The Bill series 14
| The Bill | |
|---|---|
| Season 14 | |
| No. of episodes | 121 |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Original release | 1 January – 31 December 1998 |
| Series chronology | |
The 14th series of The Bill, a British television drama, consisted of 121 episodes.
Background
In 1998, with the appointment of new executive producer Richard Handford, discussions were made with broadcaster ITV to return to the format of hour-long episodes, which the show last used on a regular basis in 1987. As such, beginning in August 1998, the show returned to a twice-weekly hour-long format, which it retained for many years until the decision to move the show to a later time-slot came in 2009.
It is notable that the first few episodes broadcast in the hour-long format were originally written for the half hour time-slot, and thus, some episodes contain two completely different stories, written by different writers, which jump from one to another. For example, the opening episode, "Deep End", was initially written in three twenty-five minute parts, with a fourth epilogue episode, the first half of "The Party's Over", all conceived by Elizabeth Anne-Wheal. A separate story by Neil Clarke, initially envisaged as an entirely separate episode, was broadcast as the second half of "The Party's Over".
The new format also attempted to introduce a more serialized element to the programme, with the first two stories taking place over multiple episodes, however following these two serials, individual stand-alone episodes were retained. The attempt to serialize the programme wasn't made again until June 1999, which saw another four-part serial again featuring PC Eddie Santini and WPC Rosie Fox, however, once again, individual episodes were retained. The series finally made a successful crossover into the serialized format in October 2000, with a major eight-part story, which saw the collapse of CID and the end of DS Don Beech.
This series saw a small number of changes to the cast. CID saw the loss of three-long serving officers, DS Alistair Greig and DCs Suzi Croft and Tosh Lines. Actor Kevin Lloyd was sensationally sacked from the show for alcoholism, and died just days after his last episode was aired. Croft and Lines were subsequently replaced by DCs Kerry Holmes and Duncan Lennox late in the year. The series also saw the return of DCI Frank Burnside, who had last appeared in 1993.
Cast changes
Arrivals
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Departures
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Episodes
| # | Title | Episode notes | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Square Peg, Round Hole" | Lorraine Bruce guest stars. | Delyth Thomas | Stephen McAteer | 1 January 1998 |
| 2 | "You Pays Your Money" | Martin Troakes guest stars. | James Hawes | Jason Sutton | 2 January 1998 |
| 3 | "Hard Cash" | Michael Turner and Jim McManus guest star | Mike Vardy | Chris Ould | 6 January 1998 |
| 4 | "Taking It Easy" | TBA | Delyth Thomas | Kevin Scouler | 8 January 1998 |
| 5 | "Villain" | Geoffrey Chater guest stars | Roger Gartland | Isabelle Grey | 9 January 1998 |
| 6 | "Forgive and Forget" | Laurie Brett guest stars | Mike Vardy | Stephen Greenhorn | 13 January 1998 |
| 7 | "Girl Power" | Vanessa Cavanagh, Sion Tudor Owen and Roland Oliver guest star. | Catherine Morshead | Katharine Way | 15 January 1998 |
| 8 | "Puppy Walk" | TBA | Tim Holloway | Maxwell Young | 16 January 1998 |
| 9 | "Sprog" | TBA | Ged Maguire | Rod Lewis | 20 January 1998 |
| 10 | "Out on a Limb" | TBA | Derek Lister | Colin Wyatt | 22 January 1998 |
| 11 | "Way Out West" | TBA | Tim Holloway | Scott Cherry | 23 January 1998 |
| 12 | "Storyboards" | First appearance of PC Eddie Santini | Danny Hiller | J. C. Wilsher | 29 January 1998 |
| 13 | "For Your Love" | Hour-long episode, Marc Bannerman, Lois Baxter and Rachel Shelley guest star. | Brian Farnham | Neil Clarke | 30 January 1998 |
| 14 | "Soft in the Head" | Lara Cazalet and Roger Blake guest star. | Chris Lovett | Tom Needham | 3 February 1998 |
| 15 | "Friends in High Places" | Hermione Norris and Richard Hampton guest star. | Chris Lovett | Patrick Melanaphy | 5 February 1998 |
| 16 | "Love's Labours Lost" | Annabelle Apsion, Alison Newman and Dominic Letts guest star. | Robin Sheppard | Clive Dawson | 6 February 1998 |
| 17 | "Opposites" | TBA | Robin Sheppard | Michael Jenner | 12 February 1998 |
| 18 | "Solicitous" | Stevan Rimkus and Alison Skilbeck guest star | Mike Vardy | Julian Perkins | 13 February 1998 |
| 19 | "A Rainy Night in Sun Hill" | Jean Heywood guest stars | Albert Barber | Len Collin | 17 February 1998 |
| 20 | "Unwarranted" | Charmian May and Flaminia Cinque guest star. | Mike Vardy | Simon Moss | 19 February 1998 |
| 21 | "A Bit of Respect" | Charmian May and Nick Miles guest star | Roger Gartland | Renny Krupinski | 20 February 1998 |
| 22 | "The Parent Trap" | Final appearance of DC Suzi Croft, Jennifer Hennessy guest stars. | Gill Wilkinson | Ray Brooking | 24 February 1998 |
| 23 | "Sudden Death" | TBA | Mike Vardy | Kathrine Smith | 26 February 1998 |
| 24 | "Back-Up" | Martyn Read guest stars | Simon Massey | Graham Mitchell | 27 February 1998 |
| 25 | "A Little Help" | Kellie Bright guest stars | Tom Cotter | Candy Denman | 3 March 1998 |
| 26 | "Guiding Hand" | TBA | Justin Hardy | Lyndon Mallet | 5 March 1998 |
| 27 | "Good Faith: Part 1" | Hugh Laurie and Leslie Grantham guest star. | Ian White | Chris Ould | 6 March 1998 |
| 28 | "Good Faith: Part 2" | Leslie Grantham guest stars | Ian White | Chris Ould | 10 March 1998 |
| 29 | "Good Faith: Part 3" | Leslie Grantham guest stars | Ian White | Chris Ould | 12 March 1998 |
| 30 | "No Doubt About It" | TBA | Simon Massey | Nigel Baldwin | 13 March 1998 |
| 31 | "One of the Gang" | Cyril Nri guest stars | N. G. Bristow | Stephen Plaice | 17 March 1998 |
| 32 | "Without a Prayer" | Conor Mullen guest stars. | Brian Farnham | Nigel Smith | 19 March 1998 |
| 33 | "Lucky Find" | TBA | Brian Farnham | Jaden Clark | 20 March 1998 |
| 34 | "A Little Bit of Paradise" | Malcolm Terris guest stars | Dominic Lees | Rod Lewis | 24 March 1998 |
| 35 | "Daydream Believer" | Paul Panting guest stars | Ged Maguire | Ann Coburn | 26 March 1998 |
| 36 | "Powder My Nose" | Barbara Kellerman guest stars. | Albert Barber | Jason Sutton | 27 March 1998 |
| 37 | "Bad Feelings" | Malcolm Tierney guest stars | Dominic Lees | Peter J. Hammond | 31 March 1998 |
| 38 | "Like Family" | TBA | Derek Lister | Bridget Lawless | 2 April 1998 |
| 39 | "Shattered" | TBA | John Bruce | Hugh Ellis | 3 April 1998 |
| 40 | "Home Movie" | Tim Woodward, Jimi Mistry, Malcolm Tierney, Katharine Rogers and Albert Welling guest star. | Sarah Harding | Tom Needham | 7 April 1998 |
| 41 | "Racer" | Leo Gregory guest stars. | John Bruce | Ben Cooper | 9 April 1998 |
| 42 | "The Scent of Compassion" | Jeremy Young guest stars | Jeremy Silberston | Stephen McGann | 10 April 1998 |
| 43 | "Driving Me Crazy" | Kevin Bishop and Sean Blowers guest star. | Tom Cotter | Matthew Leys | 14 April 1998 |
| 44 | "Manhunt" | Fish guest stars. | Steve Shill | Tony Mulholland | 16 April 1998 |
| 45 | "Rebel Without a Licence" | Enn Reitel and Terence Wilton guest star | Delyth Thomas | Chris Jury | 17 April 1998 |
| 46 | "Sale or Return: Part 1" | Clive Merrison and Ishia Bennison guest star | Chris Lovett | Julian Spilsbury | 21 April 1998 |
| 47 | "Sale or Return: Part 2" | Clive Merrison and Ishia Bennison guest star | Chris Lovett | Julian Spilsbury | 23 April 1998 |
| 48 | "Target Man" | Sara Stockbridge guest stars. | Tom Cotter | Stephen McAteer | 24 April 1998 |
| 49 | "Mixed Feelings" | Renu Setna guest stars. | Gill Wilkinson | Kumari Salgado | 28 April 1998 |
| 50 | "Wannabe" | TBA | Delyth Thomas | Wendy Lee | 30 April 1998 |
| 51 | "One Small Step" | TBA | Christopher Hodson | Rod Beacham | 5 May 1998 |
| 52 | "Big Brother" | First appearance of WPC Vicky Hagen, Tim Barlow guest stars | Jo Shoop | Scott Cherry | 7 May 1998 |
| 53 | "Volcano" | Final appearance of PC Mike Jarvis | Jo Shoop | Scott Cherry | 8 May 1998 |
| 54 | "Money Talks" | Lucy Robinson guest stars. | Jo Johnson | Simon Moss | 12 May 1998 |
| 55 | "Brighton Rocks: Part 1" | TBA | Ian White | Richard McBrien | 14 May 1998 |
| 56 | "Brighton Rocks: Part 2" | TBA | Ian White | Richard McBrien | 15 May 1998 |
| 57 | "The Hare and the Tortoise" | TBA | Roger Gartland | Candy Denman | 19 May 1998 |
| 58 | "The Better Man" | Sean Baker guest stars | Jo Johnson | J.C. Wilsher | 21 May 1998 |
| 59 | "Red Herrings" | Ron Moody guest stars. | Gill Wilkinson | Terry Hodgkinson | 22 May 1998 |
| 60 | "Under the Grill" | Steven Hartley, Pippa Haywood and Kim Taylforth guest stars. | Derek Lister | Stephen Plaice | 26 May 1998 |
| 61 | "The Stork" | Patrick Drury guest stars. | Danny Hiller | Louise Hide | 28 May 1998 |
| 62 | "One of Us" | Kevin Doyle and Louise Delamere guest star. | Clive Fleury | Katharine Way | 29 May 1998 |
| 63 | "Room to Manoeuvre" | Stephen Graham guest stars. | Steve Shill | Patrick Melanaphy | 2 June 1998 |
| 64 | "Out of Hand" | Tracey Childs, Valentine Nonyela, Peter Halliday and Eileen Page guest star. | John Bruce | Len Collin | 4 June 1998 |
| 65 | "Watching the Detectives" | Hour-long episode, Bernard Gallagher guest stars. | Ged Maguire | Graham Mitchell | 5 June 1998 |
| 66 | "A People Person" | Final appearance of DC Tosh Lines, Elaine Donnelly, David Hargreaves, Cheryl Hall and Stuart Organ guest star. | N.G. Bristow | J.C. Wilsher | 9 June 1998 |
| 67 | "Spray" | Nicky Henson and Frank Harper guest star | Peter Cregeen | Nigel Baldwin | 16 June 1998 |
| 68 | "Three Cheers" | Danny Webb guest stars | Ged Maguire | Julian Perkins | 19 June 1998 |
| 69 | "Up for Trouble" | Ursula Holden-Gill guest stars. | Peter Lydon | Julian Perkins | 23 June 1998 |
| 70 | "The Bus Driver's Prayer" | Nicola Stapleton and Martin Kemp guest star. | Clive Fleury | Dom Shaw | 25 June 1998 |
| 71 | "Loving Memory" | Oliver Smith guest stars | John Bruce | Dale Overton | 26 June 1998 |
| 72 | "Stop" | Kate Maravan, Polly James and Roy Skelton guest star. | Paul Murton | James Astbury | 1 July 1998 |
| 73 | "Deep Secret" | Hour-long episode, Roy Hudd, Tamzin Malleson and James Ottaway guest star. | Tom Cotter | Terry Hodgkinson | 2 July 1998 |
| 74 | "The Whip Hand" | Final appearance of WPC Norika Datta, Nina Wadia and Martin Gower guest star. | Christopher Hodson | Manjit Singh | 9 July 1998 |
| 75 | "Bang!" | TBA | Tom Cotter | Chris Ould | 10 July 1998 |
| 76 | "Unlicensed" | TBA | Peter Cregeen | Alison Fisher | 14 July 1998 |
| 77 | "Vacant Possession" | John Duttine and Sharon Duce guest star. | Jeremy Silberston | David Hoskins | 16 July 1998 |
| 78 | "Sucking Eggs" | Liz Smith guest stars | Peter Lydon | Ray Brooking | 17 July 1998 |
| 79 | "Tainted Love: Part 1" | TBA | Jo Shoop | Clive Dawson | 21 July 1998 |
| 80 | "Tainted Love: Part 2" | TBA | Jo Shoop | Clive Dawson | 23 July 1998 |
| 81 | "Tainted Love: Part 3" | TBA | Jo Shoop | Clive Dawson | 24 July 1998 |
| 82 | "Cooking" | Final appearance of DS Alistair Greig | Sarah Harding | John Pollock | 28 July 1998 |
| 83 | "Fighting Chance" | Don McCorkindale guest stars | Martin Hutchings | Kevin Scouler | 30 July 1998 |
| 84 | "King of the Road" | John Breslin guest stars | Tom Cotter | Ben Cooper | 4 August 1998 |
| 85 | "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" | TBA | Martin Hutchings | Michael Jenner | 6 August 1998 |
| 86 | "One Man, Two Faces" | Joseph Marcell guest stars. | Paul Murton | Tunde Babalola | 11 August 1998 |
| 87 | "Shoot the Messenger" | Grant Masters and Jane Slavin guest star. | Roger Gartland | Alan Pollock | 13 August 1998 |
| 88 | "Too Little, Too Late" | Last episode in half-hour format | Marcus D. F. White | David Hoskins | 20 August 1998 |
| 89 | "Deep End" | 90-minute special, first appearance of WPC Rosie Fox, Hywel Simons and Hilary Sesta guest star. | Ian White | Elizabeth-Anne Wheal | 25 August 1998 |
| 90 | "The Party's Over" | First regular episode in hour-long format, David Dayan Fisher and Caroline Strong guest star. | Jo Johnson | Elizabeth-Anne Wheal (Part 1) Neil Clarke (Part 2) | 27 August 1998 |
| 91 | "Bang Bang, You're Dead" | David Dayan Fisher, Jack McKenzie, Jon Croft and Nimmy March guest star. | Paul Murton | Elizabeth-Anne Wheal (Part 1) Neil Clarke (Part 2) | 28 August 1998 |
| 92 | "Team Spirit" | Departure of WPC Rosie Fox, Caroline Strong guest stars | Albert Barber | Elizabeth-Anne Wheal | 1 September 1998 |
| 93 | "Urgent Assistance" | Toni Palmer and Will Barton guest star | Albert Barber | Steve Griffiths | 15 September 1998 |
| 94 | "Taking Sides" | Final appearance of WPC Debbie Keane, Lesley Nicol, Charmian May, Toni Palmer, John Joyce and Barry Ewart guest star. | Tania Diez | Len Collin (Part 1) Colin Wyatt (Part 2) | 22 September 1998 |
| 95 | "Deadly Impact" | Samantha Bond and Toni Palmer guest stars. | Ged Maguire | Anthony Valentine | 29 September 1998 |
| 96 | "Big Day" | Christopher Timothy, Samantha Bond, Philip Bloomfield and Christopher Saul guest star. | Marcus White | Nicholas McInerny (Part 1) Carolyn Sally Jones (Part 2) | 6 October 1998 |
| 97 | "Making Up" | TBA | Brian Parker | Chris McWaters | 13 October 1998 |
| 98 | "The Cross" | First appearance of DC Kerry Holmes | Ian White | Maxwell Young | 20 October 1998 |
| 99–100 | "Cast No Shadow/Betrayal" | Return of DCI Frank Burnside, Stephen Greif guest stars | Chris Lovett | Steve Griffiths & Tony Mulholland | 27–29 October 1998 |
| 101 | "All for One" | Craig Fairbrass and Tony Osoba guest star. | Delyth Thomas | Edward Canfor-Dumas | 30 October 1998 |
| 102 | "Trial Run" | Rupert Holliday-Evans guest stars. | Dominic Lees | Patrick Melanaphy | 3 November 1998 |
| 103 | "Section F" | Becky Hindley and Rick Warden guest star. | Chris Hodson | Richard Stoneman | 6 November 1998 |
| 104 | "Bad Chemistry" | Iddo Goldberg and Phillip Joseph guest star. | Rob Evans | Maxwell Young | 10 November 1998 |
| 105 | "Dog Eat Dog" | Michelle Gomez guest stars. | Phillipa Langdale | Rod Lewis | 13 November 1998 |
| 106 | "Indiscretion" | Peter-Hugo Daly, Edna Doré and Linal Haft guest star. | Derek Lister | Arthur Ellis | 17 November 1998 |
| 107 | "The Rate for the Job" | Lesley Dunlop and Rhoda Lewis guest star. | Frank Smith | J.C. Wilsher | 20 November 1998 |
| 108 | "For Interest Only" | Mark Monero and John Flanagan guest star. | John Bruce | Don Webb | 24 November 1998 |
| 109 | "The Fat Lady Sings" | First appearance of DC Duncan Lennox, Annette Badland guest stars | Robert Del Maestro | Richard Stoneman | 27 November 1998 |
| 110 | "Too Many Cooks" | Isla Blair, Anthony Valentine and Anne Ridler guest star. | James Cellan Jones | Nigel Baldwin | 1 December 1998 |
| 111 | "Team Play" | Debbie Chazen guest stars | Gwennan Sage | Anthony Valentine | 4 December 1998 |
| 112 | "Heat and Light" | TBA | Ged Maguire | Gregory Evans | 8 December 1998 |
| 113 | "Ticking Clocks" | Holly Davidson and Christopher Guard guest star. | Barbara Rennie | Gregory Evans | 10 December 1998 |
| 114 | "Strange Bedfellows" | Sebastian Abineri guest stars | Frank Smith | Len Collin | 11 December 1998 |
| 115 | "Live and Ticking" | TBA | Peter Cregeen | Candy Denman | 15 December 1998 |
| 116 | "All the Lonely People" | Trevor Martin guest stars | Delyth Thomas | Tony Mulholland | 17 December 1998 |
| 117 | "The Personal Touch" | Leslie Grantham, Denise van Outen, Zig Byfield, Frank Coda and Chris Simmons guest star. | Ian White | Patrick Melanaphy | 18 December 1998 |
| 118 | "Time, Gentlemen Please!" | Dominic Power guest stars. | Albert Barber | Ray Brooking | 21 December 1998 |
| 119 | "Puzzled" | Lee Ingleby, Rebekah Gibbs and Katharine Schlesinger guest star. | Steve Shill | Ben Cooper | 22 December 1998 |
| 120 | "Christmas Star" | Emmanuel Petit and Bobby Knutt guest star. | Tom Cotter | Terry Hodgkinson | 24 December 1998 |
| 121 | "S.A.D." | Veronica Roberts and Judy Cornwell guest star. | Chris Hodson | Chris Jury | 31 December 1998 |
| Series | |
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| Notable episodes |
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| Spin-offs |
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| Characters | |
| Lists | |
