Gutted...

Now that yesterday's news has had time to sink in it's time to look ahead.

Judging by today's press coverage ITV could well have a fight on their hands.

That said, if they insist on going ahead with what many allege is a financially driven decision, their loss will surely be someone else's gain.

Time to look for a new broadcast partner perhaps - sure Channel 4 and Five would love a series that could pull in 4.5 million viewers.

If they can't afford it, there's always the BBC... now that would be a twist.

Impact

Just keeps getting better...

THE BILL
Impact - Episode 36 (Part 2 of 2)
Thursday 18th March 2010, 21.00 to 22.00, ITV1
Repeated on ITV3 on Monday 22nd March at 23:00
*Featuring Julie Graham as Commander Lisa Kennedy*

The team continue the search for the gunman responsible for the death of Paul Sorrel.

The team reassess all the evidence they have. Prime suspects Devon Marshall (Anthony Welsh) and Jedda Atkins (Ashley Gerlach) have been released on bail due to a lack of evidence.

Sergeant Jo Masters (Sally Rogers) tells the team that by all accounts Paul Sorrel (Eddy Elsey) was a good teenager and that he had never been in trouble with the police before.

D.S Max Carter (Christopher Fox) is determined to use Jasmine Harris (Faye Daveney), a local teenager who has been speaking to Mickey Webb about the shooting as an informant and is certain she has the information that will unlock the whole case.

D.C Mickey Webb (Chris Simmons) feels it is too dangerous for Jasmine to get involved further and tries to persuade Max against speaking to her. Mickey is furious when D.I Neil Manson (Andrew Lancel) gives Max the go ahead to use Jasmine as an informant.

Commander Kennedy (Julie Graham) is overseeing the case and Superintendent Jack Meadows (Simon Rouse) is conscious that she will want to know about the morale within the team following Sergeant Stone’s suspension. Sergeant Smith (Alex Walkinshaw) reassures him that morale is picking up after Jo Masters recently stuck up for the team when they were criticised by CID.

After visiting the scene where Paul Sorrel was killed with Paul’s mother, P.C Leon Taylor (Dominic Power) witnesses Paul’s cousin Bobby Sorrel (Rupert Simonian) and Uncle Gary Sorrel (Pete McCabe) arguing nearby.

A short time later Bobby Sorrel is taken to the police station by his father Gary and forced to speak to D.S Max Carter about Paul’s involvement in drugs. Bobby reveals that Paul had bought forty bags of cannabis to sell on as a one off to get some money for his mother who was struggling financially.

Bobby claims that he was with Paul earlier in the evening but then went home to watch football with his dad Gary who confirms this.

The team review CCTV from the night of the shooting, they see Bobby Sorrel walking home and are surprised when they see him stop to talk to Jedda Atkins. When questioned Bobby confirms he spoke to him but claims that Jedda wanted to rob him.

D.S Max Carter and D.C Jacob Banks (Patrick Robinson) go and speak to Devon Marshall again, they know he is a low level dealer and believe that he and Paul were in the deal together with Paul supplying the cash and Devon supplying the cannabis splitting the profit 50/50.

They know he is probably being threatened by Jedda Atkins who has gone underground and offer him witness protection. Devon declines and is shaken up when his house is robbed and his car set alight.

The team are frustrated further when C.S.E Eddie Olosunje (Jason Barnett) is unable to find any forensic evidence that links either Devon Marshall or Jedda Atkins to the incident.

The case is solved when Devon Marshall strikes a deal with D.C Jacob Banks and D.C Mickey Webb and agrees to give a statement. He reveals that he was with Paul Sorrel at the time of the shooting and that Jedda Atkins did try and rob him and Paul as the team suspected, but that the person that pulled the trigger was not Jedda but in fact a very surprising culprit...

THE BILL is a talkbackTHAMES production and a direct commission by ITV. This episode was written by David Young, directed by Karl Neilson and produced by Ciara McIlvenny.

Behind The Scenes @ The Bill

The Chris Moyles Show - Matt Fincham's big day at The Bill, here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/videos/chrismoyles/video/100317_matt_thebill

Ricochet Part 1

THE BILL
Ricochet Part 1 of 2: Episode 35
Thursday 11th March 2010, 21.00 to 22.00, ITV1
Repeated on ITV3 on Monday 15th March at 23:00
*Featuring Julie Graham as Commander Lisa Kennedy*

Sergeant Jo Masters (Sally Rogers) and the team are called to a road traffic accident where motorist Helen Parr (Eleanor Samson) has hit a youth who has since fled the scene.

A passing cyclist has discovered a teenage boy lying badly injured in a nearby park. Jo rushes to the scene where she tries to resuscitate the boy along with the ambulance service. They are unable to save him and they discover that the boy has been shot and not hit by a car.

There is further confusion as the boy found injured in the park is a white male, motorist Helen Parr claims the teenager she hit was black.

The dead boy is Paul Sorrel (Eddy Elsey). P.C Mel (Rhea Bailey) and P.C Leon Taylor (Dominic Power) are given the difficult task of informing his mother Emma Sorrel (Kate Magowan) who refuses to believe that the boy they have found is her son Paul.

Back at the scene of the traffic collision P.C Kristy Knight (Sarah Manners) discovers a bag of cannabis under the car that hit the teenager. Leon speaks to Paul’s mother about the possibility of Paul being involved in drugs.

In the meantime a teenager Devon Marshall (Anthony Welsh) who has been hit by a car turns up at St Hughes.

D.C Mickey Webb (Chris Simmons) finds Jasmine Harris (Faye Daveney) wandering the streets and persuades her to speak to him about the shooting. After some convincing (and a small fee) Jasmine tells Mickey that just before the shooting she saw Paul Sorrel with Devon Marshall leaving a local off licence and heading towards the park where Paul was found critically injured.

D.S Max Carter (Christopher Fox) is not happy with how the investigation is being carried out and is highly critical of Sergeant Jo Masters and her team. Jo quickly reminds Max that if it weren’t for her team there would be no evidence.

Commander Lisa Kennedy (Julie Graham) is overseeing the case and puts her trust in Jo to not only solve the case but to pull the team together following Sergeants Stone’s recent suspension. After being interviewed by Inspector Smith (Alex Walkinshaw) and Sergeant Masters, Devon Marshall is released due to a lack of evidence.

D.C Mickey Webb speaks to Jasmine Harris again who insists Devon Marshall was definitely in the park at the time of the shooting. She claims he said that he “had business to do” just before meeting Paul Sorrel, but she claims there was also someone else in the park with Paul and Devon. Jasmine claims the third person in the park was Jedda Atkins (Ashley Gerlach) and tells Mickey where he can find him.

When a gun is found (matching the one that killed Paul) under a mattress in the house where Jedda is staying he is immediately taken in for questioning. He denies all knowledge of the gun and claims he is just staying at the house. He says he was indoors the whole evening on the night of the shooting.

Jedda’s alibi is confirmed and when the team receive the news that the gun found under the mattress is not the same weapon that killed Paul Sorrel, Jedda is released. The team continue the search for the gunman...

THE BILL is a talkbackTHAMES production and a direct commission by ITV. This episode was written by Chris Ould, directed by Karl Neilson and produced by Ciara McIlvenny.

Trudie Goodwin: Mrs Reynolds And The Ruffian

News just in: The Bill’s Trudie Goodwin is to star in the world premiere of Mrs Reynolds And The Ruffian, by Gary Owen, at the Watford Palace Theatre.

As the press release reveals:

Trudie Goodwin, perhaps best known as Sergeant June Ackland in The Bill, will star as Mrs Reynolds in the world premiere of Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian, a play about modern Britain by Gary Owen, Watford Associate and writer of the 2007 hit, We That Are Left.

Mrs Reynolds is a ‘little old lady’ and Jay, a troubled youth caught vandalising her garden. As community payback, Jay is sent back to help Mrs Reynolds fix the damage he caused.

At first glance this is a simple tale of two generations locked in battle. Mrs Reynolds standing up for traditional values with her ‘nice little house, nice little garden and nice little life’ vs Jay, the textbook chain-smoking hoodie prowling the urban jungle demanding respect but offering little in return.

But there is more to each character than the other suspects. Just as they think they have the measure of each other, something new and shocking is revealed.

Mrs Reynolds And The Ruffian explores human nature and friendship in the social climate of a modern Britain, giving a warm, funny and wise glimpse into the way we live now.

Trudie Goodwin appeared as Sergeant June Ackland in The Bill from 1983 until 2007 making her the longest serving cast member of The Bill. Theatre work includes; Twelfth Night (Swan Theatre), Drink the Mercury, Lucy in the Sky and Dragon Rock (all Phoenix Theatre), Godspell (Young Vic), Womerang (Soho Poly), The Beggars Opera (Lyric Hammersmith) and I Do Like to Be (Tricycle Theatre).

Mrs Reynolds And The Ruffian, Watford Palace Theatre, 15 April-8 May, 7.45pm (matinees 2.30pm), £10-£22.50, 01923 225 671, www.watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk

Protect And Serve

THE BILL
Protect and Serve: Episode 34
Thursday 4th March 2010, 21.00 to 22.00, ITV1
Repeated on ITV3 on Monday 8th March at 23:00
*Featuring Julie Graham as Commander Lisa Kennedy*

Whilst out on patrol PC Nate Roberts (Ben Richards) and PC Benjamin Gayle’s (Micah Balfour) vehicle is hit by a bullet. Coming through the back windscreen and grazing Nate’s neck before exiting through the front windscreen the bullet passes through the car with both PC’s narrowly avoiding serious injury.

Nate and Ben jump out of the car to administer first aid to a member of the public waiting at a bus stop who has been hit by a second bullet.

Inspector Dale Smith (Alex Walkinshaw) and Sergeant Jo Masters (Sally Rogers) rush to the scene with the rest of the team, they immediately seal off the area and a search begins.

P.C Kirsty Knight (Sarah Manners) is tasked with taking a statement from local resident Keith Shipley (James Larkin) who witnessed a car speeding off just after the shots were fired.

Back at the station Commander Lisa Kennedy (Julie Graham) is called in again to oversee the enquiry. Nate is visibly shaken but both he and Ben insist they are ok and want to continue working.

The team track down the registration of the car seen speeding away from the shooting, it is registered to a Malcolm Christie (John Dagleish).

With CO19 on standby Inspector Smith and Sergeant Masters lead the team to arrest prime suspect Malcolm Christie.

Whilst Christie is being questioned back at Sun Hill his car is taken in for forensic examination which reveals it has very recently been deep cleaned, adding to Inspector Smith and Sergeant Masters suspicions that Malcolm Christie is behind the shooting.

At the scene C.S.E Eddie Olosunje (Jason Barnett) discovers the bullet that hit Nate and Ben’s car was in fact a ricochet rather than a direct hit. Moments later the team searching the scene around the shooting find two bullet casings outside the home of eyewitness Mr Shipley.

P.C Kirsty Knight speaks to Mr Shipley’s son ten year old Scott (Jamie Glover) who claims he didn’t look out the window but heard a car circling the block just before the shots were fired. P.C Knight also discovers that the family were recently burgled which has left them very shaken.

After speaking to the garage where Malcolm Christie had his car cleaned the team have to release him as they confirm he had his car cleaned twenty minutes before the shooting.

Watching the CCTV retrieved from the scene DS Stevie Moss (Lucy Speed), D.C Mickey Webb (Chris Simmons) and D.C Jacob Banks (Patrick Robinson) spot a girl begin to run a couple of seconds before the first shot is fired. They believe she could lead them to the gunman.

The girl is Jasmine Harris (Faye Daveney) who lives locally with her mother. When Stevie and Mickey question her about why she ran before the shots were fired she claims she has a ‘sixth sense for trouble’ that you have to have when you ‘live on the Manor’.

However her mother reveals that Malcolm Christie is Jasmine’s boyfriend and shows them a threatening text message sent to Jasmine by Christie after she publicly dumped him.

This is enough evidence for the team to bring Malcolm Christie back in for further questioning.

Smithy leads the team, along with CO19 to re arrest Christie at home. When they arrive Christie is taking the rubbish out and spots the police van. As the team move in to arrest him he snaps, refusing to come quietly he runs back inside and brandishes a large kitchen knife at the window.

CO19 take over and take Christie down with the taser. As the situation calms down Nate and the rest of the team confront Smithy about the lack of support that Sergeant Stone has received and feel that they do not have the support they should from above. Moral in the team is very low.

Commander Kennedy is furious when she discovers Nate and Ben were sent out to arrest Malcolm Christie moments after being shot at. She orders Smithy to send them home.

Whilst Malcolm Christie is being interviewed P.C Kirsty Knight again questions Scott Shipley at home and begins to get frustrated when Scott continues to claim he didn’t see anything.

When Stevie and Mickey talk to Jasmine Harris she reveals that she ran from the scene just before the shots were fired because she had been shoplifting and saw the police car, not because (as they had earlier believed) she saw Malcolm Christie.

The team reluctantly have to release Christie. During a second search of the scene a gun is found in a drain outside the Shipley’s home. When examined forensically the gun is found to have the fingerprints of someone with small hands. Smithy begins to think that Scott Shipley may know more about the shooting than he’s letting on.


THE BILL is a talkbackTHAMES production and a direct commission by ITV. This episode was written by Jeff Dodds , directed by Paul Wroblewski and produced by Sylvie Boden.

Red Tape

Red Tape: Episode 33
Thursday 25th February 2010, 21.00 to 22.00, ITV1
Repeated on ITV3 on Monday 1st March at 23:00
*Julie Graham’s first episode as Commander Lisa Kennedy*

Sergeant Jo Masters (Sally Rogers), Sergeant Callum Stone (Sam Callis) and the rest of the team are restless as they drive around waiting for a shout. They get called to a brawl outside Joshua’s night club and Stone leads his troops into the mayhem.

P.C Mel Ryder (Rhea Bailey) has to deal with an injured girl who has a stiletto stuck in her groin and is suffering critical bleeding. Stone assists her and in the mayhem orders an interfering passer by David Gresham (Philip Perry) to ‘get back’. He pushes him back several times, David goes down and on hitting the ground suffers an epileptic fit.

The team are unaware that the whole incident has been filmed on a mobile phone.

During the scuffle the club is robbed, leading Jo Masters to believe that the fight may have been started deliberately to cause a diversion from the robbery. Darrel Cooper (Aidan Kelly) is arrested on suspicion of starting the fight but is only interested in reporting the ‘assault’ by a police officer on David Gresham that he claims he witnessed.

The team believe that he is creating a smokescreen to cover up his part in the robbery.

Commander Lisa Kennedy (Julie Graham) is called in to oversee the enquiry into the alleged assault and provide support at Sun Hill for Superintendent Jack Meadows (Simon Rouse). Commander Kennedy makes it very clear that she is not happy with the situation and that the team need to be ‘media aware’ of this situation as footage from the incident has already been posted online. Stone is put on station duty whilst an enquiry is carried out.

D.S Stevie Moss (Lucy Speed) and D.C Jacob Banks (Patrick Robinson) question Andrew Gray (Tim Faraday) the owner of Joshua’s Bar about the break in. Gray claims that he has never met Darrel Cooper who started the fight. He also reveals that the CCTV from the night in question has gone missing.

Stevie believes that Darrel Cooper is almost certainly behind the robbery and believes if they can prove this then they can discredit his allegations towards Stone. Stevie discovers that Andrew Gray has been making regular payments to Darrel Cooper despite claiming never to have met him.

She believes Cooper is running an illegal debt collecting firm and that Gray knows a lot more about the robbery than he’s letting on. Stevie’s suspicions are confirmed when she finds Gray’s ‘stolen’ cheque book as well as the club’s CCTV footage in the toilets of the club.

The situation seems to be looking up for Stone when David Gresham (due to personal reasons) decides to drop criminal charges against Stone. However when Commander Kennedy and Superintendent Meadows review CCTV footage of the incident it looks as though Stone did in fact punch David Gresham and they decide that Stone will still have to face disciplinary action and is immediately suspended from duty.

THE BILL is a talkbackTHAMES production and a direct commission by ITV. This episode was written by Steve Trafford, directed by Paul Wroblewski and produced by Sylvie Boden .

Sam Callis: Red Tape Interview

Here's the rest of what Sam Callis had to say when I chatted to him about Sgt Stone's current trials and tribulations in The Bill.

From today's Edinburgh Evening News.

THE BILL’S Sgt Callum Stone hasn’t had to look too far for his troubles over the past few months.

First he came to blows with Smithy, only to discover a short time later that his colleague had been promoted to inspector and become his boss.

Then some forthright, off the record, advice led to a suicidal father to abscond with his baby son with tragic results.

Finally, after taking a kicking in last week’s episode while trying to help a female who was being assaulted, he snapped and doled out his own punishment, hospitalising his attacker.

But don’t think for one minute that things can only get better for burly copper. In tonight’s episode, Red Tape, Stone’s problems come to a head when, during a street brawl he is accused of punching an innocent man, causing him to suffer a seizure. An incident that, it seems, has been filmed on a mobile phone.

“Yes, he’s in the mix again,” laughs 36-year-old Sam Callis, who has played the role since, ironically, joining the Sun Hill relief in an episode called Good Cop, Bad Cop, back in 2007.

He continues, “I really enjoy playing Stone because, as an audience member you’re never quite sure what way he is going to go. He has a strong sense of justice. It’s very clear to him exactly what is right and what is wrong, which is dangerous in some ways – he’s very good at doling out his own justice – but also refreshing.”

Despite his aggressively alpha male nature, Stone also has “a warmth about him” insists the actor, reflecting that the complex contradictions make him all the more believable.

“I like to think that he is quite real. I think that most people would want some sort of revenge if they were attacked. Whether they would go as far as he does, well that’s a different matter.”

As tonight’s investigation into Stone’s behaviour gets underway, the outcome begins to look far from clear cut when Commander Lisa Kennedy, played by Scottish actress Julie Graham, is drafted from HQ to ensure that everything is done by the book. As a result, Stone once again finds himself at odds with newly promoted Sgt Jo Masters, played by Sally Rogers.

“They are good foils for each other because both are strong characters. Each has a very clear world view, and they are not necessarily the same,” says Callis, adding, “Or maybe they are the same, just from different perspectives.

“I really enjoyed the scenes with Sally. Stone and Masters have some really tight dialogue that gives an insight into how the characters think. They don’t necessarily like each other, but they understand each other. They’re never going to be friends, but there’s respect on both sides. Actually I don’t think Stone is ever going to be friends with anyone.”

As the episode reaches it climax, Stone could do with some friends as he faces disciplinary action and possible suspension from duty.

“Stone feels aggrieved at the way the system has treated him, but he’s quite long in the tooth and understands the way things work,” says the actor, revealing, “Ultimately, however, in episodes down the line, he will be made to look at himself and decide what he actually wants. He’s made to consider whether he wants to remain a copper... or get out of it all together.”

And Callis believes that the hard-hitting nature of his current storyline highlights the change in the series since its new look was introduced late last year.

“The show is a very interesting process to be part of now, not that it wasn’t before,” he explains. “The reality is now greater than it was – grittier, darker and edgier than before. I think the pacing of the show works better now, as does the way they shoot it in HD. The stories have a slightly bleaker quality to them but with moments of real warmth and comedy. For my mind, it’s punching its weight.”
And there’s more of the same to come. “It gets darker and more twisted as the year goes on,” he promises.

The Bill: Red Tape, ITV3 11pm