The Rat Catchers

1 9 6 6 - 1 9 6 7 (UK)

This British Spy drama featured the Whitehall-based 'Rat Catchers' - A Top Secret group who were so secret they didn't officially exist. Their brief was to ensure the security of Britain and the Western Alliance.

Peregrine Pascale Smith (Gerald Flood) was the managing director of the organisation. Oxford-educated Smith was extremely cold-blooded but a most expert spy. His two key operatives were Brigadier Davidson (Philip Stone) - the analytical brains behind the organisation - and newcomer Richard Hurst (Glyn Owen), a former Scotland Yard Superintendent.

The Rat Catchers was far-removed from the glitzy and sexy world of James Bond and his ilk, and closer to the bleak underground world seen on Callan (which began on British television just as The Rat Catchers was ending).