answers: 16 October 1984
context: History of The Bill From the ITV police drama's first screening in 1983, the history of "The Bill" includes a variety of major plotlines and changes to the programme's format. During 1983, Thames Television broadcast a one-off drama called "Woodentop". It was written by Geoff McQueen, who had previously worked on LWT's "The Gentle Touch". "Woodentop" followed Police Constable Jim Carver (Mark Wingett) on his first day, mentored by Woman Police Constable June Ackland (Trudie Goodwin). The production was seen as innovative for the use of natural lighting, hand-held cameras and an authentic portrayal of British policing. Thames Television commissioned </s> the removal of the CID team in 2000. During 1997, The Bill underwent a series of changes. "The Bill's" ratings were challenged by BBC One who introduced a number of docusoaps such as "Driving School". Michael Chapman, having been Executive Producer since 1989, handed over to Richard Handford. The new Executive Producer introduced a different title sequence, changing the previous theme music and removing the "plodding feet" at the end credits, with a new one-hour-long format introduced in August that year. After 1998, the original foundations of Geoff McQueen's writing was relaxed to include some characters' private lives, but still </s> The Bill The Bill is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop", broadcast in August 1983. In its final year on air, "The Bill" was broadcast once a week, usually on Tuesdays or Thursdays, in a one-hour format. The programme focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work. "The Bill" was the longest-running police procedural television series in the United Kingdom, and among the longest running of any
question: when did the first episode of the bill air