission to use sirens. These are dubbed in later.

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Quotes

CSE Eddie Olosunje: I don't mind if you wanna kiss me DC Webb, but no tongues.

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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 The Bill Made Me Famous (2008)

User Reviews

Long running British TV Police Drama

Created by Geoff McQueen, The Bill began life in 1983 as the pilot 'Woodentop', which centered on PC Jimmy (Mark Wingett) Carver on his first day at fictional Sun Hill. Other characters included WPC June Ackland, PC Taffy Morgan and Sgt Wilding. The following year it returned, slightly changed and with McQueen's original title of The Bill. For its first three years it had three series of one hour episodes, before it went into a half hour format in 1988, a format to stay for ten years.

Many say that the show was at its best in the nineties (my favourite era was 1995-2000) with the familiar 'plodding feet credits', great detective storys and such characters as DI Frank Burnside, Insp Andrew Monroe, DC Liz Rawton, PC Vicky Hagen, DS Don Beech and many other greats.

Although the show went through some changes from 1998, including a revert back to hour episodes, and some delving into personal lives, the show changed beyond all recognition in 2002, when new producer Paul Marquess killed off much of the cast and took to a permanant serialised format. For many fans of the show, that was the end of The Bill...