The Bill
| The Bill | |
|---|---|
An image from the final opening credits of The Bill
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| Genre | Police procedural |
| Created by | Geoff McQueen |
| Starring | Main cast |
| Theme music composer | "Overkill" by Andy Pask and Charlie Morgan |
| Composer(s) | Simba Studios |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 26 |
| No. of episodes | 2400(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Lloyd Shirley (1984–87) Peter Cregeen (1987–89) Michael Chapman (1989–98) Richard Handford (1998–2002) Chris Parr (2002) Paul Marquess (2002–05) Johnathan Young (2005–10) |
| Location(s) | South London (Colliers Wood/Mitcham), England |
| Running time | 22–4 minutes (commercial ½ hour w/1 break) 42–6 minutes (as of 2010) (commercial hour w/3 breaks) |
| Production company(s) |
Thames Television (1984–1992) Talkback Thames (2002–10) |
| Distributor |
Pearson Television (1997–2000) FremantleMedia (2001–present) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format |
4:3 (1984–98) 16:9 SD (1998–2009) 1080i HD (2009–10) |
| First shown in | 16 August 1983 (Woodentop) |
| Original release | 16 October 1984 – 31 August 2010 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Bill is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, Woodentop, broadcast in August 1983.
In its final year on air, The Bill was broadcast once a week, usually on Tuesdays or Thursdays, in a one-hour format. The programme focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work. The Bill was the longest-running police procedural television series in the United Kingdom, and among the longest running of any British television series. The title originates from "Old Bill", a slang term for the police.
Although highly acclaimed by fans and critics, the series attracted controversy on several occasions. An episode broadcast in 2008 was criticised for featuring fictional treatment for multiple sclerosis. The series has also faced more general criticism concerning its levels of violence, particularly prior to 2009, when it occupied a pre-watershed slot.
The Bill won several awards, including BAFTAs, a Writers' Guild of Great Britain award and Best Drama at the Inside Soap Awards in 2009, this being the series' fourth consecutive win.
Throughout its twenty-seven-year run, the programme was always broadcast on the main ITV network. In later years, episodes of the show were repeated on ITV3 on their week of broadcast. The series has also been repeated on other digital stations, including Gold, Alibi, Watch, Dave and Drama.
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