Witness Statements: Making The Bill 1988

★★★★★ "TRULY ASTONISHING RESEARCH! FANS WILL LOVE EVERY TINY DETAIL!" - Jon Iles (DC Mike Dashwood)

Discover how the first 48 half-hour episodes of The Bill were brought to life, through a series of in-depth interviews with 60 cast and crew, including legendary actors Colin Blumenau (PC Edwards), Graham Cole (PC Stamp), Nula Conwell (WPC Martella), Larry Dann (Sgt. Peters), Peter Ellis (Chief Supt. Brownlow), Chris Ellison (DI Burnside), Trudie Goodwin (WPC Ackland), Ashley Gunstock (PC Frank), Robert Hudson (PC Smith), Jon Iles (DC Dashwood), Mark Powley (PC Melvin), Nick Reding (PC Ramsey), Eric Richard (Sgt. Cryer), Barbara Thorn (Insp. Frazer), Eamonn Walker (PC Haynes) and Mark Wingett (PC Carver), along with some of the programme’s most prolific writers and visionary creatives, many of whom interviewed for the very first time.

Throughout this 320-page investigation, every episode is accompanied by detailed Observation Notes, revealing filming locations, production dates, viewing figures, character notes, unmade storylines and much more.

Featuring 40 previously unpublished behind-the-scenes photographs, Oliver Crocker’s second Witness Statements book is the most thorough investigation ever undertaken of how the bi-weekly format of The Bill was created.

With a background in archive television research, Oliver Crocker is the author of three TV tie-in guidebooks, including the bestselling "All Memories Great & Small" endorsed by the James Herriot estate and featuring memories from 75 cast and crew who worked on the classic BBC series. Oliver has also interviewed hundreds of contributors for two "Witness Statements: Making The Bill" companion books. As a ghostwriter, Oliver collaborated with actor Larry Dann on his acclaimed memoir "Oh, What A Lovely Memoir" and in 2025 he completed a 96,000 True Crime memoir for a former Flying Squad detective. Since 2017, Oliver has presented over 300 editions of "The Bill Podcast" played over 500,000 times in 50 countries worldwide. He also writes articles for Best of British magazine. Oliver lives near Cambridge with his wife Tessa and their cat Fawkes.