Is The End Nigh for The Bill?
ITV has announced that The Bill is to be cut down to one episode a week which will air in a new post watershed slot, bringing about concerns over the programme’s future.
The move means the drama will air just 52 episodes a year and may lose viewers when it shifts to the other side of the watershed.
Ratings for the Police drama have been in decline for a while with 4 or 5 million now tuning into the saga’s exploits versus 8 million of just a few years ago. Traditionally speaking drama’s that are shunted to a post watershed slot don’t fare well and are often quietly dispatched.
The Bill was created by Geoff McQueen and originated from a one-off drama entitled Woodentop which aired under Thames’ Storyboard strand in August 1983. Initially the show ran for series of 12 episodes before becoming a year-round saga. It focuses on the work and sometimes personal lives of the officers who work at Sun Hill Police Station in the fictional London borough of Canley.
