The Protectors

1 9 6 4 (UK)
14 x 60 minute episodes

The Protectors (not to be confused with the 1970s series of the same name, starring Robert Vaughan and Nyree Dawn Porter) had the unenviable task of attempting to bridge the gap left by the concluding episode of that year's highly successful series of The Avengers.

In sharp contrast to The Avengers (which dealt with crime in a stylish, fantasy world), The Protectors was about three level-headed people who tried to prevent crime from happening in the first place.

"We sell security. Object: To prevent crime," was the motto of the three specialists operating out of a plush London office. 

The Protectors placed an advertisement in the newspapers, instructing prospective clients to call WELbeck 3269 - the phone number of SIS (Specialists in Security), a firm headed by former insurance investigator Ian Souter (Andrew Faulds), who was assisted by ex-policeman Robert Shoesmith (Michael Atkinson) and Heather Keys (played by former Compact actress Ann Morrish).

The trio found themselves assigned to cases involving forgery, espionage and murder, but inevitably, the character of Heather Keys was compared to The Avengers' Cathy Gale and deemed not to measure up.

African- born Andrew Faulds took up a political career (as a Labour MP) after retiring from acting. Ann Morrish went on to be a presenter on Play School.