The Bill series 4: Difference between revisions

The '''fourth series of ''[[The Bill]]''''', a British [[television drama]], consisted of forty-eight episodes, broadcast between 19 July and 29 December 1988. This series was the first to adopt a half-hour format, and the theme tune had its first of several updates. The making of every episode broadcast in 1988 is covered in the guidebook [https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1838281924 Witness Statements: Making The Bill (1988)], featuring in-depth interviews with 60 cast and crew, production notes, locations, viewing figures and rare behind-the-scenes photographs.<ref>https://wearecult.rocks/witness-statements-making-the-bill-1988 {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref>

* DI [[List of The Bill characters#Senior officers|Frank Burnside]] (as regular)

|Aux2=''First appearances of Insp [[List of The Bill characters (E–L)#Christine Frazer|Christine Frazer]], PC [[List of The Bill characters (E–L)#Malcolm Haynes|Malcolm Haynes]] and SRO [[List of The Bill characters (E-L)#Marion Layland|Marion Layland]], first credited appearance of PC [[List of The Bill characters (A–DQ–Z)#JimTony CarverStamp|JimTony CarverStamp]] is promoted to DC, first credited appearance of PC [[List of The Bill characters (Q–ZA–D)#TonyJim StampCarver|TonyJim StampCarver]] is promoted to DC''

|Aux3=[[Eric Francis (actor)|Eric Francis]] and [[Andy Secombe]]

|Aux2=''First regular appearance of DI [[List of The Bill characters (A–D)#Frank Burnside|Frank Burnside]] as DI''

|Aux3=[[Chris Chering]] and [[Russell Lewis]]

|Aux3=[[Chrissie Cotterill]]

|Aux3=[[Alex McAvoy]], and [[Terence Beesley]] and [[Christopher Whittingham]]

|Aux3=[[Melissa Wilks]]

|Aux3=[[John Rolfe (actor)|John Rolfe]] and [[George Ballantine]]

|Aux3=[[Paul O'Grady]] (credited as Paul Savage) and [[Stevan Rimkus]]

|Aux3=[[Iain Rattray]], [[Terence Wilton]], [[Martin Matthews]] and [[James Pertwee]]

|Aux3=[[Leon Eagles]]

|Aux3=[[Geoffrey Beevers]], [[Hilary Mason]], [[Ralph Nossek]], [[Dennis Edwards (actor)|Dennis Edwards]], [[Lee MacDonald]] and [[Aimée Delamain]]

|Aux3=Bhasker Patel, [[Michael Goldie]] and [[Patsy Palmer]]

|Aux3=[[Daniel Flynn (actor)|Daniel Flynn]], John Judd, [[Frank Mills (British actor)|Frank Mills]], [[Martyn Whitby]], [[Seymour Green]] and [[Owen Brenman]]

|ShortSummary= Sun Hill police are being called out to a series of bogus shouts which the Yard pins down to a computer hacker breaking into the police computer network. Sgt. Cryer investigates, and finds a former university student who has acquired an ex-MOD computer which still had access codes to government and police networks on the hard drive. W.P.C. Ackland checks in with a woman who is too scared to leave her flat as she has been repeatedly mugged. Ackland convinces her to go out to get some cigarettes, but when they return, her flat has been trashed. June arranges for her to be moved off the estate. Roach, Dashwood and Carver watch as a car is pulled out of the river with the body of a young woman inside. They question the car owner who had reported it stolen, but he is clearly hiding something. D.S. Roach must inform Sgt. Cryer that it was his son, Patrick, who was driving the car when it went into the river, and that he'd left the scene.

|ShortSummary= An excavator on a building site has uncovered some human remains, and Sgt. Cryer calls in C.I.D. Cryer is avoiding returning to the station, as his son Patrick is being charged with causing death by dangerous driving. Ch. Insp. Conway, Burnside and Roach have a word with Cryer, who is avoiding his family. On the building site, D.C. Dashwood and the S.O.C.O. wind up the site manager by saying it may have been a murder, although the bones are very old. A riot ensues as the men want to return to work. Burnside arrives and nicks all of them. The bones turn out to be from the Great Plague of 1665. P.C. Edwards is angry after being sold forged theatre tickets by Ramsey. Ramsey claims innocence, and the pair manage to locate the forgers. Unable to interest C.I.D. in the case, they investigate on their own and blow a joint Fraud Squad and U.S. Treasury operation to catch counterfeiters printing fake American dollars.

|Aux3=Matthew Sim