PC Reg Hollis  played by Jeff Stewart

First appearance    Funny Ol' Business - Cops and Robbers (16/10/84)     

We all know someone like PC Reg Hollis. A bit of a nerd, a bit of a clown, not above creeping to his superiors on occasion. Reg's whiney voice, silly jokes and odd ways made him the butt of much Sun Hill humour, but the older hands had a lot of respect for Reg. They knew that in spite of everything he was a good copper. Those who suggested he didn't always have the stomach for a rumble should remember that more than once unarmed Reg had tackled a gunman. And Reg had more sympathy and understanding for crime victims than some of his more gung-ho colleagues.

Having said this, Reg was still one of life's persistent moaners. He enjoyed the gossip round the station, true or false, and was always ready to initiate alarm and despondency even where there was no justification. This tendency didn’t always make him a popular figure amongst the relief, although there was overall a strange fondness for his lack of guile. Reg was also a hypochondriac, suffering variously from headache, backache, and neckache; aside from an occasional stomachache, no doubt caused by food poisoning acquired in the nick's canteen.

Reg began work at Sun Hill in 1984, as the station’s Collator. He was at one time the station's 'Federation' man – Sun Hill’s representative to the Police Federation - initially because no one else wanted the job. But he, naturally, took the position very seriously and at times proved to be very useful in the role. It was perhaps for this reason that he retained some loyal friends amongst his colleagues, despite his moaning. Not surprisingly Hollis was a bit of a loner; unmarried, but his unlikely friendship with Des Taviner gave him more social confidence. When pushed to the limits however, Reg was resourceful and strong willed - a side of him that was easily forgotten when he was moaning in someone's ear or boring them with the details of his miniature rail track.

Reg lived life by a very strong moral code and hated dishonesty or injustice. He lived alone and had given up on the idea of ever finding love, particularly following the death of his beloved Marilyn. He was happily married to the job, and knew that he was good at it; he had a genuine rapport with the vulnerable, the young and the elderly. He enjoyed several eccentric hobbies – including a love of model railways and gardening. In fact, not so long ago, Hollis was made responsible for tending the station garden. His other ‘projects’ while at the station have included designing the station website and renovating an old caravan into a place where members of the community can come and liase with the police.

In the end it all got too much for Reg, and following the death of his colleague Emma Keane, he decided to resign from the police force.