Debuting on Thursday 6 April 1978 on BBC2, this miniseries of four interconnected movie-length episodes dealt with an investigation presented from the perspectives of the police force, the criminal, the solicitor and the prison system.
Bent copper Detective Fred Pyall (Derek Martin) was obsessed with getting career criminal Jack Lynn (future EastEnders star Peter Dean) behind bars, whether or not he actually committed the crime (he was seen taking bribes and “fitting up” Lynn for a crime of which he was innocent).
Episode 1 (‘A Detective’s Tale’) introduced DI Fred Pyall of the Flying Squad as he received a tip-off from his regular informant about an upcoming armed robbery planned by Kentish Town villain Jack Lynn.
Pyall and his boys staked out the planned heist, but when Lynn and his gang didn’t turn up, Pyall concocted a complex fit-up job on his nemesis, using every bent resource at his disposal, including corrupt, reptilian lawyer Alex Gladwell (Ken Campbell) – because it is “his turn” to go down.
‘A Villain’s Tale’ followed the same timeline of events from Jack’s perspective (certain scenes from the first episode were repeated), with viewers gaining a completely different context.
With Pyall’s set-up complete and Jack Lynn in custody, ‘A Brief’s Tale’ focused on Alex Gladwell, a self-confessed ‘realist’ who was happy to use any and all means at his disposal to get Lynn off the hook, including possibly using Lynn’s illicit gains to bribe Pyall to drop the charges, and urging Jack to make a malicious arrest claim against Pyall – whilst only too happy to share a cosy pint with the copper later.
This episode followed the entire trial from beginning to end, with Jack Lynn implicated as a member of a crew which pulled off a separate robbery (one he had absolutely no part of). Planted evidence, vague, blurry photographs, dodgy witness statements and the horrendously biased Judge Quigley (Andre van Gyseghem) all conspired to see Lynn sent down for 25 years.
The final episode (‘A Prisoner’s Tale’) was the most shocking and brutal of all. Jack Lynn wouldn’t settle into prison life without a struggle and was defiant from the outset – urinating over the prison medical officer’s floor after his physical exam. A physically and mentally violent war erupts between Lynn, the wardens and the Governor, resulting in Jack’s final breaking in prison.
The Metropolitan Police and the Prison Officers’ Association protested. Questions were asked in Parliament. The police demanded undertakings from the BBC before cooperating in any future documentaries, and the prison officers withdrew facilities for any documentaries about prisons. Both sanctions were withdrawn later.
A principal source of contention was that the fictional story was so realistic that many viewers might regard it as factual.
The Director General of the BBC was summoned to the Home Office where he was informed in no uncertain terms that Law and Order was never to be repeated nor sold abroad. However, it eventually began a second showing on BBC2 in March 1980.
Jack Lynn
Peter Dean Cathy Lynn
Deirdre Costello DI Fred Pyall
Derek Martin Alex Gladwell
Ken Campbell Clifford Harding
Alan Ford Micky Fielder
Roy Sone DS Eric Lethridge
Billy Cornelius DCI Tony Simmons
Fred Haggerty DCI Trevor Watson
Barry Craine DCI Chatt (AIO)
Dominic Allan DI Graham McHale
Mike Horsburgh DI John Redvers
Terry Walsh DI Alan Welch
Shaun Curry DI Maurice Head
David Sterne Det-Supt Ernie Jeymer
Jan Harding DI Frank Polden
Tom De-Ville DS Jack Barcy
Douglas Sheldon DC Warren Salter
Robert Oates DC Roger Humphries
Colin Howells DC Peter Fenton
Geoffrey Todd DC Ray Jenkins
Alan (Nobby) Clarke DS Ian Middlewick
John Hogan DS Tony Shields
David Stockton DS Lewis
Chris Hallam Terry Clark
Charles Cork Brian Finch
Stanley Price David Shepley
Billy Dean Billy Little
Cy Wallis
Episodes
A Detective’s Tale | A Villain’s Tale | A Brief’s Tale | A Prisoner’s Tale
Pyall and his boys staked out the planned heist, but when Lynn and his gang didn’t turn up, Pyall concocted a complex fit-up job on his nemesis, using every bent resource at his disposal, including corrupt, reptilian lawyer Alex Gladwell (Ken Campbell) – because it is “his turn” to go down.
