The BEST episodes of The Bill season 17
Every episode of The Bill season 17, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Bill season 17!
The Bill follows the officers of Sun Hill, a Metropolitan Police station located in the fictional Borough of Canley in London's East End. Created in 1983 by Geoff McQueen as a one-off drama called "Woodentop", The Bill was spun off as a full series, and ran for over 26 years and 2,425 episodes. Covering both uniformed officers and CID detectives, the series is renowned for its accurate and authentic portrayal of policing in London.
#1 - Return of the Hunter
Season 17 - Episode 25 - Aired 4/6/2001
Sgt. Cryer and PC Hayward attend an incident at a local school where an angry divorcee, Chris Finnessey, is demanding to see his son. When the boy's teacher warns the police of Finnessey's violent reputation and a possible restraining order against him, he grabs a Stanley knife and takes the teacher and Sgt. Cryer hostage. Faced with an armed suspect and two hostages, Supt. Chandler calls in SO19, although the only Trojan unit available is that of the newly-qualified PC Smith and PC Stanley. When Finnessey and his son leave the school building, Chandler gives authorisation to fire. Smith shoots first but to his horror, accidentally hits Cryer. Stanley takes down Finnessey. Cryer survives the shooting, but his career in the police is over.
#2 - Beech is Back (5)
Season 17 - Episode 65 - Aired 9/3/2001
Part Five: Beech manages to get himself back to London, but suspects that Frankie has double-crossed him, so he finds a new ally in the form of Rachel, Tommy's granddaughter. As Rachel holds Beech up in an apartment supposedly owned by her married lover, Stanton is recovering in hospital. When Beech discovers that Frankie is trying to broker the deal without him, he goes in search of his former partner, only to be cornered by Giorgio, who turns up at the handover and demands his share of the money. When Beech tries to corner him, a gun goes off, injuring Beech and broker Lomax. However, in the ensuing gunfire, Frankie is killed, and in return, Beech exacts revenge on Giorgio, killing him.
#3 - The Jury's Out
Season 17 - Episode 45 - Aired 6/26/2001
After a minor car accident in the High Street, Carver breathalyses an elderly man, but takes sympathy on him and allows him to leave in a taxi. The man turns out to be Hugh Alexander, a High Court judge with a renowned pro-police stance, and Carver finds himself suspected of showing bias, particularly when the other man involved in the accident threatens legal action against the Met. At the trial of a man accused of murdering a police officer, Worrell feels marginalised as a black officer when she is asked to testify and be a character witness for the dead officer. Conway meets with Gary Fablon, and discovers that Fablon is addicted to litigation, and the accident was his fault.
#4 - Beech is Back (4)
Season 17 - Episode 64 - Aired 8/31/2001
Part Four: Beech's trust in Frankie begins to slip, and as he sends her out on a number of errands, he keeps an increasingly twitchy Stanton under lock-and-key. However, Stanton manages to make radio contact with an outsider and he alerts Peters and Belmarsh, who begin a search for the underground bunker where she is being held. In an effort to escape, Stanton breaks the lock and shatters any chances of Beech letting her go. As the team locate Stanton's hiding place, they are forced to use cutting equipment to get through the steel door into the bunker. However, Beech hides three propane gas canisters behind the door, and an explosion ensues, securing his safe escape from capture once again.
#5 - Beech is Back (3)
Season 17 - Episode 63 - Aired 8/28/2001
Part Three: Beech takes Stanton hostage in his car, but on the way to a secret location, is pulled over by two uniform PCs for his erratic driving. Posing as 'Matthew Boyden' from Sun Hill, Beech once again makes good his escape and takes Stanton to an underground bunker where Frankie urges him to kill her. When he refuses, Frankie decides she'll have to do it herself, or risk being taken in and imprisoned. Beech unapproves of Frankie's methods when she uses forms of torture to gather information from Stanton. Frankie realises that Beech may no longer be on her side, so she goes over the side and offers to help Stanton in any way she can, firstly by letting her free from her handcuffs.
#6 - Beech is Back (2)
Season 17 - Episode 62 - Aired 8/24/2001
Part Two: Beech informs Tommy's daughter Stella that her father was murdered, and promises to find his killer. Meanwhile, Frankie panics about being seen by Stanton, who is hot on her tail. Stanton is pulled in for questioning over her contact with Greneski, and plants the theory that Beech is still alive and is responsible for the robbery. Frankie starts to become more and more agitated at the fact that Beech wants to stick around in London, and Beech gets the shock of his life when Stanton turns up at Tommy's shop. Tommy's granddaughter Rachel then engineers a meeting between Stanton and Beech at a local graveyard, but Beech is determined not to let Stanton get the better of him once again.
#7 - Beech is Back (1)
Season 17 - Episode 61 - Aired 8/21/2001
Part One: Beech returns to London and pulls off a £6.5 million pound safety deposit box robbery, using a car bomb as a distraction. Stanton, now with a security firm, is assigned the task of retrieving documents stolen in the heist for a particularly rich client. While Beech's old friend Tommy cashes up his haul, Beech's firm are becoming increasingly frustrated at not receiving their cut of the cash. While Stanton continues to engineer the safe return of the documents, and organises a drop off, she spots none other than Frankie Nguyen getting into the back of a cab. Tommy is then attacked by Frankie in a jealous rage, and when Beech arrives to collect his haul, he finds Tommy's lifeless body on the kitchen floor.
#8 - Beech on the Run
Season 17 - Episode 60 - Aired 8/19/2001
Nine months after he seconded from Sun Hill, Beech turns up in Sydney, Australia, and almost immediately hooks up with Frankie Nguyen, a Vietnamese-Australian woman with contacts in Sydney's criminal underworld. Together, she and Beech engage in a ruthless crime spree and are soon wanted by the Australian Federal Police, a rival Vietnamese gang and a ruthless and determined Stanton, who has arrived to arrest Beech and extradite him to Britain for the murder of Boulton nine months earlier. The chase comes to a head at a Sydney dock, and as Beech tries to make a getaway in his new boat, Stanton fires a shotgun after him, blowing up the boat and leaving Beech missing, presumed dead.
#9 - Britanniamania (4) Stand By Me
Season 17 - Episode 59 - Aired 8/17/2001
A series of dawn raids captures most of the Britannia gang, but Julian Napper and Gary Hughes are still at large. With Napper on the loose, Chandler and Meadows insist Webb go into hiding, but he refuses to be intimidated, even when Lennox's wife's car goes up in flames. Webb convinces Gary Hughes to tell him where "The Nap" is, but Napper still manages to stay one step ahead of the police every time. Chandler and Morys begin to suspect that Webb is the one informing Napper of their movements, but Riley and Quinnan's investigations turn up the FIU's DS John Curtis as Napper's brother-in-law and the informant. Webb then races to Napper's hideout to try and save Hughes.
#10 - Britanniamania (3) Kick Off
Season 17 - Episode 58 - Aired 8/14/2001
The England game is on, and the Britannia gang are set for a battle with the "Dogs of Hell", an opposing European gang of hooligans. Webb is assigned to find the location of the pre-match meeting, while Riley and Quinnan go undercover at the match itself. To Riley's horror, Quinnan is arrested when he accuses a photographer of inciting violence. Webb, meanwhile, is on his own after a mix-up about the meeting location, and ends up in the thick of a pitched battle between the gangs. When the nearest riot unit available are deployed from Sun Hill, Webb's cover is blown when he is recognised by some of his fellow officers, and he returns to the station to turn out the evidence.
#11 - Britanniamania (2) To Us and Ours
Season 17 - Episode 57 - Aired 8/10/2001
Webb is close to infiltrating the gang, despite the suspicions of some of its members: suspicions which fire up when McAllister, posing as his girlfriend, turns up to a gang meeting overdressed and wearing Givenchy perfume. Napper smells a rat and follows McAllister as she desperately tries to find a hospital to keep her cover intact. Napper catches up with her and accuses her of being an undercover reporter. With her cover blown, McAllister returns to Sun Hill. Chandler blasts her for her stupidity, and forces her to take notes as they hear Webb taking a severe beating from Napper's thugs. Napper stops the beating and welcomes Webb as a full-fledged member of Britannia.
#12 - Britanniamania (1) Going Underground
Season 17 - Episode 56 - Aired 8/7/2001
When an undercover officer from the Met's Football Intelligence Unit is found stabbed after a football game, Chandler and Ch Insp Morys from FIU send a Sun Hill team to infiltrate Britannia, the hooligan gang responsible, and investigate their leader, a former police sergeant named Julian "The Nap" Napper. Webb goes undercover as builder Mickey Malone, with support from McAllister as his girlfriend, and Riley and Quinnan as his workmates. Webb successfully makes contact with gang member Gary Hughes, and meets Napper when the gang travel north for a game. Keeping a low profile and gathering information, Webb manages to make an ally out of Gary Hughes.
#13 - Another Country
Season 17 - Episode 55 - Aired 8/3/2001
While on foot patrol on the Jasmine Allen estate, Carver contends with an elderly man, Ronnie Atkins, who wants to deal with the local youths "his way". When Atkins's best friend, Len Harrap, is found having fallen from the top of the building, Carver suspects foul play and investigates further. Harrap's GP tells him that Len was recently suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and that he had served with British forces during the Korean War. When a man matching the description of the association secretary, Charles Barratt, is reported to have left Len's flat, Atkins realises what has happened. Carver's investigation leads him to discover the cover-up of possible war crimes.
#14 - Eye of the Lens
Season 17 - Episode 54 - Aired 7/31/2001
Chandler assigns Spears to a project involving CCTV cameras in the area. When a number of cameras are damaged, two youths who have threatened one of the operators, Pat Spencer, are suspected, but the culprit turns out to be Robert Slade, whom the youths call "weird". Spears discovers that Robert lives in community care, and in interview, he reveals that he thinks the cameras are specifically spying on him. Hollis finds a picture that Slade has taken of a shopping centre security guard, Tony Malone, being given an envelope by known robber Roger Franklin, who has just finished doing time. Cullen assigns both Singh and Spears to find out how all these disparate players are involved in the operation.
#15 - Paint it Black
Season 17 - Episode 53 - Aired 7/24/2001
With Klein's help, Hayward tries to set up a sting to catch Raven in the act, by offering to sell him the missing bag of heroin. They decide to meet in a car park, and Hayward, carrying a bag full of baking soda, is surprised when the tables are turned on him and Raven arrests him for possession. Klein's doubts about an unstable Hayward seem to be justified when his friend puts his life in the hands of Raven, and the undercover cop begins to show his unconventional methods. Meanwhile, back at the station, suspicions begin to grow about Hayward's innocence, and the relief are flabbergasted when they discover that Hayward has been arrested for possession with intent to supply.
#16 - Angel Rooms
Season 17 - Episode 52 - Aired 7/21/2001
Hayward and Klein arrange to get their stories straight over the missing bag of heroin. Stacy insists her pimp forced her to deal drugs and have sex with "Red". Clarke ends up sleeping with "Phil the Pill", and is surprised when he turns up at Sun Hill the next day and announces himself as DC Phil Raven from the Drugs Squad. Raven arrests Benji Pullinger for intent to supply, but inevitably the missing bag is mentioned in the interview. Station gossip starts to point towards Klein, and Hayward confesses to Gilmore what really happened. While out at a nightclub with his new girlfriend, Fiona, Hayward sees Raven selling drugs, and discovers that he and Fiona are former acquaintances.
#17 - The Dark Side
Season 17 - Episode 51 - Aired 7/17/2001
Hayward breaks down during a talk with primary school pupils, when he is forced to talk about the death of his sister. Gilmore is not happy, but the teacher thinks Hayward's sensitivity will help the students get the message, and may also help them trust Hayward enough to report a bully. An old friend of his sister's asks him out, although when he meets her at a gallery opening, Hayward thinks her friends are dealing drugs. Klein and Hayward find the bully, "Red", who has been using two fierce dogs to steal money and mobile phones from school children. They trace the dogs to the flat of drug-addicted prostitute Stacy Dodds, and a search of her flat uncovers a large stash of heroin.
#18 - Redemption
Season 17 - Episode 50 - Aired 7/13/2001
Clarke unsuccessfully applies for a police loan. Taviner buys her a pushbike and suggests she sell her scooter, but she is far from impressed. Meanwhile, Carver and Rickman find a young boy, Gavin Billson, overdosed on drugs, and Glaze and Webb investigate some of the local dealers. When it turns out Gavin overdosed on diamorphine, and after several dead ends, suspicion falls on Dr Stuart Bremner, a doctor at St Hugh's, who is also the boyfriend of Clarke's friend Ruth. A review of the hospital's CCTV footage reveals Ruth herself sneaking into a storeroom, and Clarke is forced to arrest her best friend. When Ruth refuses to grass up her lover, Clarke finds herself in a very difficult position.
#19 - Greed
Season 17 - Episode 49 - Aired 7/10/2001
Clarke fails her probationer exams, and goes AWOL instead of returning to the station. A gang of thieves on rollerblades are rampant in Sun Hill, and their mobility makes it very difficult for the police to catch them. Taviner arrests a girl, Jackie Burns, at a skate park, but she insists she was just watching the skaters. As the skate gang gets more violent, animosity between Worrell and Clarke also grows fiercer, and the two come to blows in the corridor. A tearful Clarke admits her debt problem to Taviner. Scrutinising CCTV footage reveals Jackie's involvement with the gang: she phones them when a potential victim withdraws money from an ATM. Clarke discovers her telesales commission has fallen through.
#20 - Envy
Season 17 - Episode 48 - Aired 7/6/2001
Glaze is outraged when Clarke falls asleep on an obbo watching the Borrovitch brothers, who are suspected of running a protection racket. Taviner and Clarke then investigate the theft of stolen diggers on a building site. The main suspect is Mick Abbott, an occasional employee at the site, and when they visit him in the bus where he lives, his wife reacts angrily and attacks Clarke. Desperate to clear her debt, Clarke begins moonlighting in telesales at her flatmate's company. While out at a bar with her new co-workers, she spots the Borrovitch brothers, allowing Glaze to make a connection with the stolen diggers and German arms dealers, and a successful raid sees all the culprits behind bars.
#21 - Temptation
Season 17 - Episode 47 - Aired 7/3/2001
Clarke has been working double shifts all week, and goes behind Ackland's back to get some more overtime from Boyden as she is desperately in debt. Taviner promises her some time in the Area Car, much to Hollis's annoyance. Taviner and Clarke interview Warren Debdale, a student who was brutally beaten, but he insists he didn't know the perpetrators. His father suspects the boy's friends are involved, but Glaze discovers the father is being blackmailed by a drug smuggling gang. Assigned to watch Warren in the hospital, Clarke has a coffee with a nurse, and is horrified to find Warren missing when she returns. Clarke's flatmate then threatens to throw her out unless she pays the rent she owes.
#22 - Lick of Paint
Season 17 - Episode 46 - Aired 6/29/2001
A spate of graffiti taggings in Sun Hill sees the police showing zero tolerance to the perpetrators. Carver is sympathetic towards an alcoholic teacher at Canley Art College when his classroom and students' work are defaced. Boyden asks Hagen to move in with him, but she is reluctant, wanting her own space. To her outrage, Boyden moves her belongings to his house as a surprise. Boyden arranges for the council to paint a wall blank to set a trap for the graffitists, catching quite a few in the process. The defacement at the art college turns out to have been committed by the teacher who is jealous that one of his students is sleeping with his ex-girlfriend, life model Moira Sutherland.
#23 - Appropriate Action
Season 17 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/5/2001
A teenage boy is found badly beaten, and a young girl, Lisa, from the same school is missing. DC Webb shows little interest in the case, so Sgt Cryer investigates the girl's disappearance himself. A local 'photographer', Andrew Morton, is the main suspect, as he has an obsession with Lisa and her friends, and he is arrested when PC Harker spots him acting suspiciously by the canal. When Lisa turns out to have been hiding out at a friend's house the whole time, Cryer must rush to prevent Lisa's father from taking the law into his own hands by killing the innocent Morton.
#24 - Hidden Agendas
Season 17 - Episode 76 - Aired 10/16/2001
Hagen and Boyden are once again paired together during an obbo on the Padfield brothers, who are suspected of several attacks on transvestites. However, during the arrest, Boyden has trouble with one of the suspects and is unable to fully caution him. When a witness to one of the assaults comes forward and identifies the Padfields, CID are confident of getting a result. However, Padfield complains that he wasn't fully cautioned. Despite Boyden's insistence, Meadows demands confirmation, and Boyden realises his only hope lies with Hagen. Despite the urgings of Meadows, Hagen refuses to vouch for him. Hagen makes a last-ditch effort to save their relationship, but Boyden throws her out.
#25 - Night Games (4)
Season 17 - Episode 86 - Aired 12/4/2001
Part Four - Shout: Whilst Rawton and Cork are visiting the scene of the latest attack, Cork is doubtful that the perpetrator is the same man that they are looking for, as there is no bag over the victim's head, and her hands haven't been tied. Meanwhile, Spears is fruitlessly searching for her missing friend Eddie. She fears for his safety when Cork hands in his phone, claiming to have found it. As Singh propounds to Cork and Rawton that their prey might be getting bolder, Rawton opens a package containing torn knickers and a rose petal. Horrified, she explains she received the same from an old boyfriend a couple of years ago who later committed suicide. Cork then proposes that the team set a trap.