History     2006

The beginning of the year saw DCI Meadows accused of professional misconduct following the re-opening of an old case (# 378-379); new probationers Lewis Hardy and Emma Keane (pictured) joined the relief (# 380); and DS De Costa enjoyed the rare opportunity of working on an action-packed case (# 382). Sgt. Smith was found unconscious at the wheel of his car following a hit and run when his girlfriend was killed (# 383); he was subsequently arrested for drink-driving and then murder (# 385); and DC Nadir made it his mission to find evidence that would clear Smithy's name (# 387). PC Hardy was caught up in shooting incident in a nightclub (# 388); DC Masters left Sun Hill to embark on an undercover operation for Nottingham CID (# 389); and seven year old Amy Tennant was reported missing to the police (# 390).

DS De Costa left Sun Hill to join the Child Protection Team (# 392); tensions between PCs Valentine and Hardy grew (# 394); and Sgt. Smith bonded with cellmate Morris Leatherhead whilst he was in prison (# 396). Disaster struck a local nightclub (pictured) when overcrowding led to a balcony collapsing and crushing several people (# 398); Roger Valentine awoke in hospital after saving Lewis Hardy's life (# 399); and PCs Casper and Fletcher went head-to-head for a place on the area car driving course (# 400). DC Stuart Turner accepted the sergeant's job at Sun Hill (# 401); Sgt. Smith was exonerated from his part in the hit-and-run and welcomed back to work (# 402); and PC Steve Hunter transferred to Leeds after realising how little he meant to his brother (# 405). Sgt. Ackland took a shine to local headteacher Rod Jessop following an incident involving his son (# 406); DC Sim found out she'd passed her sergeant's exams as Supt. Okaro decided to apply for the Borough Commander's post (# 406); and following the nightclub incident, PC Valentine began to suffer from post-traumatic stress (# 410).

In May, PCs Casper and Fletcher joined the inter-services boxing competition, encourage by Insp. Gold (# 411); DS Nixon and DS Turner bonded over a case (# 413); and DC Webb was shocked when his ex-girlfriend was arrested for murdering her abusive husband (# 414). Laura Bryant left Sun Hill when she realised the new 12-hour shifts were detrimental to her looking after her sons (# 415); Perkins went undercover posing as a contract killer (# 416); and a twelve year old boy with gun shot wounds threw the Sun Hill team into a nerve-racking search for the culprit and the weapon (# 418). New trainee-DC Kezia Walker arrived at the station (# 419); Adam Okaro bid farewell to Sun Hill following his promotion to Borough Commander (# 420); and new superintendent John Heaton (pictured) quickly made his presence felt on his first day (# 421). DC Nadir continued in his undercover role posing as a bent officer in order to infiltrate a major drugs operation (# 423); PC Stamp was mistakenly identified as a serial rapist (# 424); and DC Sim was thrilled to discover her promotion and transfer to the Kidnap Squad (# 425).

Perkins was put in charge of a potentially dangerous offender who was about to be released from prison (# 427); whilst his daughter was found in possession of ecstasy (# 429). Keane and Hardy completed their probation period (# 430); the search into missing Amy Tennant continued (# 432); and PC Fletcher was caught up in an explosion whilst working undercover as a right-wing racist (# 435). Nadir began to fall for his undercover target, Kristen Shaw (# 437); Valentine encouraged a transsexual to give evidence in a trial (# 438); and Ackland and Jessop's relationship progressed to the next level (# 439). Adam Okaro visited the station in his new capacity, giving Heaton some words of advice (# 440); PC Diane Noble (pictured) joined the ranks (# 441); and it became clear that DAC Hobbs and Supt. Heaton were more than good friends (# 442).

Stamp and Hollis feared for their futures when they found out that Heaton was looking for younger, cheaper officers to staff the station (# 443); Fletcher discovered Casper's steroid abuse (# 445); and in a two-part special DS's Hunter and Nixon travelled to Romania to expose a people-trafficking scam (# 446-447). Fed Rep. Leela Kapoor met suspended Yvonne Hemmingway, following her creative use of a car wash power-jet on a suspect (# 449); DC Webb was arrested for rape (# 451); and PC Emma Keane and CPS Lawyer Matt Hinckley tied the knot (# 455). Turner and Nixon investigated a foster home caught up in an arson attack (# 456); Sgt. Nikki Wright from Barton Street impressed DAC Hobbs following a hostage situation and expressed her interest in transferring to Sun Hill (# 457); Hemmingway (pictured) got full promotion to Sergeant and transferred to work with young offenders (# 459); and PC Harman arrested DC Nadir's father for burglary, but there was more to the case than originally met the eye (# 461).

At the end of the year, Meadows grew impatient with the lack of progress in Nadir's undercover operation, not realising how deep Zain was in (# 462); and Perkins was shocked to discover DC Jo Masters in the area, still working undercover (# 464). Jo decided to return to the station full-time (# 465); Noble had a run-in with an ex-army colleague (# 466); and Meadows warned Webb to be careful with his relationship with a prostitute (# 467). In an ironic real-life occurrence, tapes of episodes # 468 and # 469 were stolen from The Bill's studios, so transmission had to cut to episode # 470, Sgt. Nikki Wright's first episode (pictured).