Episode
The Bill: Underground Railroad
Overview
DS Phil Hunter tells his bosses about DC Ken Drummond's moonlighting as a security guard - DCI Jack Meadows and Supt. Adam Okaro tell him to forget it, but secretly plan to use Ken to get the evidence they need on Alan Trent, so posing a bent copper, Drummond manages to convince Trent to rehire him. Trent meanwhile, has charmed DS Debbie McAllister into a dinner date, which he uses to question her about her supposedly corrupt colleague. Concerned with Trent's moving in on the estates, the Borough Commander, Okaro and Meadows organise a residents' meeting on the Jasmine Allen which is interrupted by three armed men in masks. Forensics of the shots fired indicates a flood of converted replica firearms on the estates. PC Cathy Bradford once again has her sights on DC Brandon Kane, and she will stop at nothing to get her man. Since his public outing, PC Luke Ashton is convinced he is being assigned all the 'gay' cases, and he confronts Sgt. Smith, and is horrified to find out that Smith an
Details
- Series
- The Bill
- Season
- Season 19
- Episode
- Episode 46
- Air date
- 2003-06-12
Episode context
Underground Railroad is Episode 46 in Season 19 of The Bill. It aired on 2003-06-12.
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Episode 45: Security Risk
A furious DCI Jack Meadows finds DC Ken Drummond asleep at his desk, and also hauls DS's Debbie McAllister and Phil Hunter over the coals for failing to meet their crime targets. Deeply in debt to Hunter, Drummond is moonlighting as a security guard for Mortis Security - a private security firm which has taken over ""looking after"" the Coal Lane Estate. As Mortis boss Alan Trent moves into the ward office previously occupied by PC Des Taviner, DCI Meadows and Supt. Adam Okaro begin to suspect that Trent's company is causing many of the crimes they claim to prevent, as well as racially harassing black residents. PC Cathy Bradford turns a blind eye to Trent's methods. When DS Hunter discovers Drummond's second job, he threatens to spill the beans, which could cost Ken his job. DS McAllister and DC Juliet Becker are paired when a young mother, Lindsey Holland, and her son are run off the road. McAllister is irritated when Becker's enthusiasm and fresh ideas in the investigation conflict wi
Episode 47: Written In The Stars
Sun Hill comes under fire from a gun epidemic due to the illegal firearms flooding the area, and Webb is convinced that Trent is the cause. As he and Drummond investigate Trent's activities, Drummond comes across an arms cache. McAllister finds solace in her boyfriend Michael, surprised at how much interest he is showing in her. However, Webb's investigation throws up some interesting facts and McAllister puts her life at risk after making the alarming discovery about who her boyfriend really is. It's the end of the road for Ashton when he comes face to face with an armed teenager in a local mini mart. Page finds herself falling in love again after getting emotionally involved with Dr. Owen Preston.
More episodes from this season
Episode 44: Rescue
Sgt June Ackland and PCs Jim Carver, Tony Stamp and Polly Page are trapped in a cellar, and with Jim's wedding to Marie Graham only hours away, tempers start to fray amongst the group as old tensions boil to the surface. A leather-clad biker who turns up at the station turns out to be the new Detective Constable, Juliet Becker, who is paired with Mickey Webb when PC Gary Best realises that four Sun Hill officers have gone missing. It's a race against time, as a gas leak threatens the trapped officers, but Webb and Becker manage to rescue them in the nick of time. Despite his discussions with June Ackland in the cellar in which she asks him to call off the wedding, Jim and Marie get married. PC Luke Ashton is terrified that Sgt Dale Smith will ""out"" him to the rest of the relief - Smithy is non-committal, but it's Ashton's estranged wife Kerry Young who reveals his secret at Jim's wedding reception.
Episode 48: High Speed Chaos
PC Reg Hollis intervenes when he sees a trio of youths harassing a bus driver, but the situation takes a dangerous turn when one of the youths pulls out a gun, and they hijack the bus with Hollis, the driver and a busload of terrified passengers. The gun is one of Alan Trent's replicas from the Coal Lane estate, and it backfires, hitting the driver. PCs Best and Harman spot the runaway bus, but their moment of glory is lost when PC Taviner and Sgt Murphy take over the pursuit in the area car. A man is found beaten in the street, with PC Polly Page's friend Dr Owen Preston tending to him. When it is revealed that this was the man who killed Preston's wife in a drink-driving accident, to Page's horror he becomes the prime suspect. When the victim revives, he clears Preston of any wrongdoing, but Page's decision to help Preston end his life could have far-reaching consequences. PC Cameron Tait and PC Honey Harmen investigate a green-thumbed resident at an retirement home, whose plants are
Episode 43: A Growing Concern
Sgt Sheelagh Murphy regains consciousness in the back of the stolen cab and texts PC Des Taviner her whereabouts. She escapes, only to be recaptured, but Des arrives in time to disarm her attacker. Relieved that they have actually caught their man, Sheelagh tells Des how grateful she is he helped clear her husband's name. Sgt Dale Smith and PC Cameron Tait stake out a local club where they suspect manager David Wemmick is running rent boys. Cameron poses as a client, and rent boy Justin gives him an address where he finds enough evidence for a raid. While waiting for Tait, Smith sees PC Luke Ashton enter the gay club with a male companion. After the raid, the rent boys are using the same number to call 'home' - a number that belongs to the club's barman, Colin Meakes. Now it's a matter of convincing Justin to help them. Sgt June Ackland is bemused that Marie Graham, Jim Carver's intended, is involved in an assault, but decides to dig into her past anyway - could Marie be a violent woma
Episode 49: Count Me Out
A distraught PC Polly Page is told by her friend Cathy Bradford to cover up her involvement in the death of Dr Owen Preston, but as Polly types up her statement for the police she receives a letter naming her as the beneficiary of Owen's will - will Polly's conscience get the better of her? CSU gains a new officer - sexual offences expert DC Ramani De Costa, who hasn't even reached the station when she is assigned to investigate the alleged rape of a university student. Acting DI Samantha Nixon has her hands full when a daring armed robbery is carried out on Sun Hill's patch, but as Nixon takes on the case, she is distracted by the presence of reporter Dougie Pritchard, who threatens to reveal the father of Nixon's daughter Abigail, a fact passed on to him by the late Sgt Matt Boyden. Sgt Sheelagh Murphy betrays more than professional concern when shots are fired as PC Des Taviner pursues the armed robbers.
Episode 42: Boomerang: Part 2
PC Luke Ashton is first on the scene of a horrific car crash, but is shocked to hear a familiar voice when his backup arrives - Sun Hill's new sergeant: Dale Smith. Smith takes a huge risk when he and Luke rescue a boy trapped in the car, a fact which does not escape the notice of Insp. Gina Gold, who is already well aware of Smiffy's reputation from his last posting to Sun Hill. Linking the boy and the car to a local gay nightclub, Smiffy believes the club is pimping underage rent boys, but his brusque manner sees a complaint brought up against him by the club's owner. PC Tony Stamp tries to do a good deed and convinces PC Jim Carver to invite Sgt. June Ackland to his wedding, but he underestimates June's feelings for Jim. Things aren't looking good for Patrick Murphy after the Garda in Dublin supply DS Debbie McAllister details of his form for assault, but Murphy is bailed due to lack of evidence. When one of PC Des Taviner's young snouts finds Murphy's wallet and cab in a warehouse,
Episode 50: Out In The Open
DC Danny Glaze returns to Sun Hill, and as he is still assigned to CSU, assists DC Ramani De Costa and PC Cathy Bradford in investigating the student rape case. CSU's prime suspect is union bar manager Keiran Thompson, but they have no firm evidence or testimony as the victim Izzy Scott was drugged before she was attacked. When Thompson is assaulted, De Costa realises this might not be the rapist's first offence, and their discovery of a previous victim reveals videotapes of the rapes - filmed by Izzy's so-called best friend Emma. With Acting DI Samantha Nixon distracted by Dougie Pritchard's threats to reveal Abi's parentage, DS Phil Hunter relentlessly pursues his theory that the armed robbery was an inside job, but he may have pushed too hard when the bank security guard kills himself. Nixon is forced to reveal to Abigail that her father is convicted child murderer Glenn Weston, but when Weston turns up at the station, she is unable to avoid father and daughter meeting face to face.
Episode 41: Boomerang: Part 1
PC Tony Stamp is avoiding Sgt. June Ackland after their drunken kiss the previous night. Sun Hill officers investigate a series of assaults on homeless people in the area, but when social worker Clare Johnson is brutally attacked, the prime suspect is cabbie Patrick Murphy - Sgt. Sheelagh Murphy's husband. Despite warnings to tread softly from DCI Meadows, DS Debbie McAllister is sure Murphy is her man, with little regard for her colleague's sensibilities. PC Des Taviner and PC Luke Ashton have their hands full when two elderly men fight over some misplaced books.
Episode 51: Home Run: Part 1
Episode 40: Charlie Foxtrot: Part 2
Sgt. June Ackland is feeling sheepish about last night's blunder - thinking PC Jim Carver was about to propose, but work beckons. An elderly Czechoslovakian woman is being victimised on the local estate and June feels it is racially motivated. DS Phil Hunter and DC Eva Sharpe are puzzled when solicitor Robert Fenn withdraws his assault complaint against colleague Kim Bradbury, but then they discover Kim has resigned. Eva confesses she visited the seedy bar where Robert and his friends hang out and where the assault happened and she convinces Phil that they're dealing drugs. Cameron Tait goes undercover to check out the action, gets the evidence and they raid the bar. PC Gemma Osbourne is determined to help Ziba and her daughter Niki and can't even conceive of their returning to Iran, but at what cost to her career? Having already been warned off by Insp. Gold, her conscience gets the better of her, and she helps the woman escape. A screaming match ensues and Gemma is given her marching
Episode 52: Home Run: Part 2