History Series / TheBill

* BritishCoppers

** DS Don Beech. He was sent to prison for his crimes, but then escaped after a year and wasn't heard from again.

* PreviouslyOn: Became a regular part of the format (as in OncePerEpisode) in 1998. The 2009 revamp stopped doing recaps of previous episodes.

* FunWithAcronyms: As a prank, Tony encourages PC Luke Ashton to ask a visiting Inspector about the "'''A'''rea '''R'''ecruitment/'''S'''econdment '''E'''xercise."

* NotEvenListeningToMeAreYou: When Meadows is distracted by the promotion he's going for, DI Deakin gets his attention by telling him that Jim Carver likes wearing women's dresses.

** It was played straight once or twice. Sergeant Cryer turned down promotion. His short tenure as a plain clothes officer ended with him deciding it wasn't where he wanted his career to go, and opting to go back to his old job in uniform where he felt more comfortable. Similarly, PC Tony Stamp remained a PC for his entire 26-year time on the series by choice, deliberately ''refusing'' any attempts to promote him because he ''preferred'' being near the sharp end of policing. Jim Carver was never recommended for promotion in his 12 years in CID so, thanks to the tenure policy, had to return to being a uniformed constable. Finally averted later on when he returned to Sun Hill having had an off-screen promotion to DS.

* FakeDefector: Zain Nadir had a long story arc posing as a DirtyCop to infiltrate a criminal organisation, before BecomingTheMask out of love for Kristen Shaw.
%%* FakingTheDead

* MoodWhiplash: Episode 070 in late 2002 cuts back and forth between a Christmas party and talent contest called "Cop Idol", a subplot involving Nick Klein trying to get leverage on DS Phil Hunter (who had a hold on him because of his drug problem), a fairly light case for Tony Stamp and Gary Best, and Cass Rickman being abducted and tormented by the Canley River Murderer.

* RequiredSpinoffCrossover: The first episode of the 2003 SpinOff series ''Murder Investigation Team'' followed the titular team while investigating a murder in Sun Hill, complete with requisite cameos from six of the then recurring members of the parent series' cast, and also the use of the regular Sun Hill police station sets and locations.
** For one of those regular characters, Sergeant Matt Boyden, it was actually his final appearance, albeit only as a corpse (but he is still being played by the original actor). Nick Klein is shown in a secure rehab unit, in recovery from his drug habit as per his ongoing storyline at the time, but he reappeared a few times as a regular in the series proper again later in the same year before being written out.

* WhatTheHellHero: Pretty much any officer of Sergeant or higher rank will be required to dish these out. A particularly glorious one comes from Meadows to Singh, after the latter gets into a bar fight with a racist extremist named Jeff Simpson, leading in inflamed racial tensions in the area, then keeps quiet about it even after multiple police officers had been attacked and Chief Inspector Conway murdered by a petrol bomb.

* SerialKiller: A few of these cases, two of which led to the murders of main characters: Pat Kitson (killed six women, including PC Cass Rickman, who she saw as [[BrotherSisterIncest rivals for her brother's affections]]) and John Lord and Michael Keanan (targeted gay men, including PC Lance Powell.) Also serial rapists, such as DI Nixon's nemesis Alan Kennedy.

For most of its life the show went out at 8pm, before the {{Watershed}} - which had affected specific on-screen content. However, in 2009 it was moved to a once weekly 9pm slot, which meant a cut in episode numbers per year to about 50, and an increase in the amount of violence it may show on-screen. It also ditched the classic ThemeTune, added a "film effect" filter over the action (as part of a move to broadcast it in high definition for the first time), and acquired regular background incidental music, although {{Narm}}ish examples had occasionally appeared in some past episodes. The overall effect was described by some as making things feel a little too ''Series/{{CSI}}''-like.

The series had been suffering a gradual decline in its viewing figures (especially after the timeslot change), and its long-term future was seen as uncertain, especially after it was dropped from terrestrial TV in Scotland as part of a broader problem with STV, the Scottish version of Creator/{{ITV}}. Its cancellation was announced on 26 March 2010, and the show ended in September of that year. In the same year, The BBC's equivalent {{Long Runner|s}}, the sitcom ''Series/LastOfTheSummerWine'' (actually a decade older than ''The Bill'') was also announced to be ending, bringing the end of an era of British television to many (and, if you count in the end of the American {{Long Runner|s}} ''Series/LawAndOrder'', this gets global).

* Its stupendously high rate of major character death, especially by murder, and even more so after 2002 (31+ deaths in 23 years, including six in a fire at Sun Hill police station in 2002 and another three when a van filled with petrol plowed into the front office in 2005 -- Sun Hill is one DangerousWorkplace). See the [[Characters/TheBill Character Sheet]] for the series for a complete list of Sun Hill's fatal casualties, and the way in which they were killed off. In fact, in the shows 23 years of airing, 71 British police officers were killed in real life, making Sun Hill ridiculously dangerous by comparison.

Has two spin-off series: the short-lived ''Series/{{Burnside}}'' starring the popular detective character Frank Burnside, and the slightly-longer-lived ''Murder Investigation Team''.

* AndTheAdventureContinues: The final episode ends this way, following Smithy and Callum as they leave the station, passing (amongst the rest of the cast either leaving for the day or staying late at Sun Hill) Jo Masters and Leon Taylor being called to some trouble and other officers bringing some arrested drunks into the station.

* ArtifactTitle: 'The Old Bill' was a common slang term for the police, especially during the 1970s and 1980s. But its not heard so much anymore.

* BathroomStallGraffiti: One episode features someone writing a lot of rude things about Hollis in the toilets. [[spoiler: It's the cleaner, who needs the overtime.]]

* BootCampEpisode: several times, mostly involving one or two of the regular characters going back to Hendon academy for further training (an advanced driving course, a firearms refresher course, a crowd control course, etc etc).
* TheBridge: The various incarnations of Sun Hill's Computer Aided Dispatch/Integrated Borough Operations room serve the same function as this trope, complete with an equivalent to TheCaptain (the duty Sergeant), as well as various BridgeBunnies (of either gender) using headsets to answer emergency calls and to direct the officers who are out and about on the beat to go to the scene of a crime. [[BottleEpisode One episode from the early 1990s even took place entirely within the confines of the C.A.D. room]], with all the "action" taking place entirely off-screen (or only heard over the radio system). It was much better than it sounds.

* BuryYourGays: Most of the gay regulars have left via death or serious injury, in particular Lance Powell and Juliet Becker. DC Jo Masters survives by not being prominently lesbian. On the other hand, many of the ''straight'' regulars have left via death or serious injury as well.

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: good guys example, they deal with too many people to remember everyone they checked was alright after a robbery. Most of those people remember it a lot better.

* SpiritualSuccessor: The series was very much a spiritual successor of ''Series/TheSweeney'' (it shared common production personel with it in the early days). And of ''Series/ZCars'' and ''Series/DixonOfDockGreen'', to a lesser extent.

** The CID branch usually prefered the more concise ''"[[StockBritishPhrases You're nicked, you slag!]]"''

* DoublingForLondon: In 27 years, it continued to film in the capital, even after other London set series had moved production to other (cheaper) places.

** It was played straight once or twice. Sergeant Cryer turned down promotion. His short tenure as a plain clothes officer ended with him deciding it wasn't where he wanted his career to go, and opting to go back to his old job in uniform where he felt more comfortable. Similarly, PC Tony Stamp remained a PC for his entire 26 year time on the series by choice, deliberately ''refusing'' any attempts to promote him because he ''preferred'' being near the sharp end of policing. Jim Carver was never recommended for promotion in his 12 years in CID so, thanks to the tenure policy, had to return to being a uniformed constable. Finally averted later on when he returned to Sun Hill having had an off-screen promotion to DS.

* ThreeWallSet: Consciously averted. The producers converted a building into a complete mock-up police station, which allows plenty of opportunity for one-take WalkAndTalk scenes. Following the show's conclusion, the set (along with the other standing ones for the show) remains intact and available for hire in what is now Wimbledon Studios.

* BuryYourGays: Most of the gay regulars have left via death or serious injury. DC Jo Masters survives by not being prominently lesbian. On the other hand, many of the ''straight'' regulars have left via death or serious injury as well.

%%* FakeDefector

* RankUp: Happened to multiple characters over the course of the show. Dale Smith went all the way from PC to Inspector.

* {{Retool}}: Many times over the course of its [[LongRunners long lifespan]]. The most recent retool was in 2009, begining with the episode "Live By The Sword".

%%* SerialKiller: And serial rapists.

* BritishBrevity: It clocked up more than 3000 episodes during its 27 year run.

%%* TheAlcoholic: Jim Carver.

* LivingProp: A lot of the background extras at the police station, who mostly exist to maintain a credibility to the setting (you will always see the same faces in every episode, even if they are only in the background). The production team even coined a phrase to describe these background actors: "TREV", which stands for 'Truly Reliable Extra Veteran'. Occasionally, a TREV would even be given a line of dialogue in an episode, allowing them to be the SpearCarrier for a day. They got a lot of airtime in the episode "A Night To Forget", when most of A-Relief were off-duty at Dave's stag night and Jenny's hen night. One of the most notable TREVs was Karen England, who "played" the female set of feet in the iconic title sequence from 1984 onwards, and who was still being seen in the background of episodes as late as 2000.

* LivingProp: A lot of the background extras at the police station, who mostly exist to maintain a credibility to the setting (you will always see the same faces in every episode, even if they are only in the background). The production team even coined a phrase to describe these background actors: "TREV", which stands for 'Truly Reliable Extra Veteran'. Occasionally, a TREV would even be given a line of dialogue in an episode, allowing them to be the SpearCarrier for a day. One of the most notable TREV's was Karen England, who "played" the female set of feet in the iconic title sequence from 1984 onwards, and who was still being seen in the background of episodes as late as 2000.

* KarmaHoudini: Sgt. Callum Stone. The only crime he was punished for was beating an innocent man who turned out to be having an epileptic fit, and even then he was only temporarily suspended. Same goes for his partners in crime Smithy, Sally and Ben.

The series had been suffering a gradual decline in its viewing figures (especially after the timeslot change), and its long-term future was seen as uncertain, especially after it was dropped from terrestrial TV in Scotland as part of a broader problem with STV, the Scottish version of Creator/{{ITV}}. Its cancellation was announced on 26 March 2010, and the show ended in September of that year. In the same year, The BBC's equivalent {{Long Runner|s}}, the sitcom ''LastOfTheSummerWine'' (actually a decade older than ''The Bill'') was also announced to be ending, bringing the end of an era of British television to many (and, if you count in the end of the American {{Long Runner|s}} ''Series/LawAndOrder'', this gets global).

%%* UndercoverCopReveal

%%* WelcomeEpisode: The 1983 pilot episode takes this format.

* AlliterativeName: Polly Page, Georgie Garfield.

%%* DirtyCop: Don Beech.

* UsefulNotes/BritishCoppers: Obviously. In an interesting subversion, the show was initially considered by the [[UsefulNotes/ScotlandYard Metropolitan Police Service]] to be very anti-police, as some of its characters were shown to be less than squeaky clean on screen, and it also openly showed racism within the force. As the years went on this antagonism eventually mellowed, to the point where the Met now allows the production team to use genuine Police uniforms made for them by the same company who produce the uniforms for actual officers in RealLife and regularly takes cast members out on patrol with real officers to help them with their roles. It remains the only British television cop show to feature 100% accurate police uniforms, rather than the stylised "faked" versions seen on nearly every other TV show.

* TheAlcoholic: Jim Carver.

* ArmedBlag

* BunnyEarsLawyer / TheLabRat / GentleGiant: Eddie the crime scene examiner.

* ChaseScene: Given its supposed depiction of "genuine police work", the series often ''avoids'' doing over-the-top car chases, with officers often stopping a chase if things look dangerous. However, one notable episode from 1994 titled "Instant Response" is, effectively, a car chase which lasts for ''an entire episode'', shown mainly in one-take scenes shot from the back seat of the police vehicle. It remains to this day one of the series' [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome crowning moments of awesome]].
** That said, ''foot chases'' are ubiquitous in this show, as in OncePerEpisode. Officer will walk towards suspect, who will then try to leg it, with varying results.

* UsefulNotes/CouncilEstate: And how!

* DeadpanSnarker: Jo Masters.
** Of course, the legendary DCI Frank Burnside was the ''original'' deadpan snarker in the series. Just look at the quotes [[http://www.burnsidefiles.com/statements.html on this fansite]] to see what I mean.
--> '''DCI Burnside''' Charge her with being in possession of an offensive mouth.

* DirtyCop: Don Beech.

* FakeDefector
* FakingTheDead

* GenreShift

* GirlsBehindBars: More than one occasion.

* UsefulNotes/ICNumber: ''"Sierra Oscar, we're looking for an IC-3, medium build, wearing a red baseball cap and grey sweatshirt..."''

* JitterCam: An early user.

* LivingProp: A lot of the background extras at the police station, who mostly exist to maintain a credibility to the setting (you will always see the same faces in every episode, even if they are only in the background). The production team even coined a phrase to describe these background actors: "TREV", which stands for 'Truly Reliable Extra Veteran'. Occasionally, a TREV would even be given a line of dialogue in an episode, allowing them to be the SpearCarrier for a day.
** One of the most notable TREV's was Karen England, who "played" the female set of feet in the iconic title sequence from 1984 onwards, and who was still being seen in the background of episodes as late as 2000.

* {{Long Runner|s}}
** LongRunnerCastTurnover: Apart from a few exceptions, the original cast from 1984 managed (in one form or another) to survive nearly intact for a whole nine years, after which the departure of Jon Iiles as DC Mike Dashwood seemed to open the floodgates, and a raft of departures followed. That being said, at least a third of the original 1984 cast were still in the show as of the year 2000. A massive cast clear-out at that time removed some of them (notably Peter Ellis as the Chief Super Brownlow), while others followed in quick succession (Eric Richard as Bob Cryer, Mark Wingett as Jim Carver, Trudie Goodwin as Sergeant Ackland). Jeff Stewart, as PC Reg Hollis ended up being the last original cast member in the show, and he left in unfortunate circumstances in 2008.
* MadBomber

* OnTheNext / PreviouslyOn - Became a regular part of the format (as in OncePerEpisode) in 1998. The 2009 revamp stopped doing recaps of previous episodes, but still kept the end-of-episode trailer for "next week".

* PoliceProcedural

* RecycledTitle: Several times. There were two different episodes titled "Whose Side Are You On?" for example, broadcast nearly a decade apart from each other, each with an entirely different plot to the other.
** A complete list can be found [[http://thebill.wikia.com/wiki/Episodes_with_the_Same_Title here]].

* {{Retool}}: Again, many times over the course of its [[LongRunners long lifespan]]. The most recent retool was in 2009, begining with the episode "Live By The Sword".

* RousingSpeech: [[spoiler: At the end of the final episode, Superintendent Meadows gives one about respect to the press, as a TakeThat to the thugs and the warped gang culture and mentality they faced during the final story. And some would argue, as a TakeThat from the production team to ITV...]]
** "Rousing speech" is given an ironic double meaning here, when you consider that the actor who played Supt Meadows was... [[MeaningfulName Simon Rouse]].

* ScaryMinoritySuspect

* SerialKiller: And serial rapists.
* {{Spoiler}}

* TelevisionGeography
** Play spot the Southwark street with this show. Or, if you know UsefulNotes/NationalRail, spot the out-of-place train. Or, a scene clearly filmed south of the Thames.

* UndercoverCopReveal
* WalkAndTalk

* WelcomeEpisode: the 1983 pilot episode takes this format.

* TheYardies
* YouDoNotHaveToSayAnything: ''"... but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say can (and probably will) be taken down and used in evidence."''

* YouLookFamiliar

* YouTalkinToMe

* ThreeWallSet: Consciously averted. The producers converted a building into a complete mock-up police station, which allows plenty of opportunity for one-take WalkAndTalk scenes.
** Following the show's conclusion, the set (along with the other standing ones for the show) remains intact and available for hire in what is now Wimbledon Studios.

* TheCityNarrows: The (fictional) setting of the series is based on London's poorest borough. How much the episode in question portrays this on screen [[DependingOnTheWriter Depends on the writer]], to the extent where Sun Hill can be relatively middle class at times; and nothing short of a lawless WretchedHive at others.
** Intentionally [[AccidentallyAccurate or otherwise]], this is perfectly realistic for London; a thoroughly insalubrious-looking CouncilEstate and a row of ruinously expensive townhouses can be separated by less than half a mile.

* AnyoneCanDie: To the point of being a bit silly, actually; real-life British police forces don't suffer casualties like this outside of Northern Ireland at the height of TheTroubles.