The Sun Hill Serial Killer was a major storyline from the ITV police procedural drama The Bill . They were known on screen as the "River Murders", due to the bodies being left on the banks of the River Thames. The storyline spanned several months, from July 2002 to January 2003, with cast regular Cass Rickman (played by Suzanne Maddock), killed off at the denouement in December 2002. It also served as the exit storyline for DC Duncan Lennox, who transferred from Sun Hill Police Station to the Murder Investigation Team during the plot. The storyline concluded with the killer's capture in 2003 after they kidnapped Acting DI Samantha Nixon. It was the first of several serial killer storylines in the show. [1]
All the victims of the killer featured prominently in various episodes.
Pat Kitson targeted people who were both known to Sun Hill station through the courts, and people her brother interacted or bonded with. Once tracked down, Kitson strangled her victims, hacked off their hair and dumped the bodies on the banks of the River Thames.
The high ratings of the Serial Killer storyline spanned two similar storylines, in which other members of the cast were written out. The Sun Hill Gay Serial Killer storyline saw the exit of PC Lance Powell [1] and the Sun Hill Sniper storyline saw out long-time favourite PC Kerry Young. The storyline was also referenced when Nixon's daughter went missing in season 20. She stated it was the most famous case she investigated during her career as a police officer to that point.
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"Golden Opportunity" is an episode of the long-running police procedural television series, The Bill, broadcast on 16 April 2002. The episode is significant in the show's history, as it features the events of the first Sun Hill Fire, which resulted in the death of six officers. The episode attracted 8.6 million viewers, and was the first of the few times computer generated imagery had been used on the show. With new producer Paul Marquess wanting to change the cast significantly and the station set due to be redeveloped, the decision was made to stage a dramatic explosion and fire on the set, a storyline that led to the axing of eight characters in total during the events of the storyline.
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