PC Tony Stamp   played by Graham Cole

First appearance    Some You Win, Some You Lose (28/09/87)     

If it’s a choice between a call on an armed raid or on a domestic dispute, no one need think long or hard about which PC Tony Stamp would answer. He’d go for the action, the tough stuff, the chance of glory. No one would call Stamp the Mr. Sensitive of Sun Hill: he often lacks tact, puts his foot in it, and can lose his rag with people who are not looking for trouble at all. He is a conscientious officer, though - sometimes over-conscientious. Consequently he can lack a certain tact and diplomacy when dealing with the public. Protecting and nursemaiding the community was not what he joined all those years ago to do. Stamp wants to nab ‘chummy’, make arrests and be patted on the back by his mates.

Stamp was born and brought up in Slough, but chose the Met. and London, rather than Thames Valley and his home town, for the excitement of police work in the big city. He's not a man who thinks too much about his future and he's not looking for promotion. He enjoys life as a beat copper, and if climbing up the ladder meant taking him away from the sharp end of things, he wouldn't be interested. It's a view that can express itself in criticisms of his superior officers who are losing touch with the "front line". It suits him fine staying a constable. He’d have to mind his p’s and q’s and play management games if he was promoted.

Stamp copes well with the physical side of the job - he likes sport – karate, rugby, the rougher the better, and is a trained area car driver. He could deal with a harridan charging at him with a pick-axe, but the distraught mother of a missing child finds him floundering. Perhaps he is frightened of other people’s emotions in case they unleash some of his own. Then where would he be? Big, physical Stamp shown to be human and frightened sometimes? That’s an appalling thought to him. 

Stamp is unmarried and has had little luck with romance. He can also be a bear with a sore head around the station, for whilst outwardly friendly he is deeply lonely and desperate to find a good woman. But Tony is well-liked by all members of the relief - none of his mates underestimate him. Tony's gone on to survive a number of personal crises whilst at the station. He nearly lost his beloved career when he knocked down and killed a pedestrian when responding to a call for urgent assistance. But his darkest hour as a police officer was when he was falsely accused of abusing a young boy whilst acting as his FLO. The rumours and accusations nearly forced Tony to quit the service, but he was soon exhonerated.