Keep Her Talking

It just keeps getting better. The Bill is on a roll right now.

THE BILL
Keep Her Talking: Episode 031
Thursday 11 February 2010, 21.00 to 22.00, ITV1
Repeated on ITV3 on Monday 15 February at 23:00

Sergeant Stone (Sam Callis) and P.C. Leon Taylor (Dominic Power) are called to the home of Alan Wilcock (Ivan Kaye) who says he left his house for a few minutes, leaving his young son Mattie (Monty Depreli) behind.

In his absence, his ex-wife Carly (Jo McInnes), who he explains used to be a drug addict and has been sectioned, let herself in and refuses to open the door. Stone and Leon attempt to calm both Alan and Carly down but are horrified when behind the front door, they hear Carly fire a gun.

CO19 are called and surround the house while Alan tells D.S. Max Carter (Christopher Fox) he’s an ex-detective, turned head of security. Alan picked up the gun in a club he was working at the night before and was going to log it with the police later that day. He tells Max that when Carly was charged for possessing cocaine, he won custody of their children, Matty and 15 year old Adam (Dylan Llewellyn).

Sergeant Jo Masters (Sally Rogers) is tasked with negotiating with Carly and is surprised when Adam says he’s recently been communicating with Carly over Skype and he suggests that Jo could do the same. Jo makes a real connection with Carly, who tells the Sergeant that Alan has been neglecting their children.

Frustrated, she wants to know why Alan hasn’t been arrested for child abuse and why she can’t have custody of their children. Jo gently tries to persuade Carly that the police can help her, but Carly becomes increasingly distressed and Jo realises that Matty is in real danger...

As the investigation develops, Jo is horrified to discover that the cocaine Carly was arrested for actually belonged to Alan. When the drugs were found in his car, she took the blame for him, knowing how important his job was to the family, but he used her conviction in order to divorce her and gain full custody of the children. Jo swears that she’ll do everything she can to help Carly, but says she has to leave the house and gun behind.

Carly eventually agrees and as officers prepare to get her out, Jo gets ready to greet her at the door. Max tells her in no uncertain terms is she meeting Carly, but Jo furiously tells him that Carly is likely to lose it if she’s greeted by armed officers.

Jo is proved right when Carly tentatively attempts to leave the house, but runs back inside with Matty, terrified. As Jo continues the negotiations, Carly becomes more disturbed and hysterically fires another shot...

THE BILL is a talkbackTHAMES production and a direct commission by ITV. This episode was written by Julie Dixon, directed by Gary Love and produced by Ciara McIlvenny.