The Bill series 17
| The Bill | |
|---|---|
| Series 17 | |
| No. of episodes | 92 |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Original release | 5 January – 21 December 2001 |
| Series chronology | |
Series 17 of British television drama The Bill consisted of 92 episodes, broadcast between 5 January and 21 December 2001. As well as 85 regular episodes, the series also included a spinoff Beech is Back, following a special 90-minute episode in Australia. The story follows ex-Sun Hill officer Claire Stanton, now a DI, as she goes to Australia to try and extradite ex-DS Don Beech for the murder of his colleague John Boulton. The spinoff that follows concludes the Beech storyline, which began in Series 16. Although the idea of making the series into a serial drama did not fully take effect until April 2002, many of the stories in the latter half of the year were multi-part stories, some containing up to six episodes, such as the "Night Games" saga. The two-part episode "Lifelines" is the last two-parter to feature in the series until the return of episode titles in 2007. On 14 August 2013, The Bill Series 17 Part 1 & 2 and The Bill Series 17 Part 3 & 4 DVD sets were released (in Australia). The series saw an exit for Sergeant Bob Cryer, with actor Eric Richard controversially axed after 17 years with the show. His exit storyline saw him accidentally shot by PC Dale Smith, who transferred to SO19 as part of his exit storyline, however he would return two years later; Cryer would also return for a series of guest roles between 2002 and 2004. Former Brookside actor Paul Usher also joined the show on a permanent basis, playing PC Des Taviner, who would go on to be one of the show's most famous characters.
Producers used several plots in the series to focus on the mass of new characters introduced in series 16; DS Debbie McAllister and DC Paul Riley went head to head as McAllister fell for an informant who gave info against Riley's brother, and the eventual death of McAllister's informant led to a storyline that dominated the early proceedings of the series. DS Vik Singh also took centre stage in an undercover storyline, while DC Kate Spears became a key character in the autumn; after an affair with new station commander Tom Chandler, a storyline which resumed in series 18, she was subject to an attempted rape by a fellow police officer. Chandler also had a series of notable moments including a corruption allegation and his unsuccessful quest to succeed Guy Mannion as Borough Commander, as well as coming under fire from DC Mickey Webb after the death of a friend of Webb's during the four-part Britanniamania storyline.
Cast changes
Arrivals
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Departures
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Episodes
| # | Title | Episode notes | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Appropriate Action" | John McArdle guest stars | Ed Fraiman | Paul Finch | 5 January 2001 |
| 2 | "Criminal Practice" | Clodagh Rodgers guest stars | Peter Cregeen | J. C. Wilsher | 9 January 2001 |
| 3 | "Upon Information Received" | TBA | Peter Cregeen | Simon Sharkey | 12 January 2001 |
| 4 | "No Victim" | Zienia Merton guest stars | Graeme Harper | Andy Armitage | 16 January 2001 |
| 5 | "Common Language" | Harry Towb guest stars | Tania Diez | Nigel Baldwin | 19 January 2001 |
| 6 | "PC Smith" | Harry Towb and Nick Patrick guest star | Tania Diez | Chris McWaters | 23 January 2001 |
| 7 | "Family Honour" | Michele Austin guest stars | Jo Shoop | Kathrine Smith | 26 January 2001 |
| 8 | "Words of Wisdom" | Michele Austin guest stars | Jo Shoop | Marc Pye | 30 January 2001 |
| 9 | "Out of the Frying Pan" | TBA | Baz Taylor | Simon Sharkey | 2 February 2001 |
| 10 | "Mexican Stand-Off" | TBA | Baz Taylor | Simon Sharkey | 6 February 2001 |
| 11 | "Cruise Control" | John Duttine guest stars | Jo Johnson | Chris Fewtrell | 9 February 2001 |
| 12 | "Real Crime" | TBA | Graeme Harper | Phillip Gladwin | 13 February 2001 |
| 13 | "Home and Away" | Final credited appearance of DC Tom Baker | Ken Hannam | Mark Holloway | 16 February 2001 |
| 14 | "Going Under" | New title sequence and theme introduced, final appearance of Nurse Jenny Quinnan, Paul Popplewell guest stars | Ken Hannam | Richard Stoneman | 20 February 2001 |
| 15 | "Faultline" | Temporary departure of PC Dave Quinnan | John Davies | Alison Fisher | 23 February 2001 |
| 16–17 | "Long Shadows" | Lisa Maxwell and Michael Elphick guest star | Gwennan Sage | Maxwell Young | 2–6 March 2001 |
| 18 | "Higher Power" | Sara Stockbridge and Ian Burfield guest star | John Davies | Marcus Brent | 9 March 2001 |
| 19 | "Touched By Evil" | Tom Chadbon and Stafford Gordon guest star | Ken Grieve | Ron Rose | 16 March 2001 |
| 20–21 | "The Leopard" | First use of the new ITV end credits, Harry Towb, John Cater and Ray Lonnen guest star | John Dower | Stephen Plaice | 20–23 March 2001 |
| 22–23 | "Tolerance" | PC Dale Smith transfers to S019, Ray Lonnen and Juliet Cadzow guest star | Alan Macmillan | Phil Ford | 27–30 March 2001 |
| 24 | "Promised Land" | Ray Lonnen, Tony Selby and Kate Magowan guest star | Chris Lovett | Chris Ould | 3 April 2001 |
| 25 | "Return of the Hunter" | Liza Walker guest stars | Ed Fraiman | Stephen Plaice | 6 April 2001 |
| 26 | "Tour of Duty" | First appearance of Sgt Craig Gilmore | Albert Barber | Stuart Blackburn | 10 April 2001 |
| 27 | "Lies of Silence" | Guest appearance of now A/DI Liz Rawton | Ron Bain | Derek Lister | 13 April 2001 |
| 28 | "Over the Hill" | Brooke Kinsella, Preeya Kalidas and Aidan J. David guest stars | Michael Owen Morris | Henrietta Hardy | 17 April 2001 |
| 29 | "Head Over Heels" | TBA | Albert Barber | Ed Jones | 20 April 2001 |
| 30 | "Hitting Home" | Final regular appearance of Bob Cryer as Sgt, departure of Dale Smith as PC, Ray Lonnen guest stars | Ed Fraiman | Jim Davies | 24 April 2001 |
| 31 | "Value Judgement" | TBA | Michael Owen Morris | Julian Spilsbury | 27 April 2001 |
| 32 | "Collateral Damage" | TBA | Ken Grieve | J.C. Wilsher | 1 May 2001 |
| 33–34 | "A Week of Nights" | First appearance of PC Des Taviner, Elizabeth Berrington, Mark Monero and Mona Hammond guest star | Michael Ferguson | Len Collin | 4–8 May 2001 |
| 35 | "Wednesday" | Charles De'Ath guest stars | Susan Tully | Jim Guthrie | 11 May 2001 |
| 36 | "Billy the Kid" | TBA | Ged Maguire | Nigel Baldwin | 15 May 2001 |
| 37 | "Still Crazy" | Return of PC Dave Quinnan | Susan Tully | Richard Stoneman | 18 May 2001 |
| 38–39 | "Complicity" | Russell Tovey guest stars | Bruce McDonald | Nicholas McInerny & Tanika Gupta | 25 May-1 June 2001 |
| 40 | "Suffer the Little Children" | Alex Norton, Lee Boardman and Rosie Cavaliero guest star | Ron Bain | Paul Powell | 8 June 2001 |
| 41–42 | "Happy and Glorious" | Lorraine Stanley and Tessa Peake-Jones guest stars | Rob Bailey | Mark Holloway | 15 June 2001 |
| 43–44 | "Gun Crazy" | Sian Webber and Peter Halliday guest star | Richard Holthouse | Gregory Evans | 19–22 June 2001 |
| 45 | "The Jury's Out" | Barry Jackson and T. P. McKenna guest star | Graham Moore | Arthur Ellis | 26 June 2001 |
| 46 | "Lick of Paint" | Mary Tamm, Ashley Walters and Paul Antony-Barber guest star | Ged Maguire | Geoff Lindsay | 29 June 2001 |
| 47 | "Temptation" | Daniel Mays guest stars | Graeme Harper | Ed Jones | 3 July 2001 |
| 48 | "Envy" | TBA | Graeme Harper | Neil Clarke | 6 July 2001 |
| 49 | "Greed" | Cindy O'Callaghan guest stars | Ken Grieve | Neil Clarke | 10 July 2001 |
| 50 | "Redemption" | Patrick Cremin guest stars | Ken Grieve | Stuart Blackburn & Debbie Jones | 13 July 2001 |
| 51–53 | "The Dark Side" | Neil Fitzmaurice and June Page guest star | John Howard Davies & Chris Lovett | Rod Lewis, Stephen Plaice & Manjit Singh | 17–24 July 2001 |
| 54 | "Eye of the Lens" | Dean Lennox Kelly guest stars | Chris Lovett | Phillip Gladwin | 31 July 2001 |
| 55 | "Another Country" | John Woodvine and Morris Perry guest star | John Howard Davies | Chris Ould | 3 August 2001 |
| 56–59 | "Britanniamania" | Karl Howman guest stars | Brian Parker & Frank W. Smith | Len Collin, Steve Hawes & Scott Cherry | 7–17 August 2001 |
| 60 | "Beech on the Run" | 90-minute special, guest appearances of ex-DS Don Beech and now DI Claire Stanton, John Noble and Jason Clarke guest star | Ian White | Steve Griffiths | 19 August 2001 |
| 61–66 | "Beech is Back" | Guest appearances of Don Beech and Claire Stanton | Derek Lister & Justin Hardy | Tony McHale | 21 August 2001 - 7 September 2001 |
| 67–69 | "Trust, Part II" | Richard Mylan guest stars | Mike Adams & Michael Morris | Stephen Plaice & Marcus Brent | 14–21 September 2001 |
| 70 | "Crush" | Victoria Shalet guest stars | Herbert Wise | Phil Ford | 25 September 2001 |
| 71 | "Liquid City" | Hilda Braid guest stars | Herbert Wise | Phillip Gladwin | 28 September 2001 |
| 72–74 | "Debt of Love" | Jaime Murray, Nick Brimble, Arthur White, Archie Panjabi and Pamela Cundell guest star | Penelope Shales & Michael Owen Morris | Julie White & Hugh Ellis | 2–9 October 2001 |
| 75 | "Blood and Money" | Robert Blythe and Andrew McCulloch guest star | JJ Keith | Chris Ould | 12 October 2001 |
| 76 | "Hidden Agendas" | Gerard Murphy and Gordon Warnecke guest star | JJ Keith | Julian Spilsbury | 16 October 2001 |
| 77–78 | "Lifelines" | Final appearances of PC Vicky Hagen and Ch. Supt. Guy Mannion, Leonard Fenton, Clare Clifford and Margot Leicester guest star | Roberto Bangura | Stephen Plaice & Neil Clarke | 19–26 October 2001 |
| 79 | "White Cliffs of Dover" | TBA | John Bruce | Steve Handley | 2 November 2001 |
| 80 | "The Value of Nothing" | Rebecca Saire, Jonathan Aris, Fiona Dolman and Rupert Frazer guest star | Albert Barber | Ed Jones | 9 November 2001 |
| 81 | "Money Man" | 90-minute special, Michael J. Jackson and David Schofield guest star | Graham Moore | Steve Handley | 16 November 2001 |
| 82 | "Beyond the Call" | Stuart Laing guest stars | Albert Barber | J.C. Wilsher | 20 November 2001 |
| 83–88 | "Night Games" | Final appearances of PC Roz Clarke and Sgt Stuart Lamont, guest appearance of DI Liz Rawton, Tristan Gemmill, Tony Blackburn, Ralf Little, Bruno Tonioli, Brian Croucher, Michael McKell and Eric Mason guest star | Laurence Moody, Declan O'Dwyer & John Davies | Elizabeth Anne-Wheal, Gregory Evans, Richard Stoneman & Henrietta Hardy | 23 November- 11 December 2001 |
| 89 | "For Better, For Worse" | Denise Black guest stars | Michael Owen Morris | Steve Hawes | 14 December 2001 |
| 90–92 | "Special Constable Part 1" | First appearance of SC Terry Knowles, Robin Lermitte and Christopher Adamson guest star | Ken Hannam & John Bruce | Stuart Blackburn & Len Collin | 18–21 December 2001 |
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| Notable episodes |
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