NEWS UPDATE (19/11/03) *updated 25/11/03*

NEW OFFICER JOINING THE RANKS

Andrew Lancel will be joining the cast of The Bill early in the new year as Detective Inspector Neil Manson. Apparently Nixon doesn't achieve full-DI status and is pushed back to DS, with Manson taking over her role. Lancel describes his character as "...kind of old school but there's something else about him. He's certainly many different shades of blue, like a pendulum he could go either way. He's well connected and wants to get to the top as quick as possible. He'll be a good thief taker, a hugely ambitious man who sees no problem slapping a criminal round and believes women shouldn't be in the force."

"When I read it I thought, 'I've no idea how one would play that part without twiddling your moustache or shouting,' as we've developed he's become the middle of likeable and loathed; quite mysterious. I certainly don't think there's been anything like him yet." Andrew joined during the lead up to the live episode and found all the cast welcoming despite the hectic period. "Quite simply, they are the nicest bunch of actors to work with. It's been brilliant. They were really supportive - some even came to my screen test. I met them during one of the maddest times in the 20th anniversary."

Andrew is no stranger to television. He has appeared as Dr Collin in Cardiac Arrest, Hillsborough, Liverpool One, Queer as Folk, The Vice, City Central, and most recently, Bad Girls along with numerous guest roles including Peak Practice, Soldier Soldier and Midsomer Murders. He has also made two previous appearances in The Bill.

BILL RAPE ORDEAL FOR PAUL

JUST Good Friends star Paul Nicholas plays a rape victim in The Bill.

His character is a doctor who is attacked when burglars break into his house and tie him to the bed.

The investigation uncovers details about his private life — and Sun Hill’s finest arrest a man who has been terrorising users of gay internet sites.

Family favourite Paul, 57, who has also appeared in The Bill spin-off Burnside, said: “It’s definitely more interesting than doing the stuff I’m usually associated with.”

The episode is on ITV1 tomorrow at 8pm.