Country Boy

The rare Sweeney story where the man of the match isn't Regan. A London gang kidnap telephone engineer Ronald Peters and hold him in an empty house. His job, under duress, is to set off false alarms in banks all over London, keeping the police running in every direction while the gang quietly rob premises with no alarms at all. It's a lovely scheme, and it works for a while.

The Sweeney are left with no clues and a great deal of ringing. So Haskins does the thing Regan hates most: he drafts in outside help. Detective Sergeant David Keel is a telecommunications expert from Bristol CID and a college graduate to boot, neither of which endears him to Jack. Regan resents him on principle. But Keel knows his trade, and he has the nerve to go with it. Regan comes round, and the gang are rumbled and caught, largely thanks to the man nobody wanted in the office.

It's a nice change of pace, an episode that rewards brains over knuckles. The mechanics of the scheme are period-perfect: the exchanges and relays, the alarm bells ringing in empty rooms. There's even time for a bit of the Keels' home life, with Myra Frances as Dr Liz Keel.

Andrew Wilson and Ian Kennedy Martin wrote it, Jim Goddard directed. Robert Swann makes a quietly impressive David Keel, and Shaun Curry is good value as the kidnapped Ronald Peters. His ordeal gives the story its edge. Christine Shaw plays Kathy Peters, with Andonia Katsaros, Leslie Schofield and David Belcher in support. John Thaw, Dennis Waterman and Garfield Morgan are the regulars. And Haskins gets the best line of the night for once.

Regan learning to take the help is the whole point, and Thaw plays the journey from resentment to respect without wasting a word.