The Bill series 26


The 26th series of The Bill, a British television drama, was the final series of the police procedural programme. On 30 April 2014, The Bill Series 26 Part 1 and 2 DVD set was released in Australia.
Having been halved to one episode a week and axed from Scottish network STV the previous summer, the show's average viewership had dropped from 7 million prior to the revamp to 3, and as a result, the long-running police drama was axed on 26 March 2010. ITV director Peter Fincham also noted "the changing taste of viewers" played a part in the axing, and despite a petition and calls for another network to take on the series – the final episode – "Respect: Part 2", aired on 31 August 2010 – 15 days after the 27th anniversary of the pilot episode of The Bill, "Woodentop".
The long-running police drama aired 2,425 episodes over 26 years, with 31 coming in its final 9 months on air. Final-year plots saw a promotion for DC Jo Masters as she became a uniformed sergeant, a mutiny in the uniform ranks following a suspension for Sergeant Callum Stone after he was accused of assaulting a member of the public, a cocaine addiction for DS Max Carter and a cancer diagnosis for DI Neil Manson's estranged pre-teen son. The show's final episodes were more of a throwback to the show's focus on pressing issues and executive producer Johnathan Young's pre-revamp mantra of focusing on the victims, the fatal stabbing and a gang rape on a housing estate. The final episode was paired on the night with a one-hour special, Farewell The Bill, narrated by Martin Kemp. The show followed ITV's requests for darker, gritty drama with episodes including domestic murder-suicide, stalking and football hooliganism.
Nearly two years after the final episode, the show's longest-serving character Supt Jack Meadows was featured in an episode of Leipzig Homicide, which involved him investigating a suspected murderer who has been living in London. In the episode it is revealed that at some point during the year and a half following the events of Respect, Meadows had retired. Plans were mooted for a revival of the series in 2021; however, at the time of writing, this remains the final series.

Cast changes

Arrivals

Departures

  • DC Will Fletcher : Transfers to Westminster CID
  • Commander Lisa Kennedy : Departed after the arrest of her son as part of a murder inquiry
  • PC Nate Roberts : Made unexplained exit prior to series finale