reaching a verdict

The third book in Edward Kellett’s series, we’ve now reached 1993 and 1994 – a period of change for The Bill as a third weekly episode was added to the schedule. As with the previous volumes, each of the two sections (dedicated to 1993 and 1994) begin by highlighting a number of key episodes (which are ideal picks for anyone keen to sample the programme, but who might balk at watching all 156 episodes from any given year).

Since it would be impractical to review every episode, instead Kellett uses his selected episodes to analyse certain themes and characters – this way he’s able to touch upon many episodes (with the result – as with his previous books – that I found myself breaking off from reading in order to rewatch some of the installments mentioned).

Chief Inspector Cato (the Bald-Headed Bastard from Barton Street) debuted at the beginning of 1993 (New Tune, Old Fiddle by J.C. Wilsher). A character tailor-made to put everybody’s back up, he certainly didn’t disappoint on that score, and some of his greatest hits are faithfully reported. Plenty of dialogue quotes help to give a flavour of the scripts under review, such as Brownlow’s nonplussed “I spoke to Cato this morning… To be quite honest with you I’m not sure there’s anybody at home.”

Although some characters would remain ever present, as ever with a series like The Bill, there would be a regular turnover as old faces departed and newcomers arrived. As described by Kellett, the sudden exit of Ted Roach left a void that was difficult to fill.

Throughout the show’s first decade, Ted’s character arc is its greatest driving force: a remarkable achievement for a series of self-contained stories where no one person is bigger than the ensemble. As noted in Volume 1, on paper he should be a walking cliché, the hard-drinking ladies’ man who doesn’t play by the rules. But The Bill was always adept at showing the messy edges of life, where the image people have of themselves breaks down.

An interesting section of this volume of Reaching A Verdict concerns the decision to go thrice weekly. For some it was a controversial move and marked the end of an era. The programme might have remained a key ITV staple until 2010, but the increase in episodes meant that new writers were needed (with the knock-on effect that the distinct ‘voices’ of the small core group of writers who had guided the series to date would inevitably be diluted).

Kellett’s view (“the amount of quality material is the same – but mingled with more filler, therefore less connected, and less impactful”) is a fair one. By this point in the series’ history, The Bill had tended to eschew running themes (with most episodes existing as as self-contained 25 minute plays). This sort of format has positives and negatives of course – it does mean that today you can dip into individual episodes from this era and not feel that you’re only getting half of the story. And I certainly prefer this style of storytelling to the later, extensive story arcs which seemed to feature rogue and pyscho killer police officers on a regular basis ….

The increased workload seemed to affect a number of actors, most notably Christopher Ellison. Burnside’s abrupt departure is succinctly described by Kellett (“the result is that he is bundled through the exit with indecent, not to say absurd haste”). It’s certainly a destablising time for the programme, with the short-lived DI Harry Haines (Gary Whelan) “parachuted in to fill a Burnside-shaped hole”.

This third book closes with an overview of P.J. Hammond’s contribution to the series during 1993 and 1994. Kellett observes that “it’s not oversight that has kept Hammond’s work out of these pages for so long, but the simple fact that it’s impossible to place in context with anyone else’s”. Indeed, even though the series had become a little bit like a sausage factory, with new episodes appearing one after the other, it was good to see Hammond ever-present with a selection of tales that could frequently be odd, macabre and disturbing, His scripts for The Bill (just like his efforts on the likes of Z Cars and Angels) certainly stands out as the work of a unique talent.

As touched upon before, I can’t think of any higher praise for a book of this type than that it’s frequently made me return to the series under discussion. Reaching A Verdict: Reviewing The Bill 1993-1994 is the third volume in an impressive series that is highly recommended for all fans of The Bill or, indeed, anyone with an interest in British television drama from this era.

Reaching A Verdict: Reviewing The Bill 1993-1994 is available now from Devonfire Books and can be ordered via this link.

Reaching a Verdict: Reviewing The Bill 1983 – 1989 takes an in-depth look at the first five series of the UK’s longest-running police series. Based on material originally written for The Billaton, Edward Kellett’s book offers a deep dive into the series’ early years and is an excellent companion for anyone attempting a rewatch.

It’s easy to assume that The Bill arrived fully formed in its first series, but instead Kellett is able to show how the series took some time to develop (characters like Jim Carver slowly shedding their naïve persona, for example). John Salthouse’s towering turn as DI Galloway is also acknowledged. During S1 he was a dominant figure and although he’d become more of an ensemble player during series two and three, his departure prior to the series’ half-hour reboot did leave a big hole to fill (luckily, a more than adequate replacement was found …)

I appreciated the way that Edward Kellett was keen to stress how The Bill didn’t develop in isolation. Sometimes, certain programmes can be lauded as mould-breakers, with no acknowledgment given that they were actually building on what had gone before them. So I enjoyed Kellett’s nod to Strangers – a now almost forgotten series.

The ‘missing link’ with the police series of the past is Strangers, a Granada TV show that bridged the five-year gap separating The Sweeney and The Bill – missing in the sense that it can only be tracked down on DVD, not doing the late afternoon rounds on ITV4 as a washed out, zoomed in, cut down travesty like other crime dramas of the period.

With a large, constantly changing cast of regular actors, not to mention an influx of new writers as the series moved to a twice weekly year round production cycle, there’s an awful lot that needs to be noted and analysed. But all the key contributors are given their moment. For example, here’s a thumbnail sketch of Ted Roach –

On paper Roach is the one figure most easily recognisable from TV copperdom, straight out of the Sweeney mould: the roguish, hard-drinking ladies’ man who sails close to the wind but gets results. Ted finds it hard living up to that last caveat, and thus what could have been an imitation Jack Regan is in fact a more substantial one. He is an odd, shambolic presence, imbued with that other great quality Scannell brought to the role, besides his charisma: unpredictability.

Another part of the book that struck a chord with me was the appreciation of Peter J. Hammond’s scripts. Hammond (best known for Sapphire & Steel) is a unique writer whose distinctive voice almost always comes through, no matter what series (The Bill, Z Cars, Angels, etc) he’s working on at the time. His Bill offerings noted here are classic Hammond efforts – at times unsettling and oblique narratives that linger in the memory.

Reaching a Verdict kicks off with a short chapter about the Storyboard pilot – Woodentop – with the remainder of its 250 or so pages divided into five more chapters (covering series one to three of the 50 minute show as well as the 25 minute episodes broadcast during 1988 and 1989).

Having previous enjoyed the two oral production histories of this era of The Bill by Oliver Crocker (see here and here) it’s very pleasing to now have such a comprehensive analysis of the programme as well. It’s certainly made me keen to dig out my DVDs and revisit the show – and I can’t think of any higher recommendation of the book than that.

Reaching a Verdict will be published on the 16th of August 2023. Pre-orders can be made now at Devonfire Books.