The Bill

The Bill
Title 1998–2010
Genre	Crime drama Police procedural Soap opera
Created by	Geoff McQueen
Starring	Main cast
Theme music composer	"Overkill" by Andy Pask and Charlie Morgan
Composer	Simba Studios
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	26
No. of episodes	2,425[1] (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Lloyd Shirley (1984–1987) Peter Cregeen (1987–1989) Michael Chapman (1989–1998) Richard Handford (1998–2002) Chris Parr (2002) Paul Marquess (2002–2005) Johnathan Young (2005–2010)
Production locations	South London (Colliers Wood/Mitcham), England
Running time	22–46 minutes
Production companies	Thames Television (1983–2006) Talkback Thames (2006–2010)
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	16 August 1983 (1983-08-16) – 31 August 2010 (2010-08-31)
Related
Bureau Kruislaan Die Wache Burnside MIT: Murder Investigation Team Leipzig Homicide
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The Bill is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, Woodentop, broadcast on 16 August 1983. ITV were so impressed with the drama that a full series was commissioned. The title originates from "Old Bill", a slang term for the police and show creator Geoff McQueen's original title for the series.

The Bill focuses on the lives and work of one shift of police officers of all ranks, and the storylines deal with situations faced by uniformed officers working on the beat, as well as plainclothes detectives. Producers initially wanted to replicate the "day in the life" feature of Woodentop and made sure a police officer was featured in every single scene. The series later adopted a much more serialised approach and a revamp in 2002 led to more of a soap-opera feel to many of its stories. The Bill began with a regular cast of 13 members with only two of these being uniformed women. In total 174 actors have formed part of the series' main cast.

Throughout its 26-year run, the programme was always broadcast on the main ITV channel. In later years, episodes of the show were repeated on ITV3 on their week of broadcast. The series has also been repeated on other digital stations, including UKTV Gold and Drama. It has been broadcast in over 55 countries. The series has attracted controversy on several occasions. An episode broadcast in 2008 was criticised for featuring fictional treatment for multiple sclerosis. The series has also faced more general criticism concerning its levels of violence, particularly prior to 2009, when it occupied a pre-watershed slot. The Bill, its cast and crew have won and been nominated for a number of awards, including BAFTAs and a Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award.

In March 2010, following a spell of declining viewership and negative public and media reception, executives at ITV announced that the network did not intend to recommission The Bill and that filming would cease on 14 June 2010. The final episode titled "Respect" aired on 31 August 2010. The Bill was the longest-running police procedural television series in the United Kingdom, and among the longest running of any British television series at the time of its cancellation.