Episode
The Bill: Controversial Approach
Overview
Supt Adam Okaro's rumoured controversial approach to drug policy draws the media like flies, so Borough Commander Jane Fitzwilliam calls a press conference to make him toe the company line. PC Cathy Bradford has come to rely on her partner DC Brandon Kane's support, so when her HIV status is revealed, will she tell him the truth? If she plays on his sympathy, she may get him to bed. Suspecting him of having an affair with DS Debbie McAllister, DCI Jack Meadow's wife Laura arrives at the station to give him his marching orders. But even after McAllister explains to her there is nothing going on, Jack decides he's had enough and leaves home anyway. A small boy dies in a drive-by shooting in his neighbourhood, and Supt Okaro decides to walk to his press conference to give himself time to think. Will the press, the police and the community be ready for what he has to say?
Details
- Series
- The Bill
- Season
- Season 19
- Episode
- Episode 6
- Air date
- 2003-01-16
Episode context
Controversial Approach is Episode 6 in Season 19 of The Bill. It aired on 2003-01-16.
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Episode 5: Method To The Madness
Supt. Adam Okaro issues an order that drug users are not to be arrested by his officers - instead Sun Hill will target the dealers. PC Cathy Bradford is furious at this change in policy when the junkie who stabbed her with a hyperdermic needle walks free. Meanwhile DS Phil Hunter is given a tip off about a 20k drug deal about to take place in Sun Hill. Villain Ron Gregory has a plan. He wants Phil and his fellow officers to intercept this deal so the patch stays clear for Ron's own dealing. But Phil's already on thin ice with his superiors. Will Phil ever get Ron Gregory off his back? PCs Ruby Buxton and Nick Klein are called to a violent domestic in a smart area of town, they are quick to arrest the husband for assault. But is it as simple as it at first appears? DC Danny Glaze is eager to talk to Sister Sarah Donohue after the pair's kiss the previous night, but the nun is in no mood to talk, particularly when her the community centre she runs is in danger of being closed by Ron Greg
Episode 7: Hard Liquor
Supt. Adam Okaro makes a shock decision to resign after he is forced to toe the line on the drugs issue by the Borough Commander. PC Des Taviner suspects a judge is corrupt when the absence of a key witness sees a court case collapse. PC Cathy Bradford is delighted after spending the night with TDC Brandon Kane, but Kane is indifferent. When an old school friend of PC Ruby Buxton disappears after being robbed, Buxton finds her friend's mother is defensive about her daughter's whereabouts. When the bank mistakenly credits his account, will DC Ken Drummond take the money and run, or notify them of their mistake?
More episodes from this season
Episode 4: A Smart Bomb
Being in the pay of crime boss Ron Gregory is not paying off for DS Phil Hunter. Not only is his wife Cindy caught up in Gregory's dirty tricks, but DCI Meadows and Supt Okaro are onto him as well, and decide to use him to bring Gregory down. Supt. Okaro clashes with the Borough Commander, Jane Fitzwilliam over how to solve the drug problem, and his old friend David Ackroyd's information about Gregory's plans to flood the streets with cheap heroin, costs him his life. Sister Sarah Donohue, the nun who runs the local community centre, and who was also friends with David, is so upset by his death that DC Danny Glaze gives her a more than sympathetic kiss. With the Supt's crackdown on burglaries, ATM robberies are on the increase and Cindy Hunter is mugged. Seeing her lying bashed in a hospital bed, Phil Hunter takes new interest in the robberies, and he and Webb and McAllister set up an operation to catch the culprits. Hunter's fury overtakes him and Webb has to stop him using a baseball
Episode 8: Cross Transfer
PC Des Taviner is eager to investigate Judge Sinclair, who he suspects is corrupt. DCI Meadows, a friend of the judge, insists he drop it, but asks DC Mickey Webb to keep an eye on the case. Insp. Gold overhears Taviner and Meadows, and encourages Taviner to investigate in secret. TDC Brandon Kane urges PC Cathy Bradford to reveal that she is HIV positive, but Bradford is reluctant as she thinks it could ruin her chances of joining CID. A clairvoyant's glimpse of the future encourages Sgt. June Ackland to reconsider the nature of her relationship with PC Jim Carver.
Episode 3: Bad Taste
Glaze becomes involved in the case of a paedophile priest who is taking refuge at a local church, which is being besieged by local parishioners. Best is called to a domestic at his sister Karen's house. Hunter finds himself in a trap when he is forced to prostitute his wife to a local gangster. [Source: Radio Times]
Episode 9: Crackdown
PC Des Taviner is transferred to CSU, and unsettles the team with his methods and aggressive attitude. Sgt. June Ackland worries about her marriage proposal to PC Jim Carver, and DCI Jack Meadows makes his feelings for DS Debbie McAllister. Roberta Cryer questions an evasive PC Cathy Bradford about her medication - a question Bradford is ill-prepared to answer. DS Phil Hunter is also caught on the wrong foot when DC Mickey Webb's investigation into a corrupt judge could land him in hot water. Attending a domestic at a local house, PC Luke Ashton discovers a love triangle that is not all it appears to be.
Episode 2: A Match Made In Hell
DI Samantha Nixon is on the trail of the serial killer and on the phone to DC Duncan Lennox when it goes dead. Duncan traces the call, but he and PC Taviner arrive to find only Cass Rickman's neck chain, and Samantha's phone - and her last call was from Pat Kitson... It's Kerry and Luke's wedding day and Inspector Gina Gold is not happy to find the groom in bed with Craig Gilmore. Both Gina and Gilmore want Luke to tell Kerry, but for very different reasons, so with a reception venue in doubt, Gold tries to convince Kerry to postpone the wedding. DS Phil Hunter is in deep, as crime boss Ron Gregory wants to sleep with Hunter's wife and Phil has no way out. What will he do now that the tables have been turned on his philandering ways? Lennox and DC Mickey Webb break into Kitson's house, but find nothing. While from the attic of the house next door, Kitson taunts a bound and blindfolded Nixon as she watches them drive away. Nixon fishes for information, and when prodded by Pat, talks abo
Episode 10: Thinking Out Loud
The seemingly random drive-by shooting of a young girl at a local bank seems more deliberate when her father is discovered to be an accountant for some local thugs. FDO Roberta Cryer is suspicious about PC Cathy Bradford's HIV lie after Bradford is berated by DS Phil Hunter for putting others at risk. PC Nick Klein attends Simon Kitson's memorial service, but lets his emotions get the better of him when he encounters Pat Kitson there. PC Kerry Young investigates reports of a flasher, and encounters the mysterious but charming new Aussie PC, Cameron Tait.
Episode 1: Out Of A Clear Blue Sky
DS Phil Hunter's devious ways are catching up with him - DCI Meadows and Supt Okaro execute raids on known fences in the area before Hunter has time to warn Ron Gregory, the local crime boss who pays him off. Hunter's attractive, long-suffering wife attracts Gregory's attention, and instead of the payback he was expecting, Hunter has to deal with an unusual request to keep his head off the chopping block. An alibi from a prostitute takes Simon Kitson out of suspicion as the serial killer, leaving Acting DI Samantha Nixon to follow some of her theories. When DC Lennox can't get anything further out of Simon's sister Pat, Samantha takes over, and is surprised by what she discovers. But is her curiosity leading her into a dangerous situation? Luke Ashton is persuaded to celebrate his ""last night of freedom"" and Craig Gilmore reluctantly joins the boys for a drink, while Robbie, Gina and Gemma surprise Kerry at home - booze in hand and ready for fun. Sgt Boyden's plans to leave Luke trouse
Episode 11: Dropout Factory
PC Luke Ashton is shocked to discover that his wife, PC Kerry Young, is pregnant. DC Danny Glaze sees a way to get enough evidence to arrest a teenage burglar when a young man is attacked by two thugs, although his informant may be at risk. DCI Jack Meadows is furious when DS McAllister is dropped off at work by a handsome young man. Sun Hill station holds an Open Day, and DC Eva Sharpe invites her family along, but after a row, her daughter Joanna goes missing.
Episode 12: Without A Trace
A massive search is underway for DC Eva Sharpe's missing eight-year-old daughter, Joanna. As a police officer, Eva is only too aware how serious the situation is, especially when a press conference is called. PC Reg Hollis is suspicious of a couple he questions during enquiries. Joe Kincaid joins the search, and Sgt. Craig Gilmore notices the attraction between Kincaid and PC Luke Ashton. PC Ruby Buxton discovers a vital clue to Joanna's disappearance at a local corner shop.
Episode 13: The Cat With Nine Lives
An assault on a prison officer may not be the straightforward mugging it appears to be. PC Jim Carver moves in with the Sharpes as their Family Liaison Officer, hoping to glean some vital information on Joanna's disappearance. PC Kerry Young suspects her husband is having an affair, and notices something going on when Ashton visits his sergeant in hospital after Gilmore is attacked while guarding a witness. PC Des Taviner ignores what could be an important clue in the Joanna Sharpe investigation, as he thinks it comes from an unreliable source. When the police get word there may be a paedophile ring operating in Sun Hill, they are determined to keep this news from Joanna's distraught parents.