1 9 7 5 (UK)
6 x 30 minute episodes
A welcome diversion from more typical BBC home counties fare, this adventure thriller was set in the heart of London’s docklands long before its redevelopment in the 1980s.
Sam Leigh (Simon West) was the story’s hero, a boy who lived above a pub, bringing a working-class touch to an otherwise predictable tale of crooks undone by a young boy’s ingenuity and the help of a trusty coastguard.
Written and produced by Peggy Miller, more usually responsible for buying in and adapting European imports for the department, the story seems to have been built around whatever interesting locations were convenient for filming.
The plot takes in an old sea fort overlooking the Thames estuary, Greenhithe, Greenwich and a trip by hydrofoil.
Sam Leigh
Simon West
Katie Leigh
Jo Rowbottom
Patrick Flint
Harry Markham
Alan Flint
Bryan Marshall
John Taylor
Christopher Coll
Smithy
Peter Woodthorpe
Paul Redmond
Mark Dightam
Bill
Billy Cornelius
Mr Ashton
Donald Churchill
Lt. Hodges
Ben Aris
George Warren, Coastguard
Myles Hoyle
Captain André
George Mikell
Alison
June Page
Mrs Redmond
Sally Horne
Mrs Warren
Diana Rayworth