In episodes showing on July 1 and 2, Sergeants Smith and Stone investigate a dangerous father and son as The Bill gets a brand-new High Definition look with a music soundtrack!
The six-part story begins with the body of a badly beaten man found lying in the alley outside a busy bar, E1. Smithy and Stone are immediately suspicious that the bar's cocky owner Jason Devlin had something to do with the assault. Sam Callis, who plays Stone, tells us more... What happens when Smithy and Stone question Jason and his dad Matthew (played by Life Begins' Danny Webb) at the bar? "Both Smithy and Stone take an immediate dislike to Jason, who is very arrogant and full of himself. They're convinced that Jason and his father Matthew are up to something and are determined to get something on them. Early on, they discover that Jason has a violent side. But while Stone is prepared to bide his time to catch the men in the act, the Devlins really start to wind-up Smithy." After the officers discover that the Devlin's are taking advantage of illegal immigrants, Smithy develops a personal vendetta against the pair, determined to get them convicted one way or another? "Without giving too much away, when this story continues next week, you'll see Smithy do something very bad during an angry exchange with Jason Devlin. Stone is the only one who witnesses him do it, and then it's a question of whether Smithy will turn himself in." And Smithy and Stone are very much at the centre of this six-part storyline, aren't they? "They are. I love it when I'm busy, and part of interesting stories. And I do think that it's no accident that The Bill has been on for 25 years. It's a format that can tell stories that other shows can't and tell stories in such a way that people actually want to watch them. In the current economic climate it's hard for a lot of dramas which are fighting for survival and some have lost that fight. I think this show is fighting as hard as anyone else. I think it's doing a really good job." And The Bill now has a swanky new look, and is moving to a later 9pm timeslot soon... "Yes, the way that the show looks in HD is just fabulous, completely different. We've watched some of the 9pm episodes and it's like a different show. The tempo, pace, the way it's lit, it looks 100 times better!"
