11/12 - The Wesleys finally make it back to The Haus and the pig joins the family. Back in Helvetica, John clashes with the Chairman of the Parish Council over the wanton displays of nudity at Beltane…

Written by and starring Andrew Mackintosh as John and co-starring Natalie Roles as Abby.

The series is produced by Oliver Crocker; co-produced by Glen Allen, Rob Cook, Tessa Crocker, Tracie King, Paul Morris, Triona Palmer, Laura Pini-Fay, Lee Pointer, Valerie Roles, Andrew Ruff and Yulia Thurlow; and executive produced by David Croft, Andrew Diack, George Fairbrother, Edward Kellett, Bryony Kelly, Sophie Pyecroft, Amanda Rotheram, Kay Scoble and Michael Seely.

Letter from Helvetica is brought to you in association with georgefairbrother.com shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk and synthservice.com

If you'd like to hear more adventures of John and Abby, please support us on https://ko-fi.com/letterfromhelvetica

Chapter 11: The Fool On The Hill

12/12 - John speaks to Beltane benefactor, Fay Derrick, regarding nudity at future festivals and is amazed by her response. With the TV remote on the blink, John enjoys showing Zlata some local landmarks before discovering he has rats in his ceiling…

Written by and starring Andrew Mackintosh as John Stotter and co-starring Natalie Roles as Abigail Wesley.

The series is produced by Oliver Crocker; co-produced by Glen Allen, Rob Cook, Tessa Crocker, Tracie King, Paul Morris, Triona Palmer, Laura Pini-Fay, Lee Pointer, Valerie Roles, Yulia Thurlow and Andrew Ruff; and executive produced by David Croft, Andrew Diack, George Fairbrother, Edward Kellett, Bryony Kelly, Sophie Pyecroft, Amanda Rotheram, Kay Scoble and Michael Seely.

Letter from Helvetica is brought to you in association with georgefairbrother.com shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk and synthservice.com

If you'd like to hear more adventures of John and Abby, please support us on https://ko-fi.com/letterfromhelvetica

Chapter 12: A Hard Day's Night

Episode 67 of the 'Round The Archives' podcast sees Michael Seely revisiting the career of 'Bulman', while Warren takes a trip with Sir John Betjeman to explore 'Metroland'.

Paul & Toppie discuss some of the more obscure corners of US and UK telly and we round off with Andrew & Lisa celebrating the surviving episodes of 'Dixon Of Dock Green'.

That's all in Episode 67 of 'Round The Archives' starring Lisa Parker, Andrew Trowbridge, Michael Seely, Warren Cummings, Paul Chandler and Toppie Smellie.

The 'Round The Archives' Cartoon and Essay collections by Martin Holmes are available on Lulu.com.

If you've enjoyed this episode of 'Round The Archives', please leave us a star rating and/or review on Apple Podcasts or spread the word to your friends on Twitter.

Andrew is now a Twitch Affiliate, so if you'd like to help support the podcast, please pop over to https://www.twitch.tv/trowby and have a good play with his marbles!

RTA067 - Round The Archives - Episode 67

RTA067 - Episode 67 - 'Bulman', 'Metroland' & 'Dixon Of Dock Green'

It's a great thrill and privilege this episode to welcome multi-talented actor, writer and music artist, Andrew Mackintosh, who carved his own special niche in British television history as Detective Sergeant Alistair Greig, a key character in over 300 episodes of one of the most successful and influential television dramas of all time, The Bill.

But as we discover, there's so much more to his varied career, encompassing acting, music and writing. We learn about Andrew's current project, the hit fiction podcast, @LetterFromHelvetica, talk about his early life and how his professional journey in music and acting began, and he shares with us some of his creative influences.

We explore his continuing musical collaboration with Joe Dooley, and get to grips with some general acting and career matters, including authenticity in casting, accents, received pronunciation and the art of speech, and the mixed blessing of being in a long-running series. We also discuss opportunities for mature actors and, inspired by an unstoppable generation of rock and roll performers, if perceptions of age are evolving in a positive way within the arts and beyond.

Our companion webpage for this episode has some additional career details, images, links and recommendations for further reading, viewing and listening:
https://dec4podcast.com/2024/09/17/a-conversation-with-andrew-mackintosh/

Selected content guide for fans of The Bill:

(24:07) Casting – (29:39) DS Greig’s accent – (34:02) Main segment: Remembering Kevin Lloyd, script quality, cast and character dynamic, notable guest artists and production anecdotes – (57:30) Social and political awareness and activity – (1:21:18) Effect on career

Special thanks to Andrew, and to Oliver Crocker @thebillpodcast

A Conversation with Andrew Mackintosh

"At that moment Lionel Blair came in wearing a witch's hat..."

This time Oliver Crocker, producer of 'The Bill Podcast' joins the 'RTA' Team to talk about a host of subjects including working in television, his books examining 'The Bill' & 'All Creatures Great And Small' and working on the DVDs of 'Z Cars' and 'Dixon Of Dock Green'. Oh, and also that time he made a version of 'The Krypton Factor' for cats...!

You can follow Oliver on Twitter at https://x.com/olivercrocker

You can explore Oliver's catalogue of TV tie-in books at  https://www.devonfirebooks.com/

'The Bill Podcast' is on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/thebillpodcast

'Round The Archives In Conversation' Episode 21 stars Oliver Crocker, Lisa Parker and Andrew Trowbridge.

The music was by Dan Tate and Paul Chandler.

The cover art was by Martin Holmes.

'Round The Archives' is produced by Andrew Trowbridge and Lisa Parker.

RTAIC021 - Round The Archives In Conversation - Episode 21

In Conversation - Episode 21 - "At that moment Lionel Blair came in wearing a witch's hat..."

The phenomenal Liz Crowther is one of our finest actresses and in a rare gap in her incredibly busy CV, she was kind enough to make her podcast debut just for us lucky Bill fans!

In the first of a two-part interview, Liz discusses some of her recent projects, including the award-winning play "Es & Flo", her guest appearance in "Vera" and a brand new feature film she shot in French! We then go back in time and discuss growing up with her very famous Dad and her own journey into the industry. All this builds up nicely to Part 2, where Liz discusses The Bill for the first time in 30 years and reveals just what happened to Sun Hill's YAC Sergeant...

With huge thanks to Lin from Scott Marshall Partners for her help in setting up this interview.

The Bill Podcast is brought to you in association with georgefairbrother.com shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk vanguardcomics.co.uk and gibconsultancy.co.uk

PRE-ORDER NOW - REACHING A VERDICT: VOL. 3

When Thames Television lost its franchise in 1992, "The Bill" was the only programme to avoid cancellation. For Michael Chapman and his team, their survival came with a new challenge: producing a continuous series to be broadcast three times a week, a first for any police procedural television drama.

The third edition of REACHING A VERDICT investigates how the writers, actors and production team rose to the challenge, creating some of the most memorable episodes of all time and pulling in their highest ever ratings.

Edward Kellett is back on the beat to explore how "The Bill" adapted to losing some of its most iconic officers, and examine the key storylines, themes and characters at the heart of 311 episodes packed with action, comedy, drama and tragedy.

REACHING A VERDICT: REVIEWING THE BILL (1993-1994) is available to pre-order now for £13.99 (RRP £16.99) and will be released in November 2024.

The Bill Podcast 130: Liz Crowther (Sgt. Jane Kendall) Part 1

Christmas Special 1/2

T'was the night before Christmas...

Written by and starring Andrew Mackintosh as John Stotter and co-starring Natalie Roles as Abigail Wesley.

The series is produced by Oliver Crocker; co-produced by Rob Cook, Glenn Cooney and Bryony Kelly, and executive produced by George Fairbrother, Kay Scoble and Michael Seely. With thanks to Charlotte Fletcher.

Letter from Helvetica is brought to you in association with georgefairbrother.com shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk and kayscoble.com

We will see you again on New Years Day with Chapter 14: Unwelcome Guests

Chapter 13: Pigs In Blankets

Christmas Special 2/2

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Ease your way into 2025 with the latest adventures of John and Abby.

Written by and starring Andrew Mackintosh as John Stotter and co-starring Natalie Roles as Abigail Wesley.

The series is produced by Oliver Crocker; co-produced by Rob Cook, Glenn Cooney and Bryony Kelly, and executive produced by George Fairbrother, Kay Scoble and Michael Seely. With thanks to Charlotte Fletcher.

Letter from Helvetica is brought to you in association with georgefairbrother.com shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk and kayscoble.com

May we wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year.

Chapter 14: Unwelcome Guests

We’re delighted to be joined once again by leading author, publisher and podcaster on classic British television, and hugely valued contributor to this podcast, Oliver Crocker @thebillpodcast. This episode we take an in-depth look at his definitive history of the iconic BBC television series, All Creatures Great and Small, based on the bestselling books by James Herriot, which ran for 90 episodes between 1978 and 1990.

For All Memories Great and Small, Oliver sourced rare production documents and photographs, and personally interviewed 75 cast and crew, including the producer and stars, so we get unprecedented access behind the scenes and learn about the series directly from those who made it.

Oliver shares some personal anecdotes about meeting the fascinating people who were key to making All Creatures Great and Small one of the BBC’s most beloved series of all time, and we find out just how warmly Oliver and his work have been embraced in the heart of James Herriot country.

Our dedicated webpage has additional background, images, and suggested links;
https://dec4podcast.com/2025/02/07/oliver-crocker-all-memories-great-and-small/

Oliver's titles are available at
https://www.devonfirebooks.com/

Oliver Crocker: All Memories Great and Small

Rob Cook introduces the third edition of this monthly spinoff series, where Patrick Stratford is joined by The Bill fan ROYALTY. A viewer since Woodentop, Sarah Went is a Sun Hill connoisseur of the highest calibre and creator of The Billaton - the greatest online resource for the series to ever grace the internet - https://thebillaton.com/

In this fantastic hour-long discussion, Sarah shares her incredibly personal journey as a Bill fan and human being. The talented duo then join forces to select their Top 10 list of favourite episodes from 1989.

Please enjoy the first five minutes of the podcast and join us on patreon.com/thebillpodcast where you will also instantly unlock hundreds of Reaction videos, Reunion highlights and sample episodes of The Evidence Room 1999 for just £2.99

The Bill Podcast is brought to you in proud association with georgefairbrother.com shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk vanguardcomics.co.uk gibconsultancy.co.uk and mcr-seo.com

The Bill Obbocast 03: 1989 Top 10 - Extended Clip

Our leading contributor Gary Wells (www.soulrideblog.com) joins us to explore two tumultuous decades in the lives of the Beach Boys, through the lens of Malcolm Leo’s 1985 BAFTA nominated biographical documentary, The Beach Boys: An American Band.

We learn about some of the key people on both sides of the camera, and of Malcolm Leo’s established method of sourcing a wide variety of music and interview clips (long before the easy accessibility of digital archives) to create an intimate, first-person narrative.

The Beach Boys: An American Band is a fan’s movie; if you already love the Beach Boys, you’ll love them even more after immersing yourself in this documentary. (Spoiler – we love it!). If you’re just starting out on a journey of discovery learning about the Beach Boys and their impact on 20th century music and culture, this is a wholly enjoyable place to begin. But, it’s worth noting that it was far from the complete story even then, and there have been 40 more years of eventful Beach Boys history since.

More background, images, and suggestions for further reference can be found at this episode's dedicated webpage;
https://dec4podcast.com/2025/03/05/gary-wells-the-beach-boys-an-american-band/

Thanks to @gainesville-band


Gary Wells: The Beach Boys - An American Band

Over 450,000 plays in 50 countries. Produced by Oliver Crocker. Unlock 200 hours of bonus content https://patreon.com/thebillpodcast 

Sponsored by georgefairbrother.com shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk vanguardcomics.co.uk gibconsultancy.co.uk and mcr-seo.com

The Bill Obbocast 03: 1989 Top 10 - Extended Clip

The Bill Podcast

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