| Series Number: | 24 |
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| Network: | ITV |
| Num Episodes: | 88 |
The 24th series of The Bill, a British television drama, was the antepenultimate series of the programme. On 2 April 2014, The Bill Series 24 Part 1 & 2 and The Bill Series 24 Part 3 & 4 DVD sets were released (in Australia).
The series continued the approach from the previous year in merging procedural policing drama with personal lives being touched upon, but one change from the norm saw plots focused on the perspectives of the victims or their community, while the show also moved onto more hard-hitting issues including online grooming (Closing the Net Parts 1 & 2), domestic terrorism (Frontline), knife crime (Walk on By) and human trafficking (Forgotten Child Parts 1 & 2). The biggest plot was the 8-part Witness plot, which epitomised both modern issues and community impact, a plot in which young mother Carly Samuels - who bonded with Sergeant Dale Smith in the previous series - was killed in a drive-by shooting. The plot focused on the grief of her mother Leanne as well as the police's attempts to break down barriers with the local community; it also provided inspiration for Smith's mission to take down a gang of gun traffickers in a 5-part summer plot where he went undercover as a gun runner. The show's bolder plots led to their first ever BAFTA win for Best Recurring Drama early in 2009.[1]
The first half of the year saw the show involved in a number of off-screen controversies: in January, show bosses axed original episode star Jeff Stewart (PC Reg Hollis), who at the time was the show's longest serving character. The devastation of losing his role after 24 years led Stewart to attempt suicide by slashing his wrists on the set.[2] Hollis was not given an on-screen exit as a result, instead resigning off-screen following the death of PC Emma Keane in the show's 3-part Frontline plot. Two months after the Stewart controversy, the show came under fire once more for creating a false MS treatment drug for a plot involving a doctor's suspicious death, an MS charity dubbing it "grossly irresponsible".[3] In May, the show was hit with a libel claim by MP George Galloway for his claims the show created a corrupt MP in his likeness in the 2007 plot Moving Target; the case was later settled away from the media spotlight as no resolution was publicised.[4]
In the autumn, The Bill celebrated its 25th anniversary with scenes aired in Germany as part of a crossover with Leipzig Homicide to investigate the abduction of a German national in London.[5] There was also a special documentary hosted by Martin Kemp, "The Bill Made Me Famous", featuring interviews with the most famous guest stars to have featured on the show including Roger Daltrey, Lynda Bellingham and Les Dennis, along with a number of past and present characters from the show. As well as the aforementioned scenes filmed in Germany, The Bill also filmed special scenes in Glasgow for the episode Demolition Girl, attending the demolition of The Gorbals tower block for a plot involving PC Sally Armstrong and PC Benjamin Gayle.[6]
In addition to the controversial dismissal of Jeff Stewart, the show also wrote out 6-year veteran Roberta Taylor after the actress resigned from her role as Inspector Gina Gold, the once iron-fisted character crumbling over fears she would face the death of another officer; the aforementioned death of Emma Keane that caused Gold's breakdown would be the last time the show killed off a police officer character before production ended two years later. Gold's role was taken by Waking the Dead and Casualty alumni Claire Goose, who was cast as Sergeant Rachel Weston following the abrupt resignation of Gillian Taylforth as Sergeant Nikki Wright, Taylforth taking time to be with her daughter after she was seriously injured in a car crash the year before;[7] Weston featured in less than a dozen episodes as sergeant before promotion to replace Gold. The show also cast four new PCs in the summer following several exits from the uniform cast, while CID were bolstered by Patrick Robinson as former teacher and lawyer's husband DC Jacob Banks and Lucy Speed as ex-undercover specialist DC Stevie Moss, the latter of whom took on several major plots including three stints undercover, the last of which saw her centre stage in a forbidden romance plot opposite Coronation Street actor Bill Ward, who was cast for four episodes as drug runner Rob Towler.
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