List of The Bill characters (E–L)

PC Francis "Taffy" Edwards was known as the 'thin streak of Welsh misery'. A quiet country boy who hailed from a poor farming family near Bangor, he sometimes struggled to adapt to city life. Edwards was extremely lazy, often thinking up ingenious ways to avoid having to do serious work – but he had an infectious charm and was popular amongst the relief. He would also wade in with the team when needed. Edwards is probably best remembered for when he got hopelessly drunk on his stag night and ended up stripped naked and abandoned in the street by his mates from Sun Hill – much to the annoyance of Mary, his Welsh bride-to-be. After brushes with pigs, chickens and assorted oddballs, he asked for a transfer back to Wales. His final day convinced him he had made the right decision: Brownlow did not seem to know who he was and Conway thought he had already left. In the end he decided to give his own leaving party a miss and headed home alone. He returned for Ken Melvin's funeral later that year.

In the show's first live episode, PC Jim Carver incorrectly refers to him as Taffy Morgan when reminiscing his 20 years at Sun Hill with his long-serving friend and Sergeant June Ackland.

PCSO Colin Fairfax first arrived at Sun Hill along with another PCSO, Laura Bryant, as part of an initiative spearheaded by Superintendent Adam Okaro to get more members of the local communities involved at the station. Throughout his short time at Sun Hill, Colin frequently let bigotted comments slip against immigrants and mixed-race relationships. After receiving a complaint from an Asian male over refusing to stop his former boss verbally abusing him, Sergeant Dale Smith warned Colin that if he didn't end his racism he'd be kicked out of the force.

Having constantly feuded with PC Leela Kapoor, their debate over his handling of an Asian suspect in custody led to a verbal feud in which Kapoor told Fairfax that the Met "doesn't recruit bigots". Angrily spitting in Kapoor's face, PC Tony Stamp reported Colin to Inspector Gina Gold, who told Colin she would recommend a dismissal by Supt. Okaro. Whilst leaving the station against warnings from Smith, Colin barged into DC Ken Drummond before setting off the station fire alarm. With two crimes committed at the station, Okaro ordered Drummond bring Colin back in. After getting drunk and refusing to go back to Sun Hill, Colin was confronted by Drummond again. After Drummond tried to arrest Colin for assaulting him with the door of a van, Colin knocked Drummond unconscious and cuffed him in the back of the van, now loaded with petrol. Colin headed to Sun Hill intent on causing a terror attack to prove his point about extremism. Despite pleas from Drummond, Colin drove at the front office and bailed out, causing a fire and explosion. Drummond was killed instantly, SRO Marilyn Chambers died after being taken to hospital and PC Andrea Dunbar was found dead in the rubble after the fire was put out.

After Tony Stamp spotted Colin loitering outside the station the morning after the fire, he became suspicious. When Tony spotted Colin again, this time conversing with a local racist, he began digging into his past. A comment made by Colin about Drummond sparks Tony's curiosity, and the fact that Colin had access to the mechanic's garage of his old boss, Chris Payne, Tony took his findings to Inspector Gold. She then went to DCI Jack Meadows, who got approval from M.I.T. DI Rowanne Morell to do further digging. Finding crucial evidence at Colin's mother's home, Meadows set out to arrest Colin. Found at Payne's garage, threatening to blow it up, Meadows talked him down before arresting Colin for a triple murder.

Chief Superintendent Jane Fitzwilliam was Borough Commander for Canley between 2001 and 2003. She replaced Guy Mannion in November 2001, however she did not appear on screen until December 2002. While her past is unknown, Liz Rawton said in a series 17 episode that aired in November 2001 that Sun Hill Superintendent Tom Chandler had recently missed out on the Borough Commander's role, implying that was when Fitzwilliam took over. Fitzwilliam frequently clashed with Superintendent Adam Okaro, repeatedly telling him his skin colour would put further pressure on him, and this attitude led to Okaro resenting his commanding officer.

When Okaro implemented a new policy to stop his relief arresting drug users and focus on their dealers, an irate PC Cathy Bradford reported him to Fitzwilliam. She furiously demanded Okaro reverse his decision, and told him they would attend a press conference to announce it. When they were en route to the press conference, Okaro demanded his driver divert to a drive-by shooting in which a seven year old boy was shot dead in the crossfire of a drug related incident. Okaro, after walking to the conference, revealed the shooting death to the press and suggested decriminalising Class A drugs, leaving Fitzwilliam livid. When Okaro was due to go to a disciplinary meeting with the Commissioner, he threatened to resign when he attempted to console the mother of the murdered boy. This made Fitzwilliam stick up for Okaro in his disciplinary meeting, and she told Okaro to make a public retraction before going to work on a drugs prevention course, placing DCI Jack Meadows in temporary charge.

Okaro was called back when the daughter of DC Eva Sharpe went missing, and Meadows was forced to head up an investigation into a paedophile ring involving an old friend of his, Judge Howard Sinclair. When Meadows conducted an illegal search and Sinclair called for him to resign or face dismissal, Fitzwilliam gave Okaro until the end of the day for Meadows to make a decision. Meadows sought help from Sergeant June Ackland to track down a victim of Sinclair's, and when she made a statement, Meadows was cleared and Sinclair was arrested.

Fitzwilliam made her final appearances when Okaro was struggling to control a private security firm getting too heavy handed with criminals on a local estate. Okaro placed DC Ken Drummond undercover as a security guard, after discovering he had already been moonlighting with the firm. Fitzwilliam ordered a press conference on another nearby estate to disuade the firm expanding operations to another estate, but Drummond told the security firm's boss, and the press conference was shot up by masked hoodlums. Discovering the firm were making converted replicas, Okaro set about nailing the ring converting the guns. Fitzwilliam was not seen again afterwards and was eventually replaced by Louise Campbell, who was first seen in December 2003.

PC Will Fletcher grew up in Hemel Hempstead with his parents and sister. He was inspired to join the police by a friend of his father's, who was an Area Car driver in the police force and often told him about his work. He once told a victim of crime that his father went into crime to save the mechanic's business he ran, and Will joining the police ruined his relationship with his father. Like most others at Sun Hill, he did his training at Hendon. It is not clear where he served his probationary period or indeed how long he has been in the force, but he previously served at Hemel Hempstead and he was later transferred to Sun Hill. He is a fan of cars and motorcycles: on his first day he drove to work without his hands on the wheel as he tried to read a map, while in his spare time, he enjoys boxing.

Will joined Sun Hill at a tough time for the relief, replacing PC Lance Powell the day after his funeral. Will eventually settled into the relief, and later moved in with PC Dan Casper after becoming homeless. Will took it personally when he failed to save the life of a boy who died during a balcony collapse at a nightclub. He got a welcome distraction when he applied to be an Area Car driver like the police officer he idolised as a child, but he was left going head to head with close friend Dan. When Dan failed to inspect the IRV Will was driving whilst filling in his application, Will received three penalty points. After losing a coin toss to Will over which one of them got to ask out a woman they dealt with earlier in their shift, Dan was delighted to spot her as Will went to look for her; furious at a double betrayal, Will switched the pumps at a petrol station to leave Dan penalised. Thinking that they were both level on three penalty points each, Will was stunned when Dan revealed he had a crash in the past, meaning he was on six points and now inelligible for the course. After discovering Will's betrayal, Dan kicked him out.

Dan eventually let Will move back in when they bonded over boxing. Will had to get away from boxing after clashing with Matt Hinckley, the boyfriend of PC Emma Keane. After discovering Will kissed Emma, Matt tried to punch Will, only to get smacked by Will. Initially threatening to end Will's career, Matt lamented to get Emma back on side. Will continued boxing, albeit not competitively, and later arrested a man called Ewan he knew from the boxing club. Becoming close friends after Will bought Ewan's motorbike, Will was horrified when he was approached by a DCI from Special Branch to infiltrate a local racist organisation Ewan was part of. Discovering Ewan's boss wanted to blow up the head office of the National Socialist Alliance to frame it on a local Islamist prayer group, Will was attacked when his undercover role was exposed. Tracking Ewan down at the NSA office, Will tried to talk him down, but a terrified Ewan froze and told Will to leave. After the bomb exploded, Will was seriously injured and Ewan was killed. Will continued helping Dan with the boxing, but discovered he was using steroids after an injury. When Dan hospitalised an opponent, Will forced him to confess his steroid use, and while it transpired his opponent was not supposed to be fighting, Dan stopped boxing.

Will ended up sleeping with Emma during his undercover operation, so he was shocked when he returned from his time in hospital after the bomb blast to discover Emma got engaged to Matt. He was repeatedly warned by Matt not to interfere with his plans, and when he tried one last time to stop Emma on the night of her hen party, she chose to tell Matt about cheating on him with Will. When Will was attacked and discovered Matt's friends were responsible, he went to Matt and attacked him. Having Will arrested, Matt eventually dropped the charges as he was tired of wasting his wedding day at Sun Hill waiting to press charges. Will remained intent on making Emma see sense, but she told him Matt was only obsessive because of the death of his ex-girlfriend Nina Lloyd. When Will hears an old friend of Matt's arguing with him, the friend told Will that Nina was alive and well. Will and Emma visited Nina, with Emma realising what her husband was like after talking to an emotionally distraught Nina. When Emma tried to walk out on Matt at home he attacked her, but she fought back with an empty vodka bottle. With Matt trying to press charges for attempted murder, Will sought out Nina to arrange a sting, and Matt implicated himself on tape. Matt dropped the attempted murder charge and was jailed for his domestic abuse against Emma.

When Sun Hill got a new Sergeant in Callum Stone, he took a shine to Will. Enrolling him in a family liaison officer's course, Stone kept encouraging Will. After succeeding as FLO for a mother who was later discovered to have abandoned her missing baby, Stone recommended Will as FLO for the family of a teenage girl who was found dead at the bottom of a fire escape. Finding video of the girl recorded years earlier that implied her father sexually abused her, Will was left feeling conflicted. When the father was cleared and the girl's death was ruled a suicide, Will went after the father for an assault on his wife. Finding him atop the fire escape where his daughter died, Stone took over for Will in negotiating but deliberately goaded the man into committing suicide. Will was horrified and tried to get Stone to tell the truth, but Stone told him "What goes around, comes around", and that Will wanted the man dead just as much as Stone did. Stone later started a clique of himself and Will, along with PCs Sally Armstrong and Benjamin Gayle. Finding alternative ways to get justice, the clique broke up when Emma was killed in a bomb blast, Emma being close friends with Sally and Will. However, when Sally crashed her car drink driving, the group teamed up one final time to stop Sally being found out.

When Will impressed DI Neil Manson after cracking the murder of a businessman and attempted murder of the brother of one the man's employees, Manson sanctioned an attachment to CID for Will. DCI Jack Meadows and DI Manson were impressed with his work and took him into the department as a trainee DC. When DC Kezia Walker transferred out of Sun Hill in the summer of 2009, Will was promoted to a fully-fledged DC. In January 2010, Will transferred out of Sun Hill after just over four years there, joining Westminster CID.

WPC Suzanne Ford was described as 'the ideal WPC'. She considered becoming a nurse before eventually joining the Metropolitan Police and saw her policing role as essentially one of serving the community rather than catching crooks. She was a natural police officer – 'one of the boys' who always seemed to get sent out on raids – but above all a caring woman. She also had a special ability – sign language, as she had a profoundly deaf sister. She used this skill on one occasion when questioning a deaf suspect. Ford left Sun Hill in 1992.

CPS Lawyer Jonathan Fox, the station's first resident CPS Lawyer, arrived at Sun Hill in April 2004. Fox was a prosecutor who once tore Inspector Gina Gold apart in the witness box in a trial in 1997, whilst she was serving at another station. Gold was who Fox first met after arriving at Sun Hill, and she vented about how needless she thought having an on-site representative from the CPS, not realising Fox was said lawyer. They soon established a "frenemy" relationship when avid fan Gold discovered Fox used to box. Fox soon went on an ill-fated date with DS Debbie McAllister, but his comments about Gold led McAllister to convince him he was more interested in Gold than her. While Gold proved stubborn, Fox broke her down and they embarked on a relationship. After going on a safari holiday, Fox was horrified on his return to discover a serial rapist active in area had been identified as Alan Kennedy, a man who Fox defended on a rape allegation in 2001. When Kennedy made a sly comment about Fox's daughter Chloe, Fox made an insensitive comment to a menopausal Gold about how little she knew on parenting, causing a rift. While Fox lamented when Gold was almost caught up in an explosion at a station party in a pub, her fears for former boyfriend and Superintendent Adam Okaro made Fox jealous, and that coupled with her commitment to the job caused a temporary breakup. While they reunited again, Sergeant Dale Smith let slip that a free wedding reception Gold won was given to Sergeant June Ackland and DC Jim Carver, and Fox realised Gold would never commit long-term, leading to him transferring out of Sun Hill.

A year later, Fox returned to Sun Hill as prosecution barrister for the trial of Ben Perkins, the brother of Sun Hill DC Terry Perkins. Fox went to visit Gold and she acted as if all was fine, but Smith again put his foot in it when it came to his friend and Inspector by revealing she was battling cancer, and Fox became determined to help her through. When the cancer broke down Gold's "ice-maiden" image, she opened up about her childhood and told Fox she wanted to reunite with him. When Fox admitted he was in a new relationship, Gold sent him away. A day later, Fox and Smith found Gold unconscious on her bathroom floor after failing to show up at work. When she came round, Smith returned to work and Fox stayed with Gold, however she admitted she would feel uncomfortable being friends with him given her want for a romance that she would never get. As a result, she told him she couldn't be his friend anymore, and Fox left a heartbroken Gold. He did not appear again afterwards, but the return revealed he had cut ties with the CPS and gone into prosecution law.

Police Constable later Detective Sergeant Rosie Fox joined Sun Hill after five years working in the West End. She knew DC Liz Rawton from a course, and they were close friends throughout her time at Sun Hill. She immediately clashed with PC Eddie Santini when she crashed her bike into his car whilst arriving for her first shift. She was almost immediately assigned to an undercover investigation with Santini, who continued to belittle her and undermine her in front of CID. When she mocked him in the middle of the canteen, he set about getting his own back, and proceeded to woo her before nearly raping her in the locker room. Subsequently, Santini spread lies about her around the station and conducted a campaign of bullying, forcing her to eventually request a transfer away from Sun Hill.

Soon after leaving Sun Hill she took her sergeant's exams and joined the Area Major Incident Pool. In the spring of 1999, she had to come back to Sun Hill, along with boyfriend and DCI Richard Pallister, when a nightclub explosion killed three people. Focus was on Jess Orton, the co-owner and wife of one of the fatalities. Santini was keen to divert attention from Orton, with whom he was undercover with under orders of Drugs Squad DS Paul Timpney. A drug lord called Ferguson, Timpney and Santini's primary target, pressured Santini to get Orton to confess to the fire to divert attention from his operation. Despite her confession, Fox tore Orton apart in interview, against the orders of Pallister. Fox tried to convince Orton to give up Santini, but while she refused, Fox goaded Santini into thinking Orton would give him up, leading Santini to go and confront Orton. During their argument, Santini accidentally shoved Orton down the stairs, killing her. Fox, determined to make amends to a furious Pallister over the mess made by Orton's death, sets out to prove Santini was responsible. Her actions lead to drug kingpin Ferguson abducting her and Santini. With Ferguson about to kill her, Santini tries raping Fox again, but Ferguson pries them apart. Before they can be killed, SO19 bust the dealers and rescue Fox & Santini. Fox then goes to Santini's girlfriend, PC Vicky Hagen, determined to prove Santini killed Orton. Finding Orton's keys in Santini's home, Hagen and Fox confront Santini, and Fox arrests him for Orton's murder.

Fox was called as a witness for Santini's trial in spring 2000. She revealed to Rawton that she had split from Pallister, who despite transferring to the Drugs Squad, returned for the trial. Ferguson was cleared of the drugs charge, so he set about silencing Fox and Santini for the abduction charge. Santini was eventually cleared at trial and murdered by his old friend Timpney, while Ferguson's henchmen found Fox and drowned her in her hotel bathtub.

PC Robin Frank was a steady, reliable type, known for his commitment and integrity. From Bethnal Green in the East End, he was easy going, with a naturally friendly manner and ready smile. He was the son of a schoolteacher and worked in office jobs before joining the Met. Married to Angela, a nurse, Frank was a trained area car driver. Members of the public found him thoughtful and straightforward in his dealings, and the relief knew that he always could be depended on – even if he complained about the more mundane aspects of the job. He suffered the trauma of being shot by a robber who had taken a woman hostage in a block of flats in 1985. Recuperating, Frank spent much of his time at the CAD desk and working as the station's crime prevention officer. He left Sun Hill in 1989.

Inspector Christine Frazer served at Sun Hill for a year and a half, replacing Inspector Kite. She was the station's first senior female officer, and one of the very few high-ranking females in the Metropolitan Police at the time. Throughout her posting at Sun Hill, this caused much friction between the force, particularly with the young male PCs whom she often rubbed the wrong way, and eventually she unwittingly created a foe in Chief Inspector Derek Conway, whose initial respect and support for her waned considerably towards the end of her tenure.

Elsewhere in the station, she was held in high regard, particularly by Sergeants Alec Peters and Tom Penny, who also found her very attractive. Bob Cryer warmed to her eventually but occasionally found cause to criticise her performance, given her tendency to lean towards "modern" methods of policing, rather than Cryer's own tried and tested traditional means. She shared past history with DI Frank Burnside, who tried to rekindle romance when he was posted to Sun Hill (she was not interested), and was a target for DS Ted Roach's affections. Frazer refused a relationship but conceded to have a drink with Roach – gossip later turned this into a full-blown affair and Conway warned Roach to break it off or face immediate transfer. While initially having recommended him for promotion to D.I. in place of Burnside, wearing down a stubborn Conway, her working relationship with Roach suffered and on several subsequent occasions she came down heavily on him for poor choices in his work.

She was also perhaps the only officer at Sun Hill to have known of Burnside's true history in the force – most believed him bent over the years – before ousting his undercover involvement in Operation Countryman to gossiping Sergeants Cryer, Penny and Peters, thus explaining his apparent crooked ways. Burnside was particularly ungrateful afterwards.

In late 1989, Frazer became the first female inspector to take the Met's riot training course, and during the ensuing mayhem "froze" as her team came under heavy attack, exposing them to serious danger. She quickly overcame her fear and successfully completed the course, but couldn't stop the training supervisor from reporting her bungle to Chief Superintendent Brownlow. This, along with continued pressure on her to perform above and beyond to prove herself in the rank as a woman, culminated in a bad appraisal from Conway which ultimately Brownlow agreed with during a heated meeting, and he refused to recommend her for promotion. Instead he suggested she continue at Sun Hill for another year in her present rank. Frazer reluctantly refuses, instead taking extended leave to write a thesis about discrimination in the force, specifically sexism. She does not return to Sun Hill following this period and presumably resigns from the Met during her leave.

During her first year on the show, Frazer was written as a "main character" and frequently top-billed in the credits (after Sgt. Cryer), with multiple storylines afforded to her. Her appearances were less involved through much of mid-late 1989 as the cast changed around her, however she was given considerably more screen time before her departure in early 1990.

WPC Delia French was once in charge of the station typing pool, before leaving to take a clerical job in the city. She returned to Sun Hill in 1990 as a probationary WPC. Delia was a feisty addition to the ranks of Sun Hill – she had no qualms in berating members of CID for the poor quality of interview transcripts, and also was a bit of a gossip – taking great interest in the business affairs of every officer in the station. She could be tough when she wanted to, and was by no means a push-over. Delia also had a razor sharp wit and was not afraid to use it. But her infectious enthusiasm soon broke down barriers and made her friends in the station. Delia went undercover for Burnside on one occasion when a woman who collapsed at an airport was found carrying drugs in her stomach. She took the woman's place and successfully led CID to the dealer. She left Sun Hill shortly after the operation.

DI Roy Galloway was proud of himself when he became one of the youngest inspectors in the Metropolitan Police. An impulsive man, he was a thief taker in the classic mould, always seeming to be playing a game of good old fashioned cops and robbers. Nobody is above suspicion for Galloway. Even when fencing information from one of his snouts, he always takes what they say with a grain of salt. Although he sometimes shows a wisdom of years beyond his own age, Galloway was also every bit as fiery as his red-coloured hair suggests. When frustrated, he would not hesitate to take those frustrations out on colleagues. This placed him in many tricky situations with his immediate subordinate, DS Ted Roach, who wanted Galloway's job. At one point, June Ackland considers resigning after Galloway blames her for his own troubles. Only the timely intervention of Sergeant Bob Cryer stops the situation from escalating out of control. He is married, with one daughter. The pressures of his job lead to him spending less and less time with them, however. Eventually he goes through a bitter divorce, which he takes hard. Characteristically, this only leads to him throwing himself even further into his work. Over time, he mellows to the point where he is even willing to step in defence of Cryer after he accidentally runs into a pensioner in a car during a wet, night-time call out. The two men share a strong long-time bond, but rarely has Galloway been so proactive in helping his uniform colleagues. After three years in Sun Hill, Galloway decides to leave. The exact reasons for his departure are kept vague and confidential, but it comes as a shock to some and a relief to others.

PC George Garfield joined the Met at nineteen because it was steady employment and he'd not had much luck with other jobs he'd tried since leaving school. But he didn't much like the leafy suburb of Teddington, to which he was sent – too dull – and used his excess energy in the boxing ring. He reached ABA quarter finals standard. After repeated requests for a posting to a busier manor, he was transferred to Sun Hill early in 1989. He got on with most of the people there. Tony Stamp was a good friend. He had run-ins with the likes of Steve Loxton, who could be a bit aggressive if rubbed up the wrong way. Unlike them, Garfield could control his temper, although occasionally he could be something of a bull in a china shop, charging in wildly before he had properly thought out the repercussions of his actions. He could also bear a grudge with the best of them. But as the relief's Federation rep. George was a steady, reliable type, known for his loyalty and integrity. He took pride in his work and his best quality was his commitment to colleagues. He tried hard to never let anybody down, by acting as a trouble shooter for the team – and served well in the role as he always had his colleague's best interests at heart. That said, like so many others, he had been taken under the wing of Sergeant Bob Cryer more than once. He had money troubles before the night of the party for his twenty-fifth birthday, but they got worse after it. He'd hired a room only to have Dave Quinnan and Jim Carver wreck it by fighting over a girl. Garfield had to pay for the repairs, which meant he had to return his flash XR3 convertible that he'd just started buying on installments, against the advice of his bank manager. Lending the key of his section-house room to Loxton – who was spotted nipping up the stairs with a nurse, against the rules – was another black mark against his name. However, his colleagues were on his side when Sergeant Matt Boyden let him down – nipping off to see one of his women friends on a job to leaving George victim to a beating by the villain they were supposed to be trailing. An angry George ended up thumping his Sergeant in revenge. Over the years, young women seemed to be immune to the Garfield charm. There was some chance he was getting something together with a WPC whom he invited for a pizza, then journalist Carrie Winkler from the Sun Hill Chronicle.

In George's final year at Sun Hill, he took centre stage in two major, intertwined storylines involving himself and best friend Dave. When George and Dave set up an operation to arrest a local criminal, Mick Glover, the arrest of Glover led to unrest on his local estate, spearheaded by his son Ben. Ben lured Dave to the Jasmine Allen Estate youth club and ambushed him, with Dave beaten and stabbed by a gang of youths. George struggled to comprehend it, especially seeing his best friend lying close to death on the youth club floor while they awaited an ambulance. He took his anger out on DS John Boulton, who he deemed responsible after the ill-fated raid on Mick Glover. Boulton continued to wind up George, causing him to attack Boulton for mocking his guilt. When Dave pulled through, George took a shine to his nurse, Jenny Delaney. Jenny and George began a relationship, however George was unaware she was also interested in Dave. Before Jenny went on holiday, George proposed, however she delayed her answer. When Jenny returned, George wanted to find out the answer, only to spot her kissing Dave outside her nurses home. An angry and drunk George went for Dave, screamed outside Jenny's nurses home and punched a PC from another station when they tried to restrain him. After having his mind off the job all day the morning after, he ended up in a fight with Dave in front of Inspector Andrew Monroe. While Dave said he would transfer, George decided he would resign and went off to "find himself". He made a shock return at Dave's wedding to Jenny, but wished them all the best, heading off to Mexico on another soul-searching journey, unaware it was where Dave and Jenny were honeymooning!

PC Benjamin Gayle arrived at Sun Hill in September 2007, soon before PC Nate Roberts, with the pair replacing PCs Dan Casper and Leela Kapoor. Well kept, Ben believed in frequent exercise and discipline, making him more serious than his colleagues, however he would occasionally let cases and certain suspects get to him. His rugged looks caught the eyes of several female colleagues including PCs Beth Green and Sally Armstrong. On his first day at Sun Hill, Ben managed to detain three suspects after being cornered, breaking the collarbone of one suspect in the process. He caused a scene in CID soon after when he clashed with DS Phil Hunter over his handling of a reluctant witness, but Ben was immediately proven right when the witness appeared at the station. Ben joined a clique in early 2008 composed of Sergeant Callum Stone and PCs Sally Armstrong & Will Fletcher, getting justice in a different form when the job couldn't. Ben was the only one of the four reluctant to exact revenge on suspects, Ben visibly unhappy with Stone arranging a serious assault on a rapist who walked free after his victim refused to make a statement. That said, Ben was quick to step in when Sally, who ended up being one of his closest friends at Sun Hill, was involved in a crash after drink driving. Ben spearheaded the successful coverup, but the death of PC Emma Keane and transfer of Fletcher to CID caused the clique to break up. Stone told Armstrong he wouldn't bail her out of the drink driving incident. In 2010, Ben was integral to a rift between Inspector Dale Smith, Sergeant Jo Masters, recently transferred to uniform from CID, and the PCs when his loyalty to Stone caused Ben to attempt perjury, only to be caught out by Smith. The incident, Stone's assault on an epileptic man, led to the Sergeant's suspension. Ben made his feelings made over the suspension clear, with the majority of the team thinking Stone was shafted by Area Commander Lisa Kennedy and Superintendent Jack Meadows. Gayle was shot at soon after, alongside PC Nate Roberts, when they were leaving a call in their IRV. The rift led to issues in arresting the suspect, however the rift was eventually healed when Masters slammed her old CID DS, Max Carter, in front of Roberts, while Smith rescued PC Mel Ryder during an operation to retireve a missing child from a flooding storm drain. In mid 2010, Gayle was seen exiting an Area Car driver's seat at a scene, implying he had successfully gotten his Area Car license, however this was never confirmed. Gayle remained with the show until its finale in August 2010.

PC Arun Ghir arrived at Sun Hill in June 2008, alongside fellow probationer Millie Brown and transfer Leon Taylor. Arun had a troubled past, and on the day of joining the police force, his father was attacked by racist thugs after he politely asked them to get away from his car. Arun saw this as his chance to put things right, though things didn't always go to plan, given his fiery temper and high enthusiasm.

Arun was committed and dedicated to the job, wanting to put right any wrongs for everybody, however small they may be – adamant that he helped to make the streets safer. He did have a tendency to think a bit too highly and took himself too seriously at times, frequently speaking before thinking through what the consequences could be, but still managed to come across as sincere, with a certain amount of naive charm. As dedicated as he was, his maverick streak meant he can be unpredictable and not always straight down the line – it all depends what the end result was. Arun often let himself get enveloped in cases, one instance of which saw him ambushed, robbed of his uniform and humiliated by a gang of robbers. That side of him eventually cost him his job when he helped two illegal immigrants, a woman and her son, evade capture. When this was discovered by Sergeant Dale Smith, Arun was suspended. He later decided, off-screen, that the job was not right for him and resigned.

Sergeant Craig Gilmore was the kind of officer his recruiting Superintendent Tom Chandler sought. Young but determined, fast-tracked and hard-working. Much like his predecessor, Bob Cryer, Craig was by the book and insistent on procedure, however his methods of enforcing it were more aggressive than Cryer. While his skills were similar to Cryer, his desire to go up the ladder was a far cry from the veteran Sergeant Cryer, who had been at Sun Hill for 17 years when he was forced out by Chandler after being shot on duty. Gilmore had been a Sergeant with the Greater Manchester Police for less than a year when he was brought to Sun Hill by Chandler. His appointment was seen as crass by the uniform team, given that Cryer was still in hospital and unaware that he had been replaced before recovering. Alongside Sergeants June Ackland and Matt Boyden, Craig was considerably younger than his partners, but generally ignored the benefit of their experience, giving his PCs a harder time than his Sergeant counterparts. Craig made no secret of his homosexuality when he arrived, telling the relief in his first briefing that it would not affect the way he did the job. To his credit, Craig veered clear of his sexuality and got on with the job, however he was incorrectly blamed for using it in arguments over lack of respect for his leadership.

Craig made an early enemy out of one of his new PCs, Des Taviner. The experienced Area Car driver came into Sun Hill soon after Craig, and took no time to undermine him, demanding his operator in the Area Car be replaced on the first day he was assigned to the station. While Craig allowed it on that occasion, he made it clear to Taviner he would not be a pushover in future. When Taviner was assigned a Special Constable, Terry Knowles, Craig was keen to keep Knowles away from the officer Craig deemed a bad influence. Craig's determination to keep Taviner away from the youngster only fueled the fire of their feud. Taviner was put in CAD by Craig and immediately went home sick, but Inspector Andrew Monroe had Taviner drafted back in to drive the van, and Craig was infuriated further when he swapped partners to get Knowles in the van with him. When Taviner and his best friend, PC Reg Hollis, went to Southend on shift, Knowles was killed by a murder suspect during a traffic stop. A skeptical Craig had spent the shift trying to find the garage Taviner claimed he was at "getting the Area Car's clutch checked". At Terry's funeral, a drunk Taviner mentioned the Southend trip to Hollis and was overhead by Craig. After getting into another verabl argument, the pair became physical when Taviner let his feelings be known to Craig before punching him in the face. Despite Taviner attacking a senior officer, Craig lashed back at Taviner and the pair ended in a full-blown brawl. Given the morose atmosphere at the funeral, the relief were thrilled to see the enemies fighting, and they were all left in stitches when PC Tony Stamp and Sgt. Matt Boyden chucked buckets of water over the feuding pair. The humour was the perfect relief for the officers attending Terry's wake, while it ended Taviner's feud with Craig; they went on to team up with Hollis and Klein to find Terry's killer and bring her to justice.

Soon after the events of the station fire in April 2002, Craig found himself belittled by the now Acting Inspector Boyden. When Craig suggested a minute's silence to Boyden, he told the relief they would be doing it as if it was his idea, using the same words as an unimpressed Craig. When he became homophobic and outed a closeted officer from another station who took a shine to Craig, he decided to file an official complaint. Fellow Sergeant June Ackland convinced Craig to fight fire with fire, and Craig subtly flirted with Boyden to wind him up. When Craig left flowers on Boyden's desk, Boyden agreed to leave him alone if Craig did the same. Smug about getting the better of his colleague, Craig delivered a second blow to Matt by telling him he was being replaced as Inspector the following day by Gina Gold.

As Sun Hill gained a mass of new recruits following the events of the fire that killed six members of the relief, one new recruit was the returning Luke Ashton. Having resigned three years previously, Boyden decided to let Craig have him on his watch to give Luke a clean slate. Having been splashed by a mud puddle on his way in for his first shift, a furious Craig found a stark-naked Luke in the showers. Becoming hard on Luke, Craig eventually eased up on his new PC, and Inspector Gold had to talk Luke out of putting in an official complaint against Craig when she told Luke that Craig stopped a complaint against him. When PC Reg Hollis was abducted, Luke worked closely with Craig to track him down. At the end of the shift, Luke worked out that Craig fancied him, and the pair shared a kiss. The scene was the first kiss between gay characters in the show's history. This led to Craig and Luke feuding over Luke hiding his sexuality, with Luke getting close to PC Kerry Young to hide his feelings. While Craig failed to dissuade Luke, Kerry grew closer to Luke and they got engaged. Craig's boyfriend Carl, an old friend of Luke's, broke into Kerry's to persuade her against marrying Luke. Convinced of Luke's sexuality, Carl ended up in a chase and flipped Craig's car onto its roof, getting seriously injured. On the night of Luke's stag do, Craig ended up in bed with Luke and they were caught the morning after by Inspector Gold, but she agreed to keep quiet for the sake of Kerry. When Craig was savagely assaulted whilst guarding someone in hospital, Kerry spotted Luke getting emotional with Craig in his hospital bed. While Inspector Gold stopped Craig confessing, Kerry later discovered their night together before the wedding. Whilst laid up in hospital, Craig told Gold that he was going to transfer after recovering from his injuries.

DC Danny Glaze, a local Londoner, is a streetwise detective with a good sense of humour. He comes to Sun Hill after meeting Liz Rawton in a training course and was persuaded to join her in CID. His Afro hairstyle made his presence distinctive.

Glaze joins CID to replace DC Jim Carver, who was transferred back to uniform due to the tenure system. Glaze would be part of the Sun Hill CID team torn apart by CIB when DS Don Beech was arrested for murder and a constant campaign of corruption during his five years at Sun Hill. Glaze survived the cull, along with DCs Mickey Webb and Duncan Lennox, however his reputation took a battering. When he was sent undercover at St Pauls Carnival, his distinctive afro led to him being a notable target when his cover was blown. When PC Gary McCann called him up on it, Glaze decided to have it shaved off, having been put at risk when he was noticed by the criminal he was trying to catch. Glaze went undercover a second time a year later inside a prison to catch an armed robber who had been jailed for 20 years. When he escaped prison with his target, his life was put at risk as he was held at gunpoint, as he was whilst undercover at the carnival.

Glaze was caught up in the station fire in 2002 when his DS, Vik Singh assaulted Jeff Simpson, a man who led an organisation responsible for inciting racism. Stopping Singh from murdering Simpson with a piece of wood, Glaze then had to interview Simpson with Singh. A race riot soon unfolded, with PC Tony Stamp inches from being hit by a petrol bomb, although Chief Inspector Derek Conway was less lucky as his panda car was blown up by a petrol bomb, killing him. Simpson was implicated, but due to Singh's assault on him being exposed, he was bailed. Singh, who assaulted Simpson in interview, resigned before DCI Jack Meadows could suspend him for the assault. Soon after, after Simpson's followers were angered when a proposed Neo-Nazi march through an Asian dominated housing estate was cancelled. After a raid on a warehouse owned by Asian businessmen was stopped, the relief were stood down and had a small party in CID. While half of the relief headed to the pub, PCs Sam Harker, Di Worrell and Ben Hayward, & DCs Paul Riley and Kate Spears stayed behind. When a series of petrol bombs were thrown at the station, PC Des Taviner cornered a youth and stole his petrol bomb, setting a fire in the temporary office of Inspector Andrew Monroe to get rid of counterfeit money put in Conway's collection fund, unaware there was gas cylinders in there. The explosion engulfed a majority of the station, killing the five left in CID, as well as Monroe.

In the aftermath, Glaze suffered with guilt after not only witnessing Simpson's attack by Singh, but also because he had returned to the station when it was ablaze and was unable to save anyone. Glaze began clashing with DC Duncan Lennox when he sought out Simpson, later discovering that Duncan was angry because he had split from his wife Shona on the day of the fire. Glaze was warned off the case by Detective Superintendent Susan Devlin of the Murder Investigation Team, although Duncan's friendship with Devlin's partner, DI Daniel Hayes, allowed them to get inside info on the case. When Glaze broke into prime suspect Harry Fullerton's house, he found PC Des Taviner doing the same, although Glaze wasn't aware that Taviner was the real culprit for the station firebombing. The pair agreed to join forces to frame Jeff Simpson; after planting evidence, Taviner concocted a false confession by Simpson, which a reluctant Glaze backed up. When the trial came around, Simpson had Taviner's best friend Reg Hollis kidnapped to convince Taviner to tell the truth. Hollis managed to escape, and before Glaze could talk on the stand, Simpson was arrested for consipracy to kidnap and murder, and he later changed his plea to guilty.

In his final year at Sun Hill, Glaze was made Acting DS in the Community Safety Unit, however he was unhappy in the department. He took leave when an informant in one of his cases was shot dead by his brother during a hostage situation. When he returned, Glaze asked Superintendent Adam Okaro to put him back into CID, but he refused. When ex-DI Sally Johnson, now a private investigator, returned to appeal Jeff Simpson's conviction, Glaze became concerned. With Johnson getting closer to the truth, Glaze stole money from a crime family and fled Sun Hill, sending his warrant card in the mail to DCI Meadows. He was mentioned once more after leaving, following the death of Taviner and the exposure of his firebombing on the station, however he was not seen again.

Inspector Gina Gold knew how to deliver a swift kick up the backside as easily as a shoulder to cry on. Her hard as nails shell could be broken to show a sensitive side, but you had to be very special to her to get close. A childhood trauma saw her brother Richard commit suicide in jail, after being arrested during a failed armed robbery committed by her best friend Marilyn Hendrie. In 1983, Gina joined the Metropolitan Police, but her career was almost over before it began when she was caught up in an explosion during a bank robbery. She survived unscathed, as Gina was shielded by her Sergeant, Tom Ryan, who was paralysed for life. It was later in her career when she finally got justice; with two robbers jailed and one dead, another who went on the run with the takings, Vince Murray, but she nailed him after 24 years when he returned to the UK. Later in the 1980s she began a relationship with her Sergeant at the time, Adam Okaro. She swiftly ended the relationship without telling him why, and transferred away from the station they were based at. They reunited in 2002 when Okaro replaced the recently deceased Tom Chandler, who did later ask why she left him. Despite not opening up, a case involving former friend Marilyn, she discovered Gina couldn't have kids, who loudly announced it to Gina's colleagues, including Adam, that she couldn't have kids. Marilyn was shot dead after firing at Gina in a raid for robbing a department store, however Gina was unharmed due to the body armour she was wearing. Adam was furious that she never told him, but she said he would've wanted kids, which he was able to. However, Adam lost his son, daughter and wife in a tragic car crash in 2005.

According to Jack Meadows, she was promoted to Inspector in 1993. Sometime during her career, she also trained as an Area Car driver, as she was seen driving one in a Series 19 episode. Gina arrived at Sun Hill in June 2002, shortly after the events of the fire. She soon clashed with Sergeants Matt Boyden and June Ackland; Boyden was Acting Inspector before her arrival, and made it clear he'd get no sympathy for being passed over for promotion, while she was also hard on him for his bigoted views, especially towards his gay colleague, Sergeant Craig Gilmore. Ackland started a Community Safety Unit when Gina arrived, and she was constantly digging at her for focusing on victims more than arresting criminals. However, by the time Ackland retired in 2007, they had become close friends. She did get close to Sergeant Craig Gimore when she discovered Craig had a crush on PC Luke Ashton.

Once she settled, Gina formed a drinking group with PCs Cass Rickman, Kerry Young and Gemma Osbourne, as well as front-desk officer Roberta Cryer, however the clique slowly broke up; Rickman was killed by a local serial killer, while Young and Osbourne became victims of Gold's "iron-fist". Osbourne aided the escape of an illegal immigrant and her daughter, leading a furious Gold to state she would force her out of the Met. Osbourne decided to resign, but after being hospitalised after complications from an assault sustained weeks earlier, she decided she wanted to keep her job. Despite this, she never returned to Sun Hill. Kerry and Gina clashed over the revelation that her now-husband Luke slept with Craig on the night of his stag party, and that not only did Gina catch them, but she kept it quiet. Despite Gina being a support to Kerry after she miscarried, Kerry's rusty work on a rape case after getting too close to the victim, Gina decided Kerry was not cut out for the Met, and swore to force her out. Kerry managed to stay at Sun Hill until her death in 2004, however was constantly berated for her mistakes by Gina. After Gina saw how badly her close friend Dale "Smithy" Smith was affected by Kerry's death, Gina gave a moving speech at Kerry's funeral.

Gina then targeted PC Gabriel Kent after he forced PC Ruby Buxton to pervert the course of justice, leading her to resign. She thought she had the perfect fuel for her fire, but when PC Gary Best let slip that he and Smithy covered up a car crash Gina had whilst over the limit, Gabriel uses it to blackmail her. She illegally finds Gabriel's birth certificate and discovers his birth name was Robert Ackland, and that he was the biological son of June. June discovers Gabriel used a false identity to join the force, but she agrees to cover it up in exchange for meeting her real son. Gina continued to target Gabriel but was unable to find any concrete proof, and after he saved Smithy from Sun Hill after it was blown up in early 2005, she ended her vendetta against him. Gina was sidetracked by a cancer diagnosis that she later overcame, but she was suspended soon after for going missing during an armed siege. Acting Superintendent Amanda Prosser used Gina as a scapegoat after she raided the wrong house in Gina's absence. When Prosser left Sun Hill, Gina returned, after a short period of leave. Any thought of bringing down Gabriel was no longer necessary, as he committed suicide while she was on leave after being exposed as a murderer. She did however, target PC Amber Johannsen, who she eventually forced into resigning.

Gina later showed more of a sensitive side when best friend Smithy was incorrectly jailed for the death of his lover Louise Larson, married to a major villain. She played her part in nailing her husband Pete, taking great joy in his arrest for conspiracy to murder at Louise's funeral. After seeing Smithy grow close to DC Kezia Walker and June grow close to school teacher Rod Jessop, Gina embarked on an affair with magistrate Peter Harris, however it was blown when Peter was abducted by a friend who discovered his affairs, including one with his deceased wife. In her later days, Gina began to get affected by the deaths of officers under her command. The first was PC Honey Harman, who Gina managed for four years. She was later stunned when probationer Billy Rowan was murdered on his first day on the job, and venting her frustrations from Billy's murder led her to be accused of bullying PC Emma Keane, who had been slacking on the job after divorcing her violent husband. After being paired with Gina on a rape case, Emma lamented and withdrew her allegation, realising her divorce made her more sensitive to criticism. Emma and Gina became close, leading Gina to be devastated when Emma was killed in an explosion. This death affected her the most, leading her to become terrified at the thought of losing another officer. When PC Sally Armstrong and Sergeant Callum Stone recklessly dived into the River Thames to rescue a depressed woman, she reprimanded them, but later told Stone that she couldn't face losing another member of her team. Sally was again close to death when she was nearly crushed to death when a woman tried to get into a block of flats being demolished. When best friend Smithy was caught in an armed siege, Gina decided she'd had enough and handed in her resignation. She shared an emotional goodbye with Smithy before departing, giving Superintendent John Heaton her blessing to promote Rachel Weston into the role of Inspector.

PC Beth Green arrives at Sun Hill in May 2007. She was recently out of school before she went to Hendon, but she was enthusiastic and great at communicating with people. She had to fight off scepticism that she was "too young" to do the job. One of Beth's greatest skills is her ability to remember any number, a skill she frequently deployed on the job to great effect.

On her first day, she was paired with PC Emma Keane. When an arrest went wrong and Beth sprayed Keane with CS spray, she came under fire from an already unhappy Keane, who had recently divorced from her husband. Keane frequently referred to her as "Little Miss Daisy Chain", but when Beth stood up for herself to Emma, she was impressed. She took an early shine to PC Will Fletcher, however he used the excuse of his ex-girlfriend, PC Honey Harman, dying. Beth was disgusted that Will would use Honey's death, stating that he was acting like he was over it and "clearly wasn't". In her early days at Sun Hill, Beth also bonded with PC Dan Casper, after they worked closely on a few cases.

After settling in at Sun Hill, Beth was assigned an undercover role alongside DC Terry Perkins, who was working as a mechanic to nail a family of loan sharks. Green's cover was Terry's drug addicted daughter seeking money to pay back her dealer, but she found herself subject to an attack by the suspect for a vicious acid attack. Just over a year later, she was assigned the primary role in an undercover operation against a drugs kingpin. Beth got close to one of the gang, Lenny Jones, and he fell for her. Beth had a close shave when the kingpin tried to electrocute her; the kingpin confronted Beth and Lenny, and Lenny pushed Beth out of the way to take a bullet for her. Lenny pulled through and agreed to testify in court to lessen his own sentence. Beth went on an undercover officer training course after the job was completed, and got another role alongside DS Max Carter working in a bar owned by notorious criminal Dave Monks. Beth deliberately blew her cover when Dave ordered a hit on Asif Perreira, the boyfriend of his daughter Chloe, who ran the bar Beth was working at. With Dave's son Pete losing his bottle and letting Asif go, Beth told a distraught Chloe about the hit and took her to Asif's safehouse. Beth held her own when Dave confronted her to find out where Chloe was, despite being smacked in the face twice by Dave. The op went without a hitch, however, and Dave was arrested for importing cocaine, with Intelligence Officer Karen Lacy praising Beth for her work undercover.

In spring 2009, Green said to PC Tony Stamp that she was willing to apply for a job in Witness Protection. Stamp encouraged her to apply, saying she would be perfect for the role, while DI Samantha Nixon agreed to talk to a friend who worked there. On the same day, Beth tried to help a young girl being blackmailed by a drug dealer operating at a boxing gym where the girl worked, being so desperate to get away from him by attempting to commit suicide off a bridge above the River Thames. Beth was unhappy with DC Terry Perkins aggressively handling the woman in interview, but she eventually found the evidence to arrest the dealer, although the girl was put at risk as a result. When Beth concluded the case, she found a letter from Witness Protection saying she was successful in her application. The following day, she left Sun Hill, parting on good terms with Perkins after their dispute. She also used her final day to wind up womanising PC Nate Roberts by pretending to come on to him.

DS Alistair Greig joined Sun Hill CID after a stint in the Vice Squad. He was a member of the Metropolitan Police band, playing the clarinet and was initially of a breezy disposition. A few months of working for Burnside knocked this early chirpiness out of him and though he became outwardly stoical, Alistair retained a sharp, dry sense of humour. An intellectual and prone to being a little aloof, Greig was generally recognised and respected as a hardworking and dedicated detective, but remained peripheral to the CID "family". There was a sense that he preferred to keep even those colleagues with whom he was on good terms at arm's length. He certainly had little time for the frivolous, the self-serving and the outright rule breakers – that went for both fellow officers and criminals. Greig was put in charge of implementing the Met's anti-burglary initiative, Bumblebee, at Sun Hill, leading a team which included Dave Quinnan and Suzi Croft. Unlike most of CID, Greig offered Suzi thoughtful guidance, particularly through the early part of her career and there were occasional hints that Alistair was quite protective of Croft. Despite appearances, Greig was ambitious and it rankled that he was passed over for DI on more than one occasion. He considered a move away from Sun Hill after DCI Meadows chose Deakin to replace Sally Johnson. However, Meadows dissuaded him from doing so, giving his assurance that Greig was a valued officer and was next in line. In hindsight, perhaps Greig should have followed his initial instincts. Like Jim Carver, he found himself a victim of the controversial tenure policy in place at the time. He appealed but was unsuccessful. A plea by Meadows to Brownlow also failed. Rather than take what he saw as a pointless, and humiliating option to go back into uniform, Greig transferred to another station.

WPC Vicky Hagen arrived at Sun Hill in May 1998 under a cloud, having been labelled a "grass" by a mate of PC Mike Jarvis for reporting a colleague who had assaulted a prisoner. She was Sun Hill's first female Area Car driver, brought in to replace Steve Loxton, who left a year earlier. She transferred from a station in Essex because of the affair and was keen to get a fresh start at Sun Hill. She was tough, straightforward and took no nonsense. Vicky made it very clear that being Sun Hill's first female Area Car driver did not overawe her. Sex was simply not an issue – she'd work and fit in equally happily with men or women. Since she was attractive, feminine and above all funny – while she was quite able to drink the boys under the table – she eventually fitted in despite earlier reservations, although her abrasive approach occasionally alienated colleagues. Vicky could often make strong judgements on other people though, particularly women – not because she felt threatened – but because she wanted them to behave like she did. Vicky frequently wound up her colleagues by gossiping and spreading rumours, however the boot was on the other foot every now and then, particularly when it came to men.

Despite Sergeant Bob Cryer knowing about the feud between Jarvis and Hagen, he paired the two on Hagen's first day at Sun Hill. Jarvis, also an Area Car driver, was furious when Hagen was chosen to drive ahead of him. When they engaged in a pursuit, Hagen's lack of local knowledge led to her losing the suspect, and Jarvis yelled "The stupid cow lost him" on the radio. With his colleagues shocked, Jarvis eventually apologised, knowing it could affect his pending transfer to the Diplomatic Protection Group. When Hagen told Jarvis that the prisoner his friend assaulted was 14, Jarvis changed his tone. Jarvis sealed his transfer to DPG and parted on good terms with Hagen.

In early 1999, Vicky began an affair with fellow PC Eddie Santini. Vicky became suspicious of Santini when he began meeting a man during his shift, but he later revealed it was Drugs Squad DS Paul Timpney, and that he was trying to seal a transfer to the Drugs Squad. When Santini went undercover with club owner Jess Orton to ensnare a drug kingpin called John Ferguson, his cover was blown and Ferguson demanded Santini frame Jess for a fatal firebombing at her nightclub that killed her husband Steve. When Santini's nemesis Rosie Fox, once a PC at Sun Hill and by then as DS at AMIP, tore apart Orton's confession in interview, Santini was left running down a blind alley. Fox made comments to Santini that suggested Orton would confess all on his dealings with Ferguson, so Santini confronted Orton at her house. In the resulting argument, Santini accidentally shoved Orton down a flight of stairs and killed her. When Fox was abducted by Ferguson whilst trailing Santini, he tried to rape his colleague and all but confessed to kill Orton. They were eventually rescued by Timpney, his colleagues from Area Drugs and a team from AMIP, but Fox was determined to nail Santini for murder. When Vicky matched a set of keys she found at Santini's with the set Fox took from Jess Orton, Fox arrested Santini for murder. Vicky came in for criticism for her relationship with Santini, and after feeling she lost respect at Sun Hill, she went back to see Santini in prison. After lying at Santini's trial about going to see him, Vicky's reputation took a further nosedive. She was immediately sent undercover to arrest a money launderer by posing as the woman's chauffeur, and eventually regained the respect of her colleagues.

Shortly before New Year's 2001, Vicky had a minor PolAcc in the station yard when she backed the Area Car into PC Polly Page in a panda car. Vicky was named responsible by traffic and had three penalty points added to her license. In the spring of 2001, Vicky was chasing an abduction suspect when the front wing of the Area Car clipped a parked car. With another three points on her license, Vicky was one crash away from losing her license to drive police vehicles. When the boy abducted earlier in the day went missing again, a gang of thugs tried to stop the boy's father from taking him from his mother, so Vicky drove in front of the thug's car and veered into a ditch, writing off the Area Car. The write-off of the Area Car left Inspector Andrew Monroe furious, and she was suspended from all driving duties. With Vicky emotional about losing the part of the job she loved the most, she fell into the arms of womanising Sergeant Matt Boyden. They became close and eventually Vicky moved in with him, but when his daughter Amy got caught up in drugs, Vicky had to arrest her. A furious Matt kicked her out and she moved in with Polly. When what little friends she had left turned their back on Vicky, she ended up taking a man she met in a bar back to Polly's. When he committed suicide in Polly's bath, a distraught Vicky sought out the man's past to find out why he would commit suicide. She discovered he was accused of rape by a woman, Yvonne Worth, who was caught cheating by her husband. When PC Des Taviner found the recording of Vicky's interview with DCI Jack Meadows, he played it over the station PA system. Taviner got away with it when Vicky stole the Area Car from him after he failed to attend a domestic disturbance at Yvonne Worth's house. Vicky attended and discovered that Yvonne had killed her husband after suffering years of domestic violence. Vicky told Taviner that she wouldn't expose his role in the PA prank if he kept quiet about her unlicensed use of the Area Car. After making amends with Boyden, Vicky told Superintendent Tom Chandler that she wanted to transfer to a county force and work on getting her license back.

DI Harry Haines was forcibly transferred to Sun Hill from the Drugs Squad after Burnside's abrupt departure. Built like a prop forward, as befitted a former member of the Divisional rugby team, his easy manner and ironic sense of humour could not disguise the fact that he was a cunning operator and as hard as iron. The move back to divisional CID angered Haines, and the team knew that it wouldn't be long before he tried to get back on the Squad. Indeed, after just three months, interference from Meadows over the discovery of an LSD factory made him choose to leave Sun Hill and return there. He was later seconded to the station in January 1995 to help Meadows track down a consignment of lethal heroin.

PC Lewis Hardy started at Sun Hill with fellow PC Emma Keane, who had a privileged upbringing. Lewis was a working class black lad who had spent most of his teenage life on the streets with a small gang in Hackney. Lewis was arrested numerous times, finally, for a drug offence of which he was innocent. He was taken under the wing of one of the officers who supported and inspired him to join the Metropolitan Police Force. Lewis was smart with sharp wit who was encouraged by his teachers to go to University. After realising the amount of debt he would get into, he decided to apply to Hendon with the support of the officer from his local station. Lewis may not have always seen eye to eye with some of the older members of the relief, but his personality always shone through. It was difficult to hold a grudge against him.

Lewis was trained by PC Roger Valentine; however, his old school methods didn't always go down well with Lewis. When a shooting happened at his cousin Dominic's engagement party, Roger told him he'd happily let “Dominic’s lot” shoot each other. Lewis and Dominic took this to mean Roger was a racist, and a series of coincidences led to Lewis telling Acting Sergeant Yvonne Hemmingway that he thought Roger was a racist. While Lewis was persuaded to not make his complaint, tensions boiled over as uniform tried to contain an over capacity gig at a nightclub. During a full-blown row, Lewis told him he would file an official complaint, however they were interrupted by needing to attended to a crush victim inside the club. When Roger spots a balcony about to burst he demands an evacuation, however the balcony gives way. As they comb through casualties and fatalities, Lewis & Roger stay inside against the orders of Acting Sergeant Hemmingway. As they clear rubble from a victim, a lighting rig collapses, and Roger pushes Lewis out of the way and takes the full blow. After a sit down with Hemmingway, Lewis decides to make it up with Roger once he recovers in hospital, realising that Roger must care if he'd risk his life to save Lewis. The pair become close friends, however Roger ends up falling into a deep depression and is diagnosed with PTSD, but he is in denial until he gets caught up in a siege which he is almost shot. When Roger demands the gunman shoots him, the gun backfires, leaving Roger to break down and face up to his problems.

In early 2007, Lewis’ grandmother moves to Jamaica, and he moves in with St. Hugh's nurse Tash Niles. After helping her young brother Rudy through an arrest, Tash begins a relationship with Lewis. Lewis reunites with Dominic after not seeing him for over a year, but Lewis discovers he is still involved with gangs. When an old friend of Dominic's is shot dead, Wesley Meeks, Tash hears him name crime boss Ray Moore on his deathbed. When Moore discovers she is a witness, he has an associate assault her. When she agrees to testify, Rudy goes to confront Moore and gets shot. When Tash reveals Rudy won't survive his injuries, Lewis goes after Ray Moore. Moore almost overpowers Lewis but gets knocked out, and Lewis confides in Dominic. Revealing Wesley Meeks and Rudy were shot by Moore, Dominic calls his gang associates, who throw an unconscious Moore off the roof of a multi-storey car park, killing him. When Lewis goes to resign and confess, Superintendent John Heaton stops him, as the killers fatally overdosed and he didn't want Lewis to lose his career. After a brief period of leave, Lewis tries to help Dominic out of a gang debt but ends up being arrested undertaking a drug deal. Roger confronts him and gang members force Lewis to shoot him; when Roger is found and reveals Lewis missed his shot, Heaton reveals to Roger that Lewis is undercover. When a gang boss is broken out of a prisoner transport, Lewis is held by the gang while they try to get the boss out of the county. When Dominic tries to alert Lewis’ colleagues, his cover is rumbled and Lewis & Dominic are locked away. Lewis convinces Dominic to help him escape, but as SO19 raid the flat they're being held in, Dominic is held hostage by one of the gangsters. As Lewis goes to rescue him he gets shot; once in hospital a DI from Operation Trident offers him a transfer, which after a heart to heart with Roger, he accepts.

PC Sam Harker served at Sun Hill for five years. A no-nonsense officer, he transferred to Sun Hill from Heathrow police because he wanted to broaden his experience with a spell at an East End nick. Harker relished his job. He always knew what he would do with his life, coming from a long line of policemen – his father was a police officer in Liverpool, as was his elder brother. As far as he was concerned, it beat working for a living! He was easy going, with a naturally friendly manner and a ready smile and was not easily fazed. Members of the public found him thoughtful and straightforward in his dealings, and locally he became a popular and respected uniform beat bobby. He also had the sense to leave the troubles of policing at work with his uniform at the end of the shift, and found it easy to relax with his mates and a beer. Sam became close to fellow Scouser PC Cass Rickman, and the pair often confided in one another. A one-night stand made Sam smitten with Cass, however she would generally knock him back in future. When Sam went undercover with animal rights activists, he began sympathising with the cause, leading his colleagues to suspect he was going native. He eventually exposed their role to blow up a department store and the gang was arrested, however a lack of evidence led to his cover being blown and the gang walking free. Sam was not only disappointed when the result fell through, but it lost him a long-term friendship with the man who introduced him to the group, with the ringleader telling Sam that his friend would be killed for his betrayal. Having been supported by Cass, first undercover then secondly when he was savagely assaulted by a violent prisoner who absconded, Sam returned the favour when Cass went undercover with a Yardie gang spearheaded by an old friend of hers, Leroy Jones. When Cass assisted Jones on a bank raid to buy into a drugs syndicate, the relief became concerned Cass had switched sides. Sam was left questioning this himself when she refused to go back in with him, but he later discovered this was because Jones had abducted by a rival gang. Jones escaped capture when Cass revealed she was a police officer, however she aided his escape due to her love for him. When Jones returned to Sun Hill 18 months later, Sam let him get arrested for the murder of an undercover cop, knowing he was innocent. Sam allowed Jones to escape custody so he could break up with Cass and Sam could come to her rescue, and Cass was furious when she found out Sam staged the incident. Leroy was cleared of the murder but was re-jailed when he blew the identity of the real killer to the family of a man killed by the same criminal, with the victim's brother shooting him dead outside the station; Leroy was sent to jail for being an accessory to murder. Cass eventually let Sam know how she felt when she told him he was boring, but she would regret those words when events of that night unfolded. As a downtrodden Sam drowned his sorrows on the CID balcony while the relief celebrated a result, a riot kicked off outside the station. PC Des Taviner, who had put a fake £50 note in the collection fund for the recently murdered Chief Inspector Derek Conway, stole a petrol bomb from a yob who entered the station yard to get rid of the fund; Taviner broke a window in full view of Sam before lobbing the petrol bomb in to set fire to the temporary office of Inspector Andrew Monroe. Taviner turned and saw Sam watching him, then had to warn him when he saw two gas cylinders inside Monroe's office, which triggered an explosion and destroyed a large portion of the station. With five officers killed, Taviner contemplated killing Sam in his hospital bed to stop his role being exposed, but as he lamented and decided to confess, Sam died of his injuries. Sam was mentioned in a The Bill: Uncovered documentary spinoff when Des Taviner said on video to his best friend Reg Hollis that Sam haunted him in his dreams, and that Sam watching him start the fire was what stuck with him the most.

PC Honey Harman was born and raised in Ilford, Essex. She always excelled in sport at school but did rather poorly in academic studies. As a young adult, she worked as a fitness instructor and personal trainer. She eventually became bored with working in gyms and decided that she wanted to help people and also to work in a physically demanding job, so she joined the police. Honey was kind-hearted and always wanted to see the best in people; she also believed strongly in first impressions. Although she may not have been the most academically gifted officer the station has seen, her instinct and physical ability never let her down. A vegetarian who declared her body to be a temple, Honey was physically fearless and never doubted her own abilities. She was willing to put herself in dangerous situations because she knew that she was capable of, at least physically, dealing with anything. Her judo skills came in more than handy when she got herself into sticky situations whilst chasing suspects. Paperwork was another story – she hated it with a passion and would do anything to avoid the mounting pile on her desk. Having no awareness of her own attractiveness, Honey was perhaps initially unintentionally inappropriate with some of the men on the relief.

Honey arrived at Sun Hill in early 2003, where Sergeant Matt Boyden referred to her as a "bungalow" (nothing upstairs). Despite comments on her intelligence, Honey got on with the job and found herself disarming a gunman who took PC Gary Best hostage on her first day. This saw the pair strike up a close friendship, however Honey let Gary's hopes of a more intimate relationship down when they had a one-night stand, after Gary conned her into thinking he had issues with intimacy. Honey risked her career when she discovered her footballer fiancé Steven 'Fletch' Fletcher was under investigation for a deliberate foul during a football game that damaged a rival's knee ligaments, stealing a videotape of the incident. DS Phil Hunter tried to get one over on Honey by letting slip a rumor Fletch was sleeping around with an Italian woman, and a devastated Honey caught them in bed together, abruptly ending her relationship with Fletch and returning the stolen tape. Soon after, Honey was hospitalised when she was in close proximity to an explosive device at a movie theatre. Later in 2003, Honey brought Gary's father Alan to his 21st birthday party, unaware that he had been in jail for assaulting Gary's mum, or that Gary was the one who informed the police. They quickly got over their dispute and Honey was with Gary when they spotted Inspector Gina Gold meeting with Alan Best. It transpired that Alan was acting as an informant to get close to Gary, but he is abducted and killed after trying to save Gary during a hostage situation. When Alan's killer Jules Ellis escapes from custody, he is thrown off the roof of the station during a fight with Gary, who is injured as a result. Honey takes time off to help Gary recover and arrange Alan's funeral. On her return she becomes close to DC Brandon Kane, but PC Cathy Bradford's obsession with Brandon saw Cathy torch his house and frame Honey. When Brandon moves in with Cathy, he finds CCTV of her with his late wife Tanya in the parking garage where she died. Brandon takes his suspicions to Honey, and the pair try to prove she is guilty of murder, culminating in a showdown in the station basement where Cathy tries to burn Brandon alive and take herself with him. Cathy's plan fails and she is arrested, with Brandon leaving in the aftermath to focus on his children, and he decides to cut off any thought of a relationship with Honey.

In late 2004, Honey is stunned to discover Fletch is engaged in a dodgy gambling ring, and Honey warns DC Jim Carver off her ex. Honey decided to train as a family liaison officer; she got her first job upon her return in early 2005 with Scott Burnett, whose wife Karen went missing. When Karen turns up dead, Honey ends up in bed with Scott, and abruptly cuts him off. Despite warnings from friends Yvonne Hemmingway and Steve Hunter, Honey resumes a relationship with Scott in the aftermath of the 2005 station fire. Having seen PC Reg Hollis lose the love of his life in the fire, SRO Marilyn Chambers, Honey decides to accept a shock proposal from Scott. When the killer of Scott's deceased wife Karen is released on all charges, attention turns to Scott. After returning from her wedding and honeymoon, Honey takes Yvonne to a storage locker, where they find a bloodstained glove of Karen's that went missing the night she died. Honey confronts Scott, who confesses to the murder, but they elope instead of going to the Murder Investigation Team. When Honey begins to have doubts, Scott tries to manipulate her, but he decides to leave and tries drowning himself. Despite initially saving his life, Scott is jailed and tells Honey in their final meeting not to visit him again, with Honey devastated the following morning when she finds out he hung himself overnight and died.

In her later days at Sun Hill, Honey had eliminated the stereotypes that she was dim by becoming an experienced and intelligent officer, so much so that in early 2007 she was picked for two high-profile cases. After impressing undercover as a vulnerable mother to ensnare a loan shark and murderer, Superintendent John Heaton and DI Neil Manson picked her for witness protection for a drug mule, Eva Garcia. The secondment ended when Garcia's brother Santi tracked her down and was beaten by Garcia's boss, Jose Alvarez, the primary target of a major operation involving undercover DC Zain Nadir. Honey arranged some leave and tried to convince PC Will Fletcher to travel with her to Tenerife, but she is left dejected when he turns her down. Heading home from the station, Honey tracks down Eva, but both are abducted by Jose Alvarez. When Zain's cover is blown, Eva is shot dead and Honey is taken with Zain to a drug deal, where Honey discovers Zain has gone native. Zain tries to stop one of his undercover allies, Paul Haskew, shooting Honey and finds himself tied up. When his girlfriend Kristen Shaw frees him, Zain releases Honey, who tries to stop Zain and Kristen fleeing with the drug money. Honey goes to arrest Kristen and a gun goes off, fatally wounding Honey. In the aftermath, Kristen and Zain are jailed, while Will is left regretting the way he treated Honey before she was murdered.

PC Donna Harris was one of the most pleasant, straightforward young women to have worked at Sun Hill. Born in Yorkshire, she left her family and friends and came to London to join the Met when she was twenty-one. She wanted to do a worthwhile job. She also wanted to make a clean break from sad memories; her husband had been killed in a car crash there. She married again six years later, this time to a man many years older with a daughter from his first marriage. It was the security she wanted, and in the next year she transferred to Sun Hill to become Collator, hoping the regular hours would mean she'd have more time with her family. It did, and the family grew: she gave birth to their son, now a toddler. Because she had a happy home life and knew she was efficient at her job, Donna didn't have to take flak from her male colleagues. Any 'Be a good girl and...' routines earned quick put-downs. In 1994, she became the analyst for the burglary initiative, Bumblebee. She started it up at Sun Hill, and the work entailed her visiting other police stations. Donna left Sun Hill in 1996, her job as collator becoming redundant with the rise of computerised policing.

CSE Lorna Hart joined Sun Hill as a crime scene examiner in May 2007. She began a close relationship with DS Stuart Turner and worked on the case of murdered model Cindy Statham. After her photographer, Rachel Inns, kidnapped and held DC Jo Masters for discovering she was the murderer, she threatened to shoot her, CO19 stormed the factory and Jo talked her out of it. After the ordeal, Lorna decided to leave Sun Hill in November 2007, and she was subsequently replaced by CSE Eddie Olosunje.

DI Daniel Hayes was an officer with the Murder Investigation Team introduced to investigate the fatal fire at Sun Hill police station in 2002 which killed six police officers, as well as the death of Chief Inspector Derek Conway weeks prior to the fire. Hayes was an old friend of DC Duncan Lennox, and Lennox often went to Hayes for updates on the investigation. Hayes was seen as more reasonable than his superior, Detective Superintendent Susan Devlin, who was convinced she was investigating an inside job. Devlin's reputation plummeted when she tried to question Taviner during the funeral for the murdered officers, however the biggest development in the case to that point came when station decorator Harry Fullerton falsely confessed to the firebombing. Taviner, the real culprit, was determined to clear Fullerton and tried to dissuade him from confessing, however he decided to confess to murdering Conway as well. When Taviner went to Fullerton's to dig around for evidence of his innocence, he was caught by DC Danny Glaze. The pair agreed to join forces to prove local racist Jeff Simpson was responsible, as retaliation for an attack by DS Vik Singh. Both Hayes and Devlin were suspicious when Taviner uncovered the bike used in the petrol bomb drive-by that led to Conway's death, and then again when Glaze found evidence to implicate Simpson for the station firebombing. When Taviner concocted a confession by Simpson whilst he and Glaze escorted him to Sun Hill, Hayes and Devlin were cynical. Despite this, a reluctant Glaze backed up Taviner for the sake of justice for his murdered colleagues and friends. Hayes was last seen gathering the remaining documents for the case from Sun Hill after Simpson was charged, however it is possible he left his post at MIT soon after, as DI Alex Cullen transferred to MIT a few months after Hayes' last appearance.

PC Malcolm Haynes was the second of the first Black police officers to serve at Sun Hill, following the Met's big drive to recruit officers from ethnic minorities in the early eighties. He was born and raised in the Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove area of West London and had pounded the beats in some of the more volatile of the Met's Divisions, including a posting at Brixton during the Summer of '81. Haynes was street-smart and energetic; this combined with his enthusiastic nature made him a highly effective officer. He also had a dark sense of humour. Frazer told Haynes that he had the potential to go for sergeant but he wondered whether it would simply be an empty gesture as part of the Met's black recruitment drive. He was shocked by the death of his erstwhile partner, Pete Ramsey, and decided to leave Sun Hill shortly after this.

PC Ben Hayward, was fast thinking, well educated and confident – sometimes too confident. One of life's easy achievers, he gained a cluster of GCSEs at school, and scored top grades in four 'A' Levels without really trying. University places were offered, but Ben took a gap year – which turned into two – and immersed himself in a zesty lifestyle of music and clubbing. Ben ended up using recreational drugs, which his sister Jules ended up exploring, however she fatally overdosed as a result. Ben was unusual at Sun Hill in having a liberal, middle-class background. He breezed through training at Hendon, excelling in academic and behavioural studies – but he was also put on Section 15 for attitude. Undoubtedly bright, his downside was that he showed little interest in the more mundane aspects of police work – and this was sometimes perceived as laziness. Whilst he was certainly intelligent, Ben could sometimes display an amazing lack of common sense. Always ready to argue a point, he often had frequent run-ins on insubordination and discipline. He had a zero tolerance attitude towards drugs of any kind, following his sister's death from taking ecstasy. Some viewed his anti-drugs opinions as 'obsessive' and his colleagues sometimes became annoyed with Ben's general 'boy-scout' approach to policing, but any comments were tinged with affection. Tragically, Ben was one of the casualties of the Sun Hill fire when race riots got out of hand.

Superintendent John Heaton arrived at Sun Hill in June 2006, his first role as a Superintendent. He is very much a 'hands-on' officer, much like his predecessor Adam Okaro. John is married to Rhiannon, and they have an adopted child, Charlie. Prior to his arrival, Heaton had an affair with DAC Georgia Hobbs, but ended the relationship when he arrived at Sun Hill, determined to make the most of his promotion. Rhiannon was fully aware of it and constantly accused him of coming home late to spend time with Hobbs, and John was frustrated at her constantly bringing it up. He ended up back in the arms in of Hobbs when he discovered Rhiannon had an affair of her own.

Having settled into Sun Hill, John was outraged when Hobbs told him that the Met wanted to reduce the number of operational centres in Canley. With Stafford Row due to become a high security custody site, Sun Hill was either going to merge with Barton Street and close, or vice versa. Focusing on an undercover operation to ensnare Columbian drug smugglers being conducted by DC Zain Nadir to boost Sun Hill's hopes, John was delighted when £6 million of drugs imported from Columbia were seized and the supplier was arrested. However, their two initial targets were missed; one buyer went on the run and the other was shot dead by SO19. What turned out to be a successful result quickly skidded off however, when it was revealed runaway buyer Kristen Shaw killed PC Honey Harman and Nadir had both dumped her body and helped Shaw escape custody. Nadir eventually gave himself up and Shaw was jailed as the pair tried to flee the country. When Hobbs told Heaton that Sun Hill would close and merge with Barton Street, Heaton was furious, but Sergeant June Ackland uncovered a major corruption ring within city council that Hobbs was implicated in. Despite initially acting as if he would cover it up, with Ackland aware of his affair with Hobbs, John taped Hobbs confessing during a conversation she thought was private before handing the tape over to the Directorate of Professional Standards.

Later in 2007, John was mortified when his long-term nemesis and former police colleague Ray Moore arrived in Canley. John had forced Moore out of the police when he almost murdered a drug dealer he attacked on duty; John let Moore walk and resign rather than report him for GBH. John immediately told Rhiannon, who by then he had split from, to leave London immediately. Moore constantly dropped passive aggressive threats against his family to rile John, with Moore later revealing he blamed John for the suicide death of his first wife. Moore was initially suspected of killing a vagrant to disguise him as a man in debt to Moore so he could make a fraudulent life insurance claim, however the man who faked his death confessed to organising the whole scam. When a man escaping police in a chase knocked down a young cyclist, who later died, John discovered the man who hit the boy was evading a hit ordered by Moore. When the man was arrested and bailed, he turned up dead a day later. When Moore's daughter Annie was found holding a teenage boy who stole her bike at gunpoint, John realised that she witnessed the murder. John tried to get her to confess, but her uncle cut the interview short, telling John that he also witnessed the murder. Moore was jailed but got to the witness and walked, wasting no time in gloating. A day later, Moore was again arrested for murder, this time a gang member who named Moore with his dying words. The witness, Nurse Tash Niles, was later assaulted and her young brother Rudy was shot. Niles, girlfriend of Sun Hill PC Lewis Hardy, told Hardy that Rudy wasn't expected to survive his wounds. Hardy went after Moore and knocked him unconscious during a fight. Hardy's cousin Dominic was part of the gang that Moore's murder victim was with, and when Hardy confided in his cousin, Dominic told his gang where Moore was to finish the job. John was devastated, at a loss of justice rather than Moore's death, when he attended the car park where Moore's body was found dead. Having had an affair with DOPA Mia Perry, who was already in a relationship with DC Mickey Webb, John ended their affair and reconciled with Rhiannon in the aftermath of Moore's death.

At the end of 2007, actor Daniel Flynn took centre stage in a second major storyline in a year when John was subject to attacks by a rampaging gunman. After investigating a whipping assault on an Asian youth, John suspected a local racist group, fearing they may disrupt a concert later that day; Rock Against Racism. When MP Paul Sagger had a break in at his office, John was perplexed that nothing was missing, but when the concert organiser Nadim Mura gave DC Grace Dasari a book on stolen Middle Eastern antiques, Dasari realised that Sagger was importing stolen antiques. As John confronted Sagger on stage at the concert to tell him he would be arrested afterwards, shots rang out; Sagger was wounded but Mura died of his injuries. As John continued the smuggling investigation, DI Neil Manson ran the shooting inquiry. When he and DC Dasari realised the third bullet that lodged in the stage wall was meant for John, who was shot at as he took Sagger out of hospital and back to the station. Unharmed once more, John grilled Sagger on the antiques and he blamed his assistant Derek Jacobs. After Jacobs killed Sagger's partner in the smuggling op, he turned up at Sun Hill when Sagger was being moved to a high security custody suite, holding Sagger hostage with a bomb strapped to his waist. As John negotiated, Jacobs eventually surrendered and revealed his bomb was a fake "Just like you, Paul!"

In early 2009, John took an active interest in CID cases when he took on a pair of teenage killers by using the media to feed them false information. After tripping them up in a press conference, John suggested getting the media to state the investigating team knew where the murder weapon was. The trick worked to great effect as the killers went to find the weapon, securing vital evidence and their arrest. DCI Jack Meadows was glad to see John take an active interest in CID, so elected to call on him again when a woman's body was found in a local park, with evidence dating back to a murder in the 1980s. When all the primary suspects were cleared, John asked Meadows to look into a murder case he solved as a DC back in the 1980s. After CID found key links, John sanctioned the arrest of the incarcerated killer, Ian Ellis. As facts became apparent, John was horrified to realise Ellis was innocent of the original murder. The discovery came too late, however, as John found Ellis in his cell after attempting suicide. John met him in hospital and promised he would free him, but persuaded Ellis to give evidence that would nail the real killer. While David Ellis swore he would get revenge for Ian by ending John's career, nothing came of it. Later that year, after nailing a gang of human traffickers, John decided to leave Sun Hill to set up a new unit tackling human trafficking, giving close friend and trusted ally Jack Meadows the Superintendent's position. John persuaded Inspector Rachel Weston, DS Stuart Turner and DC Kezia Walker to join him.

PC Yvonne Hemmingway served at Sun Hill for three years, having been with the force for six years prior to her arrival. Despite seeing herself banded around as a "station mascot" at her previous stations, she tried to shake off criticisms of being a black female officer, getting her Area Car license and Sergeant's exams before arriving at Sun Hill. Despite the transfer, she joined Sun Hill as a PC, however she was top of the list for Acting Sergeant when it was needed. She arrived at Sun Hill in October 2003 to be the station's new Area Car driver, replacing Gemma Osbourne after her resignation earlier in the year, providing support to Des Taviner and Tony Stamp. She bonded with PC Nick Klein early on, while she became close friends with PCs Kerry Young and Honey Harman.

In mid-2004, Yvonne bonded with a pregnant teenage girl, Shirley Moss. Yvonne revealed to PC Gary Best that she too was pregnant as a teenager, however she had a terminatiopn. When Yvonne tried to convince Shirley to give evidence against her boyfriend, drug dealer Stuart Rifkin, she offered her a place to stay. When Superintendent Adam Okaro blocked the move, Shirley was subject to an attack at the hands of Rifkin. A furious Yvonne illegally searched Rifkin's lockup but found nothing. Yvonne came to blows with Okaro for Shirley's assault, but she eventually persuaded Shirley's foster mother to testify against Rifkin when she discovered Shirley was only 14, not 17 as she claimed. With Rifkin jailed for sex with a minor, Shirley eventually decided to testify about Rifkin's drug dealing. When Shirley discovered she was HIV positive, Yvonne took a massive risk by delivering Shirley's premature baby, however Yvonne got an all clear on her test. Due to her ongoing issues, social services denied Shirley access to her baby girl, but she broke into her foster home and abducted baby Grace. Yvonne had shared harsh words with her, but both apologised when Yvonne tracked her down, revealing her harsh words came because Yvonne was grieving after the shooting death of best friend Kerry Young. When Sergeant June Ackland retired, Yvonne was made acting Sergeant, but her first day in the role saw Shirley hospitalised in a car crash. Shirley was unwilling to talk to Yvonne about the crash, having been kicked out of Yvonne's when her niece Lily overdosed on ecstasy Yvonne assumed was Shirley's. When Yvonne discovered the drugs belonged to her sister, Yvonne apologised and made up with Shirley. However, tragedy struck when surgery on Shirley's broken legs went wrong and caused a cardiac arrest, from which Shirley died. Yvonne was left devastated and thought about adopting Shirley's daughter Grace, but she decided against it.

In early 2005, Yvonne grew close to St. Hugh's nurse Nick Austin, and she got close to him after missing out on a full-time Sergeant's position when Ackland came out of retirement. However their budding relationship hit the rocks when Yvonne hospitalised a teenage boy when an arrest struggle led to her hitting him with her ASP. When the boy, Lee Thomas, died of his injuries, Yvonne was suspended. Yvonne's dismissal led to a strike by uniform, so Superintendent Okaro restored her on non-operational duties. When the coroner's court sent the Thomas death to trial, Yvonne was left horrified she could be jailed for murder. Things only got worse when she slapped a drunk man who called her a "black bitch" because she stopped him getting into his car outside a pub. He was drafted in to the trial, and with Yvonne looking set for a stint in prison, a homeless man who witnessed her clash with Thomas was brought into court and gave vital evidence that secured Yvonne's freedom.

In early 2006, Yvonne was made acting Sergeant once again when Dale Smith was jailed after being framed for the death of his lover Louise Larson. When Smithy was cleared, Yvonne's stint as Acting Sergeant came to an end. When new Superintendent John Heaton suggested hiring a third uniform Sergeant, Inspector Gina Gold put Yvonne's name forward. However, when she turned the tide on a teenage tearaway who was spraying a homeless man with car wash soap, she was suspended when it was filmed by a member of the public. Heaton was disappointed that DAC Georgia Hobbs elected to suspend Yvonne after a lack of public outrage, suspecting Hobbs was getting revenge on him for breaking off their affair. Yvonne was eventually reinstated, although she suspected her application for Sergeant would be affected. When the teenage boy she encountered a few weeks earlier in the car wash incident, Billy Aldridge, he accused a local GP of sexual abuse, Dr. Andrew Wilder. Wilder was adamment that he was not a paedophile, and filed a complaint against Yvonne for harassment. Supt. Heaton officially warned her off, but unofficially gave her 24 hours to arrest Wilder, and that the she would get the Sergeant's role if she was successful. However, DAC Hobbs wanted Barton Street Sergeant Nikki Wright to get the role, so she offered Yvonne a Sergeant's role at the Youth Offending Team. After cracking the Wilder case, Yvonne realised she had a knack for helping children in need, she accepted the transfer to Youth Offenders.[1]

DC Scott Henderson is DCI Burnside's right-hand man on his investigation team at crime OCCU, who first appears shortly after Burnside's return in 1998. Henderson did not appear in any of the non-Burnside episodes, and only made five appearances in the show over the period of five months from December 1998 to April 1999. Despite Burnside appearing in the show until early 2000, Henderson was not seen again.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Matt Hinckley was introduced as the long-term boyfriend of PC Emma Keane, and later becomes Sun Hill's new regular duty solicitor. Emma informs her colleagues that she and Matt have been dating for two years prior to his appointment at Sun Hill. Shortly after accepting his new post, Emma breaks off their relationship after she drunkenly snogs Will Fletcher. Unaware of her betrayal, Matt tries to make it up to her and presents her with a bouquet of flowers. However, Matt catches Emma giving Lewis Hardy a peck on the cheek and suspects that they have been having an affair. When Matt confronts Lewis, Will steps in and claims that it was him whom Emma kissed, unaware that Matt wasn't aware of the incident between them. Matt attempts to punch Will but misses, who retaliates with a punch in the face. Matt subsequently brings charges against Will for assault, but subsequently drops them after believing that Emma will get back together with him.

Some months later, Matt and Emma reconcile their relationship and get engaged. However, the night before the wedding, Emma opens up to Matt, and tells him that she had another brief affair with Will during their engagement. Matt gets his friends to beat up Will, but the next day, Will gives Matt a second well-deserved punch. When questioned, the pair both agree to drop the charges made against each other. When Emma discovers that his ex-girlfriend Nina Lloyd is alive, a lie Matt constantly spun to justify his jealousy, Emma decided to leave him. As Matt turned physical, Emma lunged back in self defence with an empty vodka bottle, knocking Matt unconscious. Matt was intent on having her charged with attempted murder, however with the help of Nina, Will trapped Matt into confessing to his continued domestic abuse of Nina and Emma. With the evidence secured, Matt was jailed and Emma's charges were dropped.

DAC Georgia Hobbs was at the height of her career. She had worked her way up through the ranks, and gained promotion to DAC in early 2005 after the retirement of Roy Pearson. She set about turning her old dumping ground, Sun Hill, into the best police station for miles.

She first appeared in the spring of 2006 as she helped Superintendent Adam Okaro seal promotion to Borough Commander, however they hit a stumbling block when Okaro's harsh words to the mother of a recently murdered gang member in front of the press led to public outrage. After Okaro apologised to the woman, he had a clear and successful path to promotion. Not only was Georgia happy to see one of her favourite officers continue to rise through the ranks, but she was able to promote and transfer her boyfriend onto her ground, then-DCI John Heaton taking the role of Superintendent at Sun Hill. Hoping it would bring Heaton closer to her, the move backfired on Georgia as Heaton decided he would rather focus on his career than their relationship. When PC Yvonne Hemmingway, Heaton's first choice for a new Sergeant's post at Sun Hill, was filmed spraying a criminal with a car wash soap brush, an angry Georgia had Hemmingway suspended, despite a lack of public outrage. Heaton accused Georgia of using Hemmingway to get back at him, and Heaton swiftly reinstated Hemmingway. When Heaton discovered his wife Rhiannon was having an affair, he resumed his own with Georgia. She did undermine Heaton however, offering Hemmingway a transfer to the Youth Offending Team so she could get her own candidate into the Sun Hill Sergeant's role, Nikki Wright from Barton Street.

In December 2006, Georgia told Heaton that the Met wanted to reduce the number of operational sites in Canley. With Stafford Row due to be turned into a high security custody suite, one of Sun Hill or Barton Street would close and merge with the other. Heaton was determined not to see Sun Hill close down after settling into the station in the six months he'd been in charge. In early 2007, he focused on high profile arrests to boost Sun Hill's public reputation, the first of which an arrest of a loan shark who had a reformed drug addict mother killed by a fatal overdose. Having run an undercover operation for the best part of seven months, Heaton was thrilled when he had a chance to bring down a major Columbian drug supplier. The station had a massive boost when the supplier was arrested, but both buyers eluded Heaton to take a shine off the result; Paul Haskew was shot dead by SO19 during the bust, while fellow supplier Kristen Shaw evaded capture and was later discovered to have shot PC Honey Harman dead during the siege, with her escape aided by Sun Hill DC Zain Nadir. This only damaged the Sun Hill reputation further, despite both Shaw and Nadir being arrested. When the decision about Sun Hill was made, Heaton was devastated to discover the station would close and merge with Barton Street. However, Sergeant June Ackland was stunned to discover Georgia was in deep with a crooked property, Brian Stevens, and that she had offered the land under Sun Hill to him before the decision was made. Heaton refuted Ackland's claims and told her he would take over the investigation. Ackland knew about Heaton's affair and threatened to tell the DPS herself, however he went to meet Georgia to confront her. After convincing her to confess all, she was mortified when she returned to Sun Hill with him to discover he had taped her confession and passed it onto the DPS. She left Heaton's office with the DPS, uttering her final words to Heaton "I trusted you."

Detective Superintendent Steve Hodges was first introduced in May 2000, when it was revealed DS Claire Stanton was working for his CIB squad to investigate corruption inside Sun Hill CID, mostly centred around DS Don Beech. Beech had been working outside the law, for both financial gain and to secure convictions, for a number of years before Stanton was introduced to the team in 1999.

Hodges took very little time to catch on that Stanton was in a relationship with DS John Boulton, but rather than call her out for being unprofessional, Hodges encouraged Stanton to use Boulton due to his close friendship with Beech. When their affair was rumbled by Beech, Stanton cut ties with Boulton, but she resumed it when Hodges ordered it. Boulton proposed to a stunned Stanton and she realised that she loved him, but she was left crushed when Beech murdered Boulton after asking for his help in keeping a major villain, Howard Fallon, out of jail for his part in a murder. Beech broke into Stanton's when she worked out he killed Boulton, asking her to bypass AMIP for Boulton's murder to take him to CIB. Beech convinced Hodges to launch a raid on two corrupt drug squad detectives, DI Tasker and DS Garrard, working with Beech and Fallon, in exchange for a full confession to his crimes. When Beech was caught with a phone trying to arrange guns to double-cross Fallon, Hodges threatened to pull the deal, until Beech falsely named the drugs squad DCI as part of their sting, leaving Hodges giddy at the thought of bringing down such a high-ranking officer. Despite warnings from Stanton that Beech will play them, the raid goes ahead, and he escapes by having Tasker and Garrard attack Fallon and his associates, before turning on Tasker and Garrard to escape via the River Thames. Hodges was left furious, and immediately arranged with his Commander to have the entire Sun Hill CID team suspended. Chief Superintendent Charles Brownlow resigned as a result of the fiasco, while DI Chris Deakin, DS Geoff Daly and DC Kerry Holmes were all transferred out. Hodges was unhappy with Stanton's attitude over Beech's escape, but still sanctioned her promotion to DI. He was last seen in October 2000, at the conclusion of the investigation into CID.

PC Reg Hollis is officially introduced at Sun Hill in October 1984, and is gradually perceived as a loner: the comical oddball of the relief who spends most of his time carrying out light duties such as serving as the station's collator and Federation representative. Reg, however, tires of being behind a desk and requests to be assigned on foot patrols. He proves to be a capable officer: on one of his early outings from the station he charges into a hostage situation and disarms a potentially dangerous gunman.[2] Reg reveals he was repeatedly bullied and taunted at schools by pupils and teachers, culminating in his throwing a chair at a teacher. He was consequently placed in a 'sin bin'.[3]

An unlikely friendship with PC Des Taviner changes him, and gives him more social confidence.[2] Upon Des' arrival at Sun Hill, Des and Reg are paired up in the area car, which sees the beginning of a friendship that provides some of the character's most memorable moments. It is truly a turning point when Reg, who was always so uptight, accompanies Des when he skips work to take a trip in the area car to Southend, attempting to convince Reg to propose to his girlfriend, Helen, however she rejects him due to a relationship with someone else. Des is well known for referring to Reg as "Reggie babe" in his Scouse accent, being the only person to call him this. After Des framed local racist Jeff Simpson for a fire at the station, which killed six officers, Reg was abducted by Simpson's associates. Reg used his initiative to escape, and Simpson was jailed for life. Des went on leave but felt guilty on his return, being nasty to Reg before risking his life to save two boys from a burning car after dangerously chasing them into crashing. Whilst in hospital, Des confessed to starting the fire as the guilt became too much. He decided to try and kill himself, however Reg talked him down and told him to make the most of life and honour the officers he killed. When Des thought he'd been exposed as the killer, he drove wildly at a suspect and caused the suspect's car and the Area car to crash and explode, leaving Reg seriously injured. It was later revealed Des wasn't exposed but faked his death, however he was exposed in the aftermath of the Area Car crash. Des later surfaced to reunite with his ex-girlfriend and Sergeant Sheelagh Murphy, but discovered his baby died in a cot death. Abducting her babysitter, PC Cameron Tait, as well as Murphy, Des later released Tait. He then lured Reg to an abandoned swimming pool to apologise, however when Reg rejected it and tried to flee, Des was ambushed by SO19 and arrested by Reg. After screaming at Murphy whilst she was on the custody desk, the manic depressive in the cell Des was sharing beat him to death, leaving Reg devastated about how things left. Reg later discovered a video delivered to him by Des before his death with a full apology in which he reminisced on his time with Reg, who was left happy thinking Des was at peace.

Soon after Des died, Reg became close to Station Receptionist Marilyn Chambers, due to their shared love of trainspotting. The pair grew closer over time, however Marilyn became more promiscuous and unnerved Reg, who eventually told Marilyn that he just wanted her to be herself. Long-time friend PC Tony Stamp later told Reg "to get down on bended knee and get on with it", so he decided to propose. Reg arranged a date at the train station where they had their first, but he returned to Sun Hill after waiting for her to show up. It was then that Reg discovered that Sun Hill had been subject to an attack and that Marilyn was in hospital. Reg sat with her and deluded himself fantasising over their future together, despite Stamp telling him she was unlikely to pull through. As Reg put an engagement ring on Marilyn's finger, she went into cardiac arrest and died, leaving Reg devastated.

Reg's position was later threatened by Superintendent John Heaton. Stamp urges him to change his approach to policing, but Reg refuses to compromise on his principles and says, "If Superintendent Heaton's idea of running an efficient nick is to get rid of anyone over 30, I'm not sure I want to work for him". Heaton started to realise how much respect and loyalty Reg received from his colleagues and changed his mind. Following the retirement of long-term colleague June Ackland, Reg considers tendering his resignation, however, Stamp is able to convince him not to. Reg would go onto resign from the force following the death of PC Emma Keane in a bomb blast in May 2008. Reg's scripted exit was not aired however, as actor Jeff Stewart attempted suicide in January 2008, having been controversially axed by producers after 24 years on the show.[4]

DC Kerry Holmes, originally from Yorkshire, arrived at Sun Hill a fully-fledged DC, looking to investigate crime on her own, no longer under someone else's supervision. She was bright, intelligent, and highly motivated – making her an effective detective, particularly as she didn't take no for an answer. Many of the younger male CID officers thought that she was a bit of a swot, earning her the nickname of 'Sherlock', but she was too confident to ever really let the jibes get to her and wasn't slow in coming up with a quick riposte. Kerry also possessed a mischievous streak, asking questions of her senior officers that others wouldn't dare to and then playing the innocent. Liz Rawton was someone who Kerry felt she could go to for information about Sun Hill and the two usually got on fine. She could annoy Rawton at times by choosing to ignore her advice on investigation matters and handling colleagues. Where Rawton never allowed her gender to be an issue, Kerry occasionally played the coquette, using her good looks and pleasant manner to charm men in and out of the department; on occasion, this led to friction between the two. She was, however, a breath of fresh air to the stuffy and somewhat masculine Sun Hill CID. Kerry impressed senior officers such as DCI Jack Meadows and DI Chris Deakin, leading her to go undercover soon after joining Sun Hill, successfully cracking a drugs ring operating inside a woman's prison that was headed up by a corrupt prison officer. Kerry was part of Sun Hill CID during the height of the Don Beech scandal; Kerry was somewhat aware of Beech's wrongdoings, but not only did she steer clear of Beech in and out of the job, she warned her colleagues off getting involved with the bent DS if they could avoid it. Kerry was part of the CID team that was suspended following the death of DS John Boulton at the hands of Beech, Kerry was furious that CIB assumed she was implicated before questioning had even begun, causing her to demand a transfer out of Sun Hill.

WPC Michelle Hughes first arrived at the station in 1993 as a probationer, but served at Sun Hill for over three years. She appeared credited in 22 episodes over the course of three years, but was a non-prominent character despite having speaking roles in all of the episodes in which she appeared. Notably, her first name was never credited, despite being mentioned by both Sgt.'s Boyden and Steele. and she was credited as WPC Hughes in all of her appearances. Her last credited appearance came in December 1996.

DS Phil Hunter arrived at Sun Hill in July 2002, shortly after the events of the Sun Hill Fire. A cocky womaniser and constantly on the verge of corrupt, Phil was a nightmare for his management; DCI Jack Meadows concerned early on that he had an heir to Don Beech on his team. Phil had many relationships with women, married and otherwise, during his five year stint at Sun Hill; DSs Samantha Nixon and Debbie McAllister and DC Juliet Becker fell for his charms at some point. He fathered son Alfie and daughter Madison through different mothers, Kate and Christine respectively, but wife Cindy was the love of his life. Despite extra marital affairs, Phil would do anything for Cindy, but they divorced in 2006 when she realised he wasn’t interested in fathering a child with her.

Phil came into Sun Hill to replace DS Vik Singh, who resigned shortly before the 2002 station fire. Like Singh, he was self motivated and arrogant, but also friendly with his colleagues, particularly the women. He developed a soft spot for DS Debbie McAllister and DC Eva Sharpe, but he was also quick to make enemies with Acting DI Sam Nixon, constantly quipping that she couldn’t order him around as they held the same rank, reminding her “You're only the acting DI” on a regular basis. Phil gained a hold on PC Nick Klein when he forced him to go undercover as a drug dealer, later filming him when he took cocaine in front of their undercover boss to maintain cover. This led to Phil constantly blackmailing Nick; he even detested him to the point that he identified Klein as himself when a recently released convict went after Phil for sleeping with his wife and daughter, with Nick seriously assaulted as a result. When DCI Meadows discovered Phil was in deep with murderer, paedophile and drugs baron Ron Gregory, Meadows threatened to report him to CIB. When Phil tried to ensnare Gregory, his friend turned into an enemy when he threatened to put a hit on Phil and his wife Cindy. Meadows quickly put Phil into protective custody until Gregory was jailed.

Phil later embarked on a relationship with DS McAllister and DC Juliet Becker, leading to a love triangle. This ended when the trio discovered the betrayal from each party, with Phil genuinely upset a few weeks later when Becker died after being stabbed during a hostage situation. Soon after this, Phil was caught up with another local villain, Dennis Weaver. Nick Klein had gotten Phil off his back a year earlier when he discovered that Weaver’s daughter Madison was actually Phil’s. Nick, who was forced into rehab after his cocaine addiction led him to crack, set up a slow burn revenge against Phil. He did a DNA test to prove to Cindy that Phil was Maddison’s father, who later revealed all to Dennis. He threw out wife Christine and Phil’s daughter Madison, but Phil took them in. When Cindy discovered this she attacked Christine. Nick persuaded both to press charges, and after Cindy convinced Phil to leave Christine, she cruelly dumped him to leave him with nothing. After discovering Nick spearheaded the revenge plan, Phil revealed Nick’s drug habit to Dennis, with Nick due to testify against a hitman hired by Dennis in a shooting murder. Phil was again hauled over the coals by Meadows for inappropriate relationships with criminals, but he got his boss on side by setting up Weaver with a fake hit on Nick. When the plan failed, Nick went into permanent witness protection. Dennis vanished but later abducted Madison, then drew Phil out, shooting him in revenge. Sam Nixon, now back down to DS, held Phil in a tunnel away from Dennis. They bonded as Phil lay dying, but he mustered the strength to shoot Dennis dead when he found them, with Dennis attempting to kill Sam after she disarmed him. Phil and Sam became close friends from then onwards, and eventually best friends when Phil helped Sam after the abduction of her daughter Abigail.

When Phil’s sex addiction led to him ruining an operation against crime boss Irene Radford, which led to Inspector Gina Gold being abducted, Phil decided to go to a sex addicts anonymous meeting to cure himself. It backfired when he ended up in bed with one of the members, Kate Maltby. When she fell pregnant, Phil tried to distance himself from her, saying he was “firing blanks” and she was a sex addict. When Christine told Phil she was taking Madison to Australia, Phil’s mother turned up and told him to get his affairs in order, and he stunned Kate with a marriage proposal. Plans were abruptly ended when Kate slept with Phil’s brother Steve. Phil remained adamant he hadn’t impregnated Kate, but after reuniting with Cindy, she demanded he take a DNA test to put the matter to rest. After discovering he was indeed the father of baby Alfie, Phil seized the chance to be a father again after Cindy told him not to blow it, but Phil was left devastated when Kate said she was moving to Cardiff. Realising he could still commute there on his days off, Phil got his second chance to be a dad. Cindy pressed him to do IVF, then adoption when the IVF failed, but his reluctance led to his second attempt at marriage with Cindy failing.

Phil later clashed with new DS Stuart Turner when he grew close to Sam. Phil warned his friend that Stuart saw her as a ticket to better places, however she ignored his jealousy and embarked on a romance with Stuart. When Sam unexpectedly fell pregnant and tragically miscarried, Stuart's reaction made Sam realise he wasn’t right for her, so she ended the relationship. When a secondment to Romania almost ended in Phil and Sam being shot on two separate occasions, she began a romance with her best friend. However, Sam ended it when she realised he wouldn’t stop being a womaniser. Sam’s promotion back to DI in 2007, this time permanently, didn’t affect her relationship with Phil as it did when she was last his supervisor. He respected his boss more this time around, but he still pushed too far on occasion, however the respect was there when it mattered. Several months after finishing a secondment to Specialist Crimes, Phil accepted a permanent transfer there in October 2007, leaving Sun Hill considerably more mature than when he arrived five years earlier.

PC Steve Hunter took a childhood trauma and turned it into a job. Steve saw his best friend murdered in a shooting, and after watching him die, he decided to join the police to make up for the life he failed to save. His brother Phil was also in the force, and while he idolised Phil, he also resented him for leaving Steve to the wrath of their abusive father during his teenage years. Steve is naïve and likeable, yet slightly awkward and a dreamer.

Steve joined Sun Hill in the summer of 2004, delighted to have been posted to Sun Hill, where his brother was a DS in CID. Phil was unhappy to have his brother in the same station as him, especially when Steve revealed to uniform on day one that Phil was "firing blanks". Phil asked DI Neil Manson to have Steve transferred, but his arrest of a highly elusive criminal on his first day made Manson reject Phil's request. Despite this, Phil constantly tried to have Steve transferred to another station.

Steve's determination to nail gun-related criminals came to light when a sniper began rampaging around Sun Hill. He was first on scene when the first victim was murdered, and soon after the murder of the second victim, Steve went overboard when he tried to warn PC Lance Powell after he chased an armed suspect. Steve found the suspect's weapon on a search and pointed it at Lance to warn him of the risks of gunmen. A furious Powell threatened to report Steve, which could cost him his job, however Powell lamented when Steve told him of his best friend's shooting murder. Steve was part of the arrest team when the sniper was located, however PC Gabriel Kent knew the killer and went to silence him instead of letting the arrest team get there first. After a scuffle, Kent hoisted the sniper over a balcony, dropping him to his death in full view of Steve. Steve was concerned Kent was involved, but Kent manipulated him into backing up Kent's false claim that he accidentally dropped the sniper off the balcony.

Steve later became keen to get involved when he discovered Phil had gotten a sex addict, Kate Maltby, pregnant. When Phil proposed to Kate, she accepted, however she was left furious when Phil revealed he was still married to his estranged wife, Cindy. When Steve went to comfort Kate they ended up sleeping together. Steve let this slip to Cindy, who relished in telling Phil. Steve was subject to an attack by Phil and their relationship didn't recover from there. Phil eventually came around after constantly pushing Kate away, with a DNA test proving he was the father of Kate's baby. Kate and Phil decided against marrying, but Kate allowed Phil to see baby Alfie on a regular basis, despite Kate moving to Cardiff. Things didn't improve for Phil and Steve, however, and after constantly being put down by his brother, Steve decided to move to his hometown of Derby and put in for a transfer to Derbyshire Constabulary. Steve and Phil arranged for a goodbye drink, but Phil missed it to have a one night stand with a solicitor whose client he was trying to arrest. Phil offered to make amends but Steve made his last act at Sun Hill to finally stand up to his brother and tell him exactly what he thought of him.

CSP Rachel Inns arrives at Sun Hill in June 2007, and on her first day, is tasked with working on the murder of supermodel Cindy Statham, who she went to school with. During her time, she befriends crime scene examiner Lorna Hart, in an attempt to disguise her real intentions. It is later discovered by DC Jo Masters that Rachel killed Cindy because she was the one who encouraged Cindy to become a model but was never acknowledged for it. Before Masters can arrest her, Inns kidnaps Masters and attempts to kill her, but is arrested by CO19 before she can succeed. Rachel departed Sun Hill in August 2007 as she is arrested and jailed. and Lorna Hart decides to leave soon after the events, believing that she took her eye off the ball.

PC Mike Jarvis arrived at Sun Hill from Barton Street in February 1993, after four years in the force, to find his new colleagues were wary. They were waiting to see how close to Inspector Cato, also from Barton Street, he turned out to be. They didn't have to wait long. Jarvis put as much distance between himself and his unpopular boss as he could. It became clear that he did not approve of some of the older man's methods. It also became clear, as the months went by, that he was unimpressed by some of his colleagues, too. He found Loxton's approach sometimes unprofessional; he seemed not to trust Matthew Boyden; but he got on well with Dave Quinnan and George Garfield. He looked down, in both senses of the words, on some of the women. But there may have been a spark of something for Polly Page although she didn't know it. Jarvis could be bad-tempered, but he was a valuable member of the team – he was used to fitting in quickly. He did this through a consciously positive outlook on life, which could be undermined by exasperation and flashes of temper. Despite this, he had a well-meaning, good-natured attitude to the job, which could make him seem rather earnest. Popular with his colleagues, he was sometimes irritated that they weren't as straight as he was. A trained Area car driver, Jarvis developed into a reliable and conscientious officer during his time at the station. And good in the police rugby team, too. And long legs could be useful when the only way on to one tower-block balcony is from another tower-block balcony. With Jarvis it was 'Just step this way'. Jarvis went on attachment to the Diplomatic Protection Group for several weeks in 1998, before transferring there permanently later that year. He clashed immediately with new PC Vicky Hagen upon his departure, as she had 'blown the whistle' on a friend of his who had assaulted a prisoner at their station in Essex. When it was revealed that the prisoner was a 14-year-old boy, Jarvis changed his stance and parted on good terms with his colleague.

PC Amber Johannsen was feisty - but she was neither gutsy nor focused. She was born into a lower-class family but had her sights on the high life; she was looking for a provider. In the meantime, being a police officer offered a stable income, good holidays and – best of all – an opportunity to take advantage of her role in society – oh; and there was a great uniform too. She decided to join the police after briefly dating a police officer. Amber's roots were very modest; her father was a taxi driver and her mum a beauty therapist. Beneath the happy smile, Amber was manipulative and self-obsessed. She liked to get what she wanted and didn't care who she hurt in the process. In many ways, the designer labels she wore showed her determination to get a better life for herself – and get as far as possible from her working-class background. Until she achieved her goal in society, Amber amused herself by toying with the likes of Steve Hunter. The two things that excited her most were shopping and sex and she was practically addicted to both. She was beautiful and knew it, taking every opportunity to flirt and break hearts – with both men and women. Amber wanted the finer things in life and everyone at the station knew that as soon as she found a man to fund it, she'd ditch her uniform quicker than she could manage to read a criminal their rights. She even became an escort to make extra money, having been in awe of an escort's plush apartment when investigating a crime. This attitude certainly didn't endear her to her colleagues, some of whom made no secret of their dislike for her. Inspector Gold eventually tired of her questionable commitment to the job and prompted her resignation from the force after several high profile mistakes.

DI Sally Johnson believed she was God's gift to policing, and she may have turned out to be just that if her interpretation of means-to-an-end had tallied with the Met's. You could never have accused her of lacking in self-belief. Having risen through the ranks at an alarming pace to become a DS at Stafford Row, she was ready to tackle whatever another promotion and Sun Hill could throw at her by way of racist, sexist remarks. If she couldn't deal with it, she wouldn't have got where she was. Johnson had always been aware that her colour and education were an advantage within the force, and that they had led to her promotion in the climate of positive discrimination rather than on her real ability to do the job. This didn't mean that she was incompetent, but like a lot of the fast track promotions, she lacked a lot of basic ground experience. She put in the hours and got her hands dirty, but always found it difficult to accept that she was in charge now, and not one of the lads. And if there was an inner core of loneliness beneath the ambitious exterior, she took care to keep it hidden. Johnson grew up in London, and it was soon clear to her West Indian family that she had brains. They were somewhat surprised when after university she chose to use them in the police force, but she rose through the ranks very quickly and loved going to work, loved being in control of others and, above all, loved catching thieves. Johnson charged along the corridors with her subordinates trying to keep up. Her easy manner won her friends and took the starch out of some of the senior officers. But on occasions her know-it-all air could be irritating. The word 'delegate' was not in her vocabulary – she enjoyed the work on the streets and in the interview room too much for that. She may not have shown great wisdom in the detectives she had chosen to favour – making Pearce her pet at the start was perhaps a mistake, and she'd been clumsy in her treatment of Ackland, whose years of experience she undervalued. Johnson's unshakeable faith in her own abilities irritated a number of more experienced officers at the station and her confidence took a long overdue knock when she was subjected to a private prosecution for manslaughter following the raid of a crack dealer's house. Up till then she had been completely comfortable with her power. From then on she had moments of doubt. As her methods came under increasing scrutiny, it was clear that her days at Sun Hill were numbered – and when she was offered a desk job attachment monitoring overtime, she realised she had no choice but to take it. Johnson eventually left the Met. to become a private investigator. She returned to Sun Hill in 2003 to investigate claims of a fit up in the Simpson murder case, prompting both DC Danny Glaze and PC Des Taviner to go on the run, as they had planted evidence and concocted a confession to secure Simpson's conviction for firebombing the police station in 2002.

DC Brandon Kane came from a small Asian Leicester family. He was not a practising Hindu and although his parents were, they were fairly liberal about his decision to leave his faith at home. Only his vegetarianism gave away any sign of a religious background. Brandon grew up in a happy atmosphere with his older sister Mira whom he adored, eventually following in her footsteps by training to be an accountant where he met his ex-wife, Tanya, with whom he had 2 children. When their marriage began to crumble, he took time to consider his options in life. After the divorce he decided to give up his job to go into the police service. It was not exactly a 'calling' for Brandon – it just seemed a natural step to take. Somewhat to his surprise he was good at the profession, and began to enjoy the lifestyle it brought him. Kane spent three years as a PC in the midlands moving to London, being deployed at neighbouring Barton Street station. His potential was noticed early on by the CID officers where he was based as a bright, meticulous officer, with the potential to be a very good detective. This coupled with a twinkle in the eye and a sense of humour as dry as the Sahara desert, made him a very popular. Brandon hated to be idle – he always wanted to be up and off doing something; and when he was forced to remain in one place he seemed restless. When he made mistakes in the station and out on a case they tended to stem from his impulsive nature that occasionally made him speak before thinking and act before determining the consequences.

Brandon was keen to join when he heard Sun Hill was getting a Community Safety Unit, moving across the borough from Barton Street. Sergeant June Ackland was impressed by his CV and references, while he was keen to work under an officer with such an immense reputation. Brandon settled quickly, immediately noticing a supposed victim of crime was actually a drug dealer. He bonded early on with PC Cathy Bradford, however she lost his trust when they clashed on the case of a girl who went missing to avoid being forced into an arranged marriage, with Bradford calling the parents of the girl when she arrived at the station, leading Brandon to be attacked and the girl being abducted.

Bradford became keen to make amends with Brandon when she let slip to DS Phil Hunter that his ex-wife Tanya was a lesbian, causing Hunter to spread the news around the relief. When Tanya left Brandon's kids, Zoe and Jordan, in the care of Sergeant Ackland and PC Jim Carver, Zoe fell and scraped her knee. A furious Tanya told Brandon she'd be taking a job offer in Scotland and that the kids would be going with her. Bradford immediately went to the restaurant where Tanya and her partner Roz were having lunch, bribing a barman to spike Tanya's drink. Tanya was arrested for drink driving and lost her license, causing the job offer in Scotland to be rescinded. She immediately suspected Brandon and stopped him seeing Zoe and Jordan, but Cathy thought she'd struck gold when a teacher found bruises on Jordan. While Bradford discovered Zoe inflicted them, she manipulated the teacher into blaming Roz, causing Tanya to dump her.

Bradford started to become obsessed with Brandon when she was pricked by a needle trying to arrest a suspect, lying that she was diagnosed HIV-positive, with Brandon and Bradford ending up in bed together. Bradford was keen to pursue a relationship with Brandon, but he pushed her away. When Brandon was transferred to CID ahead of Bradford, she caused a scene in CSU and said the HIV diagnosis was the reason she was turned down for CID. When front desk officer Roberta Cryer began questioning Bradford over her diagnosis, she claimed she was misdiagnosed. When Tanya was a victim of hate mail, Brandon helped her out, causing them to get closer. Tanya asked Cryer whether anything was going on between Brandon and Bradford, with Cryer saying Bradford was obsessive, so Tanya called her to have a chat. As Bradford deluded herself, Tanya worked out what Cryer said was true. As they argued in a staircase, Bradford told Tanya that she disgusted Brandon, causing her to lunge at Bradford; lashing out, Tanya fell backwards down the stairs. When it looked like Tanya might pull through, Bradford contemplated running away, until she heard that the investigation was pointing at Brandon. Bradford provided a false alibi, lying that she was pregnant with Brandon's baby, and Bradford uncovered evidence that Roz was responsible for Tanya's hate mail. As Tanya succumbed to her injuries, the case was deemed an accident, and Brandon was cleared. Bradford offered to help Brandon with the kids but he pushed her away.

When Bradford returned to work after the incident, she lied about having a miscarriage to get further attention from Brandon, however the attempt failed. Bradford's attention towards Brandon waned when she began a relationship with Max Wyatt, ex-boyfriend of her recently incarcerated friend, PC Polly Page. That all changed when Bradford returned from a period of enforced leave, having done an unauthorised interview with Lorraine Kelly following Page's imprisonment, when Bradford noticed Brandon was getting close to PC Honey Harman. When Bradford's insensitivity got her kicked out of CSU, she unleashed her anger by torching Brandon's home and framing Harman. When Brandon moved in with Bradford, he found a CCTV tape from the car park where Tanya died, with Bradford on tape following her. Taking the tape to Harman, Brandon realised that Bradford was responsible, so they went to DCI Jack Meadows. When Bradford's now-fiancée Max Wyatt was found dead, the pair realised Bradford was also responsible after she reported her ASP missing, which Brandon found in her house. As the net closed in, Bradford abducted Brandon's kids and held them hostage in the station boiler room. A siege ensued, and Brandon traded his kids for himself, with Bradford confessing to her crimes while she held Brandon captive. As Brandon seduced Bradford to break her down, she realised he was trying to escape, causing her to start a fire. Her murder-suicide plan failed, with TSG storming the boiler room and arresting her for murder. Bradford was sent to an insane asylum and found not guilty of murder by means of insanity. In the wake of the siege, Brandon decided to resign to be there for his kids, realising he'd lost his touch after being conned by an elderly woman trying to commit insurance fraud.

PC Leela Kapoor had been in the Metropolitan Police for seven years before coming to Sun Hill. She may have been spiky and defensive, but she was also warm with a wicked sense of humour. She served her probation at Barton Street, and prior to joining Sun Hill, saw two of her colleagues assaulting a witness. Leela being Leela, at the forefront of justice and wanting to do the right thing, reported her peers. Life subsequently became rather difficult for her as she was seen as a grass, so she opted for a transfer to another nick. Leela was second generation British Hindu; at home she spoke Hindi but also had Punjabi and Urdu under her belt. Although Leela's home life was happy, she was exposed to the bigotry of society at an early age. Whilst she was fairly protected from racism by her family and circle of friends, her personal circumstances meant she experienced prejudice of a different kind, when her uncle, a high-profile businessman, was accused of embezzlement. Leela's family had to fight a long, public, legal battle to clear her uncle's and the family's name. The Police's handling of the case, and some officer's ignorance when dealing with her family, all contributed to Leela's decision to become a police officer. Leela was not for wearing her ethnicity on her forehead – she just got on with it and celebrated the fact that she was different. One thing she couldn't stand, however, was being used as a token ethnic officer in the PC initiatives being pedalled by management. Leela was never one to take the easy option, out to prove she could do whatever she put her mind to. She was uncompromising and had a strong moral code, but could at times be quite guarded. If you were fortunate enough or cared enough to get to know the real Leela, you found a warm, caring, and sensitive woman. However, Leela was a tough nut to crack and she had a tendency to withdraw into herself if she felt vulnerable. For this, people perceived her to be difficult and cold, unless they were prepared to dig a little deeper. Leela left Sun Hill after receiving an offer to transfer to the Foreign Office. Little did she know that the position had been orchestrated by Sgt. Stone, who had tired of Leela playing everything by the book in her position as station's Fed Rep, and wanted shot of her.

PC Debbie Keane joined Sun Hill from Hendon along with classmate Nick Slater but soon emerged as the more promising of the two. She had tried a number of different jobs, including Leisure Centre Assistant and Outward Bound Instructor, but until becoming a police officer, nothing had really satisfied her. Debbie was attractive, fit, vivacious and not a complainer. She met any challenge with vigour and enthusiasm. Not afraid to assert herself physically, she could also hold her own in a scrap. Debbie's cheery manner could be infectious and she was definitely somebody you'd want on your side. Her attitude marked her out as a natural leader, but needing to be tempered by experience. Confident and ambitious, Debbie was encouraged by her senior officers to try for her sergeant's exams – she'd certainly found her niche in the Met. She made an unexplained exit in September 1998.

PC Emma Keane was the last ever regular character to be killed off before the series ended.

From a middle-class background, she is the daughter of DCI Frank Keane from the Department of Professional Standards, but is determined to prove that she earned her position in the police force on merit rather than nepotism. Emma came across as smart and fun-loving. After graduating from University, Emma trained at Hendon for five weeks before being posted to Sun Hill, and completed her training there, recently graduating from her probationary period. After being involved in an incident where a fellow policeman was killed, Emma was convinced that Inspector Gina Gold was bullying her. She made a false complaint but it was not until they worked together on a rape case that she realised Gina was not really bullying her and withdrew the complaint. Unfortunately, she goes to see the superintendent and he tells her his hands are tied on the matter but the complaint was later withdrawn. While dating CPS solicitor Matt Hinckley, Emma had a one-night stand with Will Fletcher, Emma later agreed to marry Matt out of guilt for cheating on him. However, the night before her wedding, she opened up to Matt and told him about the brief affair. Matt got his friends to beat up Will but during the course of the next day Will punched Matt and they agree not to press charges against each other. Emma and Matt get married and both go back at work after their honeymoon. Shortly after the wedding, Matt reveals that he wants to start a family with Emma fairly soon but she does not feel ready. Later, when Emma finds out that Matt lied to her about his ex-girlfriend being dead, she confronts him with evidence that she is still alive. The two have an argument and Matt attempts to strangle her. She hit him on the head with a Vodka bottle, which is just within reach. Matt later claimed that Emma tried to kill him but was arrested, following an investigation into the incident. After the incident, Emma grew closer to Will. Emma was killed when she attempted to evacuate a building she suspected was threatened by a terrorist attack. In the absence of her sergeant, Callum Stone, Emma was forced to attempt the evacuation alone, until a bomb went off with Emma inside. When Stone arrived, he attempted frantically to revive the PC, but to no avail. Stone is racked with guilt at Emma's death, and that he may have been able to do something about it, had he been where he should have. He later took his frustration out on Sergeant Smith, and the two sergeants are pulled apart by a furious Inspector Gold.

DCI Frank Keane was a semi-regular character on The Bill at the beginning 2006, a member of the Directorate of Professional Standards who took up several cases involving Sun Hill.[5]

Keane was introduced in the first episode of the 22nd series; when an incarcerated and dying convict, Vince Parker, accused Sun Hill DCI Jack Meadows of covering up a murder, ex-Sun Hill DI Neil Manson of the Murder Investigation Team called Keane in to assist. Parker accused Meadows and his former DI Douggie Price (Paul Copley) of covering up evidence in a murder for a bribe when Meadows was a DC, then falsely jailing him a year later for crippling a postman during an armed robbery at a Post Office. Meadows was not happy to see Keane involved in the case, as he had a history with Keane. Although reluctant to confide in Manson, Keane eventually admitted that he arrested an informant of Price's and was pinned against a wall by Price. As the evidence stacked against Meadows, he found the real culprit for the original armed robbery, who revealed it was Price who took the bribe to frame Vince Parker. When Price vanished and Parker died in a prison hospital, Meadows tracked Price down at the home of Parker's wife and son. It was there that Parker's son Andy held Price and Meadows at gunpoint, and it was revealed Price framed Parker because Andy was actually his son. After Meadows talked Andy down, Price lamented and made a full confession to Keane and Manson.

Keane was called back to Sun Hill a few weeks later when Sergeant Dale Smith was arrested for causing death by dangerous driving, with his girlfriend Louise Larson (Rosie Marcel) run over by his car, and Smith found drunk behind the wheel. While Keane thought it was open and shut, the Sun Hill team thought Smith had been framed as Louise was married to major villain Pete Larson (Graham McTavish), and they were determined to prove he used his associates to frame Smith for murder. When forensic examiners discovered the hit and run was deliberate, Smith was charged with murder. As Manson continued to work with MIT to prove Smith's innocence, he decided to return to Sun Hill to work the case from Smith's side, but DC Zain Nadir compromised their hopes when he leant on a witness too much. A couple of months later, as Smith remained on remand, a fraud case threw up an unexpected lead in the Louise Larson murder inquiry. Keane returned to Sun Hill at the request of DCI Meadows, and he eventually came round to the idea that Smith could indeed have been framed for the murder. As the key witness was cracked, the evidence fell into place, so Pete Larson was arrested for conspiracy to murder and Smith was freed.

Keane was called back to Sun Hill when a disastrous night at a club saw a balcony collapse, killing seven people and critically injuring a Sun Hill officer, PC Roger Valentine. Keane was drafted in after following up a complaint to Independent Police Complaints Commission by the families of the victims. Keane's daughter, PC Emma Keane, a probationer at the time, came under fire for her handling of an arrest that caused a disturbance outside the club. However, Keane's determination to protect his daughter saw him try to shift blame onto her trainer, PC Leela Kapoor. Emma was left furious as a result and confronted her father, telling him that his constant controlling of her career was not what she wanted, and that Kapoor was not to blame for her mistake. Keane apologised to Kapoor and made peace with his daughter, then confirming to Superintendent Adam Okaro that the complaint about the nightclub disaster was unfounded. He was not seen afterwards, however he was mentioned when Emma married, as he was on a case in Spain and unable to attend. Inspector Gina Gold also mentioned him when Emma was killed in the spring of 2008, and while he was devastated by her death, he was also disappointed he was unable to convince her to take a less risky role than frontline policing.

Sergeant Jane Kendall served as Chief Inspector Conway's right-hand lady in the Community Liaison Office. Born into an RAF family, Jane joined the police force at 17 and had been a sergeant for four years when she transferred to Sun Hill. She was a tirelessly committed officer and completely dedicated to her job. She saw her policing role as essentially one of serving the community rather than catching crooks. Caring and compassionate, her generous heart was easily touched by a hard-luck story, which sometimes led to other officers accusing her of being too soft on criminals. But her instinctive perception and sympathy meant she could communicate easily with people from all walks of life. An active sportswoman, she was not afraid to be disliked and pull rank in order to get the best performance from those around her. Conway came to rely on her intuition and the two shared a good working relationship, based on mutual respect. After a nine-month stint in the CLO, she left later that year.

Area Commander Lisa Kennedy joined Sun Hill in early 2010, becoming the first on-screen Commander since Adam Okaro left in 2006. She had replaced Okaro some time before the summer of 2009 when Jack Meadows was promoted to Superintendent, as she told Meadows at one point that she did not approve his application for promotion, despite him succeeding in his bid. She was first brought in to investigate a claim of police brutality against Sergeant Callum Stone, who was seen on video assaulting someone whilst trying to give medical aid to a bleeding female during a disturbance outside a nightclub. She offered Superintendent Jack Meadows any procedural support during the investigation into Sergeant Stone's actions. When Stone was suspended, morale in uniform dropped dramatically as they believed Sergeant Stone was "shafted". Kennedy provided support when Nate Roberts and Ben Gayle were shot at on patrol, but came down hard on Meadows for not sending the pair home in the aftermath, as Roberts lashed out at Inspector Dale Smith for his handling of a suspect's arrest. Kennedy was also on hand to assist Meadows in dealing with the press after the shooting murder of a teenager, before dealing with procedures to end Stone's suspension. Kennedy's final act at Sun Hill saw her spearhead crowd control with Meadows for a football derby, however accusations of kettling were publicly made by media, and things were only made worse by the death of a fan. When it was revealed that her son Mark was involved in covering up for his friends, the prime suspects, he was arrested and charged with perverting the course of justice. In the light of the scandal, Kennedy left Sun Hill after informing media of the situation.

PC Gabriel Kent (real name David Stuart Kent) was one of the most coldest and deranged police officers ever to work at Sun Hill. On the outside, he appeared to be a respectable police officer, but he was just as quick to exploit trust as he was to gain it. Before joining the Metropolitan Police, David spent sixteen years in the Royal Navy. He was not highly regarded by other sailors and was thought of as a bully with a short temper. He later joined the Met to get revenge on Sgt June Ackland for one reason and one reason only; June had given birth to a boy and put the baby up for adoption. David's parents adopted June's son and gave him all the praise, making their own son extremely bitter and jealous. David arrived at Sun Hill under his brother's ID to seek revenge on June, but the mode of his insanity grew and grew as he demolished people and his colleagues when he committed crimes of fraud, perjury, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, rape, murder and conspiracy to murder. Throughout his time at Sun Hill, he evolved from a bullying bigot into a serial killer.

Kent first appeared as a stranger who frightened away a mugger from off-duty Sergeant June Ackland before he joined Sun Hill. When he arrived at Sun Hill, he brought a mature aged attitude to the force; he was keen to do good and enforce the law. In the beginning he worked mostly by the book, but soon the power went to his head. His first victim was PC Ruby Buxton who resigned from the force when Kent bullied her into lying on the stand at a court appearance. Inspector Gina Gold was immediately aware of his actions and kept a watchful eye over him after the incident. So greatly annoyed at his superior was Kent that he turned to blackmail when he discovered that she had been caught over the legal alcohol limit and used this to force her hand. After enacting actions of a mental proportion, he turned to the physical side of things when involved in the marriage of DC Jim Carver to Marie Graham. Called out to a disturbance at their home, Kent took control of the situation by hitting Jim over the head with a vodka bottle. Both Jim and Marie subsequently ended up in hospital with confusion reigning on what had actually occurred. Marie reported seeing Kent hit Jim with the bottle, but he was able to clear his name of her allegation, although Gold was not at all convinced by his side of the story. Kent then moved on to June by playing on her insecurities and then seducing her. The two began a relationship, which they kept to themselves. However, Gina had done some digging into his background and discovered his birth certificate, showing that his birth name was Robert Ackland – the son June had given up for adoption, but DC Carver later found the birth certificate and showed it to June. Shocked and betrayed that she had committed incest, June confronted Kent and he admitted that he was her son. However, he then repented and revealed to June that her real son was in fact his adoptive brother after she told him that his son's birth had been the result of a rape when June was only a teenager and that their relationship was all part of his revenge plan. Shocked and furious, June threatened to tell the whole relief the truth, but Kent convinced her to remain quiet by giving her the chance to meet her real son. His secret was thus kept behind closed doors.

For sometime, Kent had been obsessed with his colleague PC Kerry Young. When Young slept with Sergeant Dale Smith, who was secretly in love with her, after a heavy drinking session, Kent twisted the situation out of his hatred for the Sergeant by cruelly tricking Young into accusing Smith of date-rape, persuading her to make an official allegation and then spread the news around the whole relief. Young, however, withdrew the accusation after realising that Smith was incapable of rape. After the failure of the rape allegation against Smith, Kent developed a sick interest in Young and tried to get close to her. He even kissed her while on duty, but Young pushed him away as she was seeing PC Cameron Tait at the time. Kent convinced himself that she was deliberately 'leading him on' and making him think that they could have had a relationship, and when Young agreed to marry Tait, Kent wrongfully accused her of 'pushing him too far' and 'winding him up' and took out all his anger and jealousy on her by violently raping her. Shocked and traumatised by the vicious attack, Young confided in Tait, but Kent taunted that she slept with him willingly and was just the girl who cried rape when she was unfaithful, for he knew that no one would believe her after her previous cry of rape. Young was distraught when Tait didn't believe her and ended their relationship. Knowing she couldn't report him, Kent mentally taunted her and played sick mind games with her, before later admitting to Tait that he did indeed rape her. Tait convinced Youg to report the rape, but Kent bullied and blackmailed her for neglecting her duty during an armed robbery at a bank, and threatened to end her career if she reported the rape. He then played his last sick game with Young by deliberately goading Tait into assaulting him in the station canteen. Tait's career was put on the line after his attack on Kent, and he left Sun Hill the next day and returned to Australia. Young went completely off the rails when she couldn't tell the truth, but she warned Kent that the battle was far from over and swore that she would find a way to destroy him like he destroyed her.

In the aftermath of Young's allegation against Smith being leaked to the press, Kent was assigned to the Cole Lane Estate as a community liaison. When it is revealed a resident is convicted peadophile, Roy Stafford, Kent tells people on the estate to spread the word. When Stafford refuses to leave, even after a near riot outside his house, Kent savagely assaults him. His actions are witnessed by estate resident Laura Bryant, but she alibis him instead of exposing his role, in exchange for him doing the same to a loan shark exploiting single mums on the estate. Happy by the results, Bryant teams up with Kent and a team of thugs to deal with all the problems on the estate. When Kent uses them to assault two teenage boys for assaulting and robbing an elderly lady, Bryant decides enough is enough. Bryant reveals all to DC Rob Thatcher, but a CID case sees DCI Jack Meadows tell Inspector Gold to take Kent off the estate for his own good.

Young later tried to nail Kent for a series of rapes, but when she had one of the victims identify him, he revealed it was because she saw him in hospital. When the case fell apart, Inspector Gold vowed to see her booted from the force. After going undercover with the Radford family to boost her reputation, Young ended up digging herself deeper, leading her back to Smith. Young noticed Kent having harsh words with Ackland, and when Young learned from Smith that Kent is Ackland's 'son', she went to Ackland to try and gain evidence. During a dispute, Ackland lets slip that Kent isn't her son. Just as she goes to expose him, she is arrested for being framed by the Radfords for a robbery, as revenge for David Radford being arrested. During her suspension, Young's father has a stroke, but she vows to expose Kent and undercover journalist Andrea Dunbar if her dad pulls through. As she heads to the station, Kent positions himself on a building across from Sun Hill. As Young declares her love for Smith, Kent shoots her twice, and she later dies in hospital. With Young out of the way and his identity safe, Kent's joy is quickly snapped when MIT DI Rowanne Morell tells him she was three months pregnant with his unborn son as a result of his rape of her. Seizing the chance to cover the rape up, Kent lies that he was in a relationship with Young, claiming that is why she was pregnant and why Tait beat him up before leaving. After breaking down reading a eulogy at Young's funeral, Kent ends up in a fight with Smith, where he cruelly announces to the relief that Young was pregnant. Smith is left devastated until Dunbar tells him that Young was raped, and his suspicions are proved true when Young's father comes to see him; when he makes a point of saying Young called Smith her knight in shining armour, Kent eavesdrops and tells the relief she said it about him. Realising Dunbar's allegations must be true, Smith takes his suspicions to MIT, but it proves to be a fruitless endeavour.

Kent's murder of Young made him look like the prime suspect for three other sniper deaths before Young was killed, but when Kent is shot at while escorting a prisoner back to the station, it is revealed he was supplying names to a former Navy colleague, Jason Hardy. Telling Hardy that he is only supposed to shoot the people Kent tells him, they agree to return to their original tact, but their plans are sidelined when Hardy is identified renting a van found abandoned near the site of the latest shooting. When Hardy's gun is found by Smithy, Kent rushes to Hardy; stating that if he shot Hardy no one would shed a tear, Kent goes to shoot him with a nearby pistol, but they end up in a struggle. A gunshot alerts the SO19 team to the scuffle, and PC Steve Hunter sees Hardy dangle over the balcony just after Kent lifts his legs over. Before SO19 can arrive, Kent drops Hardy five stories to his death, and the MIT enquiry officially clears Kent of murder. Morrell tells Superintendent Okaro that Kent either killed Hardy to avenge Young's death or in self defence, but neither could be proved.

When her editor tells her she is going to pulled from Sun Hill, Dunbar decides to expose Kent once and for all with the help of Smith. She first approaches Laura Bryant, now a PCSO at Sun Hill, and discovers his crimes on the Cole Lane Estate. Dunbar and Smith are happy with the progress but want to nail him for raping Young. When her editor puts her in touch with a Naval reporter, she is told of a press photo of Kent that could nail him, but her plans come crashing down when her role as an undercover journalist is exposed. Smith refuses to listen to her because of the nature of her deception, but when Andrea convinced him that they had evidence against Kent, he agrees to let her collect it from her pigeonhole. The evidence turns out to be a newspaper article from Kent's days in the Navy and a photograph of him and Hardy, complete with his true identity. However, Kent catches her with the article and drags her hostage into a storage. When Dunbar tells him he has nowhere left to run, he admits all his crimes, but his plan to come clean is disrupted by a van driving into the front office of Sun Hill. When the van explodes and sets the station alight, including the store room, Kent initially tries to rescue Dunbar but can't free her from a collapsed wall, so he leaves her to perish along with the evidence she gathered against him. Seizing his opportunity to turn the situation to his advantage, as he so often did, heroically dragging a trapped Smith out of the burning station. Smith tries to share Dunbar's suspicions with Inspector Gold whilst in hospital, but she discredits the claims given Dunbar's betrayal of Sun Hill.

After the fire, Kent appears to be a changed man, keeping himself out of trouble and performing good police work, but he isn't a changed man for long. He becomes close to PC Sheelagh Murphy after they investigate a case of child abuse; after sharing a kiss with her, he tries to hold off temptation by taking leave, and tries to warn her off by admitting to murdering Jason Hardy. When she accepts that he would kill the mother of his unborn child, they begin a relationship, although Ackland also tries to warn her off. When Murphy suggests to Smith that Kent be considered for promotion, he drunkenly tells her that Kent raped Young. He later backtracks and tells her to forget about what he said, but she eventually confronts Kent about the allegation. Unimpressed that she doesn't trust him, he dumps her, and ends up in bed with a prostitute. But when Murphy's daughter Siobhan goes on a ride-along with him and tells him to reconcile with her mother, he decides to propose, which she accepts.

However, Kent's life then comes crashing down when his adoptive brother, the real Gabriel Kent, arrives at Sun Hill in search of Ackland. Kent tries unsuccessfully to persuade his brother not expose his identity theft, but as the real Gabriel goes to tell someone, they are held hostage by a grieving father, along with half of CID. During the siege, Gabriel is shot and falls off the CID balcony. Kent steals his wallet and phone before his brother is taken to hospital. When Bryant tells Smith that the mystery man identified himself as Gabriel Kent, Smith immediately goes to Ackland, who identifies him whilst in a coma at St. Hugh's ICU. When Bryant lets slip to Murphy, she finally discovers Kent's deceit, and after confronting him and initially hearing him out, he overpowers her and ties her to the bed. When Bryant and PC Tony Stamp rescue Murphy, DS Samantha Nixon and Smith arrange an arrest team. Whilst at hospital on another call, Kent tries to kill his brother after setting off the fire alarm. PC Steve Hunter finds Gabriel in cardiac arrest and alerts the crash team, who are successful in reviving him, unbeknownst to Kent. When he heads off to a disturbance in a tower block with Ackland, he spots the arrest team coming to get him. Dragging Ackland up to the roof, he confesses all as Smith rushes to the rescue. Upon hearing Kent's crimes towards Young, Smith charges in and the pair have a fight. Overpowering Smith, Kent is told by Ackland that he has nowhere left to run, so he climbs onto a scaffold pole and jumps off the roof to his death, his reign of terror at Sun Hill is finally over.

In the aftermath of his death, Ackland reconciles with her son upon his recovery in hospital. She and Smith face an enquiry in relation to Kent's death, but it is ruled as an open and shut suicide.

Inspector Brian Kite was an unpopular recruit to the Sun Hill ranks. He kept an eagle eye on his relief. He considered himself the modern face of policing: rule-bound, PACE-quoting, politically correct, making all the right moves. But really he was pedantic, officious and uncompassionate. No one was too upset when his stay at the station turned out to be for only a couple of months. During his time at Sun Hill he came under especially heavy criticism from DS Ted Roach.

PC Nick Klein had three or four years' experience in the job before transferring to Sun Hill from west London. He was already familiar with the area – partly because he's an East Ender himself, and partly because his off duty passion had led to him becoming fairly well established as a DJ at one of Sun Hill's local clubs. DJing was something he just about managed to fit in alongside his policing, mostly at weekends. Through his acquaintance with the club scene, Klein also met a girlfriend, who was the principal reason he asked for a transfer. Klein was a quick, likeable, clever officer – confident, versatile, naturally entrepreneurial, so he tended to play somewhat by his own rules. He had a good sense of humour, and a sharp East End wit – he was rarely stuck for a smart answer. In many ways Klein was simply a straight up East End lad, dealing in the odd bargain and happy on the odd Saturday afternoons when he could get to White Hart Lane with his mates. Klein was also essentially pragmatic – a relativist, who could usually see various sides to any argument. Alongside many of his colleagues he sometimes seemed to have a breezy, almost nonchalant attitude to his work. Perhaps this was because he'd done a fair amount before – e.g. travelling – and for him being a police officer was not a vocation or probably even a lifelong career. It was a different and challenging job for the time being: a chance to see things from the other side. Klein thought he had it all worked out in coming to Sun Hill – the girlfriend, the club, the DJing. He was rapidly involved in a tricky undercover operation to expose a racist officer at Barton Street however, as a result of which he lost his girlfriend and got a nasty scare when he was almost caught buying grass. He moved back into the Section House for a while and then went and stayed at home with his parents. Unfortunately Klein's little forays into buying grass morphed themselves into a nasty crack habit. Supt. Okaro allowed him into the rehab programme and gave him the chance to rejoin the officers at Sun Hill – but it proved to be a while before he won back the complete trust of his colleagues. In the end Nick hung up his uniform when he became a vital witness to a shooting; he went deep into Witness Protection until criminal Dennis Weaver could be brought to justice.

PC Kirsty Knight arrived at Sun Hill in February 2010, as Sun Hill's ambitious New Area Car Driver. She was hand-picked from a group of recruits by Sergeant Jo Masters. Kirsty arrived at a bad time, when the morale amongst her colleagues was low due to the suspension of Callum Stone. Kirsty attempted to defend Callum's suspension, but this only landed her in more trouble that she really needed. During her time at Sun Hill, she established herself as the kind PC amongst the relief, even taking care of a mother and son who were wrongly accused of theft.

Special Constable Terry Knowles was a double-glazing salesman in normal life. He served as a volunteer special constable for only three weeks. In his short time at Sun Hill, Terry became good friends with Des Taviner and fell out with Tony Stamp, who he famously called Moany Tony. His Sergeant, Craig Gilmore, was often rude towards him, claiming that he was only a special constable as he couldn't be bothered to do the work to be a proper police officer. While on duty, he stopped a woman for going through a red light, and she killed him after stabbing him in the neck with a steel comb when he was actually trying to get her phone number, so he could ask her on a date. After his death, according to local newspapers, he had split from his wife, Dani, with whom he had one son. He also had one sister and two nieces.

Sergeant Stuart Lamont was a sergeant on one of the non-prominent reliefs based at the station, typically seen as custody sergeant or CAD sergeant. Whilst he was only ever seen in the background, and was never a prominent character, he did help PC Reg Hollis solve a murder case in 1992. Lamont departed from Sun Hill in January 2001 in unknown circumstances.

SRO Marion Layland was the station's first reception officer, and was also a personal secretary to Chief Superintendent Brownlow whilst not on reception duty. She first arrives at Sun Hill in 1988, where she greets new PC Pete Ramsey into his first day on the job. Marion was a quiet sort of person, and was not known for being as active in the station as her successors, Robbie Cryer, Marilyn Chambers and Julian Tavell. But nonetheless, she put all her efforts into the job. Marion left Sun Hill in April 1999 due to family commitments.

DC Duncan Lennox comes to Sun Hill from Epsom prison and his motives for wanting a transfer to the East End are at first a mystery to his new colleagues in CID. A bulky Glaswegian with an ironic sense of humour, he quickly makes his presence felt, particularly with the women in the station, whom he treats with a combination of appreciative chivalry and old-fashioned sexism. Duncan manages to combine an air of profound laziness with sudden bursts of enthusiasm If he senses the chance of a good arrest, he pursues a case with dogged determination. There is nothing he enjoys more than arresting a villain, and he thoroughly annoys his victims by treating them with immense affability. Thirty-nine years old, with twenty-one years' service behind him, Duncan can be irritatingly smug about his experience of the job, an inveterate tease and, when roused, witheringly accurate in his put-downs, but his ready wit wins him friends and allies in the station. He is not as impulsive as some and often acts as the middle-man preferring to see both sides of an argument. The chink in his armour is his wife, Shona, who he treats with a healthy degree of respect and secretly adores, until she has an affair and leaves him. Shona is a highflying career woman, working for one of the larger financial institutions, and it is her salary rather than Duncan's that pays for their Docklands Riverside apartment. When Shona says jump, Duncan's only question is how high, a fact that his colleagues come to understand when they realise that it is her job that dictated the move to Sun Hill. Duncan is beginning a life on his own and slowly beginning to realise that he is up for standing on his own two feet. One step ahead of the game, Duncan decides to move onwards and upwards, becoming part of the Murder Investigation Team. One of his first assignments brings him back to Sun Hill to investigate the Sun Hill serial killer.

DC Alfred Lines, known simply as 'Tosh', was the heroic failure of Sun Hill. He was an instinctual officer, a decent man who understood human weakness because his home life was a happy, difficult, muddle-and-make-do existence. But no superintendent would ever dream of transferring him. He could smell a liar, and his clear-up rate was the best in CID. When Tosh arrived at Sun Hill in 1988 from a station in Essex he already had problems that weighed him down. He was in his late thirties, unlikely to be promoted because he never seemed to care that much about his career progress. He didn't look like a tough crime-buster. He stood at just 5 feet 7 inches tall, was a little on the chubby side – probably because he was always munching snacks on the job. And he was, frankly, scruffy. He seemed to have one suit, one shirt, which he wore Monday to Friday, one tatty old raincoat. It all matched his car, an ancient Volvo which kept breaking down. More to the point, he had a wife, Muriel, too large a mortgage, caused by too many children – three girls and two boys – for a constable's pay. He was however a good officer - and always had a ready smile that went right up into his eyes. He was second to none when it came to solving cases, which was why the likes of Burnside were happy to overlook his sartorial shortcomings and to protect him from any flak from above. He reacted strongly when accused of lacking ambition: he did care about his work – but he also cared deeply about his family. He was once offered the chance to go work in Northern Ireland. Burnside had put him up for it because he thought Tosh needed the money. Tosh turned it down – it would have put him at risk and then where would his family have been? At one stage, to ease his money problems, Tosh took in a student lodger, which was against Met. rules. The young man got into trouble. Sergeant Penny, Custody Officer at the time, discovered this and, rather than turn a blind eye to it, sent a report 'upstairs' as a result of which Tosh was carpeted. He survived, of course. He was far too good at sniffing out villains for a sniffy little man like Penny to put down. In the end, Tosh left Sun Hill in 1998, accepting a position in the Coroner's Office.

PC Dave Litten was ambitious, and from his arrival at Sun Hill, expressed his interest in joining CID, and took every opportunity to try and impress Roy Galloway. He was quite bigoted in his views and preferred a firm policing style rather than the 'social worker' approach of his colleagues. Litten's eagerness was often misplaced and when he attempted to score Brownie points by taking information on a series of armed robberies directly to Galloway, he was reprimanded by both the DI and Bob Cryer. Eventually a successful board led to him being temporarily seconded to CID, whereupon he began lording it over his old mates in Uniform. There was a vague spark of romantic interest between Litten and June Ackland, although it was never clear whether anything happened between them. Litten was eventually accepted on the trainee investigator course and later returned for Brownlow's clerk's retirement party in 1986.

PC Steve Loxton came to Sun Hill from his home in Manchester. He was full of himself, confident that he could do anything the job required. At that time – when there was a recruitment drive on – to have the guts and the gift of the gab was more than enough. Loxton had more – brains, ambition and a soldier's toughness. Many of his colleagues soon thought of him as loathsome Loxton. He seemed to have no patience with people on the streets. Whether they were villains or victims, he seemed to think they had brought their troubles on themselves; they were probably to blame. If they happened to be black, they were certainly to blame. Loxton joined the Army when he first left school. He liked the structure, the discipline, feeling he was part of a group – get apart from ordinary people, a group with special powers. But the Army was claustrophobic. He left at the end of his contract to join the police where he felt he'd have the status but also the independence. His wife preferred it, too, although Loxton didn't talk about her. He was so tightly buttoned up about his private life, neither Tony Stamp nor Dave Quinnan nor any of the others who spent hours with him dared to ask. Loxton was not mad on macho heroic acts. When a suicidal man jumped into a river, he thought carefully about jumping in after him. He'd done that before and nearly drowned himself. Persistent and practical, Loxton worked hard and got results; that was why even Andrew Monroe had time for him. He took pride in being an excellent Area Car driver. He took pride in wearing the uniform, which was always clean and neat. His aim was to become a firearms officer, but after taking the Lippett's Hill course he changed his mind. Did he discover that he didn't, after all, have the killer instinct or did he reason that with a gun he would be asking to be put in dangerous situations – and only mugs do that. Loxton performed an illegal search of an off-duty black police officer, after which he was seriously reprimanded. Disillusioned with the job and the limits of modern-day policing, he left the force, not before fitting up a bent solicitor. Returning for Dave Quinnan's wedding in 1999, he admitted that in hindsight it was the worst mistake of his life.

PC Abe Lyttleton came to Sun Hill in November 1985, being his third new posting in three and a half years. Senior officers attributed it to the difficulty of being a "minority within a minority" and indeed they were right – Lyttleton was Sun Hill's first black policeman and he had a lot of eyes on him. The relief were openly welcoming, but he was given a hard time by fellow newcomer Pete Muswell who believed the inclusion of ethnic minorities in the Met was a mistake, and promptly christened him 'Snowball'. Lyttleton rose above Muswell's repeated racist taunts and proved such a capable officer that he even won his tormentor's grudging respect. Lyttleton didn't last long at Sun Hill however, transferring only after a three-month stint. Abe suffered from vertigo, as revealed when he is forced to go onto a roof and arrest a man who is throwing tiles onto the street.

• Silver, Rachel (1999). The Bill: The Inside Story: Behind the Scenes of Britain's Top Police Drama. HarperCollins, London. ISBN 978-0-00-257137-1.
• The Bill Bios
• The Bill Official Site
• Tibballs, Geoff (2003). The Bill: The Complete Lowdown on 20 Years at Sun Hill. ABC Books, Sydney. ISBN 0-7333-1330-2.