Devonfire Books

30/04/2026

COVER REVEAL! The brilliant Jim Trenowden's Operation Black Gold will reveal the untold story of 1960s BBC TV series Mogul and The Troubleshooters. Featuring unprecedented access to original production documentation, this guidebook will detail the making of the series from inception through to the various attempts to get a spin-off launched, delving into the making of each episode and the globetrotting filming that brought it to life.

10/12/2025

Author Edward Kellett holds his fifth Reviewing book proudly aloft. What an achievement! The sixth in the series will be published next year 📚 Complete your collection devonfirebooks.com

05/12/2025

Edward Kellett's fifth Reviewing is OUT NOW! Huge thanks to everyone who pre-ordered this title - all the pictured stock has already been shipped to customers. Order yours now while stocks last devonfirebooks.com

"The Bill" entered troubled waters in 1997. The fifth continuous year of producing three episodes a week was taking its toll on the series and the explosion of reality TV meant that ratings were falling. When Michael Chapman retired after almost a decade at the helm, Richard Handford was tasked with ensuring Sun Hill’s survival.

Handford’s radical changes meant "The Bill" would no longer be a writer-led series of self-contained stories. The regular cast became the heart of a new-look, hour-long revamp, including new recruits Rosie Fox and Eddie Santini, and old favourite Frank Burnside.

In the fifth edition of his acclaimed REACHING A VERDICT series, Edward Kellett investigates how a show in flux became revitalised, thanks to a dedicated cast and crew delivering compelling ongoing storylines, making The Bill a must-see ratings Smash once more.

REACHING A VERDICT: REVIEWING THE BILL (1997-1998) features a Foreword by the guv'nor himself, Executive Producer Richard Handford, and an Afterword by legendary scriptwriter Elizabeth-Anne Wheal, who created the Fox/Santini storyline.

The Bill: Access all Areas The Billaton The Bill Podcast

31/10/2025

The first three Reviewing books are now available on from Amazon Kindle This acclaimed series by Edward Kellett presents an insightful, thorough and fascinating analysis of the groundbreaking police drama 📚📺🚔🚨 The Billaton The Bill Podcast The Bill: Access all Areas

Visit Amazon's Reaching A Verdict: Reviewing The Bill page and shop for all Reaching A Verdict: Reviewing The Bill books. Check out pictures, author information and reviews of Reaching A Verdict: Reviewing The Bill

06/10/2025

03/10/2025

"The Bill" entered troubled waters in 1997. The fifth continuous year of producing three episodes a week was taking its toll on the series and the explosion of reality TV meant that ratings were falling. When Michael Chapman retired after almost a decade at the helm, Richard Handford was tasked with ensuring Sun Hill’s survival.

Handford’s radical changes meant "The Bill" would no longer be a writer-led series of self-contained stories. The regular cast became the heart of a new-look, hour-long revamp, including new recruits Rosie Fox and Eddie Santini, and old favourite Frank Burnside.

In the fifth edition of his acclaimed REACHING A VERDICT series, Edward Kellett investigates how a show in flux became revitalised, thanks to a dedicated cast and crew delivering compelling ongoing storylines, making The Bill a must-see ratings Smash once more.

REACHING A VERDICT: REVIEWING THE BILL (1997-1998) will be published in December and can be pre-ordered NOW https://www.devonfirebooks.com/

21/09/2025

Oliver Crocker - Ghostwriter & TV Historian 's bestselling guidebook to the original All Creatures Great & Small is currently riding high in Amazon's Television Drama book chart (in very fine company). Featuring interviews with 75 cast and crew, including stars Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy, Peter Davison and Carol Drinkwater. The glorious original series begins a new repeat run on BBC4 next Sunday. Order your signed copy from devonfirebooks.com

12/09/2025

Edward Kellett's second REACHING A VERDICT: REVIEWING THE BILL book is out now on eBook - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reaching-Verdict-Reviewing-Bill-1990-1992-ebook/dp/B0FM8S5W67/

As "The Bill" entered a new decade, the programme makers once again faced the challenge of finding a new location for Sun Hill police station. But this time they had to do so without a break in the gruelling filming schedule and ensure that new episodes of ITV's bi-weekly ratings smash were in constant production…

In the second of his acclaimed REACHING A VERDICT series, TV historian Edward Kellett returns to investigate how from this testing period, The Bill emerged a show better than ever, willing to experiment with longer storylines and unlock the full potential of the half-hour format.

Discover how the programme's greatest writers, under the command of executive producer Michael Chapman, joined forces to create 314 episodes of drama tackling contemporary issues in Britain and ensuring The Bill took no prisoners in the 1990s.

REACHING A VERDICT: REVIEWING THE BILL (1990-1992) opens with a Foreword by producer Tony Virgo and an Afterword by legendary writer J.C. Wilsher.

"EDWARD KELLETT IS A MASTER STORYTELLER WHO VIVIDLY CAPTURES A REMARKABLE ERA OF BRITISH TELEVISION DRAMA" - Barry Appleton, legendary "The Bill" writer.

"THE AMOUNT OF DETAIL IN EDWARD KELLETT'S ERUDITE, CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BILL IS ASTONISHING" - Christopher Russell, legendary "The Bill" writer.

30/08/2025

★★★★★ "Totally absorbing, often hilarious, sometimes tragic, but always brutally honest" - Television Heaven

Larry Dann's acting career began with a knock on the door, when a seven year old schoolboy was talent scouted by London's Corona Academy and invited to be in a film shooting at Denham Studios. This was the start of a career that saw him perform in hundreds of stage productions all over the world, star in four of the iconic Carry On movies and become a household name as Sgt. Alec Peters in ITV's The Bill.

Featuring a special introduction by the late great Brian Murphy and dozens of rare photographs, Larry's highly entertaining autobiography arrives on eBook for the first time!

Larry recalls his 70-year career in showbiz, from dodging school to make movies, joining Joan Littlewood's groundbreaking Theatre Workshop, performing in the West End and on Broadway, starring in the cult horror movie Ghost Story, nicking villains on the streets of Sun Hill and getting the custard pie treatment from Sooty & Sweep.

As well as sharing the extraordinary highs and lows that an acting career can bring, this beautifully crafted memoir also tells the story of a young boy growing up in London during the Second World War, with a father fighting for his country and a mother dreaming of stardom. From working with villains in the East End to sleeping with cockroaches in New York, from personal tragedies to happy accidents, Larry has shared many of these adventures with Liz, his wife of 50 years and counting.

Out now from Amazon https://lnkd.in/e2U76Qc2

Signed paperbacks still available from devonfirebooks.com