Jo Masters

Jo Masters
File:Jo Masters.png Sergeant Jo Masters, played by Sally Rogers
First appearance	Episode # 275 (05/01/05)
Portrayed by	Sally Rogers
In-universe information
Title	Sergeant
Occupation	Police Officer

Sergeant 46 Joanne 'Jo' Masters, portrayed by Sally Rogers is a fictional character in the police drama The Bill. She arrived in January 2005, and is currently the longest serving female officer at Sun Hill.

Jo was initially recruited as a Detective Constable by Adam Okaro (Cyril Nri), whom was Sun Hill's Superintendent from 2002 until 2006. Okaro had plans for her to defuse the tension between CID heads Jack Meadows (Simon Rouse) and young pretender DI Neil Manson (Andrew Lancel). It was immediately clear that Jo had sustained somewhat of an infamous reputation at her previous stations, partially because her former senior officer could not abide her. A capable detective with several years' experience, Jo had her chance to shine almost instantly when both her superiors were caught up in a hostage situation, and being that she is a skilled hostage negotiator she was brought onto the scene. When the situation was finally over and her superiors were freed, they both remarked to Okaro that Jo's presence in CID could be "counter-productive", to which Okaro replied that it was the first time either of them had agreed in a long time, implying she had succeeded in his original mission for her.

Headstrong, lively and motivated, Jo is a no-nonsense copper who is there to get a result and does not really care about whom she offends in the process. When Samantha Nixon (Lisa Maxwell) went behind Jo's back to speak to her exclusive supergrass Seth Mercer (Philip Martin Brown), frightening him off and putting his life in danger by doing so, Jo ignored the fact that Nixon was her superior and challenged her actions. In doing so, Jo gave friend and colleague TDC Gary Best (Ciaran Griffiths) the courage and inspiration to lodge a complaint against DC Suzie Sim (Wendy Kweh), whom he believed to be bullying him, which shows just how influential Jo's actions are.

Jo is an out-and-proud lesbian and was in a long-term relationship with a woman named Tess Henry (Emma Callander) until 2006. Jo's commitment to the job and just under a year working undercover in another district caused the two of them to separate.

Having made a lasting impression at Sun Hill, it was no surprise when Superintendent Adam Okaro chose Jo to be the contact officer for a recently released child serial killer named Cath Wilson (Pauline Quirke). Although Jo made the discovery that Wilson had been wrongly accused when she was first convicted, she quickly landed back in prison for assault. After having formed a bond with the woman, Jo used the link with Wilson to her advantage when she went undercover as a Prison Officer in Stornwall Private Women's Prison, where Tess worked as a Drama Therapist, and Wilson was an inmate, to discover how drugs were being sold on the wings after a spate of overdoses. After speaking to an ex-con who had recently been released, Jo established that new inmates were given free samples of heroin when they arrived in order to get them hooked, whether they liked it or not. Jo later discovered that prime suspect Cheri Watkins (Penny Layden), a lifer who was doing time for murder, was forcing a young, vulnerable inmate named Steph King (Zoe Thorne) to smuggle in pure heroin from Watkins' dealer, Lenny Denton (Tom Neill), who pretended to be Steph's boyfriend. After DC Suzie Sim arranged a sting during visiting time, Jo arrested Watkins and Denton, along with the Head Prison Officer Pete Morahan (Neil Daglish). It later transpired that Wilson had used Jo to get rid of Watkins, so that she could take control of the wing. Jo, angry at being used by Wilson, had her transfered to another prison.

When Seth Mercer contacted Jo once more with information that his haulage company was being exploited by business partners, she was convinced to go undercover on a long-term operation at Nottingham CID. Her undercover operation resulted in the death of Seth Mercer and the suspect, Phillip Hanson (Iain Stuart Robertson), and Jo returned to Sun Hill.

In 2007, whilst working on a case involving the murder of a super model called Cindy Statham (Nathalie Cox), Jo was kidnapped and held hostage at gun point by Crime Scene Photographer Rachel Inns (Amanda Abbington), after she collected enough evidence to arrest her on the suspicion of the murder. The previous suspect, Larry Franks (Rupert Holliday-Evans), had made a statement confessing to the murder, but after he withdrew his confession, Jo was determined to clear Larry's name and prove to DI Neil Manson that he was wrong.

Jo investigated the murder of a teenage girl named Kelly Porterfield in 2008, which uncovered a nation wide network of trafficking of underage girls for sex, involving suspects Andy Donnelly (Jack McMullen), Kenton Farmer (Johnny Farmer), and Jake Clegg (Warren Brown). After spending the night outside the residential unit of one young girl, Jen Kilshaw (Chloe Hesar), to ensure her safety, Jo was berrated by Superintendent John Heaton (Daniel Flynn) for becoming too involved. It was decided that DC Mickey Webb (Chris Simmons) would go undercover at one of Clegg's properties which was suspected of being involved in the abuse of young girls, and Clegg was arrested and interviewed by Jo, who was forced to release him because of a lack of evidence, much to her frustration. Later, intelligence suggested that a group of girls were to be trafficked from Sun Hill to Glasgow that day, and Jo was horrifed when she received a call from Jen saying she had been abducted by Farmer. Desperate, Jo and Mickey eventually broke through Donnelly's tough exterior to find out where Clegg and Farmer had taken the girls. The DCs finally traced them, and were horrified to see two van loads of distressed and drugged girls, including Jen. Mickey insisted that they wait to for back up, but Jo was worried that it would be too late for the victims. Both officers jumped out of their car and while Mickey arrested Farmer, Clegg saw red and attacked Jo, who was eventually able to restrain him, and all suspects were arrested.

Jo's motivation is second to none, and her instinct and determination has served her and her colleages well in the past. No-nonsense and headstrong, she'll do anything to nail a crook and makes sure the colleagues she works alongside pull their weight too. She is motivated by her sense of responsibility to the public. The job is a vocation and a way of life – she’s never wanted to do anything else. She’s a tough cookie, but is still prepared to learn and grow from every experience she encounters.

In 2009, Jo, DC Terry Perkins (Bruce Byron), and DC Jacob Banks (Patrick Robison) investigated the case of a sixteen year old girl named Janine Clark (Fiona Ryan), who said she was gang raped by her boyfriend Mark Watts (Gregory Foreman) and three of his friends, Greg Holbrook (Tommy Knight), Paul Hayes (Scott Haran) and Leo Cooper (Joe Cole). Janine claimed that while Watts, Hayes and Cooper raped her, Holbrook held her down while Hayes filmed it on Watts' phone. The four boys were arrested and when Watts was questioned, the arrogant teenager said the group sex was initiated by Janine. Holbrook was then interviewed Jo, who told her how two weeks before, Janine had started kissing him in front of Watts. After the interviews, DI Neil Manson held a briefing and clashed with Jo who insisted that whatever Janine may have done in the past, it didn't mean that she consented on the night of the incident. As the investigation continues, it became clear that without the mobile phone footage, Jo didn’t have a case. Horrified that the boys might get away with the rape, Jo begged for more time on the case. With egotistical Watts, confident that he’d be out of Sun Hill soon, Jo was determined to get a confession out of Holbrook, the weakest member of the group. With only two hours left until they were due to be released, Jo was able to get Holbrook to confess to what really happened that night, and of the where abouts of Watts' phone with the incriminating video evidence. Jo was then able to charge all four suspects, impressing her DI.

Shortly afterwards, Jo investigated a case of harrassment, after Sun Hill officers are called to a flat owned by Ami Ryan (Kara Tointon), where suspect Jeremy Preston (Gareth David-Lloyd) has broken in during the night. Preston claimed he was drunk and disorientated, and broke in thinking the flat was an abandoned warehouse, looking for somewhere to sleep. The case took a sinister twist, however, when Jo discovered that Ami and Preston work in the same building, and forensics showed that Preston’s fingerprints had been found on Ami’s kitchen knives and above her bed. Jo believed that Preston may be stalking Ami, but she was shocked when he told her he and Ami had been having an affair and to prove it, he revealed intimate details about her. He told Jo that Ami made up the story that he broke into the flat in order to hide the fact they had just slept together from her boyfriend Josh Hunt (Barry Sloane). Ami was horrified by the allegations Preston had made and insisted to Jo that she’dnever even met him before. Jo soon realised that Preston had been abusing his position as a security guard, by using the CCTV cameras to follow Ami’s every move around the building where they both worked. In particular, he had been using a camera nearest to Ami’s desk in order to spy on her computer and her personal belongings, in order to gain an insight into her life. Jo realised that the only way she could stop him from getting to Ami again is to make him confess. During an intense interview, observed by Sergeant Callum Stone (Sam Callis), DI Neil Manson, and Superintendent Jack Meadows, Jo attempted to make Preston see that he’d been living out a fantasy. When Preston finally confessed to breaking into Ami’s flat in order to hurt her, Jo suddenly discovered that she was the one in trouble. Preston jumped up and locked the interview room door, savagely assaulting Jo. Sergeant Callum Stone, DI Neil Manson, and Superintendent Jack Meadows run from the observation room and struggle to break down the interview room door, only to find that Jo has over powered restrained Preston herself. Preston was later charged with harrassment, and for assaulting a Police Officer.

Jo became one of Sun Hill’s most experienced and professionally respected DCs, so in 2010 when Superintendent Jack Meadows needed a replacement for Inspector Dale Smith's (Alex Walkinshaw) former Sergeant’s position, he knew she’d be right for the job. With twenty years’ service under her belt – five of them at Sun Hill – and her Sergeants' exam passed on the QT, Jo felt well equipped for her latest career challenge.

Full of laconic wit and sarcasm, Jo can banter with the best of them, but she’s also incredibly warm hearted. She’s someone to be relied on, and many officers at Sun Hill, DC Grace Dasari (Amita Dhiri) in particular, would call her a dear friend as well as a colleague. Although she remains approachable and level-headed, her PCs are soon to discover that their new Sarge is no pushover - and she's not afraid to take on Sergeant Callum Stone (Sam Callis) or Inspector Dale Smith either, if the case demands it.

Not long after her promotion, Jo's skills as a hostage negotiater were utalised when Carly Wilcock (Jo McInnes) barracades herself in the home of her ex-husband, Alan Wilcock (Ivan Kaye), with their young son Mattie Wilcock (Monty Depreli) and a gun. Alan tells DS Max Carter (Christopher Fox) that when Carly was charged for possessing cocaine, he won custody of their children, Mattie and fifteen year old Adam Wilcock (Dylan Llewellyn). Jo was surprised when Adam told her that he’d recently been communicating with Carly over Skype and he suggested Jo could do the same. Jo made a real connection with Carly, who told the Sergeant that Alan had been neglecting their children. She went on to say that the cocaine she was arrested for possessing actually belonged to Alan, and when the drugs were found in his car, she took the blame for him, knowing how important his job was to the family, but that he used her conviction in order to divorce her and gain full custody of their children. She wanted to know why Alan hadn’t been arrested, and why she could’t have custody of their children. Jo gently tries to persuade Carly that the police can help her, but Carly became increasingly distressed and Jo realised that Mattie was in real danger. Jo swore that she’d do everything she could to help Carly, but said she had to leave the house and put down the gun. Carly eventually agreed and as officers prepared to get her out, Jo got ready to greet her at the door, but DS Max Carter clashed with Jo, by telling her in no uncertain terms that Carly would be met by armed response officer, not Jo. Jo furiously told him that Carly is likely to lose it if she was greeted by CO19, and was proved right when Carly tentatively attempted to leave the house, but runs back inside with Mattie, terrified. As Jo continued the negotiations, Carly became more disturbed and hysterically fired another shot.