PC Reg Hollis
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Police Constable Reginald "Reg" Percival Hollis is a popular fictional character in the long-running ITV drama The Bill. He is one of the most instantly recogniseable and popular characters in the show's history. He is played by Jeff Stewart.
Though June Ackland is credited as the only surviving character from the pilot episode Woodentop, Reg is arguably as veteran a character as her. While he doesn't appear in Woodentop, his voice is heard over the radio, and he is referred to by name. Reg is officially introduced in "Funny Ol' Business - Cops and Robbers", and is gradually perceived in the series as a loner; the unpopular oddball of the relief, who spends most of his time carrying out police duties behind a desk in CAD. Reg is however a very brave and capable officer, and on one of his early outings from the station he proves so when he charges into a hostage situation and unarms a potentially dangerous gunman.
Reg originally started out at Sun Hill as the Collator, and not long after that he was appointed the station's Federation rep - Sun Hill's representitive to the Police Federation, initially because nobody else wanted the job. While he held the position he naturally took it very seriously, which could be one of the reasons he still holds much respect among the old hands. Reg was a loner for most of his time at Sun Hill, however an unlikely friendship buddy-pairing with PC Des Taviner changed him, and gave him more social confidence. Upon Des's arrival at Sun Hill, him and Reg were paired up in the area car, which saw the beginning of a friendship that provided some of The Bill's greatest moments. It was truly a turning point when Reg, who had once been so uptight, accompanied Des when he skipped work to take a trip in the area car across the UK, attempting to convince Reg to propose to his girlfriend of the time.
After it was discovered Des had been responsible for The Sun Hill Fire, which had killed many of their colleagues, he went on the run for a short while, and at one point he contacted Reg to apologise for everything. Reg responded telling him that he was a coward, and it should be the families of those he killed he should've been apologising to. Minutes later, armed police had Des surrounded, and it was Reg whom was his arresting officer. Later on that afternoon, Des was beaten to death in his cell by a manic depressive, permanently ending his relationship with Reg on bad terms.
Reg was unlucky in love again once more in 2005, when Marilyn Chambers, Sun Hill's Front Desk Officer at the time and his girlfriend, died in The Sun Hill Fire (2005). Reg had planned to propose to her at the train station where he had taken her on the first date, where Reg had discovered she was actually interested in his hobby of trainspotting. Reg was deeply upset by her death, and he found her replacement very hard to swallow while he was grieving.
Reg's position has recently been threatened by Superintendent John Heaton. Tony Stamp has urged him to change his approach to policing. Reg however has refused to compromise on his principles and has said "if Superintendent Heaton's idea of running an efficient nick is to get rid of anyone over 30, I'm not sure I want to work for him". Heaton has recently started to realise how much respect and loyalty Reg receives from his colleagues.
[edit] Trivia
- Reg Hollis middle name was once known as ‘Gordon’
- Taffy Edwards was originally going to have the Reg Hollis persona but the producers changed the idea at the last minute and decided to give the whiney voice, silly jokes and odd ways to Reg in the second series. In the first series of The Bill Reg is depicted as a ‘normal’ background extra that thinks Bob Cryer is a ‘Miserable old git’.
- He has a sister named Marial who lives in New Zealand. He is also adopted.
- He once had a problem at school and was often teased and bullied by the students and teachers, hinting the possibility that he might have Asperger syndrome
