The Bill’s Jeff Stewart looked completely unrecognisable as he headed out to run some errands in north London on Wednesday.
The actor, 68, who is best known for portraying much-loved character PC Reg Hollis in the TV police drama for 24 years, was seen with a long grey hair and a wild beard.
Showing off his quirky sense of style, Jeff wore a chequered wool coat with a bright yellow T-shirt.
He topped off his casual look with grey joggers and a pair of trainers while shielding himself from the weather with a patterned umbrella.
Jeff looked worlds away from his lovable character Reg, who was Sun Hill’s police federation rep.
The Bill’s Jeff Stewart, 68, looked completely unrecognisable as he headed out to run some errands in north London on Wednesday
The actor, who is best known for portraying much-loved character PC Reg Hollis in the TV police drama for 24 years, was seen with a long grey hair and a wild beard
Though he didn’t appear in the pilot episode, he featured regularly from the first regular instalment onwards. He appeared in a total of 872 episodes.
The Scottish actor played Reg for 24 years, before the character was sadly axed in January 2008.
Speaking in 2011 about the decision, Jeff told The Sun: ‘I felt I had been badly let down.’
After hearing the plans from the show’s producers Jeff went back to his dressing room and still dazed by the news, attempted to take his own life.
As he began to black out he changed his mind and rang the front desk for help.
Luckily he was found in time and was rushed from the studios in Merton, South West London to hospital.
‘I didn’t see a counsellor, it was evident I was OK and I never worried how it would affect my career.
‘I thought, ‘I have a choice, you can either stagnate or blossom’, he added.
Showing off his quirky sense of style, Jeff wore a chequered wool coat with a bright yellow T-shirt
He topped off his casual look with grey joggers and a pair of trainers while shielding himself from the weather with a patterned umbrella
Though he didn’t appear in the pilot episode, he featured regularly from the first regular instalment onwards. He appeared in a total of 872 episodes
The Scottish actor played Reg for 24 years, before the character was sadly axed in January 2008 (pictured on The Bill in 2007)
The Bill ran for a total of 26 years, with the popular series ending in 2010 after being axed – much to the dismay of staunch fans
Meanwhile, when pictures at the time emerged on the internet of him sporting a full beard, fans presumed he was still suffering depression however, Jeff defended his scruffy appearance as a way to distance himself from the clean shaven Reg with whom he had become synonymous.
He said: ‘I didn’t cut my hair for three years. It was a thought-out, deliberate choice.
‘I thought, ‘I have to look as different as possible’.
The Bill ran for a total of 26 years, with the popular series ending in 2010 after being axed – much to the dismay of staunch fans.
Though The Bill was his biggest role to date, Jeff has appeared in a number of other programmes including Crossroads, Doctor Who and Hi-De-Hi!.
He has also starred in independent films and won a Best Actor award for his role in Under Jakob’s Ladder at the Manhattan Film Festival in 2011.
