Police drama the Bill enjoys revival on UKTV Play

Thursday 28 April 2016

Police drama The Bill enjoys revival on UKTV Play - six years after last episode aired

Series famous for giving stars first break means viewers can play spot the celeb for likes of Keira Knightley, Russell Brand, Alex Kingston and David Walliams

Actor Eric Richard who played Sgt Bob Cryer for two decades: The show kick-started peoples careers

A TV police drama whose final episode was broadcast six years ago is proving a hit with viewers all over again - as they play spot the celeb before they were famous.

The Bill, which ran for 26 years from 1984 to August 2010, is regularly topping the most-watched lists of on demand service UKTV Play UKTVPlay.co.uk - with droves of devotees set to tune in over the Bank Holiday weekend and watch box sets of entire series.

The weekly drama, which followed the men and women in blue from the fictional Sun Hill Police Station as they enforced law and order in east London, is fondly remembered for giving celebrities their first break - with superstars including Keira Knightley, Robert Carlyle, David Walliams, Alex Kingston, David Tennant, Emma Bunton and Russell Brand appearing as unknown extras during its three decades.

And six years after the last ever episode was broadcast, fans of the show and a whole new generation of TV viewers alike are enjoying The Bills timeless characters such as Sgt June Ackland, DI Frank Burnside and Sgt Bob Cryer - while playing spot the unknown celeb.

Emma Boston, general manager, UKTV Play, said,

The Bill has always had a cult following among viewers but weve been surprised at how its regularly topping our most-watched lists.

Over the years, the series has become known for giving so many famous actors their first break - which gives an added dimension to our viewers enjoyment of The Bill it seems. Its grown into one of our most popular on demand drama series over the last six months as word of mouth has spread online, and we expect to see a 15% rise in viewing figures over the Bank Holiday, as fans use the extra free time to enjoy whole box sets. Were adding more episodes now for people to enjoy.

Millions of TV viewers grew up with The Bill, and theres clearly still a great deal of affection for the men and women of Sun Hill.

UKTV Play is the on demand TV service from UKTV which allows viewers to watch shows from Dave, Yesterday, Really and Drama - including Storage Hunters, Suits, Crackanory, Dave Gorman Modern Life is Goodish, Taskmaster, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, Ghost Adventures, Most Haunted and Forbidden History.

To celebrate The Bill this bank holiday, UKTV Play has identified the 10 greatest actors who got an early break in the series, together with a fast-facts guide:

Robert Carlyle: the James Bond baddie, also known for his roles as Begbie in the film Trainspotting and Gary Schofield in The Full Monty, guest starred in 1991 episode The Better Part of Valour,

David Walliams: The Britains Got Talent judge appeared in a 2002 episode of The Bill as an animal rights activist who takes part in an anti-vivisection march,

Alex Kingston: the English actress who went on to star in global TV medical smash hit ER before becoming Doctor Who companion River Song made one of her first TV appearances in The Bill in 1988,

Emma Bunton: before the world had ever heard of The Spice Girls, Bunton played a troubled teenager in 1993 episode Missionary Work,

David Tennant: The Doctor in TVs Doctor Who made an appearance as kidnapper Stephen Clements in 1995,

Russell Brand: the notorious stand-up comedian and Hollywood actor debuted in The Bill as a cocky young thief in 1995 when he was 18,

Omid Djalili: the British/Iranian actor and comedian, who has completed several headline tours and starred in films such as The Infidel, made a guest appearance in the episode Chasing Shadows,

Keira Knightley: the Hollywood star kicked off her early acting career playing ten-year-old troublemaker Sheena Rose in 1995 episode Swan Song,

Hugh Laurie: the comedian, actor and national treasure made a guest appearance playing defense counsel Harp in 1998 episode Good Faith: Part 1,

Meera Syal: the comedian, writer and producer who rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me made an appearance as a solicitor in a season seven episode of The Bill. Other celebrities who appeared in The Bill - many before they became household names - include James McAvoy, Rik Mayall, Ray Winstone, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Catherine Tate, Ralf Little, Darren Day, Les Dennis, Liz Smith, Denise Van Outen, Roger Daltrey, Sean Bean, Pauline Quirke, Paul OGrady, Lorraine Kelly and Michelle Collins.

The Bill by numbers:

There were 2,425 episodes of The Bill

Originally produced by Thames Television, it first appeared in 1983 as one-off drama Woodentop, with The Bill following in 1984

In 1989 it was transmitted in half-hourly episodes, twice a week, with an extra instalment added in 1993, but reverted to its old hour-long format in 1998

The classic theme tune, although tweaked over the years, remained Overkill by Charlie Morgan; the end titles are remembered for featuring the feet of two officers on the beat, although this was dropped in 1988

There were three filming locations for Sun Hill police station: for the first series, the station consisted of a set of buildings in Wapping, East London; the second location was an old record distribution depot in North Kensington in North West London; and from 1990, Sun Hill was filmed at an old wine distribution warehouse in Merton, South London

PC June Ackland, later promoted to sergeant, who was played by Trudie Goodwin, was on-screen for 24 years, from the 1983 pilot to 2007, making her both the shows longest-serving character AND at the time the worlds longest-serving TV police character

In October 2003 the show celebrated its 20th anniversary with a live episode,

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