| abstract | - PC Tony Stamp was a long term character in The Bill between 1987 and 2009. Tony made his first appearance in 1984 as an un-credited extra, however he made his first regular character appearance in 1987. Tony has always been a fundamentally decent person. When his father's care became too much of a financial burden for him to bear with a policeman's salary alone, Tony took on a second job as a taxicab driver to fund his father's care. In 1998, Tony accidentally killed a pedestrian in a car chase and went on trial for vehicular manslaughter. He is forced to face a court trial and a police disciplinary hearing, but manages to keep both his job and his position as Sun Hill's primary area car driver, along with, at the time, Vicky Hagen. In 2002 Tony is the subject of an accusation of sexual harassment from a young lad called Lee Dwyer. The allegations are false, but the longevity of the investigation, and the public's reaction to the possibility leaves him reeling. It also damages his hitherto unbroken friendship with Jim Carver, which continued in 2003 when Jim let down their long term mutual friend June Ackland, by proposing to a victim of crime whilst June was on holiday, who was expecting to come back and marry Jim. After being trapped in a cellar on Jim's wedding day, emotions went flying; Tony opened up to friend Polly Page, who eventually rejected him, June and Jim had a screaming match which resulted in June telling Jim that she had sex with Tony, and Tony told Jim he refused to be his best man in his wedding. In 2004, whilst on patrol with June, the pair were involved in a chase of a vehicle, June went to chase the decamped suspects on foot, and when she came out from behind an alleyway, June ended up being hit by the Area Car Tony was controlling. June ended up in cardiac arrest, and lost her spleen, and Tony convinced Jim to open up to his feelings to June, despite their rocky relationships during and after his marriage, and eventually Jim proposed and June accepted, and Tony and Jim became friends once more. When PC Yvonne Hemmingway was suspended for police brutality, facing a murder trial for killing a thug with her ASP, Tony hesitated before using his own ASP when confronted by a gang of youths, and in that split second they launch a vicious assault on him that leaves him fighting for his life. Yvonne is later acquitted when Tony convinces a homeless witness to come forward, who claimed he was ashamed for not stepping in to help. In 2006, Tony's position was threatened by his new Superintendent, John Heaton. He assigned Tony and Reg Hollis to investigate a case concerning a missing dog. Tony and Reg, however, prove their worth when the dog-napping uncovers a cold case murder inquiry, that had previously been undetected and arrest the knife-wielding suspect. Tony left Sun Hill in November 2009. Tony told his Inspector; Dale Smith that he had accepted another job at Hendon as an Advanced Driving Police Instructor and left Sun Hill, after convincing a young mother give evidence against her abusive partner, who had been attacking their daughter.
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