23 Jul 09
"The Bill gets a 21st Century facelift to match its new post-watershed time slot...fans won't be disappointed with this gritty, glossy revamp, which has a Spooks-style feel." Julia Francis, What to Watch Tonight, The Sun 23rd July 2009
"These are momentous times: after 25 years The Bill is to be moved to a post-watershed zone..the feel...is of hi-tech reinvention." David Stubbs, The Guardian 23rd July 2009
"The sexed-up, now only once-weekly plod-drama is the centrepiece of ITV1's revamped night." Gerard Gilbert, Critics Choice, The Independent 23rd July 2009
"This leaner, sleeker format kicks off tonight." David Chater, Viewing Guide, The Times 23rd July 2009
"Same script, different look..as though someone from 24 had come in to direct The Bill...titles like NYPD Blue...you can tell the quality of something by its guest stars, and Julie Fordham is brilliant..I was very impressed by it." James Rampton, BBC Five Live, Simon Mayo Show 20th July 09
“The Bill has to compete with the big glossy BBC dramas…on a fraction of the budget.” Gareth McLean, BBC E24 18th July 2009
“The thing about The Bill that’s so brilliant…to take it through so many changes, it works…it’s very exciting.” Fern Britton, This Morning 9th July 2009
“Before The Bill changes its format to a single, post-watershed episode a week, this cracking two-parter over consecutive nights gives fans a taster of what to expect.” Hello, 27 July 2009
“It’s all change down at Sun Hill…this leaner, sleeker format kicks off tonight with a special double bill centred around a violent assault on a 15 year old boy in a council estate.” The Times, Playlist 18 – 24 July 2009
“The sexed-up, now only once-weekly The Bill is the centrepiece of ITV1’s revamped Thursday night.” The Independent, Information 18 – 24 July 2009
“These are momentous times: after 25 years, The Bill is to be moved to the post-watershed zone, going out after 9pm in hour-long chunks, with all the promise of increased “grittiness” that that entails.” The Guardian, The Guide 18 – 24 July 2009
“The first of an edgier, darker Bill twp-parter, in its new, later timeslot.” Choice, The Observer, OTV 19 July 2009
“The aim of this new, 9pm Bill is to keep the best elements of the 9pm drama – it’s still told from the police’s perspective and is still about crime on the streets of London – but it’s jazzed up. And it works…this is still The Bill , but with attitude!” Five Stars, TV Times 18 – 24 July 2009
“It’s all change on the ITV1 schedule tonight. Corrie transfers to Thursday, in a move which seems designed to boost the new-look, post-watershed version of The Bill at 9pm, in which there will be swearing and violence galore. We’re not kidding – there are people literally covered in blood in this episode! Wouldn’t have happened last week.” Boyd Hilton, Four stars, Heat 18 – 24 July 2009
“”Yes, the world is still turning, even though The Bill has now gone to a once-a-week, hour-long post-watershed slot…the meat of The Bill remains the same – good solid stories told well and with the minimum of flash and fuss.” Today’s Choice, Radio Times 18 – 24 July 2009