The Bill (TV Series)

I thought I might share with you guys a show that I have loved for many years now.



It is called 'The Bill' and it ran from 1984 to 2010. Basically, the show focused on the everyday activities of a fictional London police station. The show gradually changed over the many years it aired, sometimes not for the better.


The episodes from the 80s are quite interesting, but not as exciting as later series. They still layed a good platform for the series to build on, establishing long lasting characters and a few memorable moments.


The 90s definitely improved on a lot of things and produced some amazing storylines. It was around this decade that the Bill became one of the most popular shows in Britain, airing 2 episodes a week for a few years.


The 2000s was a decade of dramatic change for the Bill, which ultimately led to its axing in 2010. The ratings for the show were apparently dropping in 2002 so the producers decided to revamp the show and turn it into a soap opera. This was a bad move, as the show then revolved around tragedies and scandals in the officers' personal lives and not the actual police work they did. Another revamp in 2009 was not enough to save The Bill and it was cut in 2010.

This post is pretty long but I reckon this series deserves some recognition after years on British television. If you are going to watch it I reckon the episodes from 1994 to 2002 are the best to watch. Please ask if you want info on specific episodes.

Must be honest i hated The Bill, catchy theme song though.

It used footage of the flats i stayed in as a kids demolition in a scene, i couldn't find the clip from The Bill but this was the demolition.

I'm sorry to hear that. I myself hate 'The Bill' episodes from 2003-2010 as they are utter trash compared to earlier stories.

I think pretty much everyone watched The Bill when it first started , it stood out on British TV as it felt immediate cos of the way it was filmed.

That's how I remember it Christine. Everyone at school watched that which, of course, meant that everyone at home watched it as, back then, the parents actually controlled the TV. And you only had one.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Aye that's true. No TV sets in kids bedrooms then. I haven't seen it for years but still remember Tosh, Reg, June, DCI Burnside, Sergeant Cryer.

TBF, I did have a tv in my room. It was a b&w portable.

I remember those characters, too. My sister had a huge crush on Reg.

Hmm you're so much younger than me tho

I was one of the first, too. No one else I knew had a TV in their room at that time. Most adults didn't have TV's in their rooms back then. Not that I knew, anyway.

Of all the nice looking fellas on that show your sister had a crush on Reg? He was so whiny and irritating. Surely someone like Rod Skase would be crush material.

I know. I was always giving her the sideways look.

This is him now by the way .. .

That's magnificent. He looks better now than he did then.