Former Sons and Daughters star Peter Phelps landed the lead role of Senior Constable Peter Church – a crack covert detective with a dark past and a bad attitude – in this drama series about undercover cops from Australia’s Channel Nine.
Debuting in September 1998, the series largely featured unknown actors so viewers would not immediately associate the characters with other roles. Detective Senior Sergeant Bernie Rocca (Joe Petruzzi) was the original Officer In Charge of the undercover unit, replaced later by Detective Sergeant Ellen ‘Mac’ Mackenzie
(Anita Hegh).
Amazingly, the same three undercover operatives seemed able to infiltrate every echelon of the Melbourne criminal underworld without the villains twigging their identity.
A retired police officer called Guy WIlding came up with the idea for the series and pitched it to the producer. He worked closely with the scriptwriters and actors, recounting his experiences of 20 years working undercover, providing a glimpse into the secretive world of covert law enforcement.
The series was filmed in a vast warehouse – “the Crimplex” – in a dead-end street in Abbotsford (Melbourne).
The building housed the production offices and edit suites as well as sets for the undercover unit’s headquarters, a 10-room police HQ, a remand centre, a hospital and an interview room.
Stingers initially received a battering in the ratings, undergoing two timeslot changes in six months but the storylines and writing improved considerably and the series – solidly produced with an impressive cast – went on to run for 192 episodes for over five years.
Following the loss of several cast members and a soaring budget, the series was cancelled in 2004.
Detective Senior Constable Peter Church
Peter Phelps Detective Senior Constable Angie Piper
Kate Kendall Detective Sergeant Ellen ‘Mac’ Mackenzie
Anita Hegh Detective Constable Oscar Stone
Ian Stenlake Detective Inspector Luke Harris
Gary Sweet Detective Constable Christina Dicheria
Jacinta Stapleton Detective Constable Daniella Mayo
Roxane Wilson Detective Constable Kaye Kelso
Jessica Napier Sophie Novak
Katrina Milosevic Detective Senior Constable Leo Flynn
Daniel Frederiksen Bryan Gray
Jeremy Kewley Detective Senior Sergeant Bernie Rocca
Joe Petruzzi Reg Masters
Richard Morgan Detective Constable Katherine Marks
Gigi Edgley Detective Inspector Bill Hollister
Nicholas Bell Detective Senior Sergeant Eric Chatterly
John Ridley Ingrid Burton
Rebecca Gibney
Debuting in September 1998, the series largely featured unknown actors so viewers would not immediately associate the characters with other roles. Detective Senior Sergeant Bernie Rocca (Joe Petruzzi) was the original Officer In Charge of the undercover unit, replaced later by Detective Sergeant Ellen ‘Mac’ Mackenzie
The series was filmed in a vast warehouse – “the Crimplex” – in a dead-end street in Abbotsford (Melbourne).
