The Bill (mostly the pre-soap decent episodes) on UK TV play

[paruses]

I fell asleep watching a couple in the night and woke up to find I was on S14E3 which made me think I had either been asleep for 11 hours or some had rolled off. I think I was on a about episode 70. Looking at S14 there are 90 odd episodes. Was it really on that much in the 90s?

I jumped ahead to the  S20 listing expecting to see unknown faces but. Chandler (not that one) is in it and Quinnan and Polly are still doing their romance. Seems to move at a glacial pace to get to the Tucker Jenkins era.

[Gurke and Hare]

I saw a bit of Eastenders the other night, and there was someone in it that I was sure was Polly, but it's not on her imdb page.

[Fambo Number Mive]

According to Wikipedia, Geoghan was in Eastenders in December 2021, could it have been a repeat from last month? (Not sure how Eastenders scheduling works).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Geoghan

In December 2021 Geoghan made a guest appearance in EastEnders playing Paula, a barmaid in the pub owned by Linda Carter's (Kellie Bright) mother Elaine Peacock (Maria Friedman).

[paruses]

A young, floppy haired Kris Marshall has just turned in a silent but decent performance as a car robber.

I don't think I have ever noticed how small Bob Cryer is.

[paruses]

Lots of people have come into The Bill as regulars after finding fame elsewhere - Lisa Maxwell, Caroline Katz (I think) spring to mind. Has anyone been a Bill regular and then gone on to big stuff (or medium stuff) after? I was just wondering if either The Bill pays so well they can jack it in or if there is a Curse of The Bill.

I seem to think Honey (maybe), who was in the Garbriel era, is in something like Hollyoaks or Footballer's Wives (a modern version). Apart from that I can't think of anyone.

Fake Edit - I had to watch a compliance video for work and Noorika was in that. It was brilliant - like seeing somewhere you know on the news.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Alex Walkinshaw went onto Waterloo Road and Casualty/Holby City

Love this sentence from his Wikipedia entry

He has previously admitted that he would be keen to appear in the soap, EastEnders.

Philip Whitchurch (Chief Inspector Cato, the BBB) from the 90s has gone on to do loads of TV work since then.

Billy Murray has been in lots of films since his character left the Bill such as  One in the Chamber (2012), We Still Steal the Old Way (2016), Nemesis (2021) and the Rise of the Footsoldier film series (2007–2021). He was also the voice of Captain John Price in the Call of Duty video games.

[paruses]

I forgot Chief Inspector Cato. That is a familiar face.

And of course Nick Slater went on to be the sleazy one in the Peep Show Rainbow Rhythms episode who got off with Nancy.

 

[Fambo Number Mive]

I've been watching some of the early Chandler ones (UKTV has them as the second half of series 19). They are surprisingly good, certainly a lot better than the later Chandler episodes where it had gone full Eastenders.

Watched one where Tony Stamp records a dating agency video and later on goes on a couple of dates, telling his date he works in antiques.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Neil Fitzmaurice in the latest one as a Drug Squad DC.

[paruses]

I remember that one from rewatches a couple of years ago. Love it when Jeff pops up in things, maybe more than any other actor for some reason.

I'd love to see Tony Stamp down the ends with the mandem spitting bare UK drill bars to get the local gang member onside and end the postcode wars.

For some reason I think of this every few days and chuckle. Also Tony sitting the wrong way round on a chair to bond with the cadets.

[Gurke and Hare]

Bishop Len Brennan turning up as a prison psychiatrist!

[Fambo Number Mive]

Watched the episode Twanky recently where they put on a panto. Loved how rubbish Polly's panto was with an unfortunate choice of finale song. A very weird episode but well worth a watch. Has anyone else seen it?

A very amusing episode is the one where Sgt Boyden's daughter goes missing and he dumps his granddaughter on various people, leading to Chandler to wonder why a

Spoiler alert

pink beaker and felt tip

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are in his office. The daftness of various characters interacting with a two year old is very amusing. It's series 17 but not sure how UkTV list it.

I do feel a bit weird enjoying the Bill given the behaviour and corruption of many real police officers, but I guess you can enjoy the Sopranos while despising the actions of the real Mafia.

[Gurke and Hare]

I do feel a bit weird enjoying the Bill given the behaviour and corruption of many real police officers, but I guess you can enjoy the Sopranos while despising the actions of the real Mafia.

I know what you mean, you just have to rationalise it as a fantasy really. Imagine if all the police were Bob Cryer and Debbie Keane! It'd be great!

[Utter Shit]

Lads am I going mad? After reading this thread I went on a little nostalgia trip on The Bill's wiki and fandom pages, and I can't find any info on a character I'm sure I remember. I have a vague memory of a tall, grey haired guy - possibly sort of spikey? - who was in the show in the mid-late 90s. I feel like he was a sort of middle manager at Sun Hill, the bridge between the top brass (Cryer, Brownlow, Meadows?) and the beat bobbies. Anyone able to either point me in the right direction or confirm that I've just lost the plot?

[Fambo Number Mive]

I don't remember this person, sorry. What rank would they have been? Can you describe any storylines with them in>?

[Gurke and Hare]

More episodes have been yanked today, and the earliest ones there now say that they've got 27 days left.

[paruses]

Damn. That's the time period last time - just shy of a month. Means I am only going to get through half a series at a time.

Does that mean the Don Beech arc has now gone? Bit pissed off if so as I wanted to relive that.

[Fambo Number Mive]

The Don Beech corruption episodes are still on there. The first episodes of the serieses that are still left on there have Jamillia Blake in them still, so I think it's series 14-19 still on UK TV Play.

[paruses]

Thanks. I was away last week so my Clockwork Orange style consumption of The Bill was on hold. Will get back into it just to catch the DON Beech ones.

Is Jamillia Blake a character or an actress? Neither rings a bell.

[Fambo Number Mive]

A character, she was a PC for a few series.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Rewatched some of the George-Jenny-Dave love triangle episodes, including the one with the bloke in hospital who Dave has to guard. Do think the love triangle was a harbinger of the full on soap nonsense to come.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Just to say I finished reading Oliver Crocker's Witness Statements yesterday, it's an excellent book filled with interviews of cast and crew talking about making series 1-3 of the Bill. I hope he writes a follow up book about later series someday.

[Gurke and Hare]

RIK MAYALL KLAXON

Three part story called Humpty Dumpty starting at series 16, episode 42 but Rik doesn't turn up until part 2. Only on UKTV Play for another 7 days.

[Fambo Number Mive]

I note they've now put Series 19, where the Bill really jumped the shark on UK TV Play - they call it Series 21, it has the deaths of

Spoiler alert

Conway, Monroe

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in it.

I thought the early Chandler was an  interesting character, a slicker and more aggressive Brownlow, but then he became a cartoon baddie and properly evil.

[paruses]

Need to get back into this but it always becomes a compulsion.

Posting to say I was sorry to see Burnside is not well (aphasia - like Bruce Willis - and of course countless non-famous people).

Here's a link to a bit of the story but it's been trotted out lightly on all similar "local paper" sites:

https://www.banburyguardian.co.uk/health/who-is-chris-ellison-what-is-aphasia-does-the-bill-actor-have-same-disorder-as-bruce-willis-age-and-wife-3641245

[Gurke and Hare]

Another chunk of episodes vanished at the start of the month and the earliest are in soap territory now. All the cops are shagging each other. Eddie Santini's like a character in a bad British gangster film.

[Fambo Number Mive]

I watched a couple of what was marked as Series 26 episodes on there a few days ago where they tried to make it less of a soap again. They were alright but the characters were gone to the other extreme, just too dull.

And then I watched an episode from what was marked as Series 22 on there and Sgt Ackland and a PC played by Todd Carty were talking about their affair...very sad what happened to the Bill.

[Des Wigwam]

And then I watched an episode from what was marked as Series 22 on there and Sgt Ackland and a PC played by Todd Carty were talking about their affair...very sad what happened to the Bill.

Is it just the way you have phrased it or are you not aware of the Tucker years?


Edit - the way I've phrased it now sounds like the character was Tucker Jenkins as a policeman (which it pretty much was in my head).

[Fambo Number Mive]

I know he was some kind of evil PC, was he June Ackland's son who became a sniper or something?

[Fambo Number Mive]

Just looking on Wikipedia and he was PC Gabriel Kent.

The Billaton has updated its excellent reviews section with reviews of Series 9: http://thebillaton.uk/spare-page-2/

Series 9 was classic The Bill.