The Squad is a British television teen drama series, broadcast on ITV, that ran for just a single series of twelve episodes from 1 October to 17 December 1980. The series follows the fictional exploits of a group of Metropolitan Police police cadets as they take part in various community related projects whilst learning the ropes to become fully fledged police officers.[1] The series specifically focused on the activities of four cadets: Alan Martin, George Booker, Jogger Cummins and Sandra Henley. Coincidentally, actor Mark Botham, who played the role of cadet Alan Martin, later went on to appear as PC Danny Sparkes in the BBC police procedural TV series Juliet Bravo.
| The Squad | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Teen drama |
| Starring | Max Hafler Mark Botham Nicholas Cooke Yvette Harris Claire Walker Tammi Jacobs Leon Eagles Michael Fox Jamie Roberts Sidney Livingstone |
| Composers | David Rohl Stuart J. Wolstenholme |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer | Pamela Lonsdale |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company | Thames Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 1 October – 17 December 1980 |
The series aired at 4.30pm on Wednesdays, and featured a team of high quality notable writers, including the likes of John Kershaw, Paula Milne, Roy Russell, Simon Masters, William Humble, Barry Purchese and James Follett.[2] The series also featured early acting credits from the likes of Gary Beadle, Jesse Birdsall, Perry Fenwick, Rik Mayall, Caroline Quentin and Josette Simon.[3] Notably, the series has never been released on VHS or DVD.
Cast
edit- Max Hafler as George Booker
- Mark Botham as Alan Martin
- Nicholas Cooke as Jogger Cummins
- Yvette Harris as Sandra Henley
- Claire Walker as Elizabeth Maxwell
- Tammi Jacobs as Judy Banks
- Leon Eagles as Sgt. Lewis
- Michael Fox as Michael Stephens
- Jamie Roberts as Robby McLeod
- Sidney Livingstone as Sgt. Miles
- Terence Bayler as Commander Fenton
- Robert Daws as Mike Jenkins
- Stafford Gordon as Jim Allen
- Renny Lister as Eadie Booker
- Jonathan Newth as Insp. Williams
- Jeanne Watts as Insp. Morgan
- Jonathon Morris as Steve Parks [4]
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "New Boys" | Vic Hughes | John Kershaw | 1 October 1980 |
| 2 | "Search" | Paddy Russell | John Kershaw | 8 October 1980 |
| 3 | "Recruits" | Neville Green | John Kershaw | 15 October 1980 |
| 4 | "Rip-Off" | Brian Leanene | John Kershaw | 22 October 1980 |
| 5 | "Elizabeth" | Paddy Russell | Paula Milne | 29 October 1980 |
| 6 | "Wheels" | Richard Bramall | Roy Russell | 5 November 1980 |
| 7 | "Decoy" | Paddy Russell | Simon Masters | 12 November 1980 |
| 8 | "Mates" | Vic Hughes | William Humble | 19 November 1980 |
| 9 | "The Big Match" | Paddy Russell | Barry Purchese | 26 November 1980 |
| 10 | "Hit and Run" | Michael Kent | James Follett | 3 December 1980 |
| 11 | "Diplomatic Incident" | Brian Leanene | James Follett | 10 December 1980 |
| 12 | "Accident" | Brian Leanene | Nick McCarty | 17 December 1980 |
References
edit- ^ "The Squad". 14 April 2006.
- ^ "Squad, the (ITV 1980, Max Hafler, Mark Botham)". 22 August 2016.
- ^ "The Squad (TV Series 1980– ) - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ Lennane, Brian (17 December 1980), Accident, The Squad, Mark Botham, Nicholas Cooke, Max Hafler, retrieved 5 November 2023