History of The Bill History of The Bill From the ITV police drama's first screening in 1983, the history of "The Bill" includes a variety of major plotlines and changes to the programme's format. During 1983, Thames Television broadcast a one-off drama called "Woodentop". It was written by Geoff McQueen, who had previously worked on LWT's "The Gentle Touch". "Woodentop" followed Police Constable Jim Carver (Mark Wingett) on his first day, mentored by Woman Police Constable June Ackland (Trudie Goodwin). The production was seen as innovative for the use of natural lighting, hand-held cameras and an authentic portrayal of British policing. Thames Television commissioned
BBC television drama major location and shot entirely on videotape and thus comparatively cheap to make, longer runs of drama series became rare, with short series of six or eight episodes becoming the norm. The single play, in its original studio-based form, also began to disappear from the schedules, with the final series of "Play for Today" airing in 1984, and the last single drama recorded at Television Centre being "Henry IV, Part 1" in 1995. The BBC was envious of the success of its rival Channel 4's newly formed film arm, which had seen made-for-television one-offs such as Stephen Frears' "My Beautiful