The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
Showing Season 12 of 27
1996
The twelfth series of The Bill, a British television drama, consisted of 156 episodes, broadcast between 2 January and 31 December 1996. On 6 February 2013, The Bill Series 12 Part 1 & 2 and The Bill Series 12 Part 3 & 4 DVD sets were released (in Australia). The show aired the death of PC Cathy Marshall early in the series, actress Lynne Miller departing after seven years in a mysterious plot that saw her drown whilst chasing a suspect, but it was never confirmed if she was pushed or slipped off a riverside barge during the pursuit. The death followed that of DS Jo Morgan in a four-part special towards the end of the previous series, with the first three of the four episodes rebroadcast in the summer as part of a single special episode; Target.
1996-01-02
Skase and Croft investigate a series of hoax phone calls that are tearing a family apart.
1996-01-04
Loxton and Slater deal with a woman drink-driver.
1996-01-05
Meadows offers a bottle of scotch as a reward for catching an elusive burglar.
1996-01-09
Lines and Skase try to avert an ice-cream war in Sun Hill after a vendor is assaulted.
1996-01-11
Ackland and Jarvis follow up a vicious assault.
1996-01-12
Boulton is determined to arrest a local drug dealer, at any cost.
1996-01-16
Beech and Croft investigate the murder of a hairdresser who had been fighting for a share of her dead fiancé's estate.
1996-01-18
Datta is called to a burglary and is subjected to the unwanted affections of a civic-minded admirer. Monroe is suspicious when Loxton tries to settle an old score.
1996-01-19
Uniform and CID are on the lookout for escaped prisoner Jim Brodie, so both Brodie's wife and his drug dealer are under observation. PC Nick Slater and WPC Cathy Marshall pursue two burglers down to the riverfront, where one of them gives Slater a severe beating. Marshall sees a person on the barges and gives chase. By the time their backup arrives, delayed by PC Reg Hollis' dodgy belly, Marshall has disappeared. When her dead body is fished out of the river, the two crooks she and Slater had been pursuing are questioned over her possible murder. Searching the barge that Marshall was last seen, CID find evidence that someone has been sleeping rough on board - and it looks like it's their escaped prisoner, Brodie. The river police intercept Brodie fleeing to Amsterdam on his friend's boat, but there is not enough evidence to charge him for Cathy Marshall's murder.
1996-01-23
As Sun Hill gets to grips with its new computer system, Boyden discovers that it pays to stay one step ahead of the opposition.
1996-01-25
While Deakin investigates the kidnapping of a five-year-old boy, Conway gets some unsettling news.
1996-01-26
Five-year-old Tommy Laker is still missing, and Deakin discovers an evil and sinister ring which may hold the clue.
1996-01-30
Datta and Quinnan look into the mysterious death of a jogger, while Ackland and Jarvis try to reconcile a couple of warring lovers.
1996-02-01
Slater and Garfield struggle to keep the peace when two women fall out over the same man.
1996-02-02
Meadows and Croft investigate the murder of an elderly woman, and question two young children living on the floor below who may have heard what happened.
1996-02-06
Croft and a badly-hungover Beech investigate when a body is found in a car with a large amount of crack cocaine.
1996-02-08
A reconstruction brings forward an unexpected witness to an assault on a 15-year-old boy.
1996-02-09
Acting Superintendent Conway is stirred into action by a face from the past.
1996-02-13
Lines investigates an allegation of underage sex.
1996-02-15
Cryer and Slater follow up on a murder but a legal loophole may allow the perpetrator to get away with it.
1996-02-16
Beech is caught in the crossfire when uniform and C.I.D. fall out over a directive from Brownlow.
1996-02-20
Quinnan and Keane have to help someone with a conviction for assaulting a police officer.
1996-02-22
Carver and Skase investigate an assault on an Asian schoolboy.
1996-02-23
Croft investigates a series of vicious sexual assaults.
1996-02-27
A man comes in to Sun Hill and confesses to murdering a woman who disappeared five years ago. D.C.I. Meadows, who headed the original investigation, and D.C. Carver talk to him and, when they are convinced he is lying, throw him out. The man soon returns, and this time he tells Carver something that wasn't in the news stories making the police take his confession more seriously.
1996-02-29
Stamp and Slater are called to supervise the eviction of a father from his home.
1996-03-01
Skase and Deakin deal with a wounded crack dealer shot in the yard of a pub.
1996-03-05
Beech and Croft try to track down a violent attacker.
1996-03-07
Lines and Skase investigate a possible arson attack on a nightclub.
1996-03-08
Boyden and Slater search for the owner of a severed hand found on a rubbish tip.
1996-03-12
Cryer and Slater handle a tricky case involving a disabled former police officer and his wayward son.
1996-03-14
Jarvis and Page are called in to help in the deportation of an illegal immigrant who escapes from custody.
1996-03-15
Boulton loses a suspect during an arrest and has to ask Monroe to help get him back.
1996-03-19
Boulton investigates a convicted drug addict and clashes with a drugs worker.
1996-03-21
Loxton and Page deal with a bridegroom who disrupts a hen night.
1996-03-22
Meadows tries to get the truth from a terminally-ill Asian man after one of his sons is fatally injured during a family dispute.
1996-03-23
Loxton and Keane chase a local tearaway, who gets injured. Conway has to deal with the resulting accusations of police harassment.
1996-03-28
Greig is accused with police brutality following a raid on a burglar's home.
1996-03-29
Quinnan's whereabouts are questioned when he fails to notice an injured woman on the station doorstep. June Ackland becomes acting Sergeant.
1996-04-02
Slater's ability is questioned when he appears to mishandle two violent thugs at a party and his wallet, containing his warrant card, is stolen.
1996-04-04
Keane has a bad day in court, while Monroe follows up on a domestic incident.
1996-04-05
Boulton investigates a notorious local bookie and prompts suspicions about Beech's private life.
1996-04-09
Boyden and Datta try to secure a conviction against a vicious pimp.
1996-04-11
Boulton, Carver and Deakin take part in a Flying Squad operation against a vicious gang of armed robbers.
1996-04-12
Ch. Supt. Brownlow organises a tea dance for the Met Police Pensioners & Widows society. PCs Jarvis and Quinnan spend the afternoon dancing with admiring elderly ladies, WPC Polly Page is harrassed by a wheelchair-bound admirer, and PC Reg Hollis does a magic show. Brownlow is dreading the arrival of Geoffrey Allerton, an ex-copper who goes out of his way to complain about everything. When the minivan misses Allerton, Brownlow asks PC Tony Stamp to pick him up on the way to the bakery to pick up some cakes. When Stamp steps out of the bakery, he is horrified to find Brownlow's car has been stolen whilst Allerton was buying some tobacco. Packing Allerton and the cakes onto a bus, a desperate Stamp tries to retrieve Brownlow's car after it is impounded. When Allerton arrives at the dance at last, he causes a fuss when he recognises an armed blagger from a fifteen year old case at the wedding next door.
1996-04-16
Loxton arrests a black man he suspects is responsible for a mugging and is accused of racism.
1996-04-18
Greig is in pursuit of a local drug dealer. Two teenagers arrested for possession refuse to provide any information about their supplier.
1996-04-19
Quinnan and Hollis have to decide whether a pub quiz champion is breaking the rules. Skase deals with the unfaithful wife of a local villain.
1996-04-23
Loxton and Quinnan investigate an employment agency that provides lucrative opportunities to women with financial troubles.
1996-04-25
Carver calls on a former colleague to help with an antique clock that is a target for theft.
1996-04-26
Hollis goes undercover in the seedy world of vice in pursuit of the unscrupulous owner of a clip joint.
1996-04-30
Greig and Lines investigate graffiti attacks on motor vehicles and uncover a fraud.
1996-05-02
Boyden and Page look into a protection racket.
1996-05-03
Beech uncovers the relationship between a former boss and a local crime lord. Carver is caught between two troubled lovers.
1996-05-07
Deakin and Boulton investigate a fatal stabbing and uncover jealousy and deceit.
1996-05-09
Loxton and Page go undercover at a wedding to prevent a jilted lover spoiling the bride's big day.
1996-05-10
Deakin comes down hard on a snout who tries to buck the system, and gets an unexpected result.
1996-05-14
Hollis and Garfield deal with an attack on a school bully.
1996-05-16
Keane comes across a suspect antiques dealer. Greig and Croft investigate a burglary and reopen a feud between two sisters.
1996-05-17
P.C. Mike Jarvis is on the last few days of the Advanced Driving Course at Hendon. He gets on well with fellow team-member W.P.C. Sommer, but both of them cannot stand the third officer in their group, P.C. Penrose, the smug, over-bearing son of a ""Black-Rat"" (traffic officer) who sees himself as the best driver on the course, let alone in the Met. The trio attends a quiz night the night before their ""final drive"", the all-important test of their advanced driving skills, and Jarvis stops Penrose from drinking too much before the test. Battling station rumours that he is being re-assessed, P.C. Tony Stamp arrives at Hendon to check on Jarvis's progress - and is pleased when Jarvis passes his final drive easily - just a few points short however of becoming a Class 1 (Area Car) driver. A hung-over and ungrateful Penrose also misses out on his Class 1 rating, but W.P.C. Sommer makes it.
1996-05-21
Datta and Greig suspect that a woman who claims she can hear voices may hold the key to a series of sexual assaults.
1996-05-23
Deakin and Croft have to deal with a gang of delinquents when one of them is bottled at an ecstasy party.
1996-05-24
Boulton and Carver clash when a householder is arrested for murdering a burglar with a baseball bat. Boulton thinks it is justified to kill an intruder, but Carver does not; will it impede their investigation?
1996-05-28
Page and Monroe are dragged into a family squabble.
1996-05-30
Datta and Garfield arrest a G.P. for possession of cannabis, but he claims it is for use by one of his patients.
1996-05-31
Brownlow witnesses a violent outburst on the road.
1996-06-04
New DS Geoff Daly steps in to help Skase when a straightforward drugs bust goes wrong.
1996-06-06
Boyden tries to help a young offender.
1996-06-07
Jarvis steps in to help Page deal with a violent attack, but there are complications.
1996-06-11
Deakin investigates a violent attack on a small-time crook whom he suspects to have fallen in with bad company.
1996-06-13
Lines tries to get a juvenile offender to inform on a gang of dangerous thugs, while Daly is troubled by a determined probation officer.
1996-06-20
Deakin and Boulton investigate when a pimp is discovered badly beaten in a pile of rubbish.
1996-06-21
Slater and Boyden are involved in a drugs bust involving a camper van.
1996-06-25
PCs Quinnan and Stamp are first on the scene of a major chemical spill when a tanker truck hits some scaffolding near the Sun Hill tube station. Insp. Monroe arrives to supervise the evacuation of the area, as the fire department try to work out what chemical has been spilt, although a lack of documentation on the truck makes this difficult. The driver dies in hospital, but when his wife in informed by Uniform, she doesn't seem very upset. Further investigation reveals she is behind a scheme to provide unlicenced or disqualified drivers to the trucking company.
1996-06-27
Cryer and Keane discover a woman dead in her bath and suspect her son of foul play.
1996-06-28
Meadows and Skase pursue an ex-convict who has sworn revenge on an informant. Boyden is called to help a prostitute who believes she is being followed.
1996-07-02
Jarvis and Keane deal with a boy in possession of a pensioner's prescription.
1996-07-04
Boyden and Slater investigate a series of offensive telephone calls.
1996-07-05
Boulton investigates an assault on an old man.
1996-07-09
Daly mounts an operation to catch muggers. Page goes undercover as a pregnant woman to act as bait.
1996-07-11
Quinnan and Keane discover the body of a young girl in a pub toilet. Meanwhile, Monroe and Stamp both have words with Slater about his extensive overtime.
1996-07-12
Boyden investigates a dating agency that is rumoured to be providing underage girls.
1996-07-16
Cryer and Keane investigate a series of street robberies and find four teenagers trying to buy their way into drug-dealing.
1996-07-18
Carver and Jarvis misjudge the condition of a witness, threatening Operation Eagle Eye.
1996-07-19
Loxton and Keane follow up a mugging but suspect that the victim knows more than she is letting on.
1996-07-23
Monroe investigates a schoolboy's claim that he was assaulted by his teacher.
1996-07-25
Deakin is handed the chance to bust a drug dealer when his wife turns informant.
1996-07-26
Daly is determined to find out why a white teenager is trying to take the blame for his black friends.
1996-07-29
While speaking to Ackland and Loxton about the problem of local dog mess, a woman is shot dead by a sniper. Meadows and his CID team are tasked to investigate, and suspect that the woman was not the intended target, and it is strongly possible the sniper was after Loxton, who is set to testify in court against an attempted murderer that afternoon. However, when Ackland's house is set alight that night, CID come to the conclusion that she is the intended target. Writing up a list of possible suspects, Ackland gets sucked into a deadly cat-and-mouse game to try to draw the killer out - resulting in the death of one of Sun Hill's best officers. 📌 Feature length rebroadcast of the episodes "Fire", "All Tucked Up" and "Bait" from Series 11.
1996-07-30
Beech investigates the claim of one compulsive gambler to have murdered another.
1996-08-01
Boulton uses an informant as the bait to catch a dangerous villain.
1996-08-06
Ackland and McCann take the sergeant's exam. Cryer deals with a woman who is miscarrying and claims that she was assaulted by Page.
1996-08-08
Greig and Skase investigate when a drunk man is found unconscious and badly injured at the bottom of a flight of stairs.
1996-08-09
Hollis gets ideas above his station when Barbara, a local tom with whom he has become friendly, tries to become his informant. Although Barbara claims that known fraduster David Gough is back out on the patch, Hollis struggles to convince Deakin and Meadows.
1996-08-13
Hours after his release from prison, Dael Abbott is hauled back into custody by Daly and Carver following a stabbing. Daly pressures Emma Gilmore, the girlfriend of Abbott's associate, Michael Ceely, into giving evidence.
1996-08-15
Loxton and Keane arrest a woman for shoplifting, and later bail her from custody when she openly admits to the charge. But when she is discovered to have given a false identity, Grieg and Croft link the incident to a nanny believed to have kidnapped two of her charges.
1996-08-16
Don Beech investigates a set of aggravated robberies, trying to prove the owner of a red van committed them.
1996-08-20
Mike Jarvis receives death threats from a youth who cannot accept that his father is a sex offender.
1996-08-22
When fifteen-year-old Mickey Hoyle is arresting for joyriding, Beech employs him as a snout to expose a crooked car ring run by the Hislop brothers, Wayne and Paul. DS Frank Thomas from Scotland Yard assists Beech and a less than impressed Lines with the investigation.
1996-08-23
Deakin has to decide whether to trust a Nigerian drug smuggler who offers to help catch a local dealer.
1996-08-27
Jarvis deals with a young tearaway and tries to persuade the boy's father to take responsibility for his son's actions.
1996-08-29
Greig hopes that a tip-off will help him to nail an old enemy but things don't go to plan.
1996-08-30
DI Deakin poses as a nervous printer, waiting at the dog track to meet a mysterious man named ""Frank"" and a bent copper called ""Beech"". It all turns out to be an elaborate sting operation with Wimbledon police to catch a conman dealing in stolen credit cards.
1996-09-03
Keane is held hostage by a desperate armed robber.
1996-09-05
Deakin gets a vital lead on an unsolved murder, but his witness is an illegal immigrant who is about to be deported.
1996-09-06
A petrol can, a lighter and a desperate man threatening to burn down a house. Can Conway talk him round?
1996-09-10
Rawton gets involved in a dispute between a drug addict and Croft, who is trying to find a witness who can testify that she was assaulted.
1996-09-12
Garfield and McCann investigate a vicious mugging.
1996-09-13
Deakin and Boulton are called into a women's prison to investigate claims by an officer that an inmate was pushed down a flight of stairs by the prison psychiatrist.
1996-09-17
McCann and Slater arrest a woman for petty theft, and she claims to have killed a cyclist while driving two years before.
1996-09-18
The results of the sergeants exams are in, and W.P.C. June Ackland has passed - but P.C. Gary McCann hasn't. As the relief organise a big night out in celebration of Ackland's promotion, McCann volunteers for night shift duty with P.C. Reg Hollis. Ch. Supt. Brownlow offers to pull some strings at Area to allow Ackland to stay as Sun Hill rather than transferring. Ackland politely invites Brownlow to the pub, and is horrified when he accepts. When Brownlow finally heads home, Dave Quinnan calls several minicabs to go out for a late night curry, but June and Polly are seperated when their cab driver makes off with their bags and warrant cards after being pulled over by a Stafford Row probationer, P.C. Oliver Oxley. Oxley is about to arrest them until the Stafford Row CAD officer vouches for June. June helps Oliver overcome bullying at his station, while they search for her missing bag. With the help of McCann, Hollis, and some Stafford Row officers, the cab driver is found and arrested.
1996-09-19
Quinnan and a teenage burglary suspect are trapped in a broken lift in a housing estate.
1996-09-20
Page and Daly take opposing views in a case of alleged rape involving two cousins.
1996-09-24
Garfield and Datta deal with a family that is torn apart when the mother commits suicide by overdose of sleeping tablets.
1996-09-26
Beech gets a result when a barrister on his blacklist is robbed.
1996-09-27
Quinnan and Datta are called to a stag party where the strippergram accuses the guests of trying to gang-rape her.
1996-10-01
Slater and Ackland try to establish whether a pensioner who died on confronting a thief was murdered or died of natural causes.
1996-10-03
Daly and Croft obtain information from a conflicted young man who suspects his brother of a series of violent attacks on women.
1996-10-04
Jarvis and McCann attend the scene of an accident involving a woman driving a horsebox, who tests positive in a breath test. Deakin is after a violent attacker.
1996-10-08
Carver and Greig investigate a burglary but the residents on the estate are too scared to give evidence. Monroe determines to clear out all the known trouble-makers.
1996-10-10
Cryer and Keane uncover the murky past of a teenage girl who has been killed in a road accident.
1996-10-11
Meadows and Rawton try to persuade the girlfriend of a rape suspect to help in his arrest.
1996-10-15
Tensions arise between Deakin and Beech after a bookie is robbed.
1996-10-17
Meadows has to decide where his loyalties lie when an old friend is accused of murder.
1996-10-18
Hollis is concerned about a patient who has recently been discharged from psychiatric care, and clashes with social services.
1996-10-22
Greig and Skase investigate when three small-time villains are beaten up over their involvement in a counterfeit money-laundering operation.
1996-10-24
Carver disapproves of Boulton's ruthless handling of an informant.
1996-10-25
Meadows and Croft interview a young waiter accused of trying to kill his boss.
1996-10-29
Daly and Lines investigate a series of muggings at knifepoint.
1996-10-31
Quinnan tries to persuade an assault victim to testify against her former boyfriend. Boulton and Skase are led on a wild goose chase.
1996-11-01
A retired Police Sergeant arrives at Sun Hill claiming to know who murdered a girl more than 50 years previously. Against Quinnan and Greig's will, they both investigate.
1996-11-05
Slater gets into trouble after following up on a tip-off about a till snatch.
1996-11-07
Monroe and Ackland suspect that a series of apparently unrelated incidents across Sun Hill may be linked to the release of a psychiatric patient trying to find her children.
1996-11-08
Carver and Rawton follow up an irregularity on an insurance claim submitted by a decorator and uncover a double life.
1996-11-12
Croft and Boulton disagree on how to question a teenager who might be able to lead them to a violent gang.
1996-11-14
Ackland introduces single-manning at Sun Hill, causing problems for Brownlow.
1996-11-15
Slater and Keane reach the end of their probationary periods and face a final assessment.
1996-11-19
The murder of a taxi driver has all the hallmarks of a gangland execution. But why would anyone want to kill a complete nobody? Meadows and Deakin investigate this special 1 hour episode.
1996-11-21
Hollis learns an important lesson in community policing when some friendly advice that he gives a resident on noise pollution backfires.
1996-11-22
Loxton is investigated by the Complaints Investigation Bureau over an accusation that he assaulted a suspected burglar, although he claims to have been acting in self-defence.
1996-11-26
Boulton arrests a woman for drug dealing, but Rawton suspects that she may be a victim of mistaken identity.
1996-11-28
Skase and Hollis demonstrate two differing approaches to police work when a young journalist writing about policing spends a day at Sun Hill.
1996-11-29
Cryer and Page assist the distraught wife of a prisoner who reports her son missing and who fears that her husband is out to get her.
1996-12-03
Brownlow orders Meadows and Conway to review their budgets, but Meadows decides to investigate the unsolved murder of a prostitute instead.
1996-12-05
Beech and Rawton investigate the apparent assault of a father by his son and uncover a family secret.
1996-12-06
Boulton and Skase take part in a joint exercise with Customs and Excise to crack a fencing operation. Meadows is concerned that Sun Hill might end up footing the bill but not getting a result.
1996-12-10
Croft and Rawton investigate some shady Romanian businessmen and a suitcase full of black paper.
1996-12-12
Croft and Rawton investigate a dentist accused of indecent assault by one of his patients.
1996-12-13
Monroe, Datta and Loxton talk down a nursery cleaner when she holds a 3-year-old girl hostage, then investigate the woman's claims she is the girl's biological mother.
1996-12-17
Carver's patience is tested by a compulsive liar. Ackland and Quinnan search for a girl allegedly abducted by a religious cult.
1996-12-19
Monroe and Conway uncover a bogus wheel-clamping operation.
1996-12-20
Beech and Daly are put in an impossible situation when a judge decides to reveal the name of their informant.
1996-12-24
The Assistant Commissioner has declared Sun Hill Police Station an alcohol-free zone - terrible news for Ch. Supt. Brownlow and Ch. Insp. Conway who hope to enjoy a ""liquid lunch"" when they take the A.C. to a posh French restaurant. It's even worse news for the detectives in C.I.D., who have decided they are not going to give up their Christmas party without a fight. D.C. Skase shows D.C. Croft how a police officer can get ""donations"" for the party from the local publicans, but as they return, Hicks, Brownlow and Conway arrive back from their lunch for a tour of the station. They are forced to pretend Skase is a prisoner, and an unhappy Rod is locked in the cells for several hours. An elderly man is arrested after a road rage incident in a supermarket carpark, but the police manage to reunite him with his estranged family for Christmas.
1996-12-26
Stamp and Page look into the theft of a hearse containing the coffin of a thief who died in a traffic accident.
1996-12-27
Boulton and Skase investigate a car-ramming incident involving a member of a local pub team.
1996-12-31
New WPC Jamila Blake joins Sun Hill after three years away from the job. She pairs with Stamp, and they find an overdosed boy during a foot pursuit, and Cryer takes an interest when he discovers the victim is on the basketball same team as a former Sun Hill officer’s son.