The Bill: Long Serving Characters
The Bill has axed its current longest serving character, PC Tony Stamp, after 22 years in the ITV police drama. With the departure of PC Tony Stamp the longest serving character in the series will be DCI Jack Meadows but we take a look at some other characters in The Bill which have also been around for a while.
After 22 years PC Tony Stamp will sign off duty at Sun Hill Police Station for the final time and once he departs the shows longest serving character will be DCI Jack Meadows. We take a look at some of the other characters in The Bill which have also been around for a while.
DCI Jack Meadows [Simon Rouse], joined in 1992.
As previously stated when PC Tony Stamp departs later this year the shows longest serving character will be DCI Jack Meadows, an iconic character in his own right. Jack Meadows joined Sun Hill Police Station in 1992 having been demoted out of Murder Squad. A corruption case hung over him and in his heart Jack knew he’d never make Superintendent again. Over the years Jack has survived several scandals such as the fiasco over Don Beach which saw most of his CID department transferred elsewhere. The fiasco over Don Beach’s corruption also saw the arrival of a new Superintendent at the station, Tom Chandler. Meadows and Chandler did not get along and eventually the Superintendent shot himself. Jack also had to contend with the collapse of his marriage, health problems, his son’s drug offences and a relationship with prostitute Rachel Heath that could have cost him his job. Despite all of the things that Jack has had to deal with over the years he is still at Sun Hill and still running the CID department – but for how long?
Sergeant Dale Smith [Alex Walkinshaw], joined 1999
Originally a PC at the station “Smithy”, as he was known then, wasn’t always popular with his colleagues. He had something of a macho approach to things and there was a noticeable tension between Smithy and fellow PC Luke Aston. Smithy’s straight-talking-attitudes also saw him being accused of being racist, sexist and homophobic. Smithy left Sun Hill to transfer over to the SO19, the armed squad. Sergeant Bob Cryer convinced Smithy to put in for a transfer and he won it. However, it had consequences as during a callout Smithy accidentally shot Bob Cryer – forcing the Sergeant to retire from the force. Two years later Smithy returned to Sun Hill as a Sergeant and once again clashed with the newly outted PC Luke Aston. As a Sergeant Smith had to distance himself from the PC’s which wasn’t always an easy task for him especially when it came to PC Kerry Young whom Smithy fell in love with. Thanks to the manipulations of PC Gabriel Kent, Kerry once accused Smithy of raping her. Kerry died in Smithy’s arms having been shot by the Sun Hill sniper.
DC Mickey Webb [Chris Simmons], joined 2000
DC Mickey Webb was one of several new additions to the Sun Hill CID team following the Don Beach fiasco. Most of the previous CID team were transferred out of Sun Hill while a new batch were brought in, amongst them Mickey Webb. Mickey was attracted to fellow DC, Kate Spears, but wasn’t impressed with her illicit affair with Superintendent Tom Chandler. Kate Spears was one of several officers who died in the station fire of 2002 and Mickey was devastated by Kate’s death and determined to make Chandler pay, blaming him for her death. Together with Jack Meadows, whom he regarded as a father-figure, Mickey set out to dig deep into Chandler’s past to uncover dark secrets. Mickey’s crusade against his Superintendent certainly uncovered dark secrets and lead to Chandler’s eventual suicide. Mickey transferred out of Sun Hill in 2003, following his rape, and joined MIT and later National Crime Squad. Mickey transferred back to Sun Hill in 2005 following the revelation his fiancée had been leaking information regarding a case. Mickey’s been back at Sun Hill for nearly five years now but will he last much longer?
DC Terry Perkins [Bruce Byron] joined 2003
DC Terry Perkins transferred to Sun Hill from nearby station Barton Street in 2003. Perkins works with sex offenders as the station’s SORO. His work in those early days at the station brought him into contact with DS Ramani De Costa who headed up the Community Safety Unit at Sun Hill. For a while it seemed like Ramani and Terry would have an affair as Ramani’s marriage hit a rocky patch but nothing became of it. Terry was devastated in 2006 when Ramani left the station for a transfer elsewhere.
DI Neil Manson [Andrew Lancel], joined 2003
Neil arrived to take over the CID department in 2003 much to the dismay of DS Samantha Nixon who thought she was to be promoted to the job. Neil isn’t exactly popular with his team all of the time and has clashed with several of them on occasion. Neil’s career was nearly destroyed by his affair with undercover Journalist Andrea Dunbar and he was clearly upset when she died during a fire at the station. As a result of his affair Neil’s marriage also collapsed. However, despite these blots on his record Neil is a determined officer who likes to get results. Neil has worked alongside Samantha Nixon, who was eventually promoted as DI, for a while now and with her departure shortly it could be his turn to shine once more – or maybe they’ll be another DI exiting Sun Hill as well?
PC Roger Valentine [John Bowler], joined 2004
Arriving at Sun Hill after a five year break from the force Roger found that his views and methods didn’t fit in with the new way of doing things in the Met. Roger was another officer who didn’t believe in political correctness and spoke his mind which could occasionally give his fellow officers the wrong impression about him. In his early days at the station Roger was often paired up with PC Lance Powell until the young officer was killed in 2005 by a serial killer. Roger was later in a nightclub when scaffolding collapsed, injuring him. As a result of the incident Roger also suffered from post traumatic stress.