Upbeat Bill

John Bowler wants to know what I know before he tells me what he knows. Such is the secret world of a long-running TV series. The Newcastle-raised actor has joined the regular cast of ITV1's police series The Bill but isn't about to give away any key elements of forthcoming episodes.

It's common knowledge that Sun Hill police station is going to suffer major damage in a fire and several characters are being killed off. Bowler admits "that's all going on - big explosions and stuff" but further details are not forthcoming.

He says he's not been heavily involved in that particular strand of the storyline, having spent most of the time since joining in August out on the beat. Scheduling means that he's only just being featured on screen as PC Roger Valentine, who left the force to marry the love of his life only to find it was all over a year later. Now he's back on duty as an old-fashioned cop who believes the Met has gone soft and too PC, and doesn't mind telling that to anyone who asks.

"The producers had a pretty clear idea of the character they wanted, and to see now how it develops and what I bring to it," says Bowler.

He went out with the Met for a shift to get a feel for policing in the capital to prepare for the role. The actor has appeared in The Bill before but on the other side of the law, running a brothel. Now he's on the beat. He hasn't played many policemen before now, although he mentions being a senior uniform in Drop The Dead Donkey and a detective in The Beggar Bride.

He's committed to The Bill for the next few years, arriving at Sun Hill in the wake of the long-running series collecting a top TV award in 2004. "Those of us who've joined recently have been fans for years. The quality is top notch, so it's about time the programme had some recognition," he says.

Bowler has had regular roles in TV series before, including Coronation Street, EastEnders, Peak Practice and Auf Wiedersehen Pet. The six-days-a-week schedule for The Bill is the busiest he's ever experienced. "But there's never ever any feeling of panic. It creates a fantastic atmosphere. There's a good working atmosphere," he adds.

He took up duties in Sun Hill shortly after the first run of Teesside-set fire brigade drama Steel River Blues ended. He played divisional officer Mick Hammond, so the actual fire-fighting was left to others while he looked after administration.

If it had run to a second series he'd hoped to combine it with his new role on The Bill. Poor ratings have jeopardised more episodes being commissioned. "I thought it was a good series," he says in its defence. "I would have hoped they'd taken a little bit more time putting it out. I've had a lot of good feedback that it had huge potential. It's always a shame if something new doesn't go well."

Bowler may not have played many policeman in his career but he has played plenty of Geordies. "I think sometimes you get asked, 'Can you do the accent?' and I can," he says.

He was born in London to a Cockney dad and Anglo-Indian mum. The family eventually settled in Newcastle, where he grew up before going to school in Yorkshire on a scholarship. "My two brothers still live in the North-East and my wife is from Durham," he says. "I suppose in my heart I feel I'm from Newcastle. When I go back at Christmas and see the family, I feel that's part of me."

He missed out on appearing in BBC1's made-in-Newcastle police series 55 Degrees North but has worked on Jimmy Nail's Crocodile Shoes and one of the Catherine Cookson TV dramas made in the North-East.

His interest in acting was fostered at school in Yorkshire. "I just started doing it, there was no real pushing into it," he says. "Then I applied to drama schools. I wrote to places and got in a few, and took the chance to train in Glasgow.

"I don't know why. I'm so old now I can't remember. None of my family had any theatre background. My mother was very encouraging, she'd encourage us to have a go. We were lucky in that way. Acting was just one of those things that I felt drawn to and I was obviously quite good at it."

He writes as well as acts. In the 1980s and 1990s, he wrote comedy with Rick Platt, now a director on TV. They wrote mainly for themselves, although they worked in the corporate arena too.

The busy schedule on The Bill leaves little time for anything else. It also involves a lot of running around, chasing wrongdoers. Bowler played most sports when he was younger. Darts, pool and golf are more his sports now. "I've surprised myself with all the running on The Bill," he says. "I used to be quite good but my knees hurt a bit now."

* The Bill: ITV1, Tuesday and Wednesday, 8pm.

Published: 13/01/2005