The Bill is a long-running British television police procedural television series, named after a slang term for the police. The characters are all police officers or civilian staff at the fictional Sun Hill police station in London.
The final ensemble, present during the episode "Respect, Part 2", first broadcast on 31 August 2010, was headlined by Simon Rouse, rounding out his twenty-first year as Jack Meadows. Other cast members included long-time players Alex Walkinshaw, as PC turned Sergeant turned Inspector Dale Smith, and his second-in-command Sergeant Jo Masters, whilst played by Sally Rogers, Andrew Lancel played DI Neil Manson. Walkinshaw spoke the final line of the series, "Let's do it," echoing Mark Wingett's first line spoken in 1983.
note: characters are ordered by rank, and sub-ordered by total number of episodes
Throughout its 27 years, The Bill featured a large ensemble including original cast members Trudie Goodwin and Mark Wingett, loose woman Lisa Maxwell, EastEnders stars Gillian Taylforth, Scott Maslen, Roberta Taylor, Todd Carty and Gary Lucy, Australian actor Daniel MacPherson, crime-drama alum Caroline Catz and Special Guest Star Serena Gordon.
This is a list of the most notable characters to have appeared on The Bill, being those who have been in the series for some considerable time and have had a significant impact on the series.
Billy Murray appeared in The Bill for 5 years playing DS Don Beech. The character was a corrupt police officer, notably having murdered DS John Boulton, forcing Beech to go on the run. Since leaving The Bill, Murray's career has included a stint on EastEnders as Johnny Allen and two films, Rollin' with the Nines and Rise of the Footsoldier. The character also spawned Beech on the Run and Beech is Back.
Russell Boulter played DS John Boulton from 1995 to 2000, the character having first appeared as a DC in 1994. The character had a reputation for being a hard man, and was once suspected of deliberately killing a suspect, although he was cleared. He later had a relationship with DS Claire Stanton, who was an anti-corruption officer targeting Don Beech. John was ultimately murdered by Beech, leading to the collapse of CID and the removal of Charles Brownlow as Superintendent.
Tony O'Callaghan played Sergeant Matt Boyden for 12 years from 1991–2003. Boyden was shot dead by his daughter's boyfriend so she can profit from insurance money to fund her drug habit. Tony O'Callaghan also appeared in an earlier episode as a criminal (series 5 episode 30). He has also appeared in The Magnificent Evans, Family Affairs, Holby City, Doctors and Shameless.
Peter Ellis played Chief Superintendent Charles Brownlow for over 16 years from the start of the series in 1984 to 2000, when the character tendered his resignation in light of the Don Beech scandal. In 1983, Ellis appeared in the play Trafford Tanzi opposite Toyah Willcox.
Christopher Ellison played DCI Frank Burnside for 5 years. Since leaving The Bill, Ellison has enjoyed a guest stint as Len Harker in EastEnders. Ellison has also appeared in Minder, Casualty, Judge John Deed and voiced a Doctor Who audio adventure. The character spawned spin off Burnside.
Mark Wingett played DS Jim Carver from 1983 to 2007. After building up gambling debts, the character left Sun Hill in 2005. He briefly re-appeared in three episodes in 2007 and left at the same time as Sergeant June Ackland, whom he married in 2004. They divorced when he left for Manchester in 2005, just after the Sun Hill Fire in 2005. Since leaving, Wingett has also appeared in EastEnders, the British version of American Chopper and Spartacus.
Eric Richard played Sergeant Bob Cryer from 1984–2001, the character leaving when he was accidentally shot by then PC Dale Smith. Prior to appearing in The Bill, Richard appeared in a number of TV programmes including Open All Hours, Made in Britain and Shoestring.
Scott Maslen played DS Phil Hunter from 2002–07, the character was written out with a transfer to Special Operations. Since leaving The Bill, Maslen has played the character of Jack Branning in EastEnders.
Todd Carty played PC Gabriel Kent from 2003–05, the character left when his false identity was uncovered. As well as The Bill, Carty has appeared in a number of television series including EastEnders, Grange Hill, Heartbeat and Holby City.
Kevin Lloyd played DC Tosh Lines from 1988–98, the character was written out as having accepted a position in the Coroner's Office after the actor was sacked for turning up drunk. The actor died a week after his dismissal. His son, James Lloyd played PC Steve Hunter from 2004 to 2006.
Andrew Paul played PC Dave Quinnan from 1989–2002 when the character left to transfer to SO10. Since leaving The Bill, Paul has enjoyed a brief stint on EastEnders as Maxwell Moon and on Where The Heart Is until the programme was axed in 2006.
Lisa Geoghan played PC Polly Page from 1992 to 2004. After assisting a friend's suicide, she was tried for murder and returned to Sun Hill as a Civilian CAD Officer, a role which she ultimately resigned from.
Jeff Stewart played PC Reg Hollis from 1984–2008. In 2008, the character was written out with the character resigning after being traumatised by the death of colleagues in a bomb blast. After learning of his axing from the show, Stewart attempted suicide on set by slashing his wrists. Stewart has not been on television since but has starred in the Miike Snow video, Black & Blue.
Lisa Maxwell played DI Samantha Nixon from 2002–09 until the character transferred to the child exploitation unit. In April 2009, she made an appearance, discussing The Bill, on The Paul O'Grady Show and now appears on Loose Women.
Roberta Taylor played Inspector Gina Gold from 2002–08, the character leaving due to the stress of the job. Taylor has since only appeared as a guest panellist on Loose Women, The Wright Stuff and The Paul O'Grady Show.
Graham Cole played PC Tony Stamp from 1984–2009. The character was written out as part of the 2009 revamp after producers felt that he didn't fit the new show. Cole's last episode was shown on 5 November 2009 and his departure means The Bill has no original characters remaining.
Trudie Goodwin played Sergeant June Ackland from 1983 to 2007, appearing first in Woodentop. The character retired in 2007 after her on-screen relationship with DC Jim Carver came to an abrupt end. When Goodwin left The Bill in 2007 she was not only the longest serving cast member in the history of The Bill, but also held the world record for the longest time an actor has portrayed a police character.
Alex Walkinshaw has played Inspector Dale "Smithy" Smith since 1999. Walkinshaw made three "one off" appearances in the series prior to becoming a regular cast member and has made appearances in several other British soaps and serial dramas.
Simon Rouse has played Superintendent Jack Meadows since 1990, though the character only became a regular role in 1992. Aside from The Bill, Rouse has had small appearances in a number of other British television series including Robin of Sherwood, The Professionals, Casualty, and Minder.
Chris Simmons played DC Mickey Webb from 2000 to 2010. He appeared twice on the show playing different roles, most notably as a criminal in 1999, before joining the cast as a regular in the following year. He left the series temporarily in 2003, as the culmination of a storyline where his character was raped. He made several guest appearances before returning as a regular in 2005.
This is a list of some of the most notable actors to have made brief or cameo appearances in The Bill.
Keira Knightley played child burglar Sheena Rose in a 1995 episode entitled "Swan Song".
Russell Brand played teenager Billy Case in a 1994 episode entitled Land of the Blind.
David Tennant played kidnapper Steven Clemens in a 1995 episode of The Bill called "Deadline".
Paul O'Grady – credited as "Paul Savage" – played transvestite Roxanne in three episodes of The Bill between 1988 and 1990.
Sean Bean played robber Horace Clark in a 1984 episode of The Bill entitled "Long Odds"
Ralf Little played Tommy Lawson in the 2001 episodes Judas Kiss, Shout, Aftershock and Night Games.
Emma Bunton played the role of Janice in the 1993 episode Missionary Work.
Catherine Tate appeared in the 1993 episode Give and Take and 1994 instalment Fly on the Wall.
James McAvoy played a Scots runaway named Gavin in a 1997 episode entitled Rent.
Lewis Collins played a stem cell scientist named Dr. Peter Allen in the 2002 episode 034 (ep43).
Lorraine Kelly appeared as herself in a 2003 episode when PC Cathy Bradford appeared on her GMTV show.
