The Bill series 13
| The Bill | |
|---|---|
| Season 13 | |
 Series 13 DVD cover | |
| No. of episodes | 152 |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Original release | 2 January – 30 December 1997 |
| Series chronology | |
The thirteenth series of British television drama The Bill was broadcast from 2 January until 30 December 1997. The series consisted of 152 episodes, including three-hour long specials. The series introduced three new characters: DC Tom Proctor, PC Luke Ashton and PC Sam Harker, while PCs Nick Slater and Steve Loxton depart the cast during this series.
Notably, actor Gregory Donaldson, who landed the role of Tom Proctor, would appear in the series five months earlier as burglary suspect Andy Melford in the hour-long special, "In the Dark". George Rossi, who would join the series the following year as DC Duncan Lennox, also guest starred as a Borough Youth Officer in the episode "Crying Wolf". On 3 April 2013 the complete series was released as a two-part region-free DVD box set in Australia. The DVD artwork depicts DS's Don Beech (Billy Murray) and John Boulton (Russell Boulter).
Cast
Arrivals
- DC Tom Proctor ("Foxed" — )
- PC Luke Ashton ("Potential For Conflict" — )
- PC Sam Harker ("Things That Go Bump in the Night" — )
Departures
- PC Nick Slater ("The Old Pals' Act" — "Free to Speak?")
- PC Steve Loxton ("The Old Pals' Act" — "No Trace, Part Two")
Episodes
| # | Title | Episode notes | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Old Pals' Act" | Neil Reidman guest stars. | Chris Lovett | Edwin Pearce | 2 January 1997 |
| 2 | "All's Fair" | David Sibley guest stars. | Ian White | Rosamund Orde-Powlett | 3 January 1997 |
| 3 | "Man Trap" | Martin Freeman and Jill Halfpenny guest star. | Peter Lydon | Nick Crittenden | 9 January 1997 |
| 4 | "Bad Debt" | Michelle Butterly and Derek Martin guest star. | Jo Shoop | Clive Dawson | 10 January 1997 |
| 5 | "Professional Opinion" | Gordon Salkilld guest stars. | Peter Lydon | Nigel Baldwin | 14 January 1997 |
| 6 | "Testament" | TBA | Chris Lovett | Peter J. Hammond | 16 January 1997 |
| 7 | "A Policeman's Lot" | Vicky Entwistle, Kenneth MacDonald and Bruce Byron guest star. | Ian White | Clive Dawson | 17 January 1997 |
| 8 | "The Devil You Know" | René Zagger guest stars. | Tom Cotter | Andrew Rattenbury | 21 January 1997 |
| 9 | "Once Bitten" | Rebecca Lacey and Dean Harris guest stars. | Mandy Honeyman | David G. McDonagh | 23 January 1997 |
| 10 | "Turnaround" | Tony Guilfoyle guest stars. | Chris Lovett | Graham Mitchell | 24 January 1997 |
| 11 | "Over the Fence" | June Page guest stars. | Simon Meyers | Renny Krupinski | 28 January 1997 |
| 12 | "Grey Area" | Fiona Victory and Adjoa Andoh guest star. | Jane Prowse | Nicholas McInerny | 30 January 1997 |
| 13 | "One Big Happy Family" | TBA | John Bruce | Steve Handley | 31 January 1997 |
| 14 | "The Eye of the Beholder" | Doña Croll and Jonathan Newth guest star. | Chris Lovett | Margaret Phelan | 4 February 1997 |
| 15 | "Say a Little Prayer" | TBA | Jo Shoop | James Mavor | 6 February 1997 |
| 16 | "Downfall" | Helen Blatch guest stars. | Brian Parker | Peter J. Hammond | 7 February 1997 |
| 17 | "True to Life Player" | Dannielle Brent guest stars. | Simon Meyers | Tunde Babalola | 11 February 1997 |
| 18 | "Take Away" | TBA | Adrian J. Fearnley | Richard Stoneman | 13 February 1997 |
| 19 | "Your Call Too" | Chris Gascoyne guest stars. | Nick Laughland | David Hoskins | 14 February 1997 |
| 20 | "Breaking Up" | Denise Welch guest stars. | Jan Sargent | Elizabeth-Anne Wheal | 18 February 1997 |
| 21 | "A Price to Pay" | TBA | Edward Blum | Carolyn Sally Jones | 20 February 1997 |
| 22 | "Just Looking" | Paul Bown and Cheryl Hall guest star. | Tom Cotter | Chris Ould | 21 February 1997 |
| 23 | "A Tangled Web" | TBA | Jeremy Silberston | Tony Lindsay | 27 February 1997 |
| 24 | "Rolling In It" | Jane Hazlegrove guest stars. | Nick Laughland | Jimmy Gardner | 28 February 1997 |
| 25 | "Added Bonus" | Kim Taylforth guest stars. | Nigel Douglas | Julian Spilsbury | 4 March 1997 |
| 26 | "Holding On" | Robyn Moore guest stars. | Brian Parker | Kevin Scouler | 6 March 1997 |
| 27 | "Crime Management" | Jamie Foreman guest stars. | Catherine Morshead | J. C. Wilsher | 7 March 1997 |
| 28 | "Age Gaps" | TBA | Jan Sargent | Julian Perkins | 11 March 1997 |
| 29 | "In the Dark" | Hour-long episode, Charles Dale guest stars. | Robin Sheppard | Tom Needham | 12 March 1997 |
| 30 | "Crying Wolf" | George Rossi guest stars. | Catherine Morshead | Edwin Pearce | 13 March 1997 |
| 31 | "Confidence" | Elaine Lordan guest stars. | Gill Wilkinson | Philip Kingston | 14 March 1997 |
| 32 | "All For Love" | Bruce Alexander and Jo Kendall guest star. | Gill Wilkinson | Tony Mulholland | 18 March 1997 |
| 33 | "Only the Lonely" | Louisa Lytton and Angela Bruce guest star. | Martin Hutchings | Clive Dawson | 20 March 1997 |
| 34 | "Copier" | Peter Cleall and Amanda Abbington guest star. | Harry Bradbeer | Simon Tyrrell | 21 March 1997 |
| 35 | "Fashion Victims" | Marlene Sidaway guest stars. | Jeremy Silberston | Gwyneth Hughes | 25 March 1997 |
| 36 | "Hook, Line and Sinker" | Vicki Pepperdine and Zig Byfield guest star. | Justin Hardy | Ben Cooper | 27 March 1997 |
| 37 | "No Claims Bonus" | Philip Martin Brown guest stars. | Justin Hardy | Nicholas McInerny | 28 March 1997 |
| 38 | "Joker" | Alan Ford guest stars. | Martin Hutchings | Katharine Way | 31 March 1997 |
| 39 | "Typecast" | TBA | Mandy Honeyman | Isabelle Grey | 1 April 1997 |
| 40 | "A Hard Rain" | Ariyon Bakare guest stars. | John Bruce | Stephen McAteer | 3 April 1997 |
| 41 | "Rings On Her Fingers" | TBA | Chris Lovett | Simon Moss | 4 April 1997 |
| 42 | "Strange Meeting" | Ron Donachie guest stars. | Jo Shoop | Len Collin | 8 April 1997 |
| 43 | "A Bitter Pill" | TBA | Sarah Harding | Barry Simner | 10 April 1997 |
| 44 | "Dial 'M' For Marmalade" | Charles Kay guest stars. | Sarah Harding | Edward Canford-Dumas | 11 April 1997 |
| 45 | "Sisters" | David Quilter guest stars. | Gwennan Sage | Chris Lang | 15 April 1997 |
| 46 | "Flesh and Blood" | Tracey Wilkinson and Lloyd McGuire guest star. | Nigel Douglas | Anne Downey | 17 April 1997 |
| 47 | "Parklife" | TBA | Nigel Douglas | Stephen Plaice | 18 April 1997 |
| 48 | "Two's Company" | TBA | Jo Shoop | Nigel Baldwin | 22 April 1997 |
| 49 | "Inside Edge" | David Ashford guest stars. | John Bruce | Elizabeth-Anne Wheal | 25 April 1997 |
| 50 | "You and Me Versus the World" | Heather Peace guest stars. | Ged Maguire | Rod Beacham | 29 April 1997 |
| 51 | "Pay Back" | Andrew Lancel guest stars. | Jonathan Hacker | Patrick Melanaphy | 1 May 1997 |
| 52 | "A Place of Your Own" | TBA | Michael Cocker | Kevin Scouler | 2 May 1997 |
| 53 | "Don't Want to Hear the Bad News" | TBA | Jonathan Hacker | Paul Mousley | 6 May 1997 |
| 54 | "It's Good to Talk" | Adrian Scarborough guest stars. | Gwennan Sage | Julian Spilsbury | 8 May 1997 |
| 55 | "Split Second" | Kelly George guest stars. | Ged Maguire | Candy Denman | 9 May 1997 |
| 56 | "Old Fools" | TBA | Brian Parker | Ben Cooper | 13 May 1997 |
| 57 | "Auld Lang Syne" | Howell Evans guest stars. | Michael Cocker | Terry Hodgkinson | 15 May 1997 |
| 58 | "Warnings" | TBA | Brian Parker | Peter J. Hammond | 16 May 1997 |
| 59 | "Calling Time" | TBA | John Bruce | Edwin Pearce | 20 May 1997 |
| 60 | "Black and Blue" | Fay Ripley guest stars. | Mike Vardy | Matthew Leys | 22 May 1997 |
| 61 | "A Bunch of Fives" | TBA | Chris Lovett | Tom Needham | 23 May 1997 |
| 62 | "Short, Sharp, Shock" | Su Elliott and Ray Trickett guest stars. | Tania Diez | Mark Illis | 27 May 1997 |
| 63 | "Get You Back" | TBA | Dominic Lees | Simon Tyrrell | 29 May 1997 |
| 64 | "Powers of Persuasion" | TBA | Tania Diez | Graham Mitchell | 30 May 1997 |
| 65 | "A Rock and a Hard Place" | Barbara Marten and Catherine Tate guest star. | Mike Vardy | Matthew Wingett | 3 June 1997 |
| 66 | "The Wrath of God" | Brian Bovell guest stars. | Audrey Cooke | Terry Hodgkinson | 5 June 1997 |
| 67 | "Knight Errant" | TBA | Dominic Lees | Anna Wheatley | 6 June 1997 |
| 68 | "Punch Bag" | TBA | Mike Vardy | Steve Handley | 10 June 1997 |
| 69 | "Best Eaten Cold" | TBA | Peter Lydon | Alan Pollock | 12 June 1997 |
| 70 | "Lucky Day" | TBA | Peter Lydon | Scott Cherry | 13 June 1997 |
| 71 | "For Richer, For Poorer" | Annie Hulley guest stars | Albert Barber | Nigel Baldwin | 17 June 1997 |
| 72 | "No More Milk" | TBA | John Bruce | Terry Hodgkinson | 19 June 1997 |
| 73 | "An Englishman's Home" | Susan Jameson guest stars. | Simon Massey | Barry Simner | 20 June 1997 |
| 74 | "Loyal to the Last" | TBA | John Bruce | Chris McWatters | 24 June 1997 |
| 75 | "Rent" | James McAvoy guest stars. | Albert Barber | Stephen McAteer | 26 June 1997 |
| 76 | "Last Respects" | TBA | Harry Bradbeer | Stephen Plaice | 27 June 1997 |
| 77 | "Too Much to Lose" | TBA | Harry Bradbeer | Candy Denman | 1 July 1997 |
| 78 | "Do Unto Others" | Julie Hesmondhalgh and Eric Mason guest star. | Ross Devenish | Tony Lindsay | 3 July 1997 |
| 79 | "Mid-Life Crisis" | John Cater, Leslee Udwin and Gerry Cowper guest star. | Ross Devenish | Gregory Evans | 4 July 1997 |
| 80 | "Performing" | Rosie Marcel and Kelly Marcel guest star. | Chris Lovett | John Brennan | 8 July 1997 |
| 81 | "Playing With Fire" | Letitia Dean and Kate Eaton guest star. | Jane Prowse | David G. McDonagh | 10 July 1997 |
| 82 | "No Guarantees" | Christopher Colquhoun guest stars. | Pete Travis | Katharine Way | 11 July 1997 |
| 83 | "Gentleman Jim" | TBA | Mike Vardy | Scott Cherry | 15 July 1997 |
| 84 | "Rift" | TBA | Pete Travis | Michael Jenner | 17 July 1997 |
| 85 | "Stand By Your Man" | TBA | Derek Lister | Isabelle Grey | 18 July 1997 |
| 86 | "Replica" | TBA | Michael Cocker | Rod Lewis | 22 July 1997 |
| 87 | "Mr Friday Night" | Amanda Holden guest stars. | Mike Vardy | Len Collin | 23 July 1997 |
| 88 | "Hitting the Nerve" | Barbara Ewing guest stars. | Brian Farnham | Renny Krupinski | 25 July 1997 |
| 89 | "Thicker Than Mud" | Elizabeth Bennett guest stars. | Ian White | Maxwell Young | 29 July 1997 |
| 90 | "Alternative Therapies" | Daniel Casey guest stars. | Jane Prowse | Clive Dawson | 31 July 1997 |
| 91 | "Foxed" | First appearance of DC Tom Proctor, Jonathan Coy guest stars. | Nigel Bristow | Tony McHolland | 1 August 1997 |
| 92 | "These Foolish Things" | Sheree Murphy guest stars. | Peter Lydon | Mark Johnson | 5 August 1997 |
| 93 | "Neighbours" | TBA | Nigel Bristow | Mark Holloway | 7 August 1997 |
| 94 | "Glass House" | Margot Leicester guest stars. | Peter Lydon | Kevin Scouler | 8 August 1997 |
| 95 | "This Old Man" | TBA | Dominic Lees | Colin Wyatt | 12 August 1997 |
| 96 | "Tommy the Hero" | James Ottaway and Frank Jarvis guest star. | Mike Cocker | Chris Ould | 14 August 1997 |
| 97 | "Driven To It" | TBA | Jo Shoop | Patrick Melaphany | 15 August 1997 |
| 98 | "A Man Out Walking His Dog" | Roger Walker, Christine Kavanagh and Roy Evans guest star. | Jonathan Hacker | Terry Hodgkinson | 19 August 1997 |
| 99 | "Hunt" | Patrick Murray guest stars. | Jonathan Hacker | Mark Illis | 21 August 1997 |
| 100 | "Has Anyone Here Seen Bigmouth?" | Anita Dobson and Del Henney guest star. | Jo Shoop | Ray Brooking | 22 August 1997 |
| 101 | "This Land Is Ours" | Philip McGough and Allan Surtees guest star. | Brian Farnham | Hugh Ellis | 26 August 1997 |
| 102 | "Paying the Piper" | TBA | Brian Farnham | Sheila Duncan | 28 August 1997 |
| 103 | "On the Hurry Up" | TBA | Mike Cocker | Richard Stoneman | 29 August 1997 |
| 104 | "Not in the Script" | TBA | Ian White | Robert Jones | 2 September 1997 |
| 105 | "Flower Power" | TBA | Nicholas Laughland | Elizabeth Anne-Wheal | 4 September 1997 |
| 106 | "A Breach of Trust, Part One" | Jacqueline Defferary guest stars. | Nicholas Laughland | Maxwell Young | 5 September 1997 |
| 107 | "A Breach of Trust, Part Two" | Anna Manahan guest stars. | Nicholas Laughland | Maxwell Young | 9 September 1997 |
| 108 | "Fool" | TBA | Simon Meyers | Spenser Frearson | 11 September 1997 |
| 109 | "Armed and Dangerous" | TBA | Simon Massey | Tunde Babalola | 12 September 1997 |
| 110 | "Animals" | Ged Simmons guest stars. | Dominic Lees | Steve Handley | 16 September 1997 |
| 111 | "Look Into My Eyes" | TBA | Chris Lovett | Tom Needham | 18 September 1997 |
| 112 | "Performance Anxiety" | Desmond Askew guest stars. | Christopher Hodson | J.C. Wilsher | 19 September 1997 |
| 113 | "Different Strokes" | Karl Collins guest stars. | Nicholas Laughland | Isabelle Grey | 23 September 1997 |
| 114 | "Sparks" | David Quilter and Brian Capron guest star. | Brian Farnham | Peter J Hammond | 25 September 1997 |
| 115 | "The Lion's Den" | Sally Ann Matthews and Paul Angelis guest star. | Simon Meyers | Barry Simner | 26 September 1997 |
| 116 | "The Needs of the Many" | TBA | Chris Lovett | Clive Dawson | 30 September 1997 |
| 117 | "Cross Purposes" | Tony Selby and Sheila Dunn guest star. | Ged Maguire | Edwin Pearce | 2 October 1997 |
| 118 | "Free to Speak?" | Final appearance of PC Nick Slater | Christopher Hodson | Richard Stoneman | 3 October 1997 |
| 119 | "Dishonour Among Thieves" | June Page guest stars. | Ged Maguire | Terry Hodgkinson | 7 October 1997 |
| 120 | "Coup de Grace" | Di Botcher guest stars. | Tim Holloway | Nicholas McInerny | 9 October 1997 |
| 121 | "Night of the Long Knives" | Jason Salkey guest stars. | Brian Parker | Scott Cherry | 10 October 1997 |
| 122 | "Straying" | Peter Gunn and John Normington guest star. | James Cellan Jones | Rod Beacham | 14 October 1997 |
| 123 | "A Bad Lot" | TBA | Ian White | Chris Lang | 16 October 1997 |
| 124 | "Crimes of a Lesser Passion" | TBA | James Cellan Jones | Tunde Babalola | 17 October 1997 |
| 125 | "Force" | David Quilter guest stars. | Michael Ferguson | Carolyn Sally Jones | 21 October 1997 |
| 126 | "Walkabout" | Thomas Craig guest stars. | Brian Parker | Peter J. Hammond | 23 October 1997 |
| 127 | "Shades of Grey, Part One" | Ace Bhatti and Nicola Stephenson guest star. | Danny Hiller | Manjit Singh | 24 October 1997 |
| 128 | "Shades of Grey, Part Two" | Ace Bhatti and Nicola Stephenson guest star. | Danny Hiller | Manjit Singh | 28 October 1997 |
| 129 | "Women at Work" | TBA | John Bruce | Patrick Melaphany | 30 October 1997 |
| 130 | "Solid Evidence" | TBA | Tania Diez | Candy Denman | 31 October 1997 |
| 131 | "Going Down" | Colin Baker guest stars. | Jo Shoop | Spenser Frearson | 4 November 1997 |
| 132 | "Accomplice" | Hour-long episode, Nicholas Murchie guest stars. | Derek Lister | Tony Mulholland | 6 November 1997 |
| 133 | "Last Fare" | Alan Cooke, Sally Faulkner and Biddy Hodson guest star. | Jo Shoop | Richard McBrien | 7 November 1997 |
| 134 | "Stolen Thunder" | Mark Wing-Davey guest stars. | John Bruce | Stephen Plaice | 11 November 1997 |
| 135 | "P.C., Part One" | TBA | Ian White | Richard Stoneman | 13 November 1997 |
| 136 | "No Trace, Part Two" | Final appearance of PC Steve Loxton, Pauline Melville guest stars | Tania Diez | Richard Stoneman | 14 November 1997 |
| 137 | "A New Way to Pay Off Old Debts" | TBA | Albert Barber | Len Collin | 18 November 1997 |
| 138 | "After All These Years" | Veronica Roberts and Roy Heather guest star. | Tim Holloway | Lisa Evans | 20 November 1997 |
| 139 | "Sands of Time" | Paul Jerricho guest stars. | Albert Barber | Anthony Valentine | 21 November 1997 |
| 140 | "Identity Crisis" | John Axon and Collette Brown guest star. | James Hawes | Mark Clompus | 25 November 1997 |
| 141 | "The Same Stripe, Part One" | James Marcus and JoAnne Good guest star. | Chris Lovett | Elizabeth Anne-Wheal | 28 November 1997 |
| 142 | "The Same Stripe, Part Two" | JoAnne Good guest stars. | Chris Lovett | Elizabeth Anne-Wheal | 2 December 1997 |
| 143 | "Hot Plastic" | TBA | Harry Bradbeer | Gregory Evans | 4 December 1997 |
| 144 | "Gaybashing" | Hannah Waterman guest stars. | Michael Ferguson | Simon Tyrell | 5 December 1997 |
| 145 | "Potential For Conflict" | First appearance of PC Luke Ashton, Geoffrey McGivern guest stars. | Catherine Morshead | Neil Clarke | 9 December 1997 |
| 146 | "Heartbreak Hotel" | TBA | Ged Maguire | Alan Pollock | 11 December 1997 |
| 147 | "Humpty Dumpty, Part One" | TBA | Ian White | Tom Needham | 12 December 1997 |
| 148 | "Humpty Dumpty, Part Two" | Rik Mayall guest stars. | Ian White | Tom Needham | 16 December 1997 |
| 149 | "Humpty Dumpty, Part Three" | Rik Mayall guest stars. | Ian White | Tom Needham. | 18 December 1997 |
| 150 | "Out" | TBA | Harry Bradbeer | Tony Mulholland | 19 December 1997 |
| 151 | "Twanky" | Hour-long episode | Mike Cocker | Mark Holloway | 22 December 1997 |
| 152 | "Things That Go Bump in the Night" | First appearance of PC Sam Harker, Timothy Bateson guest stars. | Gill Wilkinson | Terry Hodgkinson | 30 December 1997 |
| Series | |
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| Notable episodes |
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| Spin-offs |
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| Characters | |
| Lists | |
