Don Beech scandal

The Don Beech Scandal was a storyline in the long-running police procedural British television series, The Bill.

The storyline centred around the corrupt Detective Sergeant Don Beech. Since the character's debut in 1995, his corruption had steadily grown^{[citation needed]}. His eventual downfall took place after Don Beech entered into a corrupt business relationship with local crime-boss Howard Fallon, with Beech destroying evidence implicating Fallon, intimidating witnesses and supplying intelligence on the progress of police investigations into Fallon's empire.

Unknown to Beech, fellow Detective Sergeant Claire Stanton was an undercover officer from the Complaints Investigation Bureau who had infiltrated Sun Hill CID to gather evidence and expose Beech's corrupt activities. Beech revealed his activities to fellow officer, DS John Boulton and offered him a bribe for his help in escaping his superiors. Bolton refused, and in the resulting fight Beech headbutted John Boulton breaking his nose causing him to collapse, Boulton responded by trying to strangle Beech, resulting in Beech slamming Boulton's head against the floor killing him.

The storyline caused the removal of many detectives at Sun Hill CID who served with Beech, resulting in a "clean sweep" of CID introducing new characters into the show.

Characters removed

• Chief Superintendent Charles Brownlow - as the Station commander he was seen responsible for failing to notice Beech as he was in overall command, he later resigned rather than losing his pension and having his employment terminated.
• Detective Inspector Chris Deakin - as Don Beech's immediate superior, Deakin was considered responsible and was transferred for his lack of supervision.
• Detective Sergeant Geoff Daly - had suspected Beech's corruption but never managed to gather evidence, and due to Daly being the same rank as Beech he was transfererred due to lack of supervision and failing to notice Beech's activities.
• Detective Sergeant John Boulton - died after fight with Don Beech.
• Detective Sergeant Claire Stanton - received a transfer and promotion after exposing Don Beech's corruption.
• Detective Sergeant Don Beech - as a fugitive after killing DS Boulton, Don changed his appearance and escaped to Australia later returning to the UK to mastermind criminal activities, as seen in Beech on the Run.
• Detective Constable Kerry Holmes - applied for a transfer after being outraged that CIB wrongly suspected her as being involved with the corruption.

Characters that survived

• Detective Chief Inspector Jack Meadows - as head of CID and Beech's superior, Meadows was seen to have given Beech freedom to carry out his actions. Meadows was presented to a disciplinary board but was cleared from wrong-doing, later revealing that he only survived due to his connections at New Scotland Yard.
• Detective Constable Duncan Lennox - as Beech's subordinate he had no control over his activities, and after being investigated was not found to be involved.
• Detective Constable Mickey Webb - as with DC Lennox, Webb was Beech's subordinate and was not involved in corruption.
• Detective Constable Danny Glaze - like DCs Lennox and Webb, Glaze was not involved in corruption.

Characters introduced as result

• Superintendent Tom Chandler
• Detective Inspector Alex Cullen
• Detective Sergeant Vik Singh
• Detective Sergeant Debbie McAllister
• Detective Constable Paul Riley
• Detective Constable Kate Spears

Preceded by Sun Hill Explosion 1988

Notable storylines

Succeeded by Beech on the Run