Billy Butterbread

 “I’ve never had a failed case so far.”

- Billy Butterbread, showing determination in his work as a Private Investigator

('The Beginning', Chapter One: "The Expert")

Sir William Stephen Daniel Butterbread III (more often called "Billy") is a private detective from Cheston Village, mostly specialising in food-oriented cases, and the series' eponymous protagonist.

Volume 1
Volume 1 of the online series (written in pros) portrays Billy in his early days as a detective - namely his ongoing case against 'The Editor', his reacquaintance with Jean Phelps and new friendship with Ryan Thompson.

Several notable incidents occur for Billy - such as his change of career path from food-critic to TV Persona, the latter of which coincides with his detective work.

Billy spends the majority of Volume 1 living at No. 41, Broadwalk Avenue in Cheston Village with Ryan, under the watchful eye of Mister Snoutnose - their landlord.

Many of Billy's cases involve his collaboration with the local Police - most notably Janet Worthing (a Police Constable and later Sergeant) and Harry Grant, a Detective Inspector.

Billy ends Volume 1 inheriting his previously unknown family estate - Butterbread Manor - as well as his late-grandfather's baronetcy, whilst also overcoming his rogues gallery consecutively:

'The Pork Pie Pilferer', "Beefy" Bernard Babcock, 'The Anonymous Blackmailer', 'The Cheston Poisoner' and - finally - 'The Editor'.

'Seasonal Specials'
The  'Seasonal Specials' audiobooks showcase Billy's time as the Lord of Butterbread Manor - situated halfway up The Great Hill, overlooking Cheston.

Billy's latest cases include thwarting criminal activities by "Bottleneck Betsy", as well as uncovering potential supernatural activites at an old Windmill outside the village, and discovering the perpetrator behind the thefts of various household items - during a time at which his estate is temporarily converted into a Guest House.

Personality
Billy Butterbread is the everyman of detectives:

He was born with naturally heightened senses of taste and smell - apparently inherited from his father (who disappeared when Billy was only a few weeks old) - which was one of the driving factors in his life that led to him becoming a Private Investigator, specialising his cases in food and drink-oriented scenarios.

Although Billy is unfailingly kind to most people that he meets, he isn't afraid of having a dig at the likes of Mister Snoutnose, Greg Jameson or Ed Case - due to their demeaning attitudes towards other people.

Billy is intolerant towards bullies, murderers and injustice, and is unafraid of displaying this intolerance in front of crowds big or small, especially before close friends and family, although there are instances where he can be short-tempered or curt - and known to take offence when directly insulted.

Billy's possess a dry sense of humour; he is unafraid to make fun of himself, and enjoys mutual sparring banter with both Ryan Thompson and Jean Phelps.

Personal Life
Beyond his heavy workload, Billy finds little time to himself, or to engage in romantic encounters or social activities.

One notable exception to this latter rule, however, takes place in  ' The Bowling Championship'  - during which Billy heavily downplays his natural skill as a bowler, only to score a winning strike at the very last minute when Ryan's team end up in trouble due to fowl play.

Billy is also a fan of the famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, an inspiration of his since childhood; another hero of Billy's is the English folklore legend, Robin Hood, whom he admires for having had such a strong sense of right and wrong.

Billy received an immediate knighthood - most likely in succession of his late grandfather - upon inheriting Butterbread Manor in the Spring of 2019.

More about Billy's favourite past-time activities will be revealed as the series progresses.

Family

 * Tony Butterbread - father; current whereabouts unknown.
 * Sandra Butterbread (née Featherstone) - mother.
 * Walter MacDuff - step-father; deceased.
 * Danny O'Butterly - older cousin.
 * Lt. Major Sir Alastiar Frederick Bartholomew Curtis Butterbread - grandfather; deceased.
 * Sir Roger Butterbread II - great grandfather; deceased (with honours).
 * Sir William Butterbread II - great-great grandfather; deceased.
 * Sir Timothy Butterbread - ancestor; co-founder of Cheston's Annual Food Festival.
 * Sir Peregrin Butterbread - ancestor; co-founder of Cheston's Annual Food Festival.
 * Unnamed ancestor; former Stationmaster at Cheston Railway Station.

Friends & Acquaintances

 * Jean Phelps - childhood sweetheart; subsequent close friend and love interest.
 * Ryan Thompson - best friend.
 * Janet Worthing - Police Liason; close friend.
 * Percival Poundspend - butler.
 * Mister Snoutnose - groundskeeper; former landlord.
 * Dee Livery - friend.
 * Nikki Hagan - acquaintance.
 * "Skinny" Flint Perry - friend.
 * Harry Grant - ally.
 * Michael Palmer - ally.
 * Foster Wells - ally.
 * "Jolly" Roger Elliot - childhood friend.
 * Sadeq Kanji - friend; former co-tenant.
 * Martin Matthews - acquaintance.
 * Charlie Johnson - acquaintance.
 * Carys Anderson - acquaintance.
 * Nancy Blight - friend.
 * Mrs Dewsbury - friend; former next-door neighbour.
 * Max Dewsbury - friend.
 * Butch Jackson - friend.
 * Tom Miller - friend.
 * Mayor Greg Jameson - ally.
 * Mister Slackworth - former employer-turned-referee (BSTV).
 * Keith Bennett - friend; former TV Producer.
 * Noel Saint - ally.
 * Petunia Adams - temporary guest.
 * Seth Jones - temporary guest.

Enemies

 * Rory Pierce - archenemy and former employer; presumed deceased.
 * Ed Case - former employer; deceased.
 * Marcus Boyd - incapacitated.
 * "The Pork Pie Pilferer" - deceased.
 * "Beefy" Bernard Babcock - incarcerated.
 * "Pinhead" Tyson Phillips - unknown.
 * Mister Glumdrop - "landlord's landlord".
 * Warren Collins - deceased.
 * Luke Taylor/"The Anonymous Blackmailer" - incarcerated.
 * Clement Oakley/"The Cheston Poisoner" - incarcerated.
 * "Bottleneck Betsy" - incarcerated.
 * Angel Adams - incarcerated.

Volume 1

 * "Welcome to Cheston Village!" (Mentioned Only)
 * 'The Beginning' (First Full Appearance)
 * 'The Food Festival'
 * 'Bite-Sized Bits!' - Part I ('Kitchen Crisis' and Post-Modern' Only)
 * 'The Bowling Championship'
 * 'Bite-Sized Bits!' - Part II (All except for 'Seen and Not Heard')
 * 'The Anonymous Blackmailer'
 * 'The Return of the Cheston Poisoner'
 * 'The Butterbread Legacy'

'Seasonal Specials'

 * 'The Haunted Windmill'
 * 'The Burglary Before Christmas'

Origins & Behind-the-Scenes
The character of Billy Butterbread was first originated in 2011, portrayed by writer/actor Joe Gibbons in a short film called  'First Meal of the Day' - following a man going to bizzare lengths for his morning's breakfast - where the name was added near the end of post-production when one was required for the protagonist.

After the making of the short film, Gibbons spent between four and five years devising a story/series based around the character - eventually culminating in the online release of  'The Beginning' on a writer's blog.

A new series of 10 short comedy sketches, and a one-man show about the character as both in early-production - as well as a short film, loosely adapted from elements of Volume 1, with scripts for all three projects currently in the works.

Trivia

 * While Billy is still learning much of his family history, one of his ancestors fought at the Battle of the Somme (deceased with honours); another worked as the Stationmaster at Cheston Village Train Station, and two more founded the Village’s Annual Food Festival in the late-17th Century.
 *  Billy has made the highest number of appearances in the series to date.