Woodentop (The Bill) has GR on the helmet badge where it should have had ER, the same that was on PC Carver's helmet. Also the tunics the male officers wore had buttoned down epaulettes, whereas they should have just had the insignia placed on the shoulder of the tunic as this is what the Metropolitan Police wore at the time. Only four of the cast of "Woodentop" would go on to be regulars in the main series of "The Bill": Mark Wingett, Trudie Goodwin, Gary Olsen and Colin Blumenau, while a number of characters were re-cast, including Roy Galloway. Woodentop (The Bill) "Woodentop"
Woodentop (The Bill) Thames Television transmitted "Woodentop" as part of its "Storyboard" anthology series of one-off dramas. It was written by Geoff McQueen, a writer who had genre experience after writing episodes of LWT's "The Gentle Touch". "Woodentop" stood out from run of the mill police dramas of the time for a number of reasons including the use of hand-held cameras and natural lighting as well as the use of naturally sounding dialogue. The show created a realistic portrayal of modern-day policing, and there was nothing like it on television at the time, a fact which was actively exploited by the programme's makers.