The Bill series 13

The thirteenth series of the British television drama The Bill was broadcast from 2 January to 30 December 1997. The series consisted of 152 episodes, including three-hour-long specials. There were just two cast departures in the series after four the year before; actor Tom Butcher left the role of PC Steve Loxton after seven years on the show; however, he would return in two episodes in 1999 as a guest at Dave Quinnan's wedding. The other departure was that of Alan Westaway, who left his role of PC Nick Slater after two and a half years. Their characters were replaced by PCs Luke Ashton and Sam Harker, with actors Scott Neal and Matthew Crompton appearing as guest actors on a number of times, both of the actor's most recent guest stints coming the previous year. The series also saw DC Tom Proctor, introduced into CID. Actor Gregory Donaldson revealed in a 2018 interview on The Bill Podcast that the role came after impressing producers in a guest stint earlier in the series, portraying burglary suspect Andy Melford in an hour-long special, "In the Dark".

On 3 April 2013 the complete series was released as a two-part region-free DVD box set in Australia. The DVD artwork depicts DSs Don Beech (Billy Murray) and John Boulton (Russell Boulter).

Arrivals

 * DC Tom Proctor ("Foxed")
 * PC Luke Ashton ("Potential For Conflict")
 * PC Sam Harker ("Things That Go Bump in the Night")

Departures

 * PC Nick Slater ("Free to Speak?") – Transfers to SO10
 * PC Steve Loxton ("No Trace") – Resigns after being angered by a complaint about his old school methods