Woodentop was directed by Peter Cregeen, who had played a part in Z-Cars and Juliet Bravo.Thames Television commissioned 12 further episodes for transmission in 1984, which would relaunch under the title of The Bill.
In 1991, the Rover SD1 Area Car used in the title sequence was replaced by the new Ford Sierra, however the design remained the same; a siren splitting up scenes of various characters from the programme.
However, the year came with some cast upheaval as Nula Conwell (WDC Viv Martella), Tony Scannell (DS Ted Roach) and Chris Ellison (DI Frank Burnside) all exited the series, having been with the show since its first regular episode in 1984.
Roach was dismissed from his post on screen but returned for a cameo in 2000, while Martella was killed off, becoming the first CID and female character to make a fatal exit.
The special anniversary episodes that week followed Detective Inspector Sally Johnson in court charged with manslaughter after a drug user had died during a police raid.
The old title sequences were entirely removed, in favour of displaying things that are seen to be associated with policing, such as reflective jackets, a suspect being interviewed, and a map in the CAD room.
Brownlow); his character Sergeant Bob Cryer was forced into early retirement after he was mistakenly shot during an armed siege by PC Dale Smith, who had recently transferred to SO19 as Alex Walkinshaw exited the series.
2001 also saw the second change to the title sequence in three years, with static photos of the cast replacing the previous images of police systems, while the music was remixed to include the "Overkill" theme tune, last featured in 1988.
In February, Paul Marquess became Handford's successor, changing the format of the series to a serialised, soap opera-style system; he also dropped on-screen episode titles for the first time, which did not return until 2007.
Marquess had previously worked on Brookside and used similar methods to his time on that series, notably axing a large percentage of the cast including veterans Ben Roberts (Ch.
The move proved controversial but did boost ratings after a decline prior to Marquess arriving,[1] while it allowed him to bring a wide array of new characters.
Under Marquess, The Bill aired grittier and harrowing plots for officers individually including a crack addiction for PC Nick Klein, a male rape for DC Mickey Webb and a cot death for Sergeant Sheelagh Murphy.
A trait Marquess succeeded with during his time on the series was casting actors never seen as villains in their careers such as Todd Carty as PC Gabriel Kent and Lynda Bellingham as crime boss Irene Radford.
[2] The mass dismissals included established show stars such as Tony O'Callaghan as Sergeant Matt Boyden and Mark Wingett as DC Jim Carver.
The episode showcased two coinciding plots, one a siege in the station's rear yard that saw DC Juliet Becker fatally stabbed and the other plot concluded the disappearance of PC Gary Best's father Alan (Ian Puleston-Davies) with his tragic death, leading to an ambitious but successful live stunt in which Gary actor Ciaran Griffiths fell off the station roof in a struggle with his father's killer.
In September 2005, Paul Marquess was signed away by Endemol to head their new drama division and was replaced by Johnathan Young, who previously produced series spin-off Murder Investigation Team.
Young also approached more controversial yet modern plots that were not seen as often under his predecessors, some of the most notable exploring far-right extremism, human trafficking and online grooming, while the viewpoint of victims was more prevalent - although the stories were predominantly from the police perspective as a unit - rather than a single officer as was seen in the Marquess episodes.
However, the decision to axe PC Reg Hollis after 24 years in 2008 proved highly controversial, and led the character's devastated actor Jeff Stewart to attempt suicide.
[5] The harshest dismissal was that of Kaye Wragg (PC Diane Noble), who made just one appearance after returning from maternity leave in a plot that revealed she was joining neighbouring station Barton Street as a sergeant, wanting one night at Sun Hill to prepare for the transfer after spending her time off-screen working for a county force.
Her exit saw her promise to join Superintendent John Heaton's new human trafficking division for one year, hinting that she may have returned to Sun Hill, despite Sergeant Dale Smith being promoted into her place.
His last appearance came in the episode "Rescue Me" on 5 November 2009 as the character left to join Police Training school Hendon as an advanced driving instructor.
A pilot script had allegedly been written under the name, "Sun Hill" (due to a license agreement that meant the series could not have the original name), and could feature three cast members from the original series: Trudie Goodwin (Sgt June Ackland), Graham Cole (PC Tony Stamp) and Mark Wingett (DC Jim Carver); an entry at the Internet Movie Database states the premise would be the trio advising the current Sun Hill Police Station team on how to resolve an influx of murder/suicides in Canley, the fictional district The Bill was set in.