Oliver Crocker Author

Barry Appleton served as a police officer with the Metropolitan Police for 20 years, working on many high-profile cases and earning multiple commendations for ability, courage and determination. In 1984, he achieved overnight success as a screenwriter, becoming the lead writer of The Bill and injecting 50 episodes with gritty realism. In 1993, he won a Writers' Guild of Great Britain award for his Taggart screenplays. His other scriptwriting credits include C.A.T.S. Eyes, Circles of Deceit, London’s Burning, Mr. Palfrey of Westminster and Van der Valk. His novels include A Walking Shadow and East of Wild Goat Rocks. Barry retired to Cyprus with Pam, his wife for 49 years. They have two children and three grandchildren. Oliver Crocker is a ghostwriter and TV historian. He is the author of the bestselling All Memories Great & Small, endorsed by the James Herriot estate, and two Witness Statements: Making The Bill guidebooks, featuring memories from 100 cast and crew. In 2023, Oliver ghostwrote actor Larry Dann’s acclaimed autobiography Oh, What A Lovely Memoir. As a television researcher, his credits include ITV’s This Morning and BBC’s Something for the Weekend. Since 2017, he has interviewed hundreds of special guests as producer of The Bill Podcast, played over 500,000 times in 50 countries. He also writes articles for Best of British magazine. Oliver lives near Cambridge with his wife Tessa and their ginger cat Fawkes.