Codename was a short-lived British television series produced by the BBC in 1970.

Codename
GenreDrama
Created byBill Hays
David Sullivan Proudfoot
StarringClifford Evans
Alexandra Bastedo
Anthony Valentine
Brian Peck
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes13
Production
Running time50 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC2
Release7 April (1970-04-07) –
30 June 1970 (1970-06-30)

An espionage thriller series, Codename recounted the activities of a secret organisation, MI17, being run from a residential hall at Cambridge University. The programme, lasting for one series of thirteen episodes, was produced by Gerard Glaister and starred Clifford Evans, Alexandra Bastedo, Anthony Valentine and Brian Peck. It was preceded by a one-off pilot play, with a different cast.

The leads were well known from other series when this series was originally transmitted, Valentine from Callan, Bastedo from The Champions and Evans from The Power Game, and the first episode featured on the cover of the Radio Times. However, unlike its rival Callan on ITV, Codename failed to capture the public imagination, and no further series were made.

No episodes survive in the BBC archive, though there is a recording of the pilot.

edit