STAY A BATCHELOR BOY REG, SAYS JEFF (11/8/04)

From the BBC's Pure Soap site:

They say weddings are a great place to find love and it's nice to see that this romantic rule also applies in the world of television.

Popular ITV1 police drama The Bill - which celebrates its 21st birthday this month - sees two of its longest standing cast members, June Ackland and Jim Carver, tie the knot.

And hapless Reg Hollis makes the most of the romantic occasion by planting a smacker on colleague SRO Marilyn Chambers (played by Vickie Gates) during what ends up being a fraught reception, in the episode on Wednesday August 18.

Actor Jeff Stewart, who's been playing unlucky-in-love Reg Hollis since The Bill began, hopes this tryst doesn't last too long.

Affable, chatty (about most things) and someone who seems to love to crack a joke, Jeff chats warmly about the character he's played for nearly half of his lifetime. "I don't want him to settle down," the 47-year-old told us. "There are a lot of people out there who don't so I think people relate to that.

"I haven't been bothered by his lack of love success over the years. I don't know if this will be a long-term thing.

"In the early years he had a fling with a traffic warden and later with a stripper but he hasn't stayed with the ladies he's been with."

This latest Sun Hill romance has been slowly building, kick-started by a date trainspotting a few months ago. And although he's keen for Reg to remain a bachelor, Jeff's pleased with his choice of love interest.

"She's delightfully eccentric and he's...whatever he is. Tangible and reliable and all those things. I think Reg is marvellous."