The Bill Episode 460

ynopsis

A chaotic day at Sun Hill begins when a drunken David Coles turns up at the station and punches DC Terry Perkins for having an affair with his wife, Helen. PC Dan Casper arrests David and takes him to custody. Whilst Sergeant Smithy takes David’s details, crack addict, Christine Howarth is brought in with Julie Barnes and Ollie North by Trainee DC Kezia Walker and PC Emma Hinckley, who has just returned from her honeymoon. Ollie got caught up in the middle of the two women fighting after Christine found Julie in bed with her husband and all three have been arrested.

Custody turns into chaos when Christine winds David up and he lashes out, knocking Kezia to the ground. Events take a turn for the worse when there’s a power-cut and the custody office descends into darkness - Christine grabs the baseball bat which was confiscated from her earlier and Emma is forced to use her CS Spray to stop her attacking anyone. Christine then pulls a knife out of her boot and holds it to David’s throat. Holding David hostage, Christine orders the coppers to leave custody and demands her rock of crack back. Inspector Gina Gold and Smithy attempt to persuade her to drop the knife when suddenly, Ollie and Julie get involved in the tussle and Christine drops to the floor after being stabbed. Christine is taken to hospital and it soon becomes clear that she suffered three stab wounds including one to the chest. Ollie, Julie and David are all questioned by the Sun Hill officers but who attempted to murder Christine?

Meanwhile, Gina is none too pleased to be given the task of giving Peter Harris, a smooth talking bigwig who is funding a Sun Hill campaign, a guided tour of the station – especially now that custody is a crime scene. But, on finding they have things in common after catching him attempting her cryptic crossword whilst waiting in her office, Gina accepts Peter’s offer of a candlelit dinner for two. Is romance on the cards for Inspector Gold?

Elsewhere, in a quandary after DS Phil Hunter told her he loved her the night before, DS Sam Nixon is uneasy when Phil’s ex-fling, Andrea Manning, arrives at Sun Hill. Andrea is the solicitor of a prisoner called Stephanie Taylor who is claiming to be Mandy Bates. Phil is sceptical when Stephanie claims she has amnesia and he shows her the CCTV footage of her being mugged. She has been accused of identity fraud as she was found to be carrying Mandy Bates’ birth certificate and credit card. Andrea subtly suggests to Sam and Phil that they check Stephanie for any distinguishing marks and Sam assumes she is helping as she has a soft spot for Phil. However, Sam is horrified to discover that Stephanie has scars and burns on her back and when Phil says she has been reported as a missing person, it finally dawns on Sam that Stephanie is a victim of physical abuse.

Later, Helen Coles arrives at Sun Hill and is relieved to discover that husband, David, knows all about her affair with Terry. David begs her to stay with him but Helen insists she wants her ex-husband back. She tells Terry she loves him and they decide to tell their kids the news that Terry is moving back in with them.

At the end of a long day, Phil is miffed when he finds out that Sam has decided to take some time off work. She tells him that their relationship will never work and wants to be mates. Phil is broken-hearted when she says it’s over.

Trivia

This episode marks the first appearance of Peter Guinness as Peter Harris, and Peter Harris and Insp Gina Gold start an on-screen relationship. However, Peter Guinness and Roberta Taylor (who plays Gina) are actually married in real-life as well!