The Thin Blue Line
- TV sitcom
- BBC One
- 1995 - 1996
- 14 episodes (2 series)
Police sitcom about fastidious Inspector Raymond Fowler, his array of uniformed officers, and the oafish CID Inspector Grim. Stars Rowan Atkinson, David Haig, Serena Evans, James Dreyfus, Mina Anwar and more.
Episode menu
Series 2, Episode 4 - Alternative Culture
Further details
When a problem arises in the ladies' toilets/locker room, they are forced to move in and share the mens' space. Habib is particularly frustrated when Boyle discovers her scented soaps but there's little Raymond can do, as he hasn't the funds to fix the ladies' and the Regional Auditor is "a man who does not recognise the verb 'to spend'".
Grim isn't pleased either, but has rather more important matters to deal with: namely a crack down on a burgeoning drugs problem amongst Gasforth's youth. Meanwhile, Habib and Goody are having their own problems. Habib's sister has come to stay, and much to Maggie's amazement, little miss goody-two-shoes Nazia has turned into a teenage rebel! When Goody confides in Maggie his worry - whether to accept CID's invitation to attend a pub lock-in or not - matters at the station become rather confused over his decision to "come out"!
Eventually, the evening of Grim's important drugs raid arrives. As Grim, sniffer dogs, and a compliment of uniformed officers begin to search the revellers at a nightclub, Maggie is horrified to find her sister not only present - but in position of an illegal substance. Knowing that only one of them has even the slightest chance of leaving undetected, she slips the cannabis cube into her own pocket.
Unfortunately for Habib, the sniffer dogs have been trained well. It's not long before she's in front of Fowler on a possible criminal charge; Grim refuses to overlook her filial behaviour. As CID head off to their lock-in, Habib begins clearing her desk...
Broadcast details
- Date
- Thursday 5th December 1996
- Time
- 9:30pm
- Channel
- BBC One
- Length
- 32 minutes
Repeats
Show past repeats
Date | Time | Channel |
---|---|---|
Monday 1st August 2011 | 9:20pm | Gold |
Tuesday 2nd August 2011 | 12:50am | Gold |
Sunday 27th April 2014 | 8:10pm | Gold |
Saturday 12th July 2014 | 10:25am | Gold |
Wednesday 13th August 2014 | 12:20pm | Gold |
Saturday 3rd January 2015 | 12:20pm | Gold |
Sunday 1st March 2015 | 4:00pm | Gold |
Wednesday 1st April 2015 | 12:40pm | Gold |
Friday 11th December 2015 | 10:55am | Gold |
Thursday 7th July 2016 | 10:40pm | Yesterday |
Friday 8th July 2016 | 9:20pm | Yesterday |
Friday 13th January 2017 | 10:00am | Gold |
Thursday 22nd June 2017 | 8:10am | Gold |
Thursday 22nd June 2017 | 1:20pm | Gold |
Thursday 17th August 2017 | 3:15am | Gold |
Tuesday 29th August 2017 | 3:20am | Gold |
Wednesday 30th August 2017 | 2:10am | Gold |
Thursday 22nd June 2023 | 9:00am | Gold |
Thursday 22nd June 2023 | 1:00pm | Gold |
Saturday 24th June 2023 | 7:30am | Gold |
Friday 15th September 2023 | 7:00pm | Gold |
Monday 18th September 2023 | 1:40pm | Gold |
Monday 18th September 2023 | 6:20pm | Gold |
Monday 16th October 2023 | 1:00pm | Gold |
Monday 16th October 2023 | 4:20pm | Gold |
Monday 22nd January 2024 | 8:00pm | Gold |
Tuesday 23rd January 2024 | 12:20am | Gold |
Tuesday 23rd January 2024 | 2:40pm | Gold |
Thursday 29th February 2024 | 2:40pm | Gold |
Saturday 2nd March 2024 | 10:45pm | Gold |
Sunday 3rd March 2024 | 1:25am | Gold |
Cast & crew
Rowan Atkinson | Inspector Fowler |
David Haig | D.I. Grim |
Serena Evans | Sergeant Dawkins |
James Dreyfus | P.C. Goody |
Mina Anwar | P.C. Habib |
Rudolph Walker | P.C. Gladstone |
Mark Addy | D.C. Boyle |
Bernard Gallagher | Mr Glockenspiel (Regional Auditor) |
Archie Panjabi | Nazia (Habib's Sister) |
Ben Elton | Writer |
John Birkin | Director |
Geoffrey Perkins | Producer |
Ben Elton | Producer |
Peter Bennett-Jones | Executive Producer |
Steve Tempia | Editor |
Charlie Fawcett | Editor |
James Dillon | Production Designer |
Howard Goodall | Composer |