Episode
The Bill: Light Duties
Overview
Recently promoted to CID, D.C. Carver is feeling seasick while he and D.S. Roach work on a case on the police launch. The River Police fish the body of a murdered informant out of the Thames, but Roach is furious when the case is taken over by two detectives from Scotland Yard. P.C. Taffy Edwards and Stamp attend an incident with an unconcious elderly man who has a very protective dog. A woman offers to help, but Stamp tells her to move along. Stamp is horrified when the woman arrives at Sun Hill as the new uniformed Inspector, Christine Frazer. P.C. Hollis is running a sweep on who D.I. Galloway's replacement will be - there are rumours it will be D.I. Burnside. At the hospital, a solid gold krugerand is found on the old man, and W.P.C. Ackland and D.C. Carver realise the body in the river is the old man's nephew, who was grassing on his accomplices in a krugerand robbery. Sgt. Penny is back at work on light duties, but he is clearly still deeply affected by his recent shooting.
Details
- Series
- The Bill
- Season
- Season 4
- Episode
- Episode 1
- Air date
- 1988-07-19
Episode context
Light Duties is Episode 1 in Series 4 of The Bill. It aired on 1988-07-19.
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More episodes from this season
Episode 3: Good Will Visit
P.C. Pete Ramsey arrives as Sun Hill, nearly running P.C. Taffy Edwards over with his Porsche and parking in the Chief Super's spot. He has been transferred from Barton Street CID for cheating at cards, and has been put back into uniform. Ramsey cops a warning from Ch. Insp. Conway to keep his nose clean, but he is clearly still up to his old tricks: taking a bribe from a street hawker and generally winding up his fellow officers. Sgt. Alec Peters and P.C. Malcolm Haynes go to the Royal Navy to arrest a group of sailors who trashed a nightclub, but are told they can't charge the sailors as they are due on an important naval exercise. D.C. Carver and D.C. Dashwood watch and arrest two Chinese men with a van full of an unidentifiable substance which they suspect may be drugs. Ramsey identifies it as the rare spice saffron, stolen from a warehouse the previous month. Ramsey takes his car to be repaired at a garage owned by a friend of Sgt. Cryer's, but takes it back without paying after f
Episode 4: Home Sweet Home
Sgt. Cryer leads a raid to enforce an eviction order on a squat occupied by upper-class kids, watched by Councillor Thomas who is in charge of housing in the area. The raid is successful, but Thomas makes himself scarce as soon as a journalist arrives. P.C. Smith and P.C. Haynes are called to the local library where a homeless woman, Marie Tucker, and her kids are sheltering. Haynes moves her along by giving her a council housing brochure, but when they are called to a break-in at Councillor Thomas' home, they realise Marie has locked herself in the bathroom. Insp. Frazer arrives with a social worker who had reported Marie missing and they try to talk her out. When she goes quiet, they break down the door only to find Marie has taken an overdose and died.
Episode 5: All in Good Faith
W.P.C. Viv Martella and W.P.C. June Ackland report entry by artifice involving a bogus gasman to Acting D.I. Ted Roach. As Ackland and D.C. Mike Dashwood investigate the two latest cases, the widow of a gas inspector locks the bogus gasman in her basement. Insp. Christine Frazer has a serious talk to P.C. Pete Ramsey. There is a weapons amnesty bin outside the station, and when CID discovers a gun that was used in a robbery five years ago, Roach is determined to nail the suspect, Pat Duffy. Ch. Insp. Conway seeks legal advice as to whether the gun can be used as evidence as it was handed in during an amnesty. Roach disobeys Conway's orders and arrests Duffy. Conway is furious, but Roach tells him that they're in the clear as Duffy's ex-wife handed the gun in.
Episode 6: Just Call Me Guvnor
Ch. Insp. Conway briefs the relief on a massive raid about to take place on Frontline, a gang of football thugs. Two police officers are undercover in the gang, and the relief are warned not to show them any signs of recognition, however Acting D.I. Roach and D.C. Carver are stunned when they see D.I. Frank Burnside in handcuffs, blowing his cover. Roach headbutts a suspect who spat at him. The suspect gives his name in custody as ""Get Stuffed"", and Burnside, who has arrived to take over Sun Hill CID, gives him a slap for his insolence. With no love lost between Sgt. Cryer and Burnside, Cryer threatens to report Burnside if he raises Roach's assault of the same prisoner, but Burnside shocks them all when he reveals that the unfortunate prisoner is the other undercover officer in the gang. Burnside catches up with his old flame, Insp. Frazer who later has a word with Cryer for spreading rumours that Burnside is corrupt. A chastised Cryer swallows his pride and apologises.
Episode 7: Caught Red Handed
P.C. Frank and W.P.C. Martella attend an incident where a pregnant woman has stabbed her husband with a bread knife. The husband doesn't want to press charges, and when he and his wife are re-united at the station, all is forgiven. Sgt. Penny and W.P.C. Ackland are at the local swimming pool to catch a thief stealing from lockers. When they apprehend a suspect, Penny starts to crack up when he realises he's failed to videotape the evidence properly, but the S.O.C.O. salvages the incident and gets a confession when she tells the suspect that one of the wallets was coated in a chemical marker. D.C. Carver watches P.C. Smith talking to a man in the pub and thinks he has stumbled on a drug deal in the toilets. He reluctantly informs D.I. Burnside who is delighted at the chance to get one over on Uniform. Pills are found in Yorkie's locker, and he admits they are anabolic steroids to help his rugby game. Smith is let off, but he is furious with Carver for grassing him up. CID raid the stero
Episode 8: Homes and Gardens
P.C. Yorkie Smith assists P.C. Taffy Edwards dealing with a traffic snarl-up caused by a young man, Mickey Cozens. Mickey's father is called to the station, and he tells the officers that Mickey has a mental age of 7. Smith drives them home, but when Mickey's dad tells his son off, Mickey lashes out and knocks Smith unconscious. His desperate father bundle's Smith into the panda car and drives away. A witness reports that a police officer has been kidnapped, and massive chase takes place until the car is stopped and Yorkie found alive but concussed. A couple come home from holiday to find their entire garden has been removed - trees, lawn and greenhouse. Turns out to be poetic justice as the husband is rumoured to have nicked the plants from the council in the first place.
Episode 9: Country Cousin
D.I. Burnside waits impatiently at the train station to pick up a D.S. Jarvis from one of the country forces, who is arriving in London to arrest a suspect believed to be living in Sun Hill. After warning Jarvis for punching the suspect in the face, Burnside takes Jarvis to an East End club where the badly-behaved country copper ends up fighting with the manager and bouncer over the cost of a prostitute. P.C. Edwards and P.C. Haynes attend a bus crash where the driver and several passengers are badly injured. Accompanying the driver to hospital, it is discovered he was suffering from epilepsy which he had not declared to his employers. W.P.C. Martella drives Sgt. Penny to a doctor's check-up to ascertain whether he can return to normal duties after his shooting.
Episode 10: Alarms and Embarrassments
Yorkie investigates a robbery of an off-licence. Penny is thinking of his holiday. Roach has a case thrown out of court. Stamp is in charge of organising a line up. Taffy investigates a mugging of a handicapped man. A bag lady brought in by Frazer sets fire to her cell.
Episode 11: Stealing Cars and Nursery Rhymes
Yorkie has problems with kids at a youth group. He chases a group of kids in a stolen car that ends up with 2 deaths after wrapping around a pole. Ramsey seems to have collected a stray dog which runs loose around the station. Haynes slags off the kids of Sunhill in front of Yorkie. Ramsey investigates a ufo which turns out to be a satellite dish.
Episode 12: Hold Fire
P.C. Smith and P.C. Melvin are first on the scene of a traffic accident. The cars are on fire, and both officers risk their lives to rescue the occupants. One of the cars explodes, killing a passenger, knocking Smith unconscious and burning Melvin's hands. One of the men they rescued is a big-time villain, and the F.I.O. (Fire Investigations Officer) reckons he had explosives in the boot. D.C. Carver and W.P.C. Martella stake out a pub, but get distracted playing video games. They eventually follow and arrest a man who is ripping off his employer. D.S. Roach attends the Met's firearms training for renewal of his firearms authorisation. He fails spectacularly and his licence is revoked, but it's clear he failed deliberately. At the hospital, Martella arrives to help Melvin keep an eye on their suspect, but they are distracted when a man high on drugs runs through the ward, and their villain disappears.