The Thin Blue Line. Image shows from L to R: D.I. Grim (David Haig), P.C. Habib (Mina Anwar), Inspector Fowler (Rowan Atkinson), P.C. Goody (James Dreyfus), D.C. Boyle (Mark Addy), Sergeant Dawkins (Serena Evans), P.C. Gladstone (Rudolph Walker). Copyright: Tiger Aspect Productions
The Thin Blue Line

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.

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Episode menu

Series 2, Episode 4 - Alternative Culture

The station is rife with tension when the ladies are forced to share the mens' locker rooms, with no funds available to fix a problem in theirs. Meanwhile, Grim is organising a major drugs raid, Boyle a drinking evening, and Habib's looking after her younger sister.

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

Cast
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
Guest cast
Bernard Gallagher Mr Glockenspiel (Regional Auditor)
Archie Panjabi Nazia (Habib's Sister)
Writing team
Ben Elton Writer
Production team
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

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