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[TV] R I P Frank Windsor



Boys 9d

Boys 9d

Well-known member
Jan 3, 2012
1,794
Lancing
One of the stars of Z Cars and Softly Softly. Two series that changed British Police TV from the the Dixon Of Dock Green sleepy image of Policing to a more gritty style.
Incidentally early outside scenes for Z Cars were filmed in Crawley to represent Newtown on Merseyside.
 




jakarta

jakarta

Well-known member
May 25, 2007
15,630
Sullington
Boys 9d said:
One of the stars of Z Cars and Softly Softly. Two series that changed British Police TV from the the Dixon Of Dock Green sleepy image of Policing to a more gritty style.
Incidentally early outside scenes for Z Cars were filmed in Crawley to represent Newtown on Merseyside.
Click to expand...

I'm amazed he was still alive, his mucker Stratford Johns departed to the great Nick in the Sky years ago!
 










el punal

el punal

Well-known member
Aug 29, 2012
11,787
Bitterne,Southampton. In the land of wrong stripes
Weststander said:
RIP, an acting life fulfilled.
I remember the tail end of Softly, Softly on TV when I was very young.
Click to expand...

I must be ahead of you age-wise! I remember Doxon of Dick Green (evening all!). I clearly remember watching the first episode of Z Cars back in 1961/62ish. The main characters were Detective Inspector Barlow (Stratford Johns), Detective Sergeant Watt (Frank Windsor) and P.C.Fancy Smith (Brian Blessed - when he was less shouty), then other well known faces too - Colin Welland, James Ellis, Jeremy Kemp and many more.

An immortal theme music intro too. Played at Goodison Park and Vicarage Road when the teams come out.

Altogether now - “BD to Z Victor 1, over.” :cheers:
 


GT49er

GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,746
Gloucester
Very little (if any!) Z Cars footage around now - it was actually played out live to air in the studio; no recording! Must have been nerve-wracking!

Iconic telly from my early teens. RIP Mr. Windsor.
 


Weststander

Weststander

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Aug 25, 2011
64,000
Withdean area
el punal said:
I must be ahead of you age-wise! I remember Doxon of Dick Green (evening all!). I clearly remember watching the first episode of Z Cars back in 1961/62ish. The main characters were Detective Inspector Barlow (Stratford Johns), Detective Sergeant Watt (Frank Windsor) and P.C.Fancy Smith (Brian Blessed - when he was less shouty), then other well known faces too - Colin Welland, James Ellis, Jeremy Kemp and many more.

An immortal theme music intro too. Played at Goodison Park and Vicarage Road when the teams come out.

Altogether now - “BD to Z Victor 1, over.” :cheers:
Click to expand...

My first TV memory is as a toddler hiding behind the settee to this :lolol:



I can remember in the early 70’s Barlow At Large, Z Cars, Softly Softly ..... on Monday evenings rings a bell .... is that right? Before having to go to bed at say 8ish, envious of my older brothers who had it all.

Dixon of Dock Green was repeated into the late 70’s, as I remember getting back from yet another Goldstone win under Taylor or Mullery, and enjoying that prog.

Happy days.
 




Questions

Questions

Habitual User
Oct 18, 2006
24,896
Worthing
Boys 9d said:
One of the stars of Z Cars and Softly Softly. Two series that changed British Police TV from the the Dixon Of Dock Green sleepy image of Policing to a more gritty style.
Incidentally early outside scenes for Z Cars were filmed in Crawley to represent Newtown on Merseyside.
Click to expand...

Of course RIP Frank Windsor but don’t go calling Dixon of Dock Green sleepy.
George Dixon died in The Blue Lamp (Dirk bloody Bogarde) but came back for the show. That’s gritty.

I was a Softly Softly fan but didn’t care for Z Cars.
 


el punal

el punal

Well-known member
Aug 29, 2012
11,787
Bitterne,Southampton. In the land of wrong stripes
GT49er said:
Very little (if any!) Z Cars footage around now - it was actually played out live to air in the studio; no recording! Must have been nerve-wracking!

Iconic telly from my early teens. RIP Mr. Windsor.
Click to expand...

I read somewhere that the Z Cars were yellow because white was too reflective or such like in the good old days of black and white TV. Also, there were no windscreens, probably for the same reason. I believe there was one scene where the driver’s hand magically went through the glass - oops!
 


M

marlowe

Well-known member
Dec 13, 2015
3,936
Last edited:




GT49er

GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,746
Gloucester
marlowe said:
There are a few episodes on youtube, including the first episode ever made...

https://youtu.be/ykxb3kKkBLE

https://youtu.be/SbgZiKqNHW4

https://youtu.be/CBqqnCtaG7k

https://youtu.be/_YxxyD7US80
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. Never seen that first episode before - but WTF - Rugby League? Some effete southerner in the production team trying toi include a bit of gritty northern realism?
Rugby League? Who the fvck in the 1950s/60s in Liverpool gave a flying fvck for fvcking Rugby League? You can answer that with one word!
 


G

Gwylan

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
31,339
Uffern
GT49er said:
Thanks for that. Never seen that first episode before - but WTF - Rugby League? Some effete southerner in the production team trying toi include a bit of gritty northern realism?
Rugby League? Who the fvck in the 1950s/60s in Liverpool gave a flying fvck for fvcking Rugby League? You can answer that with one word!
Click to expand...

You're way out with this.

Z Cars wasn't set in Liverpool, it was set in Newtown - which was based on Kirkby in Merseyside. And Kirkby is just a few miles from St Helens and Huyton, both of which had professional rugby league teams (in fact, St Helens was a pretty big team, they'd won the Championship just a couple of years before.

And it's only about a dozen miles from Wigan, who were the biggest rugby league team then,

Liverpool itself is definitely a football city but the outlying towns are well into their rugby league.
 






dejavuatbtn

dejavuatbtn

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2010
7,205
Henfield
GT49er said:
Thanks for that. Never seen that first episode before - but WTF - Rugby League? Some effete southerner in the production team trying toi include a bit of gritty northern realism?
Rugby League? Who the fvck in the 1950s/60s in Liverpool gave a flying fvck for fvcking Rugby League? You can answer that with one word!
Click to expand...

Two words:

Eddie Waring!
 




GT49er

GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,746
Gloucester
Gwylan said:
You're way out with this.

Z Cars wasn't set in Liverpool, it was set in Newtown - which was based on Kirkby in Merseyside. And Kirkby is just a few miles from St Helens and Huyton, both of which had professional rugby league teams (in fact, St Helens was a pretty big team, they'd won the Championship just a couple of years before.

And it's only about a dozen miles from Wigan, who were the biggest rugby league team then,

Liverpool itself is definitely a football city but the outlying towns are well into their rugby league.
Click to expand...
It was set in Newtown - which was literally a new town, like Skelmersdale and Speke, built to replace the slums and bomb damaged houses of Liverpool, and re-house their inhabitants. Pure scouse, much more culturally linked to Liverpool than nearby St. Helens.
 






carlzeiss

carlzeiss

Well-known member
May 19, 2009
5,851
Amazonia
Used to enjoy Z cars and many years later was lucky enough to work with Douglas Fielding ( aka PC Quilley ) who also sadly passed away last year and was a proper gent .

R.I.P
 


Blackadder

Blackadder

Brighton Bhuna Boy
Jul 6, 2003
16,077
Haywards Heath
Different times. Both cops smoking at 3:45 in PT 1 and they are talking about topping a suspect who had confessed to murdering a policeman. This must have been shot just before the suspension of the death penalty in this country.

RIP Frank (I also thought you had already left us).
 


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