All change for coppers in The Bill.
SIX cast members from top-rated TV cop drama The Bill are leaving the series, it was revealed today.The clear-out includes the axe for the show's longest-serving actors, Peter Ellis, who plays Chief Superintendent Brownlow, the man who has run the Sun Hill station since the series started 16 years ago.
The other actors who have chosen to leave the show are Billy Murray (who plays Det Sgt Don Beech), Clive Wedderburn (PC Gary McCann), Alex Walkinshaw (PC Dale Smith), Gregory Donaldson (PC Tom Proctor) and Russell Boulter (Det Sgt John Boulton).
A spokeswoman for the ITV show said: "The only one who is not having his contract renewed is Peter Ellis, but otherwise they are all going of their own accord.
"The character Beech has had a huge storyline running over a very long time, where he is a corrupt copper.
"He can't be corrupt forever and he can't keep getting away with it - and by the end of the year he will get his comeuppance."
She added that Det Sgt Beech and Det Sgt Boulton would be leaving in an "explosive" storyline this autumn.
"Beech is a bent copper, and when we first discussed this with Billy we made it clear that one day his character would get his come-uppance, and he agreed to that."
A ring of corrupt officers led by Det Sgt Beech will be exposed by an undercover operation.
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| Publication: | Coventry Evening Telegraph (England) |
|---|---|
| Date: | May 30, 2000 |
| Words: | 234 |
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