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 1, Episode 3 - Honey Trap

Inspector Fowler is confident that his team can win the local pub quiz as long as he has his star player PC Habib. However, DI Grim wants to use her in a trap to catch Terry the Tank...

Further details

Grim asks Fowler if he can borrow Habib for an illegal entrapment operation. After some convincing Fowler reluctantly agrees, but is distraught when he realises she will have to pull out of the police pub quiz team.

Meanwhile, Patricia is getting suspicious of the amount of time Fowler and Habib are spending together. When Habib arrives for work disguised as a tart and tells Patricia that Inspector Fowler ordered her to dress that way, her blood begins to boil.

However, Fowler is too concerned with the quiz team and upcoming finals to notice. He's already lost Habib, and now Kray seems to be risking his competence. When Patricia refuses to take Maggie's place and Goody and Gladstone turn out to be too thick, he resorts to asking the criminals in the cells.

Back in CID, Grim decides to step up the operation and urges Habib go even further to get information out of the villain. Habib is increasingly uneasy with his methods and Fowler washes his hands with the whole business.

Things come to a head with Patricia over the matter of a new Royal Coat of Arms to be hung over the station's front desk, but the truth comes flowing out and it's Dawkins left looking the fool.

Grim is delighted when Habib and local criminal Terry the Tank arrive, handcuffed together. But the operation, it seems, hasn't concluded quite as he had hoped.

Broadcast details

Date
Monday 27th November 1995
Time
8:30pm
Channel
BBC One
Length
30 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Tuesday 12th July 2011 9:20pm Gold
Tuesday 12th July 2011 11:20pm Gold
Monday 14th April 2014 8:00pm Gold
Tuesday 15th April 2014 3:00pm Gold
Saturday 28th June 2014 11:45am Gold
Wednesday 30th July 2014 12:20pm Gold
Sunday 15th February 2015 5:00pm Gold
Tuesday 10th March 2015 5:00pm Gold
Wednesday 11th March 2015 1:40pm Gold
Friday 4th December 2015 11:10am Gold
Saturday 5th December 2015 8:50am Gold
Thursday 23rd June 2016 10:00pm Yesterday
Friday 24th June 2016 8:40pm Yesterday
Thursday 5th January 2017 10:05am Gold
Wednesday 14th June 2017 8:00am Gold
Wednesday 14th June 2017 1:50pm Gold
Wednesday 5th July 2017 7:00am Gold
Wednesday 13th September 2017 3:05am Gold
Thursday 14th September 2017 3:00am Gold
Monday 12th June 2023 9:00am Gold
Monday 12th June 2023 1:00pm Gold
Wednesday 26th July 2023 8:00pm Gold
Thursday 27th July 2023 12:20am Gold
Tuesday 5th September 2023 7:00pm Gold
Wednesday 6th September 2023 1:40pm Gold
Wednesday 6th September 2023 6:20pm Gold
Wednesday 4th October 2023 1:00pm Gold
Wednesday 4th October 2023 4:20pm Gold
Tuesday 16th January 2024 8:00pm Gold
Wednesday 17th January 2024 12:20am Gold
Wednesday 17th January 2024 2:35pm Gold
Wednesday 14th February 2024 2:40pm Gold
Friday 16th February 2024 2:20am Gold
Saturday 24th February 2024 10:30pm Gold
Sunday 25th February 2024 1:10am 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
Kevin Allen D.C. Kray
Joy Brook D.C. Crockett
Guest cast
Stephen Marcus Terry the Tank
Writing team
Ben Elton Writer
Production team
John Birkin Director
Geoffrey Perkins Producer
Ben Elton Producer
Peter Bennett-Jones Executive Producer
Graham Hutchings Editor
James Dillon Production Designer
Howard Goodall Composer

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