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''Gideon's Way'' is a British television crime series made by
ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...
and broadcast by ITV in 1964–1966, based on novels by
John Creasey John Creasey (17 September 1908 – 9 June 1973) was an English crime writer, also writing science fiction, romance and western novels, who wrote more than six hundred novels using twenty-eight different pseudonyms. He created several charac ...
(writing as 'J. J. Marric'). The series was made at Elstree Studios in twin production with '' The Saint'' television series, which was likewise produced by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman. The show did not acknowledge any help from Scotland Yard or any other police force or advisor.


Synopsis

Daphne Anderson starred as Gideon's wife, Kate; their three children were played by Giles Watling as younger son Malcolm, Richard James as elder son Matthew (who seemed to have a lot of new girlfriends), and Andrea Allan as daughter Pru. Unusually for police stories, Gideon was shown as a family man at home—though urgent phone calls from his bosses tend to disrupt family plans too often. However, he did admit in "State Visit" that his wife had walked out on him for a while years ago, when he put the job first and her second. They live in an expensive detached house in
Tufnell Park Tufnell Park is an area in north London, England, in the London boroughs of Islington and Camden. The neighborhood is served by Tufnell Park tube station on the Northern Line. History Origins and boundary ;Medieval and later manor Tufnell P ...
.


Cast

The series stars John Gregson in the title role as Commander George Gideon of Scotland Yard, with Alexander Davion as his assistant, Detective Chief Inspector David Keen,
Reginald Jessup Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language. Etymology and history The meaning of Reginald is “King". The name is derived from the Latin ''Reginaldus'', which has been influenced by the Latin word ''regina'', meaning "queen". Th ...
as Det. Superintendent LeMaitre (nicknamed Lemmy),
Ian Rossiter Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...
as Detective Chief Superintendent Joe Bell and Basil Dignam as Commissioner Scott-Marle.


Guest stars

Many well-known British actors appear in guest roles, including
Patrick Allen John Keith Patrick Allen (17 March 1927 – 28 July 2006) was a British actor. Life and career Allen was born in Nyasaland (now Malawi), where his father was a tobacco farmer. After his parents returned to Britain, he was evacuated to Canada ...
, Keith Baxter, George Cole, Harry Fowler, Gordon Jackson, Ronald Lacey, Anton Rodgers, Rosemary Leach, Gerald Harper,
Victor Maddern Victor Jack Maddern (16 March 1928 – 22 June 1993) was an English actor. He was described by '' The Telegraph'' as having "one of the most distinctive and eloquent faces in post-war British cinema." Life and career Born in Seven Kings, ...
,
Richard Carpenter Richard Carpenter may refer to: * Richard Carpenter (theologian) (1575–1627), English clergyman and theological writer * Richard Carpenter (ca. 1700–1750), original owner of the Belvale property in Virginia * Richard Cromwell Carpenter (1812� ...
and
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in ...
. There was an early role for
Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...
in the episode "The Millionaire's Daughter". Several actors, including Mike Pratt, Angela Douglas, Jean Marsh and
Kay Walsh Kathleen "Kay" Walsh (15 November 1911 – 16 April 2005) was an English actress, dancer, and screenwriter. Her film career prospered after she met her future husband film director David Lean, with whom she worked on prestige productions such as ...
, appear twice in the series, cast in different roles.


Production

There was extensive location shooting in mid-1960s London, with fast-paced action and strong story lines, which made the series very popular in its day. The show was broadcast in the United States under the title ''Gideon CID''. There were different starting titles for the American series, showing incidents of violent crime while the British titles just introduced the main characters. The theme music was composed by
Edwin Astley Edwin Thomas "Ted" Astley (12 April 1922 – 19 May 1998) was a British composer. His best known works are British television themes and scores, most notably the main themes for ''The Saint'', ''Danger Man'' and '' The Baron''. He also successfu ...
. In scoring the incidental music, Astley re-used some of the cues from '' The Saint'' on which he was also working; in turn, he re-purposed material composed for this series in ''
The Baron Baron is a title of nobility. Baron, The Baron or Barons may also refer to: Places * Barons, Alberta, Canada * Baron, Gard, France * Baron, Gironde, France * Baron, Oise, France * Baron, Saône-et-Loire, France * Baron-sur-Odon, France * Bar ...
'', which followed a year later.


Episodes

Episodes were filmed between June 1964 and May 1965, on location and at Elstree Studios. Fifteen episodes (#101 – #115 below) were filmed by December 1964, after which the cast and crew were allowed a week's break before filming on the second batch of eleven episodes (#116 – #126 below) began on 11 January 1965. Airdate is for
ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television stations and companies * Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourne * ATV (Austria) * AT ...
Midlands. ITVBefore 1968 ATV transmitted weekdays in the Midlands and weekends in London. See
History of ITV The history of ITV, the United Kingdom " Independent Television" commercial network, goes back to 1955. Independent Television began as a network of independently-owned regional companies that were both broadcasters and programme makers, beginn ...
regions varied date and order. The first transmission was on ATV London on 17 October 1964 (The V Men).


Broadcasters


United Kingdom

The series began a repeat run in October 2019 at 9pm on
Talking Pictures TV Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage-film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky channel 343, but later also became available on Freeview, Freesat, and Virgin Media. It is on air for 24 ...
. This revival ended on 18 February 2020 with "The Nightlifers" including an onscreen tribute to guest star Derek Fowlds who died in January 2020. The series was shown again on the channel in Spring 2021, and in April 2022.


Australia

The Australian rights are held by the
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...
who, over many decades, have shown numerous repeats in non-peak viewing times. From 2012 to 2019, there were numerous showings in the early hours of the morning on
Gem A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...
, a Nine Network digital outlet, sometimes twice per morning. The ''Gideon's Way'' repeats alternate with re-screenings of another British series ''
Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...
'', and of the Canadian program '' Seaway''.


DVD

All 26 episodes of this classic 1960s British crime thriller series was released on Region 2 DVD by Network Distributing in August 2005.


References


External links


John Creasey brand owner Owatonna Media
* {{John Creasey 1960s British crime television series Television shows shot at Associated British Studios Television series by ITC Entertainment ITV television dramas John Creasey characters Television shows based on British novels British detective television series 1960s British drama television series 1966 British television series endings 1965 British television series debuts Black-and-white British television shows English-language television shows Cultural depictions of Metropolitan Police officers