Thief Takers
Encyclopedia
Thief Takers was a police drama series made by Central Independent Television
for the ITV
network. The show depicted the work of a team in the Metropolitan Police Service
's Flying Squad
. Each case was a stand alone episode or sometimes spread over two episodes and continuing drama was provided by the depiction of the personal lives of the officers in the team and their families.
Production comprised a pilot aired in 1995 followed by the commissioning of three series between 1996 and 1997.
The series was produced by Central Independent Television.
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
for the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network. The show depicted the work of a team in the Metropolitan Police Service
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
's Flying Squad
Flying Squad
The Flying Squad is a branch of the Specialist Crime Directorate, within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Squad's purpose is to investigate commercial armed robberies, along with the prevention and investigation of other serious armed crime...
. Each case was a stand alone episode or sometimes spread over two episodes and continuing drama was provided by the depiction of the personal lives of the officers in the team and their families.
Production comprised a pilot aired in 1995 followed by the commissioning of three series between 1996 and 1997.
The series was produced by Central Independent Television.
Characters and cast
- DCI Frank Utley - David Sterne - S1-3
- DCI Nick Hall - Nicholas BallNicholas Ball (British actor)Nicholas Ball is an English actor.He is best known for playing the title role of James Hazell in the television series Hazell....
- S3 - DI Charlie Scott - Reece DinsdaleReece DinsdaleReece Dinsdale is an English actor of stage, screen and television.-Acting career:He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1977 until 1980...
- S1-2 - DI Glenn Mateo - Grant MastersGrant MastersGrant Masters is an English actor who plays the role of Martin Campbell in the Channel 4 teen Soap Opera Hollyoaks. He has also starred as DI Glenn Mateo in the third series of Thief Takers and has had minor roles in programmes such as The Bill, Doctors, and Eastenders, as well as several British...
- S3 - DS Bob 'Bingo' Tate - Brendan CoyleBrendan Coyle-Early life and family:Coyle was born in Corby, Northamptonshire, to an Irish father and Scottish mother; his parents moved to Corby from Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Coyle holds Irish and British citizenship. He is the great nephew of football manager Sir Matt Busby...
- S1-2 - DS Helen Ash - Lynda Steadman - Pilot-S1
- DS Anna Dryden - Amanda PaysAmanda Pays-Personal life:Pays was born in London, England, the daughter of Joan , an actress, and Howard Reginald Pays, a talent agent and former actor. She is the niece of former child actress Mandy Miller, after whom she is named. Her first marriage, from 1984 to 1987, was to Peter Kohn, production manager...
-S2-3 - DC Ted Donachie - Robert Willox - S1-3
- DC Angela Prudhoe - Sophie DixSophie DixSophie Dix is best known for her role as Cpt Sadie Williams in Soldier Soldier.She has had other roles such as in The Bill, Benidorm, Between The Lines and Holby City.-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...
- Pilot - DC Alan Oxford - Gray McDonald - S1-3
- DC Grace Harris - Pooky QuesnelPooky QuesnelJoanna Quesnel, known professionally as Pooky Quesnel, is an English actress, screenwriter and singer.-Background:Quesnel was raised in Eccles, Lancashire, along with her six siblings. She read English at Oxford University before spending a year at drama school...
- S2 - DC Lucy McCarthy - Simone LahbibSimone LahbibSimone Lahbib , born 6 February 1965 in Stirling, Scotland is a Scottish actor who has received widespread recognition for her portrayal of strong, emotionally charged characters....
- S3
Pilot
| Title | Synopsis | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| Flying Squad officer Micky Dawes and his team trap a gang of desperate crooks specialising in supermarket heists. |
Series 1
| Episode | Title | Synopsis | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "No One Likes to See That" | A heavy-duty villain escapes from jail to help pull off an audacious robbery and bump off his wife's lover into the bargain. | 25 January 1996 |
| 2 | "Company of Strangers" | A building society is raided by three crack addicts in debt to a gangster and Oxford's investigations result in the murder of his informant Marcus. More violence erupts as the robbers turn on their boss prompting the impulsive Tate to rush unarmed into a deadly confrontation. | 1 February 1996 |
| 3 | "Whispers in the Dark" | Three ex-Army men raid a security van and use their military training to stay one step ahead of Charlie's squad, who for once find themselves hopelessly outclassed. The case is given a tragic dimension by one of the crooks' twisted relationship with his daughter, which is casting a shadow over her life, but provides Ash with the clue she needs to get a result | 8 February 1996 |
| 4 | "Wild Card" | Tate is shot while trying to thwart a raid on a casino and rushed to hospital in a critical condition. Harris goes undercover to nab the thugs responsible, but gives herself away by lapsing into police jargon. And as if that weren't bad enough, a highly unprofessional session between the sheets with Donachie diverts her even further away from official duties. | 15 February 1996 |
| 5 | "Lie Down with Dragons" | Having recovered from being shot, Tate infiltrates a Chinese crime gang. Unfortunately, his cover is blown and he's forced to make a desperate deal to stay alive using a consignment of machine guns as a bargaining chip. | 22 February 1996 |
| 6 | "Hungry Ghosts" | As the Chinatown robberies continue, Charlie takes a desperate risk, asking New Scotland Yard for a consignment of dummy weapons to lure the Big Circle into a trap. Tate reluctantly agrees to continue working undercover, but at the crucial moment crime boss Chan Ming realises he's wired for sound and it takes a bloody shoot-out to resolve the situation. | 29 February 1996 |
| 7 | "The Outcasts" | Two teenagers pull a string of audacious armed robberies, soon adding arson and murder to their list of crimes. Charlie and his squad race helter-skelter to catch them, scouring London's population of rent boys and underage prostitutes for leads but getting a result proves easier said than done. | 7 March 1996 |
| 8 | "Wasteland" | A bank is ram-raided in broad daylight and Charlie's investigations lead him to a fanatical religious cult whose members are prepared to die for their charismatic leader. While wife Steph is in hospital giving birth to their first child, he spearheads a raid on the sect's base but a gunfight breaks out and it soon starts to look like he won't be around to enjoy the pleasures of family life. | 22 July 1996 |
Series 2
| Episode | Title | Synopsis | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Going Under" | Armed gang members discover Alan Oxford's true identity, police infiltrator. | |
| 2 | "Nasty Boys" | Following a spectacular but unsuccessful raid on a security depot, Tate decides to infiltrate the gang responsible. He makes the acquaintance of their getaway driver and persuades him to turn informer little suspecting the multiple crises of loyalty his actions will trigger. | 17 October 1996 |
| 3 | "A Dead Man" | Charlie makes a disturbing discovery while investigating an audacious robbery an old enemy he thought he'd killed years ago is very much alive and out for revenge against him and his family. The race is on to bring the villain to book before more corpses are added to his already impressive tally | 24 October 1996 |
| 4 | "Bad Blood" | Two female crooks raid a security van, temporarily taking a handsome passer-by hostage while they make their escape. DC Harris interviews him about his ordeal and succumbs to his charms, ending up spending the night at his flat a lapse of judgement that ultimately proves very costly indeed. | 31 October 1996 |
| 5 | "Remember Me" | A man Donachie arrested on a rape charge 12 years earlier is released from prison and sets out for revenge, committing an armed robbery and setting up an elaborate plot to pin the blame on his old enemy. The outraged detective insists he's innocent but is his conscience entirely clear? | 7 November 1996 |
| 6 | "Black Russian" | Ruthless Russian gangsters determined to carve a niche in London's underworld steal items worth millions from a safety deposit centre, with a little help from the crooked manager. Dryden poses as a prostitute to flush them out and finds herself forced to confront demons from her past. | 14 November 1996 |
| 7 | "Collateral Damage" | The Squad get their knuckles rapped for arresting an Irish ex-terrorist who turns out to be working undercover for Special Branch and DS Tate's further investigations lead him into some very murky waters indeed, uncovering a conspiracy involving his first wife and the faceless spooks of MI5. | 21 November 1996 |
| 8 | "Déjà Vu" | The trial of DI Scott's arch-enemy Frank McGrath gets under way, with the smooth-talking defence lawyer leaving the police testimony in tatters. Following the inevitable acquittal, Scott considers his future in the force but it becomes all too clear that McGrath is not about to let bygones be bygones. |
Series 3
| Episode | Title | Synopsis | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Shadows" | DI Glenn Matteo takes over from DI Scott as guvnor of the Met's Armed Robbery Squad immediately finds himself caught up in a robbery case with racial overtones. | 23 October 1997 |
| 2 | "Fashion Victims" | Gun-toting robbers gatecrash trendy designer's fashion show and make off with thousands of pounds' worth of clothes, leaving the Flying Squad with a puzzle on their hands. Investigations are hampered by a visiting Dutch policeman bent on catching a murderous arms dealer until a possible link emerges between his obsessive quest and the haute couture heist. | 30 October 1997 |
| 3 | "One Last Hurrah" | DCI Hall believes the theft of plastic explosives is the work of ruthless armed robbers he tangled with back in the 1970s. Matteo isn't convinced until several violent incidents suggest rival underworld gangs are gearing up for a full-scale shoot-out. | 6 November 1997 |
| 4 | "Sisters in Arms" | A pregnant women is so disgusted at her husband for committing a violent robbery that she goes off the rails herself, shooting a security guard during a bungled hold-up. Persuaded by her no-good sister to persevere in her life of crime, the mixed-up mother-to-be heads for the nearest jeweller's where she promptly goes into labour. | 13 November 1997 |
| 5 | "Road Rage" | Villains kill two patrolmen during a shoot-out and compound the felony by taunting the Flying Squad about their crimes at every turn, leading to a final tense showdown at a service station. | |
| 6 | "After the Goldrush" | The squad's investigation into an audacious bullion robbery leads Matteo to probe the relationship between a veteran armed robber and a stripper, while Hall faces danger among the local Asian business community. | 4 December 1997 |
| 7 | "Black Mist" | Japanese crooks try to kidnap a leading stock market trader and the squad's investigations soon take on a deadly international dimension. Pitted against two of the world's most feared and formidable crime cartels, they face a fight for survival and the odds are made worse by tensions in their own ranks. | 11 December 1997 |
| 8 | "Brand Loyalty" | DC Oxford fights alone and unarmed to save the witnesses, while DI Matteo jeopardises both personal and professional relationships in his desperate search for Takahashi. With an all-out war between the Mafia and their Japanese Yakuza counterparts looming, the squad find they have to use every trick in the book just to stay alive. |