The twelfth series of ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'', a British

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

, consisted of 156 episodes, broadcast between 2 January and 31 December 1996. On 6 February 2013, ''The Bill'' Series 12 Part 1 and 2 and ''The Bill'' Series 12 Part 3 and 4 DVD sets were released in Australia. The show aired the death of PC Cathy Marshall early in the series, actress

Lynne Miller Lynne Miller (born 27 April 1951) is a British actress. Her first TV role was in 1974, but she is best known for the role of Cathy Marshall in ''The Bill'', a TV series she appeared in from 1989 to 1996. Since that time she has appeared mostly o ...

departing after seven years in a mysterious plot that saw her drown whilst chasing a suspect, but it was never confirmed if she was pushed or slipped off a riverside barge during the pursuit. The death followed that of DS Jo Morgan in a four-part special towards the end of the previous series, with the first three of the four episodes rebroadcast in the summer as part of a single special episode, ''Target''. There was also an exit for PC Donna Harris, as the role of collator was replaced by a computerised system. Two other characters departed, with Robert Perkins leaving his role as Sergeant Ray Steele after almost three years, with WPC June Ackland taking the role of Sergeant after six months as an Acting Sergeant.

Tom Cotcher Tom Cotcher (born 28 July 1950) is a Scottish actor who played Alan Woods in ''The Bill'' from 1992 to 1996. He also appeared briefly in an earlier episode of the police drama (as did several of the cast) as a local resident with a missing do ...

also left the role of DC Alan Woods, being replaced by WDC Liz Rawton, with actress

Libby Davison Elizabeth "Libby" Davison (born 22 August 1966) is an English actress who is best known for playing DI Liz Rawton in ''The Bill'' from 1996 to 1999. She made her TV debut as Gloria, the fitness teacher in series 7 and 8 of '' Byker Grove'', (19 ...

joining the show permanently just four months after making a guest appearance as Briony Richards. Rawton's arrival to CID was preceded by that of DS Geoff Daly, portrayed by Ray Ashcroft, in June. WPC Jamila Blake arrived at the end of the year to replace WPC Marshall,

Lolita Chakrabarti Lolita Chakrabarti (born 1969) is a British actress and writer. Early life and education Lolita Chakrabarti was born in Kingston upon Hull, England, to Bengali Hindu parents from India in 1969. She grew up in Birmingham, where her father wo ...

taking on the role after two guest appearances earlier in the series as Dr. Sally Vole.

Cast changes

Arrivals

* DS

Geoff Daly ''The Bill'' is a long-running British television police procedural television series which ran from 16 August 1983 to the show’s cancellation on 31 August 2010, named after a slang term for the police. The Character (arts), characters are all ...

(Episode 67–) * WDC Liz Rawton (Episode 107–) * WPC Jamila Blake (Episode 156–)

Departures

* WPC Cathy Marshall – Drowned whilst chasing a suspect * WPC Donna Harris – Unexplained; exit preceded by elimination of collator role * Sgt. Ray Steele – Unexplained * DC Alan Woods – Transferred

Episodes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bill series 12, The 1996 British television seasons The Bill series