British Comedy Guide
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

Upcoming repeats

  1. Friday 13th September 2024 at 8:20pm on 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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