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TV ONLINE EPISODE GUIDE
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Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Publicity : Dixon Is Back - Ted Willis, Creator Of Britain's Most Popular "Bobby", Introduces The New Series Beginning Tonight: Just over six years ago a trio of people met for a drink in a club near Broadcasting House. They were Jack Warner, Ronnie Waldman, and myself. I had put forward a suggestion for a television series based on the work and life of a typical London "bobby", and Ronnie had asked us to meet him to discuss it. I wanted a series in which the emphasis would be on people and the small human problems of everyday life; in which there would be little or no violence, and certainly none that was dragged in just for its own sake. It was to be almost documentary in its approach to police work. Before our glasses were empty, we found that we were in agreement. So Dixon of Dock Green was born, and it has been running ever since. There are many reasons for its success, but I would say that the principal one is that we have seldom, if ever, departed from our basic approach. It remains a series about real people and their problems, without murder or mayhem to jazz it up. I feel rather proud of the fact that Dixon is the daddy of all the other series on both channels, many of which follow the same basic line. We have been very lucky in many ways, but I count as our biggest asset the teamwork of the actors and the production side. Douglas Moodie and Jack Warner seem to have a magical touch, creating between them a family atmosphere which they and the others have maintained consistently throughout the series. Now we are facing up to our eighth season. As usual, there will be some surprises for the viewers. Two well-known faces will be missing from the Dock Green "nick" - as you will see when you tune in for Episode One. Other faces will replace them and we hope they'll be just as popular. My policeman friends have been feeding me with ideas and I've got some good stories lined up, some of which will feature that lovable old rascal, Duffy Clayton. Duffy, however, won't be having it all his own way this time. A voluble old seaman named Oppy Harris makes his bow in Episode Six, and I have a hunch that he will build up as big a following as Duffy himself. Incidentally, these characters are based on people I have met. Oppy is drawn from a man who once came to our house as a lodger, while Duffy is rather like a tramp I met while I was a "gentleman of the road" myself. I am often asked where I go to for the many picturesque Cockney phrases which come from the lips of the characters. The answer is - memory. I am a Cockney myself, and I believe there is a kind of poetry in the way we speak. Many of the phrases used by Dixon and Flint are ones my Mum used when I was a boy, and indeed still uses. In the new series most episodes will run for forty-five minutes instead of the half-hour of previous series. This additional time will help us to expand our stories, which we hope will please you. When all is said and done, you are the people who are really responsible for the continued success of our series, and this is as good an opportunity as any for me to say - on behalf of all of us at Dock Green - thanks! Thanks for your encouragement and your support, and good viewing this winter! (Radio Times, September 7, 1961). Notes : For seasons 8 and 9 Ted Willis was joined by various "script associates", (Fiona McConnell, Rex Edwards, H. Benjafield and John Warwick), which probably indictaes that they actually wrote the episodes, with perhaps Willis giving them a final "polish".
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Publicity : PC George Dixon faces a tricky problem in tonight's episode - the second - in the new series of Dock Green stories. The problem: a lonely schoolboy, Tommy Fuller (James Brady), who lives in a dream world of his own. When Tommy does something foolish (and criminal), he has no one to turn to. His school friends abandon him, his parents are too busy to bother, and he is terrified of the police. It takes all Dixon's understanding of human nature to put things right. (Radio Times, September 14, 1961). Additional Cast : John Rutland, Heather Emmanuel, Frank Hawkins, Margot Boyd, Keith Arey, Cara Stevens, Olaf Pooley (Mark Fuller), Joan Peart, Eynon Evans, John Mitchell, David Franks and Peter Wood.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Marjorie Rhodes, Ballard Berkeley (Victor Dowson), Nancy Nevinson, Diana Barrington, Renate Roman, Meadows White, Patrick Blackwell, Michael Ritterman, Jamie Barnes, Harry Basson, Fred Ferris (Detective Inspector Standish), Carol Cleveland and Renee Barr.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Publicity : When George Dixon hangs up his helmet, abandons his Dock Green beat, and goes on leave the local criminal element doubtless sigh with relief - but for George crime is never far away. In this evening's episode, the Dixon family go south to Devon and the Danton Hall Chalet House - where, as it happens, Sergeant and Mrs Flint are also satying. Everyone is having a wonderful time, with the family happily joining in the social life of a holiday camo - and George is in his element, lending a hand with the camp concert - when an undesirable character staying nearby learns that an old acquaintance of his is at Danton Hall, and takes the opportunity to apply a spot of blackmail. But he reckons without George Dixon, who makes contact with the Devon Constabulary (viewers in Torquay may recognize their police station) and is soon involved in a busman's holiday. (Radio Times, September 28, 1961). Additional Cast : Middleton Woods, Dennis Castle, Maureen O'Reilly, Stuart Saunders, Geoff L'Cise, Mary Hignett (Mrs Ada Green), Robert Lang, Michael Miller, Michael Stainton, John Clegg (DC Greaves) and Richard Merson.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Additional Cast : Rowena Gregory, Katherine Parr, Anthony Sagar, Roy Patrick, George Moon, Paul Elliott, Barbara Couper, Ronald Pember, Charles Lamb, Earl Green, Michael Earl, Max Latimer, Alex Farrell and Robert Lankesheer.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Synopsis : PC George Dixon drops in for a chat with his old friend Oppy Harris (Leon Cortez). Additional Cast : Nora Nicholson, Robert Webber and Max Latimer (PC Bush).
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Anthony Oliver, Eileen Way, Dorothy Black, Lindsay Scott-Patton, Ronald Mayer, Mairhi Russell, John Caesar, Meg Wyn-Owen and Reginald Smith.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Additional Cast : John Norman, Robert Brown, Sheila Burrell, Julia West, Shay Gorman, Laurel Solash, Bart Allison and Leon Cortez (Oppy Harris).
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Max Latimer (PC Bush), Kenneth Cowan, Michael Lomax (PC Burton), George Curtis (PC Watson), Michael Earl (PC Ryde), James Gill, Alex Farrell (PC Marble), Betty England, Paul Dane, Fabia Drake, Georgina Cookson and Leon Cortez (Oppy Harris).
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Jill Thompson, Sheila Robins, Robert Perceval, Robert Raglan (Superintendent), John Boxer (Inspector Mitchell), Tony Wright (PC "Bluey" Armstrong), Max Latimer (PC Bush), Martin Wyldeck, Rio Fanning, Pamela Pitchford, Keith Rawlings, Anthea Holloway, Terence Living, Coral Atkins (Lily Taylor), Julie Samuel, Terence Woodfield and Jane Whiting.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Ann Bassett, Daphne Odin-Pearse, Arnold Diamond, Peter Dolphin, Humphrey Heathcote (Sergeant Wharton), Dorothy Casey, Max Latimer (PC Bush), Tommy Duggan, Emrys Leyshon, Elizabeth Saunders, Patrick Holt, John Cazabon, Jeremy Longhurst, Donald Bissett and Dorothy Frere.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Arthur Lovegrove, Janet Moss, Freda Bamford, Ann Bassett, Rachel Thomas, Robin Palmer, Mavis Ranson and Robert Yearwood.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Additional Cast : Geoffrey Hibbert, John Stirling, Betty Huntley-Wright, Frank Peters (PC Nash), Nicholas Donnelly (PC Wills), Heather Emmanuel, Lane Meddick, John Caesar and Hilda Barry.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Peter Jesson, Ann Bassett (Minnie), Max Latimer (PC Bush), Frank Peters (PC Nash), Michael Lomax (PC Burton), George Curtis (PC Watson), Dandy Nichols (Mrs Guard), Will Stampe, Charles Lloyd Pack, Michael Greenwood, Robert Russell, Gordon Waine, James Beck (Geoff Bastin) and Kathleen Saintsbury.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Synopsis : "Evening all. You know, I expect you remember the cafuffle there was when the Ministry of Transport introduced their ten-year test for cars … Well, the fact is with the traffic and the danger on the roads these days it's absolutely vital to keep a card a hundred per cent up to scratch - as we found out ourselves not long back …". When there's work to be dome, George Dixon finds that people fall into one of these two categories. Additional Cast : Rachel Gurney, David Gregory, Pamela Manson, John Breslin, Linda Lawrence, Elsie Wagstaff, Ibrahim Abdul, John Ruddock, Geoffrey Lyttel and Shandra Walden. Notes : This episode attracted 4.5 million viewers and was ranked the seventeenth most popular programme of that week.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Additional Cast : Priscilla Morgan, Richard Gale, Arthur Goullet, Sidney Vivian, Moira Mannion (WP Inspector Millard), Laura Graham (WPC), Max Latimer (PC Bush), John Devaut, Leon Cortez (Oppy Harris), John Lewis, Isabelle Mileno, Richard Burrell, Amy Dalby, Martin King, Robert Cartland, Cara Stevens and John Gower.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Publicity : Whenever that familiar, ramshackle character of Duffy Clayton, played by Harold Scott, appears in the Dixon of Dock Green stories he steals the limelight. With his love of classical music and his quaint ways he is probably the most memorable inhabitant of George Dixon's "manor". In tonight's story Duffy comes into a few unexpected pounds, and rushes off to celebrate with his friends at "The Star Of India". But a most unusual theft occurs: is Duffy really richer or poorer for having lost the money? (Radio Times, December 28, 1961). Additional Cast : Violet Gould, Dorothy Casey, Max Latimer (PC Bush), Arthur Brown, Ken Idle, Mavis Idle, David Sheard, Leon Cortez (Oppy Harris), George Betton, Ann Castle, Reginald Pritchard, Kathleen Heath, Michael Earl (PC Ryde), Harold Berens, Hugh Janes and Ivan Samsom.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Synopsis : Prosecuting counsel (John Boxer) has a difficult job convincing the magistrate (Ivan Samson) to see the police point of view. Additional Cast : Geoffrey Frederick, Michael Brennan, Paul Michael, Helen Bird, Jill Mai Meredith, June Ellis, Patrick Cargill (Mr Straker), Ivan Samson and John Boxer. Notes : This episode attracted 4.4 million viewers and was ranked the eighteenth most popular programme of that week.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Additional Cast : John Caesar, Leon Cortez (Oppy Harris), Douglas Ives, Veronica Wells, Richard Burnett, Anthony Bate, Aubrey Richards, Peggy Paige, Keith Rawlings, Gisela Birke, Edwin Brown, Beckett Bould, William Marlowe, Brian Thomas, Clifton Jones and Max Latimer (PC Bush).
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Additional Cast : Ann Wilton, Richard Briers (Ken Tracey), Scot Finch, Margo Andrews, Colin Maitland, Christopher Beeny, Gwenda Ewan, Nicholas Evans, Leon Cortez (Oppy Harris), Reginald Barratt, Richard Vernon (Mr Fellowes), Philip Howard and Bridget Wood.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : David Kerman (Harry Shuttleworth), John Dearth, Rodney Bewes (PC Screen), Diana Daneman, Tony Veale (Sergeant Grace), Pauline Yates (Adrienne "Addy" Timothy) and Anthea Lloyd.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Additional Cast : Larry Dunn, Anne Godfrey, David Kelsey, Stanley Meadows, Sydney Keith, Marjorie Forsyth, John Devaut and Michael Craze.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Publicity : Have you ever wondered what George Dixon was like as a young "copper"? You will have a chance to find out tonight in A Special Kind Of Jones, the first episode of a two-part story - the second will be seen next Saturday - from Dock Green. The police are after three men who have committed robbery with violence. But the story really begins twenty-four years ago when George was a recent recruit. In those days - which will be recalled in a flashback - he was very friendly with another young policeman who had joined the Dock Green "manor" on the very same day - Arthur Flint. They played football together for Dock Green Wanderers, and at one time Arthur had lodgings with George Dixon's mother. (Radio Times, February 8, 1962). Additional Cast : Billy Milton, Gordon Waine, David Saire, Suzanne Neve, Derek Partridge, Max Latimer (PC Bush), Fanny Carby, Amelia Bauntun, Ruth Trouncer, Kevin Stoney (Dick Thurtle), Desmond Davies (George Dixon As A Young Man), Cavan Malone (Arthur Flint As A Young Man), Margaret McCory, Jean Marlow, Carla Challoner (Ruth As A Child), Annette Carell and Peter Wyatt.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Billy Milton, Gordon Waine, Ruth Trouncer, Kevin Stoney (Dick Thurtle), David Saire, Suzanne Neve, Stella Bonheur, Priscilla Morgan (WPC Irene "Barney" Barnes), Max Latimer (PC Bush), Pamela Wollaston, Michael Balfour, Frank Sieman, Will Stampe, Charles Lamb, Amelia Bayntun and Sally Carby.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Additional Cast : Peter Furnell, Roy Heyman, Dudley Singleton, Bill Lyons, Wendy Richards (Jean Davis), Jacqueline Lawrence, Leonard Maguire, Jeremy Ward, Jennifer Creighton and Ronald Alexander.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Publicity : At 7:16 this evening Jack Warner will thankfully unlace his regulation boots, hang up his helmet, and depart from his Saturday beat for a well-deserved break lasting until the autumn, when a new Dixon series will begin. As PC George Dixon he has had a busy time for the past twenty-six weeks. Remember the Battle of Bellamy Court, when the tenants refused to be evicted? And the day George acted as decoy for a payroll gang and got coshed for his pains? And the Christmas episode when Grace Millard acted as a blood donor? (A lecturer for the Blood Transfusion Service told scriptwriter Ted Willis that so many viewers afterwards volunteered as donors that this one programme had done ten years' work for him). But then people believe in Dixon of Dock Green. Understandably enough, for many of the episodes are based on true incidents reported by the two-hundred-and-fifty serving policemen up and down the country who act as unofficial advisers. Among many tributes from regular viewers is a letter from the Mother Superior of a convent to which is attached a school for delinquent girls. A word of warning from Dixon at the end of the programme, she wrote, had more effect on the girls than all the nuns' teaching. (Radio Times, March 1, 1962). Additional Cast : Dorothy Casey, Leon Cortez (Oppy Harris), Joan Young, George Benson, John Caesar, Susan Lawrence, Graham Ashley (DS Tommy Hughes), Marjorie Rhodes, Simon Prebble, Michael Da Costa, Max Latimer (PC Bush) and Ronnie Carroll (Guest Singer).
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Publicity : Dixon Of Dock Green: The little old lady in front broke into sobs. PC George Dixon had been shot. Let Jack Warner himself take up the story. "It happened only a couple of months ago. After seven years of Dock Green my wife and I decided we'd go to Greece on our first real holiday for a long, long time. And there, in Athens, they were showing the original Blue Lamp film with Greek subtitles. In we went, of course. The audience seemed to love it - until I was shot. The old lady was in a terrible state. Next to her, though, was a man who'd evidently spotted me coming in. He tapped her on the shoulder and pointed back at my face. I didn't need Greek to guess what he said. "Don't cry, Ma - there's Dixon himself, safe and sound!". And here he is again, safe and sound, to tell more stories of Dock Green on television. He returns with most of his old colleagues and "superiors" (PC Dixon neither wants nor expects promotion) and quite a batch of new ones. Dock Green is getting a bit of a "face-lift", to use a term bandied around by Ted Willis, creator and writer of the series, and Douglas Moodie, the producer since the first episode seven years ago. Said Ted Willis: "Z Cars had me worried for a time, I'll admit. But I had so many letters asking that Dixon shouldn't be changed that I decided to keep the Dock Green atmosphere as it is. But we're taking on some nice new characters and viewers can look out for surprises". Two new policewomen are joining the establishment, and two new constables. Meet WP Sergeant Christine Freeman, replacing "Scotty", who has been transferred. "Chris" is played by tall, blonde Anne Ridler, who was slick Miss Pinkhill, the efficiency expert in Compact. Anne, who was born in Tientsin, China, was at first slightly scared at the prospect of six months in uniform, but she loves the part now, despite those police shoes. "They're on the heavy side," she admitted, which is exactly what Janet Moss said too. Brown-haired Janet is enrolled as WPC "Barney" Barnes, in place of Kay Shaw. Christopher Gilmore, another newcomer, is PC Clyde, a brash probationer mopping up all the hints he can from PC Dixon. Fourth newcomer - you will meet him in the second episode - is John Hughes as PC Jones. He looks the part, as well he might, having been in the military police. Only one Dixon character never gets recognized in the street. He is Geoffrey Adams, the scatter-brained PC Lauderdale. His "property" moustache hides one of the cleanest-shaven faces in London. "I'm also one of the few men `married' to the same girl twice over," he says. In the last series Lauderdale wed Kay Shaw. But he and Kay (Jocelyne Rhodes) were already married in real life. Rules forbid husbands and wives serving at the same station, so Kay has had to quit Dock Green. Not that Dock Green lacks its own domestic side. Jeannette Hutchinson, as PC Dixon's daughter Mary, has been dishing up real meals for six years, and Jack Warner has been eating and enjoying them. So has Peter Byrne as Detective Sergeant "Andy" Crawford. These two, and Arthur Rigby as Sergeant Flint, are the three "originals" for whom Dock Green has been a home from home since 1955. (Radio Times, September 13, 1962 - Article by Ernest Thomson). Additional Cast : Elizabeth Benson, Stanley Meadows, Gwen Lewis, Robert Raglan (Superintendent), Harold Scott (Duffy Clayton), Olwen Brookes, Raymond Hodge, Felix Felton, Kathleen Breck, Sandra Scriven, Bernard West and Roy Patrick. Notes : This season was transmitted 6:30pm to 7:15pm.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : H Benjafield Additional Cast : John Carlin, Anne Robson, Noel Trevarthen, Joe Gibbons, Mary Hignett (Mrs Edna Gossage), Fren Mayer, Larry Viner, Pauline Knight, Robin Ford, Margaret Flint, Madge Brindley, Peter Fontaine, Frederick Rawlings and Clare Owen.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Anthony Booth, Jennifer Wilson, Henry Oscar, Jerry Stovin, Paul Elliott, Clifford Cox, Douglas Ives, James Beck (Bert Mason), Michael Spear, Leila Blake, John Lewis, Fred Ferris, Willie Payne and John Martin.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Additional Cast : Donald Wilson, Noel Johnson (Mr Bullen), Richard Hamer and Betty England.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Publicity : The youngsters of today are maturing a lot faster than they used to. It is not surprising, therefore, that girls of fifteen and sixteen want to dress and behave as though they were twenty or twenty-one. But this often leads to trouble - as PC George Dixon knows only too well. And tonight his story from Dock Green is about a young teenage girl, Joan Lane (Jane Asher), who borrows a coat from the shop where she works. This is only the beginning: soon she is even deeper in trouble. (Radio Times, October 11, 1962). Additional Cast : Leslie Dwyer, Anthony Paul, Beverley Cutler, Anthony Singleton, Lucy Young, Anna Taylor, Ruby Head, Harold Berens, Margot Boyd, Peter Dolphin, George Betton, Donald Webster and Kenneth Kove.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Additional Cast : Karl Lanchbury, Kenneth Tyllsen, Hamilton Dyce, Paul Dane, Michael Anthony, June Monkhouse, Janet Ware, Patsy Smart, Hubert Willis, John Devaut, Roy Crawford, Ann Hardcastle and John Greig.
Director : Robin Nash Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : John Warwick Additional Cast : Katy Wild, Richard Burrell, Patrick Blackwell, Maureen O'Reilly, Dyson Lovell, Gwenda Wilson, Anna Gilchrist, Malcolm Gerrard, John Rogers, William Hays, Philip Martin and Dennis Handry.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Publicity : Chris Freeman Of Dock Green: Have you ever heard of a half-Russian, Chinese-speaking woman sergeant in the Metropolitan Police? You haven't? Well, this remarkable combination of attributes is on view today again in the person of Anne Ridler, the "newcomer" to Dixon Of Dock Green who plays WP Sergeant Chris Freeman. Anne was born in Tientsin, north China, where her father was in business as a broker, and of course she learned impeccable Mandarin. From her mother she learned equally fluent Russian. Having to leave China after the last war Anne decided to put to professional account an acting talent she had shown in amateur productions. And after training at the Webber-Douglas Drama School, she worked with a series of major repertory companies. She first attracted the attention of viewers as Henrietta in last year's BBC production of The Barretts Of Wimpole Street. She later did several episodes of Compact, but, curiously enough, her linguistic talent has hardly been put to use. "The nearest I've got to that was playing a Russian refugee in a French film, when I had to speak in French with a Russian accent". She now lives in London, and likes to spend her spare time cooking. She specializes in the Russian cuisine, but not - surprisingly - in Chinese dishes, which she dislikes. In tonight's episode of Dixon, the women's branch is kept busy as WPC Barnes hunts for a Peeping Tom with Andy, and WP Sergeant Chris Freeman visits George himself who is in bed with influenza. (Radio Times, November 8, 1962). Additional Cast : Robert Raglan (Superintendent), Pamela Binns, John Cazabon and Michael Bird.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Additional Cast : William Dexter, Selma Vaz Dias, Patricia Haines, Amy Dalby, Nelly Griffiths, Robert Raglan (Superintendent), Susan Richards and Wilfrid Grantham.
Director : Robin Nash Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Fay Compton, Mark Kirby, David Scully, Nicholas Clay, Mary Harrison, Anthony Woodruff, Michael Arden, Daphne Newton, Nan Braunton, Finlay Currie, Geoffrey Wincott and Paul Layton.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Rex Edwards Additional Cast : Heather Chasen, Hugh McDermott, Sylvia Davies, Frank Hawkins, Brenda Cowling, Peter Wells (PC Tucker), Alexander Riley, Jacqueline Blackmore (WPC Bryant), Meriel Hobson), Patrick Scanlan (PC Burge), Edna Babb and Alvar Lidell. Notes : This episode was postponed from 3rd November.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : John Warwick Publicity : Bank raids and wage snatches are constantly making the newspaper headlines these days, and in nearly every case some unfortunate cashier, guard, or messenger gets hurt and sometimes even killed. Tonight in the Dixon story this type of crime comes to Dock Green when a local firm's wages are snatched on their way from the bank by a gang of crooks. Furthermore, one of the firm's guards is badly hurt. The police arrive on the scene too late to catch the criminals, and the job becomes one for the CID under the leadership of DI Cherry, assisted by DS Andy Crawford. (Radio Times, December 6, 1962). Additional Cast : Bruce McKenzie, Billy Milton, Kenneth Cowan, Howard Lang, Geoffrey Lea, Susan Jameson, John Dearth, Arthur Mayne, Brian Alexis, Nicholas Bell, Margaret Clifton, Joyce Parry, Stuart Saunders, Nicholas Evans, Yvette Rees, Derek Partridge, Kristine Howarth and Patrick Scanlan (PC Burge).
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : John Warwick Additional Cast : John Porter Davison, Paul Taylor, Kim Goodman, Arthur Howard, Ivor Salter, Paul Ferris, Katharine Parr, Estelle Green, Dorothy Casey, Arthur Goullet and Derek Partridge.
Director : Robin Nash Script : Ted Willis Synopsis : The efficient Sergeant Flint is back on duty at the station keeping a fatherly eye on his young constables. Additional Cast : Sydney Bromley, Peter Butterworth, Michael Logan, Freda Bamford, Anna Turner, Jane Grahame, Paul Elliott, Sally Anne Shaw, Dorothy Frere, Graham Skidmore, Frank Crawshaw, Estelle Brody, Betty Cardno, Mary Jordan, Brian Weske, Patrick Holt, Maudie Edwards and Dorothy Casey.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Synopsis : Specially filmed short production included in the evenings broadcast. No synopsis or cast details available at present.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Robin Wentworth (Sergeant Wharton), Nicholas Donnelly (PC Wills), Peter Furnell, Sandra Caron, Elizabeth Hart, Patricia Clapton, Derek Aylward, Teddy Green, John Baker, Hamish Roughead, Eric Woodburn and Michael Bird (Sergeant Endicott).
Director : Robin Nash Script : Ted Willis Additional Cast : Douglas Robinson (PC Ericson), Rio Fanning, Mary Merrall, Nicholas Donnelly (PC Wills), Peter Wells (PC Stan Tucker), Frank Middlemass (Morrie), Eric Woodburn, Barbara Keogh, Phyllida Law (Rosie McCallion), Grace Newcombe, Michael Brennan and Dorothy Casey.
Director : Douglas Moodie Script : Ted Willis Additional Cast : Cheryl Molineaux, Charles Carson, Hildas Barry, Nelly Griffiths, Kenneth Tyllsen, Robert Cartlan, Fanny Carby, Sally Lewis and Cameron Miller.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Synopsis : Reg Allison (John Blythe), a car salesman, has been coshed by two youths. He helps George and Andy in their search for a missing gun. Additional Cast : Michael Phillips, Michael Graham Cox, Leon Shepperdson, Erik Chitty, Dorothy Gordon, Gerald MacAllister, Michael Pemberton and Carole Gosherson.
Director : Robin Nash Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : John Warwick Synopsis : When sixteen-year-old Jill Adams (Maureen Beck) runs away from home she soon drifts into bad company - and into trouble with the police. In tonight's episode she gets some good advice from WP Sergeant Freeman. Additional Cast : Joan Newell, Harry Littlewood, Howard Pays, Roland Curram (PC Robbo Roberts), Tony Veale (PC Harry Baldwin), Michael Lomax (PC Burton), Wendy Hall, Ralph Ball, Gareth Adams, Ian Parsons, Dervis Ward, Robin Ford and Margo Johns.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : John Warwick Publicity : Robert Cawdron as Detective Inspector Cherry of Dock Green: With a pipe in his mouth and his trilby turned down at the front Robert Cawdron looks every inch a detective inspector; in silhouette you might even mistake him for Maigret. But although Cawdron himself was born in France, he is more at home in Dock Green than at La Surete. As the friendly Detective Inspector Cherry he is one of the "originals" of the series, and has appeared regularly ever since the first programme - alongside Jack Warner, Arthur Rigby, and Peter Byrne. Cawdron is one member of the Dixon cast whose police activities are not confined to the television studio. In his early twenties, when he came out of the Navy after six years' service, he nearly joined the police force. And now, apart from liking to read about crime and sociology, he is a very active Special Constable in and around Watford, where he lives with his wife and two children. Naturally, these interests help him in his part. Like so many actors nowadays he has to guard against being "typecast". Once a detective, always a detective - that is the danger; and Cawdron has had his share of police roles. He spent eighteen months playing an American detective in the stage musical Guys And Dolls. But he is just as capable of portraying a wide variety of other characters, including those on the wrong side of the law. (Radio Times, January 31, 1963). Additional Cast : Ivor Dean, Beryl Andrfews, Mary Hignett (Mrs Brideman), George Tovey, Gerald Anderson, Diane Aubrey, John Walker, Harry Landis, Frank Seton, Jocelyne Rhodes (Kay Lauderdale), Joe Gibbons, Nicholas Donnelly (PC Wills), Patrick Scanlan (PC Burge) and Noel Coleman (Superintendent).
Director : Robin Nash Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : John Warwick Additional Cast : Richard Shaw, Christopher Rhodes, Stephen Marriott, Jane Barrett, Noel Coleman (Superintendent) and Edward Dentith (Inspector Rod Sheldon).
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Terry Baker, Peter Welch, John Brooking, Lila Kaye, Joan Hurley, Brian Vaughan and J Mark Roberts.
Director : Robin Nash Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : Fiona McConnell Additional Cast : Michael Bilton, Emrys Leyshon, Jack Cunningham, Blake Butler, Bill Rhodes, June Smith, Pamela Hewes and Bay White.
Director : Michael Goodwin Script : Ted Willis Script Associate : John Warwick Additional Cast : Allan Cuthbertson (Baker Ellis), Peter Ducrow, Allan Tedgett, Gretchen Franklin (Mrs Ella Mann), Diana Scougall, Ursula Howells, Hubert Willis, Ania Marson and Shandra Walden.
Director : Robin Nash Script : Ted Willis Additional Cast : Michael Raghan, Dennis Castle, Louis Haslar, Jim Grant, Judy Parfitt (Julie Gordon), Margot Thomas, Edwin Brown, Derren Nesbitt, Carolyn Parish, Joe Quigley, John Wentworth and Neil Wilson.
Director : Robin Nash Script : Ted Willis Publicity : It is impossible to calculate how many miles of unyielding pavement have been trodden by PC George Dixon since the Dock Green "nick" opened for business more than seven years ago; how many incidents have been painstakingly recorded in Sergeant Flint's book; how many villains have been tracked down by DS Andy Crawford. Even scriptwriter Ted Willis does not know. But as the present series comes to its end he has made some other calculations of his own. "I worked out the figures the other day as a matter of interest," he said. "There are ten-thousand words in a typical script, so two-hundred scripts adds up to the fantastic total of two million words". These words - produced with the aid of script associates Rex Edwards, Fiona McConnell and John Warwick - also add up to television's longest-running series. Shows like this cannot be allowed to notch up a "double century" without some special mark. That is why the last of these present chronicles of the imaginary London "manor" comes in bumper size, and covers two programmes - tonight's and next week's. The case the police are involved in seems trivial enough at first. Just when everyone is busy getting ready for the annual police ball somebody steals the mayor's chain of office. But the way the case develops is far from trivial - in fact it nearly brings tragedy to the Dixon family. (Radio Times, March 14, 1963). Additional Cast : Edna Morris, John Barrard, Ann Tempest, Nicholas Donnelly (PC Wills), Ross Hutchison (Superintendent), Vanda Godsell, Grahame McPherson, Jeanne Davis, Fraser Kerr (DS Robert Leckie), Anna Tzelniker, Tony Garnett, George A Cooper (Topper Brown), Roy Holder, David Case, Elaine Carr, Paul Craig (PC Tommy Morgan) and Glynn Edwards (Jackie Silver).
Director : Robin Nash Script : Ted Willis Additional Cast : Roy Holder, George A Cooper (Topper Brown), Tny Garnett, Ross Hutchinson (Superintendent), Margot Thomas, Glynn Edwards (Jackie Silver), Frieda Knorr, Oliver Freeman, Vanda Godsell, Dallas Cavell and Fraser Kerr (DS Robert Leckie). |
DIXON
OF DOCK GREEN EPISODE GUIDE:
 I knew that the series had been successful with the public mainly because of its authenticity, and to fall back on synthetic, invented stories would have been a disaster. In the end, I appealed in the Police Review and other papers to policemen themselves. I asked that they should send me true-life stories from their own experience for use in the series. The result was quite incredible. Over one-thousand stories arrived within two weeks, a high percentage of which were eminently usable. I was able to build up a small corps of advisers and story-finders who kept me constantly supplied with fresh and realistic material. That, I think, was the turning point. We went on to consolidate and build on the early success and maintain a continuous flow of good, authentic stories.  And it explains, in part, why the series has managed to hold its place in public esteem for so long - the episodes are rooted in reality, they have the flavour of truth rather than fiction. "They are not far-fetched," one woman wrote, "the people are real and you feel that what happens is real too". Sometimes, of course, this feeling of realism can go a little too far. In the early days, for example, we had in the scenes a very popular character called PC Bob Penney. Anthony Parker, the young actor who played the part, came to me one day and asked to be "written out" - he was anxious to return to acting in the theatre.  So, in the last episode of that particular season, I wrote an episode in which Bob Penney was killed in the course of duty - and the letters of protest began flooding in! I had well over one-thousand myself, and Jack Warner and the BBC had thousands more between them. One of mine consisted simply of the single word Murderer! scrawled in lipstick on a half-sheet of paper. Another was a Round-Robin signed by a couple of dozen women from a small Cornish village, warning me that I would be tarred and feathered if I showed my face in that area! Some letters were very sad and spoke of losing Bob Penney as though he were a near relative. Many people begged me to find some way to bring him back. What was extraordinary was the depth of interest, of personal involvement in the programme. To millions of people, it was more than a television series, it was part of their lives, its characters were their friends.  There can be no doubt that this close relationship with the audience is due in the main to two men - Jack Warner (Dixon) and Peter Byrne (Andy Crawford). They have been with the series since the beginning, they have set their own seal on the characters, they have shaped the style of the programme. In all the many years I've known him Jack has never changed. He was a star before he came to Dixon, he has remained a star, but he is utterly without pretensions of any sort. There are a great many so-called stars who could learn from his humility, unselfishness and sheer professionalism. That last word needs to be stressed, because in the last analysis, it is the quality of all-round professionalism which has kept the series at the top, with an average audience of fourteen million people each week.  For the first six or seven years, for instance, each episode was actually performed and transmitted simultaneously, there was no recording. Rehearsals lasted only five days (against twelve for many other series) and as one episode went out the next one went into production with no break in between. It was an extraordinary feat to maintain such a high standard in such circumstances. And apart from Jack and Peter and other favourites who were in at the start like Arthur Rigby (Sergeant Flint), Moira Mannion (Grace Millard), Neil Wilson (PC "Tub" Barrell) and Jeannette Hutchinson (Mary), the chief credit must go to our first producer-director, the late Douglas Moodie. He was a man who worked only with one target in mind - perfection. And he spared nothing and nobody in its attainment. Later he shared the direction with Robin Nash, Vere Lorrimer and David Askey.  And then, of course, there was the man who has written this book, my old friend Rex Edwards, who was my script associate on the series for the first seven years and who left the programme when I did. His contribution to our success cannot be measured. Other writers, other directors, other producers, took over the series in the fullness of time and helped to keep it from staleness. Ronald Marsh succeeded Douglas Moodie as producer and made his own distinctive contribution, and when he went on to higher things in the BBC our present producer, Joe Waters, took over and ably carried on the tradition. Among the writers are some of the most famous names in British television - Gerald Kelsey, Eric Paice and Norman Crisp, whose stories have been adapted for this book. (Taken From The Introduction by Ted Willis as featured in Dixon Of Dock Green by Rex Edwards). |