Written by Jonathan Rich, Directed by Julian Aymes

Having recently picked up my Bill rewatch after a lengthy break, I thought it might be interesting to briefly summarise my thoughts as I work my way through this batch of episodes. They won’t be particularly lengthy reviews – just some random observations about the plot, regulars, guest stars, etc. But hopefully they’ll still be of some interest ….

Despite being 34 years old, Interpretations is an episode that feels very current (dealing as it does with tensions between the White and Asian communities). Riots are occurring on the streets of Sun Hill although – for obvious budget reasons – we don’t see them, we’re just told about them.

Colin Grout (Troy Webb), arrested for assault, is convinced he knows where the blame lies. “They’re smashing the windows of decent, white citizens and you let them”. In the next scene, Riz Siddiqui (Ashok Kumar) provides the counter-view, complaining to Bob Cryer that there’s been “three fire bombs this month and you’ve caught no-one”. That Bob knows and respects the Siddiqui family is quickly sketched in (as is the fact that they’re decent, law-abiding folk).

Riz’s t-shirt (“racist pigs”) demonstrates his lack of faith in the police to deal with the attacks. So future violent clashes on both sides look more than likely since Bob can offer no guarantees, only reassurances.

The main thrust of the episode revolves around the fire-bombing of a house which contained a number of immigrants. Roach is keen to speak to one of the victims, but their lack of English means that a translator – Ruth Davdra (Shaheen Khan) – is required. Her job partly explains the episode title – but there’s also a twist, since we later discover that (for various reasons) she’s been editing the responses received before translating them. And another twist comes when the identity of the fire-bomber is revealed.

This is a good story for Roach and Brownlow also features in several key scenes. Not for the first time, Brownlow is interested in how things appear, rather than how they actually are. When a white suspect is arrested, he’s more than pleased – as it enables him to report to the press conference that progress is being made. Whether that person actually committed the firebombing is less important than the fact that Sun Hill will now be seen as doing something positive to deal with the situation.

Amongst the guest cast, there’s a small role for Jenna Russell (as Kelly Bailey). Such is the power of On The Up, that I always expect Russell to have a Scottish accent and am always momentarily disconcerted when she doesn’t …