REG HOLLIS

'Reg Hollis' is a fictional character in the long-running ITV drama ''The Bill''. He is played by Jeff Stewart. He is currently the longest-serving character in the show.

Contents

Early years

Relationships

Des Taviner

Marilyn Chambers

Recent times

Trivia

References

External links

Early years

Taffy Edwards was originally going to have the Reg Hollis persona but the producers of ''The Bill'' changed their minds at the last minute and decided to give the whiney voice, silly jokes and odd ways to Reg in the second series. Although Reg does not appear in the pilot episode, "Woodentop", his voice is heard over the radio, and he is referred to by name. Reg is officially introduced in "Funny Ol' Business - Cops and Robbers", and is gradually perceived in the series as a loner; the unpopular oddball of the relief, who spends most of his time carrying out police duties behind a desk in CAD. Reg is however a very brave and capable officer, and on one of his early outings from the station he proves so, when he charges into a hostage situation and disarms a potentially dangerous gunman.^[1]
In the first series of ''The Bill'', Reg is depicted as a normal background extra that thinks Sgt. Bob Cryer is a "Miserable old git". Reg originally starts out at Sun Hill as the Collator, and not long after that he is appointed the station's Federation rep, Sun Hill's representative to the Police Federation, initially because nobody else wants the job. While he holds the position he naturally takes it very seriously, which may be one of the reasons he still holds much respect among the older officers.

Relationships

Des Taviner

Reg is a loner for most of his time at Sun Hill, however an unlikely friendship-buddy pairing with Des Taviner changes him, and gives him more social confidence. Upon Des's arrival at Sun Hill, Des and Reg are paired up in the area car, which sees the beginning of a friendship that provides some of series' greatest moments. It is truly a turning point when Reg, who was always so uptight, accompanies Des when he skips work to take a trip in the area car across the UK, attempting to convince Reg to propose to his girlfriend, Marilyn Chambers. Des is well known for refering to Reg as "Reggy Babe" in thick scouse accent; Des being the only person to call him this.
After it is discovered that Des is responsible for The Sun Hill Fire, which killed many of the officers, he goes on the run for a short while, and at one point he contacts Reg to apologise for everything. Reg responds telling him that he is a coward, and it should be the families of those he killed he should have been apologising to. Minutes later, armed police have Des surrounded, and Reg arrests him. Later on that afternoon, Des is beaten to death in his cell by a manic depressive, ending his relationship with Reg on bad terms.

Marilyn Chambers

Main articles: Marilyn Chambers (The Bill)

Reg began a relationship with Marilyn Chambers, Sun Hill's Front Desk Officer at the time. After dating for a few months, Reg plans to propose to her at the train station where he had taken her on their first date, where Reg discovered she was actually interested in his hobby of trainspotting. While Reg is waiting at the train station for Marilyn to arrive, she is killed in The Sun Hill Fire. Reg is deeply upset by her death, and he finds her replacement very hard to swallow while he is grieving.

Recent times

Reg's position has recently been threatened by Superintendent John Heaton. Tony Stamp urges him to change his approach to policing. Reg, however, refuses to compromise on his principles and says, "if Superintendent Heaton's idea of running an efficient nick is to get rid of anyone over 30, I'm not sure I want to work for him". Heaton has recently started to realise how much respect and loyalty Reg receives from his colleagues. Following June Ackland's departure, Reg considers tendering his resignation; however Tony is able to convince him not to.

Trivia

★ He is adopted. Mentioned in "Happy and Glorious: Pt One" Series 17 (2001)

★ He once had a problem at school and was often teased and bullied by the students and teachers, hinting the possibility that he might have Asperger syndrome. The subject of this was discussed in the episode "Good Relations" Series 15 (1999)

References

1. PC Reg Hollis

External links

★ Reg's Podcast