Original title
Softly, Softly
Released
1/5/1966
Origin country
GB
Genre
Crime, Drama
Production companies
BBC
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
12
Number of episodes
269
Softly, Softly is a British television drama series, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It centred around the work of regional crime squads, plain-clothes CID officers based in the fictional region of Wyvern, supposedly in the Bristol area of England.
The regional Crime Squad has moved from Gloucester to Di John Watt's building in Wyvern. The move does not please Watt or his detectives as it brings them directly under the eyes of their bosses. Meantime a crime has been committed by a man the Squad has every reason to believe cannot have committed it.
Three apparently unrelated facts turn out to have a fascinating connection. A former criminal, now crippled, lives like a lord but has no visible means of support. A film unit arrives in the area to make a television documentary. And a mysterious and ambiguous note arrives on John Watt's desk.
A new gambling club is due to open and already the manager has been 'invited' to pay protection money to a man from a firm that supplies fruit machines. The Squad investigate, and they don't like what they find.
Barlow's manpower diplomacy is strongly tested as Detective Superintendent Arthur Jones leads a murder hunts for only the second time in his career.
DI Watt and DC Box look into the affairs of Sammy Roach and his girl friend Josie.
Barlow and Hawkins feel that many of their problems will be solved if only they can 'find the lady'.
Stolen objects seem to be disappearing into thin air immediately after their removal from private collections. DC Dwyer has been found to have run up a large debt to a local bookie. He has to leave the force: now he's out of a job and mixing with some very dubious characters.
When Billie Greave is found injured in a factory storeroom it seems obvious to the police that he has fallen while attempting to blow a safe. Barlow is disappointed and angry, for Billie is one of his most trusted informers and has assured him that he is now going straight.
The Regional Crime Squad is on the trail of a gang of robbers.
There is tragedy as an accident involving two road tankers causes the death of a number of children on their way home from school. The harrowing experience of identification and informing next of kin will leave its mark indefinitely on every member of the Wyvern squad.
For seven weeks a safe has been blown at the rate of one a week on Barlow's patch.
The No. 11 District squad has just completed a rearrangement of their Headquarters accommodation, taking over the house next door to provide extra space; and to bring Gilbert and Barlow into closer proximity with Watt and his team.
DC Morgan receives information that a big art robbery will take place. The squad acts... but so does the thief.
Barlow is enjoying a pint at the pub when Watt's girl friend, Dr. Jean Morrow, tells him about an old lady who has been brutally attacked for the sake of a few pounds. Jean's story shocks Barlow into involving the squad in immediate action.
When the head of a successful firm dies there is always someone waiting to step into his shoes. In this case the dead man's business venture is believed to be crooked and DS Hawkins is closely concerned as to who will fill his place.
A race meeting at Chepstow; and incompetent amateur pilot; a lonely field near Wyvern; why is Barlow interested in these three things? Who is it that Barlow wants to set a trap for? The answer lies in unfinished business from Barlow's past. Will he ever complete it?
A prostitute is found murdered in a quiet backwater quay at Wyvern. Who is the killer? Barlow and his team make every effort to find out.
When Harry Hawkins and Barbara Allin visit a gambling joint it is not just for the purpose of spending their own money. Their main interest is in the easy money that flows, and the club owner, Dino Frankitt, who has the reputation of making HIS easy money in devious ways.
When a crime occurs on the doorstep of Headquarters the local force thinks it's funny. But Barlow is not amused. He is aware the incident could be a prelude to a much bigger crime - but what? And why is John Watt even less amused than Barlow?
What is a criminal like Jack Carter doing in Wyvern? Barlow hopes to find out by surveillance and is furious when Digby inadvertently makes the squad's interest apparent.
Barlow and watt travel to Thamesford and back - but not together - in pursuit of important changes in their careers. While they wait to hear the results of their journeys they join forces again in pursuit of one more criminal.
Why is DS Allin so interested in the leisure activities of the elite of Wyvern? And why does a car involved in a minor accident unaccountably burst into flames? The subsequent enquiries are not to Watt's liking.
Barlow's first day at Thamesford is rounded off with a telephone call that involves him in his first major investigation as head of C.I.D.
Routine enquiries into a series of minor break-ins become a major hunt for a dangerous criminal.
A worried barman asks John Watt why a detective constable is asking questions about him. Watt makes some alarming discoveries about the constable in question.
A whisper from the north of England leads the Task Force to Eastcote Docks. A domestic dispute takes them to the nearby caravan site at Bathgate. But what is the link between the two incidents?
Barlow is pursuing the hint of an armed robbery. Hawkins and Jackson are tackling another in a series of Thursday night thefts. But there is something different about this particular Friday.
Missing! Ten small wooden boxes, each weighing 25 lbs., each worth five thousand pounds. Several people are interested in the location of these boxes.
Why should anyone steal a security van, disguise it as a plain van and drive it out to a deserted place in the countryside? And why blow a neat hole in it when there's nothing inside anyway? Could it be a dress rehearsal?
A line drawn by time; a curious parallel; two thieves with a twisted sense of humour - would these be the ingredients of a recipe that would keep Barlow and Watt awake at night?
DI Hawkins finds himself in the seat of authority - and very uncomfortable it is too. A dangerous and unidentified criminal is at large and CC Cullen demands crisp and confident action. Is Hawkins capable of responding to the challenge of adversity?
A parked car in a lonely road - but when it's in the same place two nights running Snow's curiosity is aroused.
Sgt. Jackson is very good at statistics, but this time his conclusion is a matter of practical detection. But can he be right? John Watt doesn't think so.
Charlie Barlow is well known for playing his cards close to his chest. But this time he's on the receiving end - from DCS Allan.
As a result of going to the assistance of one of his officers, Chief Constable Cullen finds that he is in great need of assistance himself.
A supermarket has been robbed and £4,000 stolen. It looks an easy case, and Barlow proceeds to solve it to his own satisfaction. Harry Hawkins isn't so certain.
Observation is being kept at the scene of an intended robbery. PC Snow is one of the watchers and he later finds himself in considerable danger.
It's surprising what turns up in household refuse. What is it the dustmen find that brings John Watt and the Task Force so promptly to the rubbish tip?
Task Force chase counterfeit notes; CID the money snatchers.
Change creates uncertainty. A shake up in No. 1 Task Force causes PC Snow to think carefully about himself and his future.
Watt and the Task Force investigate an 'accident' and their enquiries take them behind prison walls.
A safe is blown in Manchester - the suspected man is in Kingley. Watt has a problem.
A gang of safe breakers are plaguing Thamesford constabulary. Adler puts the pressure on Evans to obtain concrete evidence against the villains.
A policeman has many unpleasant duties, not the least of which is investigating the activities of a fellow officer. John Watt has to face this unpleasant task.
A policeman is missing. Is there anything sinister in his disappearance, or is there a simple explanation?
A quiet morning: a milkman on his round in a residential street. But the peace is soon shattered.
Watt thinks the piece of Wedgwood china he buys for his wife is expensive enough, until he has to investigate a theft.
Snow and Nesbitt are enquiring into a crime which has happened. Evans is asking about a crime which may happen. John Watt is concentrating on the present.
Why is Hawkins preparing his latest operation behind closed doors? And why is he so interested in a small-time thief?
John Watt receives a tip-off which he believes could lead him to a 'crime boss'.
Watt and Hawkins are baffled by a couple of crooks; Hawkins is angry with a probation officer and Evans is hurt by a brick. It's a dog's life being a policeman!
Hawkins takes his wife's dog for a walk one night. They meet a drunk who tells him a disturbing tale. Hawkins has to tell John Watt. Together they have to do a job hated by all policemen: looking into the private life of one of their own men.
A barn is burned down. It could be arson, but the insurance is hardly worth claiming. And of course, fires do happen. But Evans is suspicious, and he goes in for a spot of bricklaying when the new barn is built.
Jackie Warren is dangerous. He has escaped from jail and no-one knows where he is. Then a Post Office van is robbed in Kingley and Watt finds him on his own doorstep.
Masur Jemal suddenly goes berserk in the garage where he works. No-one has any idea why. A member of the Task Force has been hit on the head with a spanner while trying to restrain Jamal and could be badly hurt. When Task Force investigate they find things are worse than they suspected.
A job is being planned. John Watt knows when and by whom, but he doesn't know where or what.
Two children at home with their father: a cosy domestic scene. The trouble is, the mother has been thrown out, the father has a violent record and has locked himself in with the children.
The quiet of a Thamesford village is shattered by a pop concert and Task Force is called in to deal with the discord. Meanwhile Sgt. Evans has his own problems.
Three villains are nailed for different crimes. Is it coincidence they are all from a family Watt has been after for years?
A middle-aged villain takes up with a young woman, which proves to be dangerous for the public and baffling for the police.
Pressure is put on John Watt to take action. But he knows from experience that sometimes the best action to take is to do nothing.
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