This six-part serial aired on BBC 1 from Thursday 7 June 1979.
The serial was written by Elwyn Jones, at one time head of television drama series at the BBC and originator of Z Cars. The setting was the country mansion headquarters of a multinational firm – the Deep Organisation – to which six highly individual and successful public figures are invited to lead seminars for the organisation’s young executives, while lodging at the mansion.
What followed was the classic, enclosed situation, mystery whodunnit. Producer David Rose (who worked with the author for a number of years on Z Cars in the sixties) said, “I asked Elwyn Jones to write me a mystery thriller without a policeman in sight . . . and he very nearly did it. He only weakened in the final episode!”
Attacks on persons and property led to murder and suicide.
Welsh electronics wizard Wyn Lloyd (Bernard Lloyd) turned up for the gathering complete with background information on his hosts and fellow “guests,” bugging equipment. and a large furniture van containing his monitoring system.
We also met sexy lady novelist Carrie Stone (Beth Porter); dotty artist Nigel Jackson (Tim Preece); even dottier musician/composer Jonathan Bross (Neil Cunningham) who had a horrid Doberman called Edna (until it was strangled); and Frank Marsh (Allan Lander) who seemed the dottiest of the lot and went for runs around the grounds in the middle of the night.
Marika Rau (Yolande Bavan) was an Indian economist.
Host Cohn Eadon (Ronald Hines) – the corporation’s deputy chairman – seemed an appalling creature and his wife Mary (Katharine Schofield) wasn’t much better.
The series was partly filmed at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire.
Wyn Lloyd
Bernard Lloyd Marika Rau
Yolande Bavan Carrie Stone
Beth Porter Nigel Jackson
Tim Preece Jonathan Bross
Neil Cunningham Mrs Kaye
Hilary Mason Colin Eadon
Ronald Hines Mary Eadon
Katherine Schofield Paul Parker
Sebastian Abineri Frank Marsh
Alan Lander Humphreys
John Crocker Gary Haig
Michael Troughton Dodds
Geoff Hannan
Episodes
Arrivals and Departures | Return and Despatch | Burials and Trappings | Exposure and Explosion | Canvas and Containers | Deaths and Exits
