LIKE the plodding feet in the end credits, time has marched on for the country’s longest-running police drama.

The final episode of ITV’s The Bill was shown last night, bowing out with a story about a teenage girl involved in the murder of a 14-year-old.

The Bill, set in the fictional London area of Sun Hill, was given a major revamp last year but audiences have fallen steadily in recent years.

Its format has been tweaked a number of times since it was launched as a series in 1984.

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Initially, there were just 12 hour-long self-contained episodes, but by 1988 the programme had switched to three half-hour shows a week.

A decade later the drama, which created well-loved characters such as June Ackland, Reg Hollis and Jim Carver, returned to 60-minute shows.

The “seed” was a one-off drama called Woodentop in 1983, which so impressed ITV bosses they developed it into a series with the same central characters.

Some of the UK’s biggest stars took their first acting steps on the Sun Hill beat.

Among them is Robert Carlyle, now best known for his performances in Trainspotting and The Full Monty.

An up-and-coming actor at the time, he guest-starred in the 1991 episode The Better Part of Valour.

Former EastEnder Martine McCutcheon also had an early break on the long-running police drama.

She played a paper girl in one episode in 1991, then returned a year later playing a teenager found at a drugs party.

But the drama did not just boost the careers of young actors – many singers also found their feet on the pavements of the fictional borough of Canley.

Former Spice Girl Emma Bunton appeared in 1993 aged 17, while Chesney Hawkes also had a role two years earlier.

The show even featured a genuine rock legend when Roger Daltrey appeared in 1999.

Some cast members have been catapulted as far as Hollywood, with Pirates of the Caribbean actress Keira Knightley getting a break on the show as a child actor.

She played 10-year-old Sheena Rose in 1995, a tearaway with stolen coins in her bag.

Her Atonement co-star James McAvoy had one of his first television appearances on The Bill two years later.

Comedian and actor Russell Brand appeared in the show aged 18 in 1994 and David Walliams landed a role in 2002, just a year before Little Britain made him a star.