Phil Hunter
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| Phillip Hunter | |
|---|---|
 Scott Maslen as DS Phil Hunter |
|
| First appearance | Episode # 029 (25/07/2002) |
| Last appearance | N/A |
| Cause/Reason | N/A |
| Information | |
| Occupation | Police Officer |
| Title | Detective Sergeant |
| Relationships | None |
| Portrayed by | Scott Maslen |
Detective Sergeant Phil Hunter is a popular character in the long-running ITV drama The Bill. He has been in the series since 2002, and is played by Scott Maslen. As DS Hunter is a CID officer he does not have a callsign and in radio communications is simply referred to as "DS Hunter".
[edit] Personal Life and Background
Phil is considered by most people to be a womaniser. He currently has two illegitimate children from different women; Madison, who is about 5, with an estranged wife and Alfie Luke, an infant, with a former fiancée, despite being told by the doctor that he was unable to have children.
He was distrusted by his superior officers, with good reason — he has had links with known criminals and has undermined police work in catching them.
Over his years at Sun Hill, Phil has grown a good deal more responsible, and his superior, DCI Jack Meadows trusts him a lot more. An example of this was sending him alone to tail his friend, DC Zain Nadir who was suspected of corruption at the time.
Phil was married for a long time to his childhood sweetheart, Cindy, but their relationship was put under a lot of strain due to his philandering ways. They broke up permanently in 2006, for once, through no major fault of Phil's. The main reason they had was another failed IVF attempt, that completely destroyed their relationship.
Phil has been involved in several big storylines, such as the Dennis Weaver one, the Abi Nixon abduction case, the Kristen Shaw storyline and the ongoing storyline of his, and DI Samantha Nixon's ever changing relationship.
[edit] Relationship with Samantha Nixon
Samantha originally joined Sun Hill at the same rank as Phil, but was quickly promoted above him to the position of acting DI, causing a lot of resentment, and he took great joy in telling her of her demotion before the DCI had the chance to. They seemingly despised each other, until Dennis Weaver lured them to an abandoned area, and tried to murder Phil for having a child with his wife. He shot Phil in the leg, and Sam and he escaped into some abandoned tunnels, where they hid, hoping backup would arrive in time. Phil thought he was either going to bleed to death in those tunnels, or be killed by Weaver, however ironically, Phil killed Weaver, shooting him dead in self defense. Slightly before Weaver's discovery of him, Phil tried to kiss Sam, marking the end of any real pretense of hatred for one another, allowing their relationship to blossom into a close friendship.
Phil was there for Sam when her daughter, Abi Nixon was abducted. At the conclusion of the storyline, it was he who distracted the abductor, and old friend of Sam's called Hugh Wallis, to allow Sam time to bring her daughter to a safe place to try and snap her out of the feelings that she'd started to feel for Hugh. A lot of flirting passed between the pair, but nothing major happened for a long time after this.
Upon DS Stuart Turner's arrival, Phil suddenly found he had a new rival for Sam's affections. When Sam started dating Stuart, Phil was not pleased and he tried to tell Sam how he felt about her, after she covered for him long enough to go to Cardiff to visit his ill son, before Stuart interrupted further, causing Phil to chicken out.
Phil became Sam's go to guy for complaints about Stuart, and she even told him that she was pregnant by Stuart before she told the father to be. He was unselfish during her miscarriage, sending Stuart to her side, believing him to be the one she needed to see at the painful time. Fortunately for Phil, they broke up once Sam told Stuart about the miscarriage.
On an undercover operation in Romania, Sam and Phil finally gave into the passion they felt for one another after both nearly getting killed. They slept together in a B&B, but were awkward around each other the morning after.
They kept their relationship a secret when they returned to Sun Hill, but they broke up soon after Phil told Sam he loved her for the first time, Sam fearing Phil's ability to stay faithful. They have, however, maintained their friendship, as Phil told Sam that there were no hard feelings. Despite their recent breakup, Sam and Phil are one of, if not the most popular pairings in the world of fanfiction.
