Yahoo News The Bill: where are they now?
The Bill may have come to a bittersweet end in 2010 after 27 years of action-packed crime drama, but UKTV's Drama is (somewhat controversially) re-running the classic series – and it's a veritable feast of "Oh yeah, remember THAT guy" moments. You can relive it with the cast right here.
And it turns out there is life after our favourite police station closed, too. While some are still serving in Soapland, other stars went on to find success in theatre, films and reality TV shows. Here's what a handful of our favourite coppers are up to now:
1. Graham Cole (Tony Stamp, 1987–2009)
He played the nation's best-loved bobby PC Tony Stamp for a whopping 25 years from 1984 until 2009, and remains probably one of the show's most memorable characters. In fact, Graham was such a big part of The Bill culture that he would often appear in character on entertainment shows such as Noel's House Party, also presenting and narrating the police video programme Police Stop!
Graham was written out of the show – somewhat controversially – in 2009 when The Bill underwent a drastic relaunch. However, the actor's life hasn't slowed down since, as he went on to release his autobiography On the Beat and continued to take on various roles on stage.
2. Alex Walkinshaw (Smithy, 1999–2010)
He's certainly not shy when it comes to hopping between the soap serials, but The Bill was actually where it all began for Alex. The actor played Sun Hill stalwart Inspector Dale "Smithy" Smith and was involved in a host of the show's biggest stories, as he got shot, stabbed and even went undercover.
Alex was there until The Bill's very last episode in 2010, but didn't struggle to find regular work after it ended, first appearing in Waterloo Road before heading over to Casualty as Nurse Fletch. In 2014, the character made a permanent switch from Casualty to its sister show Holby City, where he has remained ever since.
3. Trudie Goodwin ( June Ackland, 1983-2006)
Another alumni of The Bill, Trudie also served over two decades in the Sun Hill nick as Sergeant June Ackland. June appeared in the pilot episode for the show back in 1983 and was the last original cast member standing by the time she bowed out of the show 24 years later.
Trudie's post-Bill career has included appearances on the Loose Women panel, a spot in Countdown's Dictionary Corner and an appearance in Bill Bailey's Birdwatching Bonanza. She later returned to the soap world in 2011 to play Emmerdale's Georgia Sharma – the mother of Jai, Nikhil and Priya.
She also made a guest appearance in an episode of Casualty towards the end of 2016. And fun fact: did you know her daughter Elly Jackson is popstar La Roux?
4. Jeff Stewart (Reg Hollis, 1984–2008)
Jeff was another one who stuck around on the nation's favourite police drama for almost a quarter of a century, playing the memorable Reg. Downtrodden, nerdy and just an all-round oddball, Reg quickly became one of the nation's best-loved coppers, but sadly it all came to an end when Jeff was written out of the show in 2008.
After shrugging off Reg's persona, Jeff managed to establish himself as a serious film actor with roles in both indie and independent films, earning him the Best Actor award at the Manhattan Film Festival in 2011.
5. Scott Maslen (Phil Hunter, 2002-2007)
He might be best known for playing no-nonsense Jack Branning in EastEnders, but Scott actually made his big soap break when he appeared as The Bill's DS Phil Hunter.
Scott played the Sun Hill bobby for five years, before he famously jumped soap ship and defected from The Bill for EastEnders. Scott swapped one ladies' man for another when he landed the role of ex-policeman Jack in 2007 in a poaching move that was said to have left his ITV bosses a little bit rattled. But given that Jack is still a Walford favourite 10 years on, we doubt he has many regrets.
6. Andrew Lancel (Neil Manson, 2003-2010)
Andrew became one of TV's most familiar faces when he played DC Neil Manson from 2003 right up until the show's swansong in 2010. However, he continued to cause a soap storm after he left the show and took the role of Carla Connor's villainous fiancé Frank Foster in Coronation Street. Andrew's turbulent two-year stint in Corrie earned him the award for Best Villain at the British Soap Awards in 2012, but his acting success didn't end there.
Frank's Corrie death paved the way for Andrew to finally leave the soap and he went on to run his own production company, producing and directing numerous productions. He is also a regular panelist on the Channel 5 TV show The Wright Stuff and covers the Pete Price radio show.
7. Christopher Ellison (Frank Burnside,1988–2000)
Christopher played tough-talking DCI Frank Burnside on and off from 1984 to 2000, and even took the character over to his self-titled spin-off. Unfortunately, Burnside wasn't quite the roaring success bosses had hoped it would be, and was dropped after one series.
Since then, Christopher has tried his hand in a variety of TV genres, taking over from Leslie Grantham on adventure game show Fort Boyard, winning Celebrity Come Dine With Me and presenting roles in The World's Most Stupid Criminals and Mousetrapped. As well as other minor parts in Casualty, Minder and New Tricks, Christopher also appeared in EastEnders back in 2007 as Len Harker – a peculiar man who took a shine to Shirley Carter and sold Pat Butcher a rocking horse. No, we're not joking.
8. Billy Murray (Don Beech, 1995-2004)
When it comes to playing bad boys, Billy knows every trick in the book, having played Sun Hill's corrupt conman detective Don Beech for nearly 10 years.
Don was last seen on the show in 2004, when he was on the run in Australia, but not content with leaving the baddies behind him, Billy took on another villainous role a year later when he joined EastEnders as gangster Johnny Allen.
Life after the criminal characters was bound to be quieter for Billy, but he has kept up the working pace with roles in several British films including Doghouse, Rise of the Footsoldier and Dead Cert. Murray has also found success in voiceover work for computer games, appearing in the popular Call of Duty series.
9. Lisa Maxwell (Samantha Nixon, 2002-2009)
After joining the cast as detective inspector Samantha Nixon in 2001, Lisa stayed with The Bill until 2009 – and has continued to make a name for herself ever since.
As well as being a regular panellist on Loose Women, 2013 saw Lisa take on the part of David Wicks' girlfriend Naomi in EastEnders. Last year, she joined the cast of Hollyoaks as the dysfunctional mother of Grace Black and all three Donovan brothers, but was killed off in September.
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