Special Branch is a British television series made by Thames Television for ITV and shown between 1969-1970 and 1973-1974. A police drama series, the action was centred on members of the Special Branch counterintelligence and counterterrorism department of the London Metropolitan Police. The first two series starred Derren Nesbitt, before the programme went through an overhaul, with George Sewell taking over as the new lead.

Production The first two series were shot mainly in a studio on videotape with filmed location inserts; a standard method of the time but one which suffered from jarring differences in picture quality between interior and exterior scenes. The location scenes of some episodes were shot on outside broadcast cameras, leading to smoother transitions between location and studio work for those episodes. Series 1 and 2 starred Derren Nesbitt as Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Jordan, working for Detective Superintendent Eden (Wensley Pithey) and subsequently Det. Supt. Inman (Fulton Mackay). The episodes featuring Eden (the first nine of Series 1) were recorded in black-and-white, while all subsequent episodes were recorded on colour videotape.

The show was revamped in 1973 after Thames Television's Euston Films subsidiary took over production using film, which allowed for a less studio-based series. Euston Films had pioneered the technique of shooting action and adventure series entirely on location using 16 mm film, for a more gritty and realistic look. These episodes starred George Sewell as DCI Alan Craven and Roger Rowland as DS Bill North. In series 3 episode 2, Patrick Mower debuted as Craven's colleague and often antagonist, DCI Tom Haggerty. By the 1974 series Bill North had been axed, having had a nervous breakdown, though he returned for one episode later in the run as a Detective Inspector in CID.

Representing the Ministry in the first two series was Moxon, and later Strand, who appeared in the fourth series. Played by Morris Perry and Paul Eddington respectively, Moxon and Strand were similar: supercilious civil servants who kept an unwanted eye on the detectives and their budgets. They sometimes manipulated them in order to pursue obscure matters of state, such as in the first series episode "Reliable Sources", where Moxon connives to have Eden sidelined into a Home Office working party role.

The theme music for series 1 was by Norman Kay. For series 2, 3 and 4 it was by Robert Sharples under the pseudonym Robert Earley.

The 1973/74 series of this police drama is notable for being the first production by Euston Films, later responsible for such series as The Sweeney and Minder. The influence on The Sweeney is clear, although the rough-and-tumble nature of that show is fairly lacking in Special Branch.

Both Sewell and Mower later starred as villains in The Sweeney, while Sweeney star Dennis Waterman appeared in the 1974 Special Branch episode "Stand and Deliver" as a criminal. Perry appeared occasionally in a role similar to Moxon as the political and manipulative Detective Superintendent Maynon. Mower later went on to star in the 1977–78 BBC police series Target.

The 1973 and 1974 series have been released on Region Two DVD by Network, and both sets include an episode from the original Thames TV series. The 1969 series was released as a four-disc DVD set by Network in January 2007, and the 1970 series was released as a Website Exclusive in November 2007. All four series were released on DVD by Network in 2008, in a 16-disc box-set featuring all 53 episodes. The 1973 series was released on Region One DVD by Acorn, which labelled it "set one".

As with the later The Sweeney, the on-screen offices of Special Branch were located in Hammersmith.

Filming locations Multiple episodes of Special Branch used Ennismore Garden Mews, SW7, as a filming location.Mews News Issue 32. Lurot Brand. Published winter 2011. Accessed 13 September 2013.

Cast Derren Nesbitt era Derren Nesbitt as Detective Chief Inspector Elliot Jordan (27 episodes, 1969–1970) Wensley Pithey as Detective Superintendent Eden (9 episodes, 1969) Fulton Mackay as Detective Chief Superintendent Alec Inman (18 episodes, 1969–1970) Morris Perry as Charles Moxon (22 episodes, 1969–1970) David Garth as Deputy Commander (7 episodes, 1969–1970) Keith Washington as Detective Constable John Morrissey (15 episodes, 1969–1970) Sandra Bryant as Christine Morris (6 episodes, 1969–1970) Jennifer Wilson as Detective Sergeant Helen Webb (6 episodes, 1969) Anne Rutter as Detective Constable Jane Simpson (4 episodes, 1970)

George Sewell era George Sewell as Detective Chief Inspector Alan Craven (26 episodes, 1973–1974) Roger Rowland as Detective Sergeant Bill North (14 episodes, 1973–1974) Patrick Mower as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Haggerty (16 episodes, 1973–1974) Paul Eddington as Strand (11 episodes, 1974) Frederick Jaeger as Commander Fletcher (8 episodes, 1974) Sheila Scott Wilkinson as Pam Sloane (7 episodes, 1973) Paul Antrim as Detective Sergeant Maguire (7 episodes, 1974) Richard Leech as Chief Superintendent Knight (5 episodes, 1973–1974) Susan Jameson as Detective Sergeant Mary Holmes (4 episodes, 1974) Peter Jeffrey as Chief Inspector Pettiford (1 episode, 1973)

Guest appearances Notable actors appearing included: Paul Darrow ("Smokescreen"), Dino Shafeek and Windsor Davies ("The Promised Land"), Garfield Morgan and Rula Lenska ("Something About a Soldier"), Jacqueline Pearce ("Catherine the Great"), Cyd Hayman ("Rendezvous"), Susan Jameson as Detective Sergeant Mary Holmes ("Date of Birth", "Intercept", and "Downwind of Angels"), John Bindon ("Intercept"), Peter Bowles and Janet Key ("Downwind of Angels"), Nicolette McKenzie ("Diversion"), Denis Lill ("Diversion"), Kenneth Colley ("Date of Birth"), Valerie Leon ("Sounds Sinister") June Brown ("Entente Cordiale"), Annette Crosbie ("The Other Man"), Michael Gambon and Nadim Sawalha, ("Hostage"), Dennis Waterman and Stephanie Turner (as brother and sister in "Stand and Deliver"), Stephanie Beacham ("Threat"), Richard Marner ("Polonaise"), Roger Lloyd Pack ("Red Herring"), Gareth Thomas ("Alien"), Tony Haygarth ("You Won't Remember Me") and Walter Gotell ("Intercept").

Reception Special Branch was the most popular ITV show for the week of 27 September 1970 with 6.95 million viewing homes, ahead of Coronation Street and ITV News at Ten.

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (1969)

Episode # Title Transmission Date Writer Director Guest cast 1 17 September 1969 George Markstein Mike Vardy Sandra Bryant, Ivor Danvers, Roger Rowland, Donald Pelmear, John Livesey, Brian Ellis, Richard McNeff, Ray Barron 2 24 September 1969 James Goddard Sandra Bryant, Paul Darrow, John Dunbar, John Robinson, Edina Ronay, Donald Pelmear 3 1 October 1969 Trevor Preston Dennis Vance Geoffrey Bayldon, Windsor Davies, Arnold Peters, Dino Shafeek, Martin Wyldeck, Mary Healey, George Lee, Arnold Diamond 4 8 October 1969 Scott Forbes Brenda Cowling, Michael Harding, Joan Hooley, Kenneth Gilbert, Michael Keating, Damien Thomas, Robert Webber, Jon Croft 5 15 October 1969 Emanuel Litvinoff Mike Vardy John Bailey, Edward Burnham, Ros Drinkwater, Patricia Lawrence, Gerald Sim, Ray Smith 6 22 October 1969 Tom Brennand & Roy Bottomley Peter Duguid Tom Chadbon, John Levene, Doreen Mantle, Nicola Pagett, Tony Rohr, Anthony Sagar, Frances Tomelty, David Simeon 7 29 October 1969 Anthony Skene Dennis Vance Mel Martin, Harry Meacher, Clive Merrison 8 5 November 1969 Adele Rose Peter Duguid John Abineri, Tony Caunter, Sheila Fearn, Howard Goorney, Arnold Ridley, Heather Emmanuel 9 12 November 1969 Tom Brennand & Roy Bottomley Dennis Vance Tony Britton, David Collings, Norman Claridge 10 19 November 1969 George Markstein William G. Stewart Sandra Bryant, Tommy Godfrey, Maurice Good, Peter Thornton 11 26 November 1969 C. Scott Forbes Voytek Hamilton Dyce, Cheryl Hall, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Gary Watson, Donald Bisset, Hugh Morton, David Joyce, Billy Milton, George Pravda 12 3 December 1969 Robert Banks Stewart Jonathan Alwyn John Bryans, Angela East, John Franklyn-Robbins, Hilary Dwyer, Geoffrey Lumsden, Alec Ross 13 10 December 1969 Paul Wheeler Dennis Vance Alan Browning, Alan Haines, Ronald Magill, Claire Nielson, Jack Shepherd, Raymond Westwell 14 17 December 1969 David Gordon Voytek Edward Atienza, Harold Kasket, Aubrey Richards, Mohammad Shamsi

Note: Episodes 1-9 were made in black & white; episode 10 onwards were in colour

Series 2 (1970)

Episode # Title Transmission Date Writer Director Guest cast 1 11 August 1970 Trevor Preston Guy Verney Michael Goodliffe, Constantine Gregory, Kenneth Watson, Wendy Gifford, Haydn Jones, Michael Goldie, David Jackson 2 18 August 1970 George Markstein William G. Stewart John Rolfe, Arnold Diamond, Arthur Cox, John Bailey, Frederick Jaeger, David Hargreaves 3 25 August 1970 Alun Falconer Mike Vardy David Langton, Bryan Marshall 4 1 September 1970 Tom Brennand & Roy Bottomley James Goddard Jasmina Hilton, Marc Boyle, Richard McNeff 5 8 September 1970 Stewart Farrar Paul Stassino, John Bennett, Stephen Greif, Clifford Rose 6 16 September 1970 George Markstein William G. Stewart Bruce Boa, Peter Arne, Derek Murcott 7 23 September 1970 Martin Worth Guy Verney William Lucas, Alethea Charlton, Emrys Jones, Ania Marson, Denis Goacher 8 30 September 1970 Lewis Greifer Tom Clegg Richard Davies, Richard Durden, Tony Caunter, Leon Lissek, Georgina Simpson, Davyd Harries 9 7 October 1970 C. Scott Forbes John Russell Alister Williamson, Mona Hammond, Hugh Futcher, John Woodnutt, James Marcus, Georgina Hale, Kevin Stoney, Dermot Tuohy, Ray Barron, Ken Barker 10 14 October 1970 Michael Chapman James Goddard Sheila Raynor, Gabrielle Drake, Sarah Thomas, James Cossins, Gary Watson, Robin Wentworth 11 21 October 1970 Peter Hill Guy Verney Basil Dignam, Robert Aldous, Gabrielle Blunt, Miranda Connell, Michael Lynch, Joseph O'Connell 12 28 October 1970 Louis Marks Dennis Vance Nicola Pagett, Brian Wilde, Milos Kirek, Sheila Ruskin 13 4 November 1970 George Markstein Sandra Bryant, Simon Lack, David Graham

Series 3 (1973)

Episode # Title Transmission Date Writer Director Guest cast 1 4 April 1973 Roger Marshall William Brayne Peter Jeffrey,Tony Selby, Barry Jackson, Patrick Connor, Frank Jarvis 2 11 April 1973 Tom Brennand & Roy Bottomley Douglas Camfield Patrick Fyffe, Maurice Quick 3 18 April 1973 Trevor Preston Mike Vardy Alan Downer, Keith Anderson, Clifford Rose, Clement McCallin 4 25 April 1973 Tom Brennand & Roy Bottomley Douglas Camfield Bob Keegan, Richard Vernon, Angus MacKay, Roger Avon, Rod Beacham, John Owens 5 2 May 1973 Allan Scott & Chris Bryant Mike Vardy Richard Marner, André Morell, George Pravda, David Weston, Bernard Archard, Michael Culver, Madeleine Christie, John Bailey, Milos Kirek 6 9 May 1973 Peter Hill Norman Jones, Roger Lloyd Pack, Diana Quick, Linda Regan, Leslie Schofield, Leon Eagles, Trevor Martin, Charles Pemberton, John Abbott 7 16 May 1973 John Kershaw Dennis Vance Gwen Watford, Doreen Mantle, Bruce Montague, Drewe Henley, Dennis Chinnery 8 23 May 1973 Trevor Preston Geoffrey Bayldon, Ursula Howells, John Gregg, James Bree, Aubrey Richards, Paul Greenwood, Jenny McCracken, Deborah Brayshaw 9 6 June 1973 Tom Brennand & Roy Bottomley William Brayne Jack Hedley, Stephanie Beacham, Robert James, Keith Anderson 10 13 June 1973 Roger Marshall Dennis Vance Annette Crosbie, John Arnatt, Malcolm Terris, John Cazabon, Neal Arden, Seymour Green 11 20 June 1973 Anthony Skene John Robbins Michael Latimer, Mary Maude, Renee Houston, Tony Haygarth, Billy Milton, Tony Thawnton 12 27 June 1973 John Kershaw David Wickes Ann Lynn, Michael Gambon, Mark Eden, Nadim Sawalha, Nigel Lambert, Elisabeth Sladen, Stacy Davies, Keith James, John Flint, Peter Laird 13 4 July 1973 Peter Hill & Ian Black William Brayne