Burnside

Christopher Ellison reprises his role as Frank Burnside, one of The Bill's best-loved characters, in this grittier, post-watershed spin-off first aired in 2000. Having built his reputation on good detective work - combined with his unique approach of putting suspects' heads down the toilet and making their lives hell - Burnside is back on familiar form heading a crack unit in the National Crime Squad, Britain's equivalent of the FBI. In a series of hard-hitting investigations tackling big-league villains - old adversary Ronnie Buchan (Paul Nicholas) topping his list - rough diamond Burnside is joined by Dave Summers, a suave graduate who sometimes finds his boss's methods dubious, and the feisty Sam Phillips, a wild child with an instinctive flair for police work. His colleagues may be younger, fitter and trained in modern techniques, but both recognise that Burnside's way gets results. (Network)