The Bill: Series 4
The fourth series of The Bill, a British television drama, consisted of forty-eight episodes, broadcast between 19 July – 29 December 1988. This series was the first to adopt a half-hour format, and the theme tune had its first of several updates. The series was first released on DVD on 4 December 2006 in Australia, incorrectly packaged as Seasons 4 & 5, when in fact the set only contained the entire series four. The
Season 4 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of The Bill Season 3.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Season overview
The fourth series of The Bill, a British television drama, consisted of forty-eight episodes, broadcast between 19 July – 29 December 1988. This series was the first to adopt a half-hour format, and the theme tune had its first of several updates. The series was first released on DVD on 4 December 2006 in Australia, incorrectly packaged as Seasons 4 & 5, when in fact the set only contained the entire series four. The series was later issued in four separate volumes in the United Kingdom, available on 30 June 2008, 2 March 2009, 11 May 2009 and 15 March 2010. It was later reissued in Australia on 31 August 2011. The above DVD artwork is taken from the most recent Australian release. It features an image of DS Ted Roach. The British volume artwork features a variety of collage images featuring characters from across the season. The original Australian box set features a sole image of DI Frank Burnside.
Episode Guide
Season 4 Progress Shield
Light Duties
Jul 19, 1988
Recently promoted to CID, D.C. Carver is feeling seasick while he and D.S. Roach work on a case on the police launch. The River Police fish the body of a murdered informant out of
The Three Wise Monkeys
Jul 21, 1988
D.S. Ted Roach and D.C. Mike Dashwood are on the trail of armed robbers who have taken a women hostage. Sgt. Penny is starting to stress out because of the guns involved, and his c
Good Will Visit
Jul 26, 1988
P.C. Pete Ramsey arrives as Sun Hill, nearly running P.C. Taffy Edwards over with his Porsche and parking in the Chief Super's spot. He has been transferred from Barton Street CID
Home Sweet Home
Jul 28, 1988
Sgt. Cryer leads a raid to enforce an eviction order on a squat occupied by upper-class kids, watched by Councillor Thomas who is in charge of housing in the area. The raid is succ
All in Good Faith
Aug 2, 1988
W.P.C. Viv Martella and W.P.C. June Ackland report entry by artifice involving a bogus gasman to Acting D.I. Ted Roach. As Ackland and D.C. Mike Dashwood investigate the two latest
Just Call Me Guvnor
Aug 4, 1988
Ch. Insp. Conway briefs the relief on a massive raid about to take place on Frontline, a gang of football thugs. Two police officers are undercover in the gang, and the relief are
Caught Red Handed
Aug 9, 1988
P.C. Frank and W.P.C. Martella attend an incident where a pregnant woman has stabbed her husband with a bread knife. The husband doesn't want to press charges, and when he and his
Homes and Gardens
Aug 11, 1988
P.C. Yorkie Smith assists P.C. Taffy Edwards dealing with a traffic snarl-up caused by a young man, Mickey Cozens. Mickey's father is called to the station, and he tells the office
Country Cousin
Aug 16, 1988
D.I. Burnside waits impatiently at the train station to pick up a D.S. Jarvis from one of the country forces, who is arriving in London to arrest a suspect believed to be living in
Alarms and Embarrassments
Aug 18, 1988
Yorkie investigates a robbery of an off-licence. Penny is thinking of his holiday. Roach has a case thrown out of court. Stamp is in charge of organising a line up. Taffy i
Stealing Cars and Nursery Rhymes
Aug 23, 1988
Yorkie has problems with kids at a youth group. He chases a group of kids in a stolen car that ends up with 2 deaths after wrapping around a pole. Ramsey seems to have collected
Hold Fire
Aug 25, 1988
P.C. Smith and P.C. Melvin are first on the scene of a traffic accident. The cars are on fire, and both officers risk their lives to rescue the occupants. One of the cars explodes,
Bad Faith
Aug 30, 1988
TSG, Haynes, Ramsey, Mike and Jim are staking out a tower block to bring in a burglary suspect. Bob and Taffy find some children on some waste ground. Mike's car get hit by a f
Requiem
Sep 1, 1988
P.C. Ramsey and P.C. Haynes attend a flat where the occupants have discovered a decayed skeleton in the wall where they were going to build a fireplace. Sgt. Cryer, D.S. Roach and
Trespasses
Sep 6, 1988
P.C. Ramsey investigates noises in a rubbish chute, and finds a newborn baby which he rushes to hospital. In the CAD room, P.C. Haynes and W.P.C. Brind argue over why anyone would
Save the Last Dance for Me
Sep 8, 1988
A dangerous escaped prisoner is supposed to visit his girlfriend in Sun Hill, and a massive obbo is in place to catch him when he turns up. A bored relief waits in the canteen with
Runaround
Sep 13, 1988
Viv has hay fever and tries to get medication but is called to a café with a dead body and is man-handled by the deceased's son. Yorkie visits a lady with agrophobia who thinks
The Trap
Sep 15, 1988
D.I. Burnside sets up a trap on a residential street: an open vanload of video recorders. He, Carver, Roach and Dashwood sit in wait for some villains to take the bait. Eventually,
Community Relations
Sep 20, 1988
P.C. Melvin and P.C. Ramsey are in a garden shed doing an obbo on a garage believed to contain with stolen motorbikes. Ramsey is winding Melvin up about being a Christian, when a b
A Dog's Life
Sep 22, 1988
Taffy is trying to find someone to form a syndicate to buy ½ share in a greyhound which turns out to be stolen. Reg is keen on joining Taffy in syndicate. He is also very knowled
Trouble and Strife
Sep 27, 1988
P.C. Haynes and P.C. Ramsey attend a domestic where a pregnant woman, Joanna Mancini, has been beaten by her husband with a bike chain. As Haynes and Ramsey try to calm the Mancini
Running Late
Sep 29, 1988
W.P.C. Brind is late for parade, and misses a warning to the uniform relief to stay away from the Dock Industrial Estate, where C.I.D. and a P.T.17 team are awaiting a security van
They Say We're Rough
Oct 4, 1988
Viv and Ken go to an army surplus store that seems to be being supplied off the back of a lorry. Van used to deliver the gear was nicked from Yorkshire. 2 redcaps (who don't thin
Blue for a Boy
Oct 6, 1988
W.P.C. Martella and P.C. Edwards are on the beat, and intervene when they find a man arguing with a young mother. D.C. Dashwood goes to meet a snout, and is nearly run over by the
Chasing the Dragon
Oct 11, 1988
D.S. Roach spots a drug deal taking place on the Rochester Estate, but he, Carver and Dashwood fail to catch the dealers. P.C. Haynes and P.C. Ramsey spot the escaping car in their
The Coop
Oct 13, 1988
P.C. Edwards and W.P.C. Ackland are on their lunch break, and they warn a man for flying a model helicopter too close to the road. They then investigate a terrible smell coming fro
The Quick and the Dead
Oct 18, 1988
Sgt. Peters attends a physical fitness evaluation, but does not do too well. P.C. Ramsey and P.C. Frank gives chase when they witness a robbery. The robbers escape, but they manage
Witness
Oct 20, 1988
P.C. Ramsey and P.C. Smith are looking after a witness in a court case. Ramsey is amused that the witness, Andrew Pike, has a high opinion of the police and is applying to become a
Here We Go Loopy Lou
Oct 25, 1988
Bob. Claire and Taffy investigate the report of a man carrying a cross which is found hanging from a crane. They come across a lady driving a car with a small white dog on her k
Stop and Search
Oct 27, 1988
Sgt. Cryer introduces two special constables who will be joining the relief: Mary Kilnair and Brian Defoe. While on patrol with P.C. Edwards, Kilnair is pricked by a junkie's needl
Spook Stuff
Nov 1, 1988
W.P.C. Martella and P.C. Stamp take an American woman who has been caught shoplifting into custody. She is very insistent that the police contact her husband who is staying in a ho
Evacuation
Nov 2, 1988
It's a busy day on the station front desk, and P.C. Smith fails to notice that someone has left a hold-all next to the desk. When it is discovered, Insp. Frazer orders the station
Personal Imports
Nov 8, 1988
P.C. Melvin sees a chemist being robbed, but he has powder thrown in his face and the thieves escape. D.C. Carver is conducting an obbo in the house of a lonely, amourous woman. He
Paper Chase
Nov 10, 1988
A schoolgirl has been abducted, and D.I. Burnside is determined to find her. The girl's father is reluctant to have the police involved, as the kidnappers have threatened to kill h
Intruder
Nov 15, 1988
While Melvin and Haynes are on the beat, they are nearly decoyed away from a robbery. Giving chase Haynes is diverted to an armed robbery while Melvin has to let his prisoner go s
Conflict
Nov 17, 1988
Lines and Carver are doing an obbo on a man who might lead them to an arms dump. June and Ramsey arrest him because he beat his girlfriend who didn't want him to go out. The doc
Duplicates
Nov 22, 1988
Due to her slight resemblance to a missing woman, W.P.C. Brind reluctantly agrees to perform a reconstruction of her disappearance for television. D.S. Roach and D.C. Carver go to
Old Habits
Nov 29, 1988
W.P.C. Brind is called to the house of an elderly lady, Mrs Lomax, who has just been robbed. The old lady is in such a state of shock, she attacks Brind and then suffers a heart at
The Silent Gun
Dec 1, 1988
P.C. Haynes arrives at a house to investigate what seems like a routine disturbance. Instead he finds a bailiff who has been shot in the hand while trying to evict the lodger in th
An Old-Fashioned Term
Dec 6, 1988
P.C. Edwards and W.P.C. Morgan find the naked body of a young woman who appears to have gassed herself to death, but they notice the neighbour who reported the death wiping somethi
Getting Stressed
Dec 8, 1988
Frazer is driving to work when she sees an accident. On informing the man she has rescued she is a police officer he hits her. Ramsey deals with a lady who was raped. An old l
Tigers
Dec 13, 1988
An asian lad rings Burnside about a big fight. After checking it out, Carver and Tosh's car get turned over. The lad ends up in a canal. An old girlfriend of Carver's turns up
Guessing Game
Dec 15, 1988
Neighbours report an elderly man hasn't been seen for a couple of days, and P.C. Ramsey breaks into the house to find the man dead on the floor. A doctor confirms he died of natura
The Assassins
Dec 20, 1988
Burnside and Tosh are in a cafe waiting to catch a group of people who take apart restaurants. They turn out to be upper class twits. One of them winds the magistrate up so much he
Outmoded
Dec 22, 1988
Sun Hill police are being called out to a series of bogus shouts which the Yard pins down to a computer hacker breaking into the police computer network. Sgt. Cryer investigates, a
Digging Up the Past
Dec 27, 1988
An excavator on a building site has uncovered some human remains, and Sgt. Cryer calls in C.I.D. Cryer is avoiding returning to the station, as his son Patrick is being charged wit
Taken Into Consideration
Dec 29, 1988
D.C. Dashwood and D.C. Carver are on an obbo in a street where a spate of burglaries has taken place. They see a young man, Kevin Boswell, climbing over a wall with a bag full of 5