Wyatt's Watchdogs
(Working title Every Street Should Have One)
BBC sitcom 6 episodes starring Brian Wilde and Trevor Bannister.

This was my first TV sitcom and was very much Ealing comedy inspired. Set in the commuter village of Bradly Bush (actually filmed on location in Claygate, Surrey), retired soldier Major John Wyatt is spurred into action after his sister Edwina’s home is burgled in broad daylight.  

Ignoring correct police procedures, he forms his own Neighbourhood Watch group of incompetents and patrols the streets in his Range Rover known locally as the ‘Dogmobile’.

The Watch members are a hopeless bunch drawn together to fight crime, and bungling and personality clashes are highly evident. Brian Wilde as Major Wyatt clashes worst of all with Peter Pitt (Trevor Bannister), a smooth-talking womaniser and burglar-alarm salesman. He only has two things in mind - to flog his alarms and meet women!  

Other regular characters include the glamorous man-eater Virginia, an interfering Vicar and a frustrated police sergeant, Springer.

Major John Wyatt..................................................................Brian Wilde
Peter Pitt.........................................................................Trevor Bannister
Edwina Lewis-Dowding.........................................................Anne Ridler
Virginia Lovell......................................................................April Walker
Sergeant Springer..............................................................James Warrior
Vicar....................................................................................David Jackson
Archie (pilot episode only).................................................Tom Radcliffe

Derek Evans - Designer  
Elmer Cossey - Film Cameraman (Pilot)
Alan Stevens - Film Cameraman
John Dunstan - Film Editor
Miles Tredinnick - Creator/Scriptwriter
Ronnie Hazlehurst - Music
Alan J. W. Bell - Director/Producer

Episode One: One Big, One Not So Big
Julia Binstead, Sarah Whitlock, Peter O’Sullevan (voice only).

Episode Two: Getting Out And Spreading The Word
Noel Johnson, Lisa Bloor, Deborah Lavin, Frank Tregear, Richard Kane, Mary Blatchford, Ian Redford, Margaret Ashley, Helena McCarthy, Gabrielle Blunt and Aimee Delamain.

Episode Three: Mark It Or Bust! (Directed by Andy Smith)
Eva Stuart, Timothy Carlton and Andrew Reardon.

Episode Four: There Are Fairy Cakes At The Bottom Of My Garden
Robin Parkinson, Julie Morgan and Diana Fulker.

Episode Five: Just Act Natural
Frederick Treves, Keith Smith, Russell Wootton, Richard Davies, Belinda Lee, Pamela Dale, Charles Appleby and Frank Tregear.

Episode Six: A Clot On The Landscape
Clive Mantle, Claire Lacey, Martin Benson and Roger Ostime.

As usual producer/director Alan J.W. Bell had it all taped up!

Watch a clip from Wyatt’s Watchdogs here.

Read interviews with Brian Wilde and Trevor Bannister here.