Councillor Christine Bridget "Chris" Riley is a fictional character in the long-running Australian police drama Blue Heelers, portrayed by Julie Nihill.

The publican and landlady of the Imperial Hotel in Mount Thomas, Chris is in a unique position to assist the police thanks to her wealth of knowledge about the town and its inhabitants.

The character of Chris Riley was created by Hal McElroy and Tony Morphett to be the publican and landlady of the Imperial Hotel, the Mount Thomas watering hole favoured by the town's police force.

In later years, Chris is portrayed as a shire councillor, which allows the character to take on a more significant role in the community, moving her away from simply being a friendly ear and occasional informant for the police.

Chris Riley is the Irish Australian daughter of a publican who was born and raised at the Imperial Hotel in Mount Thomas, the local pub owned by her father and frequented by the police.

[1] As the landlady of the Imperial Hotel, Chris Riley is a friend and confidante to many members of the local police station who frequent her pub, both during and outside of work hours.

[3] Just before Anzac Day in 1994, Tom arrived at the pub after closing time and informed Chris that her ex-husband, Terry Kennedy, had been killed in a car accident, and she is needed to perform the identification because his face is unrecognisable from his injuries.

[1] Although she is normally more than happy to help the local police, Chris was reluctant to testify as the key witness in a court case after the suspect's wife arrived in town and told her a sob story with her child in hand.

[6] After getting drunk in an effort to cope with the trauma of being held hostage and seeing her best friend shot, Chris shared a kiss with Adam, and the pair ultimately began a short-lived sexual relationship.

[7] Midway through the fourth season, Chris's temper found her in hot water when she summarily dismissed a barman who was suspected of dealing alcohol to minors on the sly.

Later, when Sean turns up dead in a graveyard from shotgun wounds, Chris learns that her fiancé wasn't the man she thought he was, and that his past in Ireland had finally caught up to him.

[9] The following year, Chris found evidence of a mysterious fifty-year old cold case in the journal of a local woman, hidden behind a wall in the Imperial's cellar.

When a couple of local kids were killed in a fiery car crash, her campaign manager used the opportunity to push a platform for youth issues and government spending.

Regardless of any environmental concerns, the townspeople were far more interested in the jobs that the proposal would create, and it looks like someone will stop at nothing to silence her when the Imperial's beer delivery is destroyed by a dangerous driving stunt and she found herself in hospital after being accidentally poisoned.

An ugly incident where one of the Chris's male bar-workers donned a burqa and sneaked into a female-only pool session sparked a fierce political battle between the two women.

[12] Later that year, Chris was confronted with the past when her ex-husband, Terry (now played by Frankie J. Holden), showed up in the pub cellar while an ex-lover, Dan Woodley, was found hiding in a crawlspace behind the guests' shower.

Dan is wanted in Queensland in relation to an armed robbery, but when Joss Peroni (Danny Raco) returned to arrest him, Chris claimed he has left.

[5][13] Despite dealing with her rough-and-tumble clientele on a daily basis, she has a maternal nature and often acts as a den mother for the town's cohort of young constables, offering them lodging in her pub, and a friendly ear if they need it.

[11] Although Blue Heelers was not expected to become a popular programme, the show became a hit shortly after it began airing, with much of this success credited to the quality of the ensemble cast, including Julie Nihill as Chris Riley.