The Bill was broadcast on ITV under the title "Woodentop" on 16 August 1983. "Woodentop" starred Mark Wingett as PC Jim Carver and Trudie Goodwin as WPC June Ackland of London's Metropolitan Police, both attached to the fictional Sun Hill police station. Although originally only intended as a one-off, "Woodentop" impressed ITV to the extent that a full series was commissioned, first broadcast on 16 October 1984 with one post-watershed episode per week, featuring an hour-long, separate storyline for each episode of the first three series. The first episode of the full series was "Funny Ol' Business – Cops & Robbers". With
British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series programmes screened in 1991. Prior to this, drama series had been included in a joint "Best Drama Series or Serial" category with serials. From 1992 onwards, they were split in two, with a separate Best Drama Serial category also established. "Inspector Morse", "Cracker", "The Cops", "The Street" and "Happy Valley" have all won the category twice, all of them in successive years. The following television series have won the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series multiple times: 2 awards The following television series have been nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series multiple times: