Episode
The Bill: Under The Thumb
Overview
PC Des Taviner is given his own set of wheels - a bicycle - and hits the road in a new capacity as ward officer on the Coal Lane Estate. Sgt. Sheelagh Murphy is not so pleased when Taviner eagerly assists an attractive resident. An abandoned lorry leads Sun Hill officers to the discovery of a Chinese ""snakehead"" gang smuggling illegal immigrants into the country. The shooting and ritual disfigurement of one of the owners of the lorry company sees Sgt. Matt Boyden staring down the barrel of a gun when he attends the scene. Furious after Boyden's indiscretions with her daughter, Acting DI Nixon is reluctantly paired with the sergeant to find the gunman. DS Debbie McAllister's patience is wearing thin, as rape case witness Beth starts acting up and demanding perks for her testimony. PC Kerry Young manages to settle her down, but Young's actions could severely jeopardise Louanna's case. PC Jim Carver flounders in a state of romantic confusion as he tries to avoid Marie Graham. DC Danny Gla
Details
- Series
- The Bill
- Season
- Season 19
- Episode
- Episode 25
- Air date
- 2003-03-27
Episode context
Under The Thumb is Episode 25 in Season 19 of The Bill. It aired on 2003-03-27.
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Episode 24: The Square Apple
PC Polly Page returns to duty at Sun Hill following her breakdown. She is assigned to the CSU, and paired with PC Cathy Bradford. Page and Bradford investigate a stalking case which becomes far less straightforward when both parties accuse the other of harrasment. PC Gary Best goes undercover as a schoolboy to investigate drug dealers targetting the school, but when his information leads to a raid, Abigail Nixon blows his cover. Arrested for assault by PC Luke Ashton, Acting DI Nixon and Sgt. Murphy witness Abi putting the moves on a befuddled Ashton, making Sgt. Matt Boyden's denials slightly more believable. PC Jim Carver spends the day with the mother of murdered teacher Sonia Graham, but his professional role as Family Liaison Officer is comprimised when they end up in bed together.
Episode 26: Out Of Your Depth
PC Des Taviner finds a terrified shoeless Chinese man on the Coal Lane estate, but when he is taken to the station for interview, there are serious doubts about the Chinese interpreter sent by the Yard, Mai Ann Wey. Unaware of these doubts, Taviner seeks Mai Ann's help when he discovers a flat full of illegal immigrants on the estate. When the immigrants all disappear and there are signs of violence, it becomes clear that Mai Ann is working for the snakehead gang, and Taviner turns to a reluctant Chinese priest, Father Kwong, to locate the immigrants. The court case against the boys who gang-raped Louanna Shaw nearly falls apart when Louanna's friend Beth loses her temper in court and the defence lawyer sees PC Kerry Young discussing the case with her husband PC Luke Ashton. Only Insp. Gina Gold's forceful testimony saves the day, but Young is furious with Ashton for jeopardising the case and insists their marriage is over. DC Mickey Webb is delighted when Ron Gregory's car is stolen,
More episodes from this season
Episode 23: Throw For A Loss
PC Gary Best is smitten by the arrival of new PC Honey Harman, whose manner and appearance lead Sgt. Matt Boyden to conclude that she's a bit of an airhead. Searching the school for the gun used in the gymnasium shooting and the shooting of teacher Sonia Graham, PC Reg Hollis stumbles upon Boyden in an embrace with DI Nixon's 15-year-old daughter. Sgt. June Ackland recommends Reg inform the Superintendant, which he does. Boyden is furious, but not as furious as DI Nixon when she finds out that her colleague has taken advantage of her underage daughter. Insp. Gina Gold and PC Luke Ashton are concerned that PC Kerry Young is back at work too soon after her miscarriage, but Kerry's considerable persuasive skills come into play when rape witness Beth Tyler is threatened on the estate and refuses to testify. Best and Harman follow some robbery suspects on foot patrol, but when this leads them to the gun and the student who murdered Sonia Graham, Best is taken hostage. Harman uses her judo s
Episode 27: Juggernaut
Sun Hill police officers swoop into London's Chinatown to locate and arrest corrupt interpreter Mai Ann Wey. Desperate to make amends to Sgt. Sheelagh Murphy, PC Des Taviner manages to catch Mai Ann when she eludes the rest of the team. DC Mickey Webb is in turmoil after witnessing Supt. Adam Okaro having a friendly meeting with a suspected paedophile. Even a sceptical Insp. Gina Gold begins to have her suspiscions about Okaro when Webb sees him taking his own daughter to Gregory. Okaro is furious when Webb charges into a delicate covert op to ensnare Ron Gregory. Gregory is arrested, and the ""child"" in his boot is revealed to be civillian Front Desk Officer Roberta Cryer. Since there is so little evidence against Gregory, his solicitor demands his release. As Mickey drives Robbie home, they realise that Gregory's solicitor, Warren Napier, is in the paedophile ring as well. The pair break into Napier's house, and find a frightened little African girl in an attic room. As they try to es
Episode 22: The Philadelphia Lawyer
The sustained abuse towards schoolteacher Sonia Graham runs into overdrive when she is found in her flat, having been shot through the chest, and the list of suspects soon begins to mount. Glaze struggles to get Prince's brother Nathan back on side after harsh mishandlings by Webb, so Webb decides to trail him to see if he leads him to the top prize - and soon enough, his suspicions are proved to be correct. Young finally manages to get young rape victim Louanna to open up about her ordeal, and subsequently, members of the Bevan Park crew are arrested on suspicion. On the way to respond to an urgent call for assistance, Hollis notices Boyden pulled over at the roadside in a clinch with Abi Nixon.
Episode 28: Week By Week
DC Mickey Webb and Robbie Cryer attempt to escape from Warren Napier's house with little girl Abeo, but are captured by Ron Gregory and his thugs. A weary DCI Jack Meadows receives Webb's phone message, and he and Supt. Adam Okaro leap into action to find Webb and Cryer before Gregory murders them. A horrific road accident sees a man impaled by a pole, and believing himself to be dying, he confesses to killing his wife and hiding her body. DS Debbie McAllister and DC Ken Drummond discover his wife alive and well, but Peter Wallace's confession may be true after it is revealed he has been married before and his ex-wife had mysteriously disappeared. Tracking Mickey and Robbie through Mickey's mobile phone, the police close in on their location, arriving just in time to arrest Ron Gregory for numerous charges. PC Gemma Osborne is surprised when a former lover turns up at the station with several kids in tow, saying she's left her husband and they can be together at last.
Episode 21: Sleeping Dogs Lie
Abi Nixon arrives at the station on a work experience placement, and is sent out on patrol with Boyden, much to her delight. When Boyden is accused of having a sexual encounter with one of Abi's friends, Abi steps in to defend him. Young suspects that rape victim Louanna isn't telling the whole truth when she accuses one of her schoolmates of rape, despite the fact that her injuries suggest that she was attacked by more than one person. Schoolteacher Sonia Graham finds herself on the end of a sustained barrage of abuse, including offensive graffiti being sprayed on her house and pornographic material being posted through her letterbox. Ashton races to stop Young from having an abortion.
Episode 29: Frail
PC Nick Klein and PC Ruby Buxton find Edith Bradley, an elderly woman, wandering alone and frightened on the Coal Lane estate. Moments later, Sgt. Sheelagh Murphy and PC Des Taviner discover an elderly man, Ted Davis, in the same condition. Both refuse police help, despite their flats having been broken into. Klein teams up with Murphy to find out what has happened and why the two are so terrified of the police. PC Jim Carver nearly catches Klein with cocaine in the locker room. When Sgt. Murphy notices the animosity between the two, it isn't before Carver spills the beans about Nick's drug habit. TDC Brandon Kane's ex-wife Tanya arrives at the station, anxious over hate mail she has received. When she meets up with PC Cathy Bradford and metnions a possible reconciliation between herself and Brandon, Cathy lashes out, with fatal consequences.
Episode 20: Classroom Politics
Boyden and Tait attend a fight at Harvey Wallace comprehensive and discover that one or two of the pupils are acting strangely around their teacher, Sonia Graham. While Tait is smitten, Boyden discovers that rumours are escalating that Sonia is having extra-marital relations with some of her students. Meanwhile, Ashton and Buxton attend a fire at a public convenience, and find two young girls trapped in the toilet cubicle. When Ashton manages to free them from danger, they both make good their escape and Ashton suspects that something is wrong. Glaze and Webb attend a shooting at a local gymnasium, where they find that none of the witnesses are willing to offer any information.
Episode 30: Grandstand
PC Cathy Bradford looks down in horror at the prone body of TDC Brandon Kane's ex-wife Tanya. After calling an ambulance, Bradford makes a hasty escape from the car park before her Sun Hill colleagues arrive to investigate. PC Cameron Tait's suspiscions are aroused when he discovers the complex's CCTV tapes have been stolen. DS Debbie McAllister suspects Brandon Kane is responsible, and her abrupt line of questioning puts both Kane and DC Ken Drummond off-side. As Kane waits at St Hugh's for news of Tanya's condition, Bradford turns up to work, full of sympathy for Tanya. Only Robbie Cryer has suspiscions, as Cathy Bradford adds lie upon lie, even volunteering to help with the case so she can cover up evidence of her involvement. As Cathy comforts Brandon at the hospital, she is horrified to hear that Tanya's condition is improving and she may recover...
Episode 19: The Nouveau Riche
Acting DI Sam Nixon is convinced that Ron Gregory is behind the paedophile ring - but can she prove it? While DCI Jack Meadows is certain DS Phil Hunter is still working for Ron and is reporting him to the police authorities. Phil pleads, ""I'm the only one that can get a result, because I know Gregory better than anyone. Give me 24 hours and I'll have Gregory sitting in one of them cells"". But will he convince Jack to give him more time? The police now know that the murdered girl 'Angel', real name Rachel, had been brought over from Africa to sponsor parents Mr. & Mrs. Eddison. The couple now face severe questioning at the station. Were they aware abuse was taking place with their sponsor child, and could they have been the perpetrators? When Rachel's sponsor parent, Mr Eddison suddenly makes a confession, the police suspect he's been 'influenced' by someone to change his story. Did he really kill Rachel or is he just acting on someone else's orders to save his own life?When PCs Des Ta
Episode 31: Disillusion
The investigation into the attack on Tanya Fisher continues, with DS Debbie McAllister and DI Will Elvins from MIT having strong suspicions about her ex-husband, TDC Brandon Kane. As PC Cathy Bradford prepares to flee the country, she receives a phone call from PC Polly Page telling her about Kane's questioning. As suspicion begins to fall on her, Bradford arrives at the station and taking a leaf out of DS McAllister's book, tells the investigators that Brandon couldn't have attacked Tanya - he was beating her up at the time, and she is pregnant with his baby.