UKTV has picked up the on-demand rights to the early series of classic ITV police drama The Bill.

For decades the show was a cornerstone of the ITV schedules, airing continuously for 26 years before being axed in 2010.

UKTV will make the first five series of the show available on its UKTV Play service at 10am on May 1, with subsequent series debuting on the 1st of the month thereafter.

The collection includes almost 200 episodes originally broadcast between 1984 and 1989, with guest appearances from Sean Bean (1984) and Paul O'Grady (1988).

The initial release of episodes will also include the introduction of the legendary character DC Tosh Lines (Kevin Lloyd) in 1988.