| The Bill | |
|---|---|
 Title 1998–2009 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Geoff McQueen |
| Starring | Main cast |
| Theme music composer | Andy Pask andCharlie Morgan Samuel Sim (2009–2010) |
| Opening theme | "Overkill" (1984–2009) |
| Composer | Simba Studios |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 26 |
| No. of episodes | 2,425[1](list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production locations | South London (Colliers Wood/Mitcham), England |
| Running time | 22–46 minutes |
| Production companies | Thames Television (1983–2006) Talkback Thames (2006–2010) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 16 August 1983 (1983-08-16) – 31 August 2010 (2010-08-31) |
| Related | |
| |
The Bill is a Britishpolice procedural television series, broadcast onITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop" (part of theStoryboard 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", aslang term for the police and show creatorGeoff 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 asplainclothes detectives. Producers initially wanted to replicate the "day in the life" feature ofWoodentop, 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 onITV3 on their week of broadcast. The series has also been repeated on other digital stations, includingUKTV Gold andDrama. 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 formultiple sclerosis. The series also faced more general criticism concerning its levels of violence, particularly prior to 2009, when it occupied apre-watershed slot.The Bill, its cast and crew have won and been nominated for anumber of awards, includingBAFTAs and aWriters' 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 recommissionThe 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.
The Bill was originally conceived in 1983 byGeoff McQueen, then a new television writer, as a one-offdrama. McQueen had originally titled the productionOld Bill.[2] It was picked up by Michael Chapman forITV franchise holderThames Television, who retitled itWoodentop as part of Thames'sStoryboard series of one-off dramas and broadcast onITV under the titleWoodentop on 16 August 1983.[2]Woodentop starredMark Wingett asPCJim Carver andTrudie Goodwin as WPCJune Ackland of London'sMetropolitan Police, both attached to the fictional Sun Hill police station.[2]
Although originally only intended as a one-off,Woodentop so impressed ITV that a full series was commissioned, first broadcast on 16 October 1984 with onepost-watershed episode per week, featuring an hour-long, separate storyline for each episode of the first three series. The first episode of the full series was "Funny Ol' Business – Cops & Robbers". With serialisation, the name of the show changed fromWoodentop toThe Bill.[2] Series one had 11 episodes and was broadcast in 1984, series two and three had 12 episodes each and were broadcast in 1985–1986 and 1987 respectively.[3] With a full ensemble cast to explore new characters not featured or just mentioned inWoodentop, the focus of the storylines soon shifted away from new recruit Carver and towardsDetective InspectorRoy Galloway (John Salthouse) and SergeantBob Cryer (Eric Richard).[4]
The series then changed to two 30-minute episodes per week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays in 1988 (from July 1988 onwards, and began being broadcast all year round without a summer break),[5] increasing to three a week beginning in 1993, with the third episode being broadcast on Fridays. In 1998,The Bill returned to hour-long episodes, which later became twice-weekly,[6] with the Friday episode being dropped, at which point the series adopted a much more serialised approach. WhenPaul Marquess took over as executive producer in 2002, as part of a drive for ratings,[7] the series was revamped, bringing more of a soap-opera feel to many of its stories. Many veteran characters were written out, leading to theSun Hill fire during 2002. Marquess stated that the clearout was necessary to introduce "plausible, powerful new characters". As part of the new serial format, much more of the characters' personal lives were explored but, as Marquess put it, the viewers still "don't go home with them".[2] The change also allowedThe Bill to become more reflective of modern policing, with the introduction of officers from ethnic minorities, most notably the new superintendent,Adam Okaro (Cyril Nri). It also allowed coverage of the relationship of gay SergeantCraig Gilmore (Hywel Simons) and PCLuke Ashton (Scott Neal), a storyline which Marquess was determined to explore before rivalMerseybeat.[2]
In 2005, Johnathan Young took over as executive producer.[2] The serial format was dropped andThe Bill returned to stand-alone episodes with more focus on crime and policing than on the officers' personal lives. The year 2007 saw the reintroduction of episode titles, which had been dropped in 2002.[7] In 2009,The Bill moved back to the 9 pm slot it previously held, and the theme tune, "Overkill", was replaced as part of a major overhaul of the series.[7][8]
On 26 March 2010,ITV announced that it would be cancelling the series later that year after 27 years on air in 26 series.[9][10] ITV said that this decision reflected the "changing tastes" of viewers.[11] The last episode ofThe Bill was filmed in June 2010 and broadcast on 31 August 2010[12] followed by a documentary titledFarewell The Bill.[13] Fans of the show started a Save The Bill campaign onFacebook to persuade ITV to reconsider the cancellation,[14] andBBC Radio 1'sChris Moyles promoted the campaign on air.[15]
At the time the series ended in August 2010,The Bill was the United Kingdom's longest-running police drama and was among the longest-running of any British television series.[16] Theseries finale, "Respect", was aired in two parts and was dedicated to "the men and women of theMetropolitan Police Service past and present".[17] The finale storyline concerned gang member Jasmine Harris being involved in the murder of fellow member Liam Martin who died in the arms ofInspector Smith (Alex Walkinshaw) after being stabbed. Jasmine is thengang raped because she talked to the police, and whenCallum Stone (Sam Callis) found the person responsible he was held at gunpoint. Of the finale's title, executive producer Jonathan Young said "It's called "Respect" and we hope it will respect the heritage of the show". The finale episodes featured all the cast and the final scene was specially written so all cast members would be featured. The final character on screen was SuperintendentJack Meadows (Simon Rouse), by then the show's longest serving character, having first appeared in 1990; he is shown exiting the front door, getting in his car and driving off. Following the final episode, ITV aired a documentary entitledFarewell The Bill which featured interviews from past and present cast and crew members.[18] The finale was watched by 4.4 million viewers, withFarewell The Bill averaging 1.661 million viewers.[19]
On 17 April 2021, various media outlets began reporting that the series may be set for a reboot. Writer Simon Sansome was understood to have bought the rights to the original series, and was planning a revival, dubbedSun Hill (as licensing meant the series could no longer be calledThe Bill), alongsideHolby City creator and formerEastEnders writerTony McHale who had previously written episodes of The Bill and one of its spin-offs,Beech is Back. Sansome had been in talks with various cast members during a 2020 reunion and discussed possible appearances for show legendsMark Wingett (Jim Carver),Trudie Goodwin (June Ackland) andGraham Cole (Tony Stamp). However, no official date had been set for a return, nor had the mootedSun Hill project been picked up by any TV network.[20] On 18 April, Mark Wingett confirmed this on hisTwitter account, stating they had been "approached" by production companies but theSun Hill project had not been given the green light.[21]
Throughout the series, there have been three filming locations for Sun Hill police station. From the first series, the police station consisted of a set of buildings in Artichoke Hill,Wapping, East London.[22] However, these buildings were next to the News International plant and during the winter of 1985–86 there wasmuch industrial action which resulted in some altercations between the strikers and actors working onThe Bill who were mistaken for real officers. Working conditions got so dire that the production team realised they needed to find another base to set Sun Hill police station.[23]
The second location was an old record distribution depot in Barlby Road,North Kensington in North West London.[22] Filming began here in March 1987. In 1989, the owners of the Barlby Road site orderedThe Bill out, due to their redevelopment plans for the area. After an extensive search, two sites were selected, the favourite being a disused hospital inClapham. However, this fell through and the second option was chosen—an old wine distribution warehouse inMerton, South West London. The move was made in March 1990 and was disguised on screen by the "ongoing" refurbishment of Sun Hill police station and then finally the explosion of a terrorist car-bomb in the station car-park, which ended up killing PCKen Melvin.[24]
Filming for the series took place all over London, mainly inSouth London and particularly theLondon Borough of Merton, where the Sun Hill set was located.[2] Locations used when the show was filmed on ahousing estate included:
Scenes were often filmed in east London, most notably theLondon Docklands,[29] with other scenes filmed inTooting,[30]Greenwich[31] andCroydon.[32] In 2008, the episode "Demolition Girl" was filmed in The Gorbals,Glasgow.[33]
The set of Sun Hill police station at Wimbledon Studios remained until mid 2013 when it was finally dismantled.[34]
The Bill is set in and around Sun Hill police station, in the fictional "CanleyBoroughOperational Command Unit" in East London.Geoff McQueen, creator ofThe Bill, claimed that he named Sun Hill after a street name in his home town ofRoyston, Hertfordshire.[2]
The fictional Sun Hill suburb is located in the fictionalLondon borough of Canley in theEast End, north of theRiver Thames (Canley is the name of a real suburb ofCoventry). The Borough of Canley is approximately contiguous to the real-lifeLondon Borough of Tower Hamlets,[35] and in the first few years ofThe Bill, Sun Hill police station was actually stated as being located inWapping in Tower Hamlets. Sun Hill has aLondon E1 postcode (the 'address' of Sun Hill police station is given as '2 Sun Hill Road, Sun Hill, Canley E1 4KM[36]), which corresponds to the real-life areas ofWhitechapel andStepney.
When filmingThe Bill, some outdoor scenes were re-enacted indoors with microphones surrounding the actors and the extra sounds being "dubbed" on later. Some of the more aggressive scenes were also filmed indoors either for dubbing or safety reasons.[37] The sirens used in the series were added later in the dubbing suite asThe Bill did not have permission to use them while on location. However,[38] the police uniforms used in the series were genuine, again makingThe Bill unique amongst police dramas.[2][39][40] When the series ended, London's Metropolitan Police Service, after talks with the production company, bought 400 kilograms of police-related paraphernalia, including uniforms and body armour, to prevent them falling into the hands of criminals after the programme's production ceased.[41]The Bill is unique amongst police dramas in that it takes a serial format, focusing on the work and lives of a single shift of police officers, rather than on one particular area of police work. Also unique is thatThe Bill adapted to this format after several series, whereas comparable series started with the serial format.[42]
During its initial broadcast,The Bill was always shown onITV. In 2009,STV, ITV's regional franchise in Central and Northern Scotland, opted out of broadcasting the series along with a number of other dramas, a decision that later became the subject oflegal proceedings between STV and the main ITV network. The legal dispute was settled on 27 April 2011, with ITV receiving £18 million from STV.[43]
Aside from repeats of episodes onITV3, which occurred on the original week of their broadcast, the show has regularly been repeated on other digital stations. Re-runs of the series began on 1 November 1992, when new digital channelUKTV Gold began broadcasting. The channel broadcast repeats of the series for nearly 16 years, until 6 October 2008, when the channel was given a revamp by the owners of the network. During the 16-year period, re-runs of the series covered every episode broadcast between 16 October 1984, and 8 March 2007.[44] Episodes have also been broadcast on British drama channelAlibi until 23 December 2009. On 27 January 2010,UKTV relocatedThe Bill to its entertainment channelWatch. In July 2013, the show began broadcasting onDrama, starting with episodes from 1998.[45] Drama planned to air every episode from the beginning in 2017, but after a few weeks, the channel jumped to series 14.[46] Every series ofThe Bill was later added to the video-on-demand platformUKTV Play in 2024.[47]
The Bill has been broadcast in over 55 countries.[2][48]
The first opening sequence ofThe Bill was featured in the first episode "Funny Ol' Business – Cops & Robbers". The sequence consisted of two police officers, one male and one female, walking down a street while images of Sun Hill were interspersed between them. The theme tune is called "Overkill" and was composed byCharlie Morgan andAndy Pask.[54] The theme is notable for its use ofseptuple meter. It also features a guitar riff, withsynthesizer, bass and drum accompaniment, with "middle-eight" sections performed on synthesizers. From the fourth series a melody line was added to the "Overkill" theme, also composed by Pask and Morgan.[55] The end titles of the series simply showed the feet of the two police constables pounding the beat.[56] On 6 January 1998, starting with "Hard Cash", the third episode of the show's 14th series, a new version of the theme and title sequence debuted.[57]
On 20 February 2001, starting with "Going Under", the 14th episode of the show's 17th series, the previous opening and closing sequences were scrapped to make way for a completely new sequence and theme. This time, the opening sequence consisted of a montage image of the entire cast, backed by a darker, slower version of "Overkill". Vicky Frost ofThe Guardian was critical of the titles, writing "I remain to be convinced about these opening titles from 2001, with their jazzed-up theme tune, and shards of faces."[58] On 26 February 2003, starting with Episode No. 091, the opening and closing sequences were once again updated. This time, the opening sequence consisted of several generic police images, such as a police car and uniform. A new arrangement of "Overkill", composed by Lawrence Oakley, was also used for both the opening and closing sequences.[59]
On 3 January 2007, the opening and closing sequences were once again changed. This time, the opening sequence, for the first time, features an image of the Sun Hill sign, and returns to featuring images of officers in action.[58] This sequence also featured a further new arrangement of "Overkill", once again arranged by Lawrence Oakley.[59] On 23 July 2009, after the programme underwent a major overhaul, the opening sequence and theme tune were heavily changed.[8] This time, the classic "Overkill" theme was completely removed, and a new theme created by Simba Studios was used. However, producer Jonathan Young stated that echoes of "Overkill" can still be heard in the theme.[60][61] The opening sequence featured a patrol car driving through the streets of Sun Hill.[62]
WhenThe Bill was first commissioned as a series by ITV, it started with 12 episodes per year, each an hour long with a separate storyline.[2] In 1988, the format changed to a year-round broadcast with two 30-minute episodes per week. In 1993, this expanded to three 30-minute episodes per week. In 1998, the broadcast format changed to two one-hour episodes each week, also recording in16:9widescreenDigibeta. In 2009,The Bill began broadcasting in HD and as part of a major revamp, was reduced to broadcasting once a week.[63]The Bill ceased broadcasting on 31 August 2010 after 2,425 episodes, due to a decline in ratings.[64]
In 2000, ITV broadcast a one-off episode called "The Trial of Eddie Santini" which concluded a long-running storyline between PCEddie Santini (Michael Higgs) and WPCRosie Fox (Caroline Catz).[65] The following year, another one-off episode called "Beech on the Run" was filmed and set in Australia. It followsClaire Stanton's (Clara Salaman) pursuit of DS Don Beech (Billy Murray), who is wanted for the murder of DS John Boulton (Russell Boulter).[66] Further episodes filmed overseas include 1999's "Foreign Body", which was filmed in France,[67] and the two-part crossover episode "Proof of Life" with the German seriesLeipzig Homicide, which was filmed in Germany and broadcast in November 2008.[68]
The Bill has broadcast two live episodes. The first "Fatal Consequences" aired on 30 October 2003 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the pilot,Woodentop.[69] The episode was produced with a crew of 200 staff including seven camera crews.[6][69] It was reported to be the first live television broadcast of a programme where filming was not largely confined to a studio.[69] The storyline centres onDetective ConstableJuliet Becker (Rae Baker) and ConstableCathy Bradford (Connie Hyde) who are being held hostage by a man called Mark (Charles Dale) in a van in the station yard.[70] The episode was watched by around 10 million viewers.[71] "Fatal Consequences" was released onto DVD in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2011, as part of Network DVD's "Soap Box: Volume 1".[72]
The second live episode "Confessions of a Killer" aired on 22 September 2005 to celebrate the 50th birthday of ITV.[71] The episode features the departures of three officers, as a fire engulfs Sun Hill.[73] The episode attracted over nine million viewers, and was only the second timeComputer-generated imagery had been used on the show, as creating a real fireball ripping through the station corridors was not possible.[73]
A series of episodes titledThe Bill Uncovered were produced to reflect the stories of select characters and events. The first wasThe Bill Uncovered : Des and Reg (2004) – The story of the unusual friendship between PCDes Taviner (Paul Usher) and PCReg Hollis (Jeff Stewart), traversing their history from Des's first day at Sun Hill to his death in a Sun Hill cell.[74]The second wasThe Bill Uncovered: Kerry's Story (2004), the story of PCKerry Young (Beth Cordingly), who met her death outside Sun Hill.[75] The third special wasThe Bill Uncovered : Jim's Story (2005), the story of DCJim Carver (Mark Wingett) – from his first day at Sun Hill (in the pilot "Woodentop"). The last wasThe Bill Uncovered: On The Front Line (2006), in which SuperintendentAdam Okaro (Cyril Nri) recounts the extraordinary events that have surrounded Sun Hill over his time in charge.[76] A review of the second of these specials criticised the "increasingly degenerative plotlines" of the series, and characterised the special as a "cheerless outing" coveringThe Bill's "travesties of plot".[75] All four editions ofThe Bill Uncovered were released on DVD in Australia as part ofThe Bill Series 26 DVD boxset on 30 April 2014.[77]
To celebrate the show's 25th anniversary, a special programmeThe Bill Made Me Famous was broadcast in November 2008. Narrated byMartin Kemp, it features former actors and special guest stars discussing their time working on the show and how it changed their lives, includingPaul O'Grady,Les Dennis,Michelle Collins,Pauline Quirke andDarren Day.[78]
Immediately following the final episode, a one-hour special titledFarewell The Bill was broadcast on 31 August 2010.[79] The special explored the history of the series and gave viewers a behind the scenes look at the filming of the last episode.[79] This special was later released on DVD in Australia on 5 October 2011, along with the last two-part episode "Respect".[80]
The Bill had a large regular cast to support the number of episodes that were produced each year. Working onThe Bill became something of a rite of passage in British acting, with 174 actors having formed part of the series' main cast since the series began.[46] The constant need for minor characters, normally appearing in only a single episode, inevitably led to numerous guest roles inThe Bill being played by actors and actresses who later achieved a high profile, some of whom appeared as child actors. These includeKeira Knightley,James McAvoy,Ray Winstone andSean Bean.[81]
The original one-off episodeWoodentop followed a day in the life of PCJim Carver (Mark Wingett). It also featured WPC June Ackland (Trudie Goodwin).[46] When a full series ofThe Bill was commissioned, producers wanted to replicate the "Day in the Life" feature and made sure a police officer was in every single scene.[46] When the series began there were 13 regular cast members. Only two of these were uniformed women – WPCs June Ackland and Viv Martella (Nula Conwell). There were no female characters in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).[82] The show's first black police officer PC Abel Lyttleton (Ronny Cush) was introduced in 1985.[3] In 2002, new executive producerPaul Marquess introduced a "serialised, almost soap-opera style" with episodes focusing more on the officers' personal lives.[46] Marquess also wrote out a number of characters duringa fire in the station. He then introduced several new characters to the show, including PCKerry Young (Beth Cordingly), InspectorGina Gold (Roberta Taylor), andKen Drummond (Russell Floyd).[83] The longest serving cast members were Trudie Goodwin andJeff Stewart (PCReg Hollis), who starred in over 900 episodes, andGraham Cole (PCTony Stamp) who starred in 1,112 episodes.[46]
The following list contains characters whose roles transformed the series, and in some cases led to spin-offs, as well as characters who hold individual accolades for their time on the series.
The Bill was a popular drama in the United Kingdom and in many other countries, most notably in Australia.[42]
The series attracted audiences of up to six million viewers in 2008 and 2009.[100] Ratings during 2002 peaked after the overhaul of the show which brought about the2002 fire episode, in which six officers were killed,[101] and the 2003 live episode attracted 10 million viewers – 40% of the UK audience share.[102] Immediately followingThe Bill's revamping and time slot change, it was reported that the programme had attracted 4.5 million viewers, 19% of the audience share, but it lost out in the ratings to theBBC'sNew Tricks,[103] with theDaily Mirror later reporting that ITV's schedule change was behind a two million viewer drop in ratings.[104]
In 2001, prior toPaul Marquess's appointment as executive producer, ratings had dropped to approximately six million viewers, and advertising revenues had fallen, in part due to the ageing demographic of its viewers, leading ITV to order a "rejuvenation", which saw the series adopt a serial format.[2]
In 2002,The Independent reported thatThe Bill's Thursday episode was viewed by approximately 7 million people, a fall of approximately 3 million viewers in the space of six months.[105] After the cast clearout resulting from theSun Hill fire in April 2002, BBC News reported that the show attracted 8.6 million viewers, the highest figure for the year to that point,[101] and by October 2003, the program had around 8 million viewers each week.[6]
In 2005,The Bill was averaging around 11 million viewers, in comparison toCoronation Street, which was attracting around 10 million viewers.[106]
In 2009,The Daily Mirror reported thatThe Bill was to be moved to a post-watershed slot to allow it to cover grittier storylines. It was reported that it was the first time in British Television thatITV had broadcast a drama all year in the 9 pm slot.[107] The changeover happened at the end of July 2009. Before the move, the programme was averaging 5 million viewers between the two episodes each week.BARB reported that the week of 12–18 October 2009 saw 3.78 million viewers watch the show.[108]
The Bill has achieved a number of awards throughout its time on air, ranging from aBAFTA[109] to theRoyal Television Society Awards.[110] and theInside Soap Awards, particularly the Best Recurring Drama category.[111][112]
In 2010,The Bill was nominated for a Royal Television Society award for Best Soap/Continuing Drama, beating bothCoronation Street andEmmerdale onto the nominations list. The only soap to be nominated wasEastEnders and the results were announced on 16 March 2010.[113] In 2009 an episode ofThe Bill won the Knights of Illumination Award for Lighting Design- Drama.[114]
It has been compared toHill Street Blues due to the similar, serial, format that both series take.[115] However,The Bill saw little direct competition on British television in thepolice procedural genre over its 25-year history, though theBBC launched several rival series, with varying degrees of success: The first was in 1990–91 when two series ofWaterfront Beat were produced for the BBC byPhil Redmond.[116] In 1995–96, two series ofOut of the Blue were produced, but failed to gain significant ratings.[117] In 1998 cameCity Central, which lasted for three series, until being cancelled in 2000.[118][119] Next wasMerseybeat, which began airing in 2001, but was cancelled in 2004 due to poor ratings and problems with the cast.[120][121]HolbyBlue, launched in 2007, was a spin-off of successful medical dramaHolby City (itself a spin-off of the long-runningCasualty). It was scheduled to go "head to head" withThe Bill, prompting a brief "ratings war" but, in 2008,HolbyBlue was also cancelled by the BBC, again, largely due to poor ratings.[122][123]
WhenThe Bill started, the majority of thePolice Federation were opposed to the programme, claiming that it portrayed the police as a racist organisation, but feelings towards the programme later mellowed,[40] to the extent that, in 2006, executive producer Johnathan Young metSir Ian Blair, thenCommissioner of the Met, and it was decided that the editorial relationship between the police and the programme was sufficient. However, Young stressed thatThe Bill was not "editorially bound" to the police.[40]
Despite better relations with the police,The Bill was still not without controversy. It was sometimes criticised for the high levels of violence, especially prior to 2009, when it occupied apre-watershed timeslot.[56] Specific story lines also came under fire in the media, such as that involving a gay kiss in 2002,[2] as well as an episode broadcast in March 2008 which featured a fictional treatment formultiple sclerosis, leading theMS Society to brand the plot "grossly irresponsible".[124]
The Bill spawned several spin-off productions, as well as related series in German and Dutch.
| Title | Author | Year | Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Bill: Annual | Geoff McQueen | 1989 | Grandreams | ISBN 978-0-86227-675-1 |
| The Bill: The Inside Story Of British Television's Most Successful Police Series (RetitledThe 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[130] | 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 |
Starting in 1985, authorJohn Burke wrote a series of novelisations of select episodes.[131]
| 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[132] | 1992 | ISBN 978-0-7493-1388-3 | Adapted select episodes of Series 1–4 (1984–1988) | ||
| The Bill: Tough Love[133] | Dave Morris | 1997 | Puffin | ISBN 978-0-14-038516-8 | Adapted from the Series 12 (1996) episode |
| The Bill: Junior[134] | 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[135] | Columbia Records (1985) | "7" Vinyl | Side A – Overkill and Side B -Rock Steady |
| Greatest TV Themes: The 90s[136] | CHV Music Factory (19 July 2010) | Mp3 download | Overkill |
The long-running cop show takes up a new beat when a crime committed in Sun Hill leads to a manhunt abroad in this specially extended episode shot on location in France.
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| Notable episodes |
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| Spin-offs |
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| Lists | |
