The Bill
Updated: 12/21/2025, 12:42:28 PM Wikipedia source
The Bill is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop" (part of the Storyboard series), broadcast on 16 August 1983. ITV were so impressed with the drama that a full series was commissioned. The title originates from "Old Bill", a slang term for the police and show creator Geoff McQueen's original title for the series. The Bill focuses on the lives and work of one shift of police officers of all ranks, and the storylines deal with situations faced by uniformed officers working on the beat, as well as plainclothes detectives. Producers initially wanted to replicate the "day in the life" feature of Woodentop, and made sure a police officer was featured in every single scene. The series later adopted a much more serialised approach, and a revamp in 2002 led to more of a soap-opera feel to many of its stories. The Bill began with a regular cast of 13 members, with only two of these being uniformed women. In total, 174 actors have formed part of the series' main cast. Throughout its 26-year run, the programme was always broadcast on the main ITV channel. In later years, episodes of the show were repeated on ITV3 on their week of broadcast. The series has also been repeated on other digital stations, including UKTV Gold and Drama. It has been broadcast in over 55 countries. The series has attracted controversy on several occasions. An episode broadcast in 2008 was criticised for featuring fictional treatment for multiple sclerosis. The series also faced more general criticism concerning its levels of violence, particularly prior to 2009, when it occupied a pre-watershed slot. The Bill, its cast and crew have won and been nominated for a number of awards, including BAFTAs and a Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award. In March 2010, following a spell of declining viewership and negative public and media reception, executives at ITV announced that the network did not intend to recommission The Bill and that filming would cease on 14 June 2010. The final episode, titled "Respect", aired on 31 August 2010. The Bill was the longest-running police procedural television series in the United Kingdom, and among the longest running of any British television series at the time of its cancellation.
Infobox
Tables
| Title | Author | Year | Publisher | ISBN |
| The Bill: Annual | Geoff McQueen | 1989 | Grandreams | mw- body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- } }ISBN 978-0-86227-675-1 |
| The Bill: The Inside Story Of British Television's Most Successful Police Series(Retitled The Bill: The Inside Story Of The Most Successful Police Series Ever Seen On ABC TV for Australian publication) | Tony Lynch | 1991 (Hardback)1992 (Paperback) | Boxtree | ISBN 978-0-7333-0196-4 |
| The Bill: The First Ten Years | Hilary Kingsley | 1994 (Hardback)1995 (Paperback) | ISBN 978-1-85283-957-4 | |
| The Bill: The Inside Story | Rachel Silver | 1999 | HarperCollins | ISBN 978-0-00-257137-1 |
| Burnside: The Secret Files | K. M. Lock | 2000 | ISBN 978-0-00-710719-3 | |
| The Bill: The Complete Low-Down On 20 Years At Sun Hill(Retitled The Bill: The Official History of Sun Hill for copies published in 2004 | Geoff Tibballs | 2003 (Hardback) 2004 (Paperback) | Carlton Books | ISBN 978-1-84442-985-1 |
| The Bill: The Official Case Book | Geoff Tibballs | 2006 | ISBN 978-0-7333-1874-0 |
| Title | Author | Year | Publisher | ISBN | Episode |
| The Bill 1 | John Burke | 1985 | Thames Mandarin | ISBN 978-0-7493-0277-1 | Adapted select episodes of Series 1 (1985) |
| The Bill 2 | 1987 | ISBN 978-0-7493-0278-8 | Adapted select episodes of Series 2 (1986) | ||
| The Bill 3 | 1989 | ISBN 978-0-7493-0002-9 | Adapted select episodes of Series 4 (1988) | ||
| The Bill 4 | 1990 | ISBN 978-0-7493-0374-7 | Adapted select episodes of Series 5 (1989) | ||
| The Bill 5 | 1991 | ISBN 978-0-7493-0842-1 | Adapted select episodes of Series 5 (1989) | ||
| The Bill 6 | 1992 | ISBN 978-0-7493-1178-0 | Adapted select episodes of Series 6 (1990) | ||
| The Bill Omnibus | 1992 | ISBN 978-0-7493-1388-3 | Adapted select episodes of Series 1–4 (1984–1988) | ||
| The Bill: Tough Love | Dave Morris | 1997 | Puffin | ISBN 978-0-14-038516-8 | Adapted from the Series 12 (1996) episode |
| The Bill: Junior | 1997 | ISBN 978-0-14-038515-1 | Adapted from the Series 12 (1996) episode |
| Release title | Publisher and year | Format | Song included |
| The Bill Overkill by Morgan Pask | Columbia Records (1985) | "7" Vinyl | Side A – Overkill and Side B -Rock Steady |
| Greatest TV Themes: The 90s | CHV Music Factory (19 July 2010) | Mp3 download | Overkill |
References
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- The Bill: The Official History of Sun Hill
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- australia-times.com.auhttp://www.australia-times.com.au/entertainment/article.php?id=2153
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- "Mark Wingett on Twitter: "If I could just put the record straight ..."https://twitter.com/huskyfusky/status/1383747761107968004
- The Bill
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- Daily Recordhttps://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity/exclusive-the-bill-star-micah-balfour-986654
- TNT Magazinehttps://www.tntmagazine.com/archive/london-whats-on-the-bill-farewell-tour-wimbledon-studios/
- Crime, Justice and the Media
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- The Bill uniforms bought up by the Metropolitan Police, BBC London News Archived 21 October 2010 at the Wayback Machinehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11563246
- "It's a fair cop, guv: Australian fans of The Bill"http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-137717182/fair-cop-guv-australian.html
- The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/apr/27/stv-settles-legal-dispute-wth-itv
- "Emin stitches tribute to The Bill"https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3561744.stm
- "Crime"http://drama.uktv.co.uk/crime/
- "An oral history of The Bill: Looking back with the cast of Britain's most iconic cop show"https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a835213/oral-history-of-the-bill/
- "The Bill: Every series to be added to UKTV Play"https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/thebill-uktvplayann1
- "The Bill will be cutback to one episode per week"https://web.archive.org/web/20110717034544/http://entertainment.stv.tv/tv/71652-the-bill-will-be-cutback-to-one-episode-per-week/
- "Farewell The Bill"http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2010/10/farewell-the-bill.html
- TV2https://web.archive.org/web/20120507221113/http://ontv.dk/info/311336226400-lov-uorden
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- Kanal 9https://web.archive.org/web/20111108125921/http://www.tv.nu/serier/thebill
- "It turns out that every wrestling theme song fits perfectly over The Bill's opening titles"https://www.shortlist.com/news/wrestling-theme-song-the-bill-opening-titles
- The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog+the-bill
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- "The Bill's theme tune to be axed"https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8133163.stm
- Broadcast Nowhttp://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/the-bill-halves-its-staff-and-changes-its-tune/5003079.article
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- Daily Expresshttps://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/667560/The-Bill-ITV-UKTV-Sun-Hill-Eric-Richard-Sergeant-Cryer
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- Inside Soap
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- Radio Timeshttps://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-bill-cast-where-now/
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- Daily Mirrorhttps://www.thefreelibrary.com/I+thought+I+was+important+to+The+Bill..to+find+out+I+wasn%27t+was+a...-a073610428
- The Independenthttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-kevin-lloyd-1161483.html
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- The Independenthttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/colin-tarrant-actor-best-known-as-inspector-monroe-in-the-bill-6297535.html
- BBC Newshttps://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7846447.stm
- BBC Newshttps://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1946700.stm
- BBC Newshttps://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3230209.stm
- The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jul/24/the-bill-tv-ratings
- Daily Mirrorhttps://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/10/22/black-thursday-115875-21764508/
- The Independenthttps://web.archive.org/web/20120906223654/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/bitchy-women-and-mass-murder-as-the-bill-tries-to-arrest-decline-654425.html
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- The Mirrorhttps://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/latest/2009/01/22/bill-moves-to-post-watershed-slot-115875-21062312/
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- Irish Independenthttp://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/eastenders-tops-the-bill-for-the-inside-soap-awards-1898891.html
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- Irish Independenthttps://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001715/19980404/569/0064
- Halifax Evening Courierhttps://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005232/20000624/485/0032
- Coventry Evening Telegraphhttps://www.thefreelibrary.com/You+can%27t+beat+crime+time+viewing.-a076540108
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- Junior ("The Bill")https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0140385150
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