Jeff Stewart Delighted at Award Win

Jeff Stewart, best known for his long running role in defunct ITV police drama The Bill, has spoken of his delight at winning a film award.

The actor behind PC Reg Hollis in the Thames Television produced cop show picked up the ‘Best Actor’ gong at the Manhattan Film Festival in New York last month. The 55-year-old actor starred in Under Jakob’s Ladder a low-budget flick about a German teacher called Jakbo Seel living in 1940s Russia who is jailed after being arrested by secret police. The movie also won ‘Best Period Piece’ at the event in held in the last week of July.

“When they said ‘The best actor goes to Jeff Stewart,’ a cold shiver went from the tips of my toes to the top of my head,” Stewart is reported as saying in The Sun newspaper. “I heard the announcement but it was like, ‘Did he really say that?’” He added.

Stewart was axed from The Bill in 2008 after 24-years in the London-based crime drama set in the fictional Sun Hill Police Station. This lead to reports the actor had tried to slash his wrists, however he later reassured fans that he was on the road to recovery and later appeared in a music video.

Prior to joining The Bill in 1984 the Scottish-born actor had played a thug in popular daytime soap Crossroads, which lead to thousands of letters of hate mail arriving at the ATV studios for Stewart – his character attacked, and hospitalised, motel cleaner Doris Luke – played by the late Kathy Staff – and became even more of a hate figure when he ran down loveable dimwit Benny – actor Paul Henry – in a stolen car back in 1981.

The Bill was axed last year after a failed revamp saw ratings decline.