Freewheelers

"Freewheelers" is a British television series made by Southern Television for ITV between 1968 and 1973.

The series was a youth-oriented, gadget-packed answer to the popular spy series of the 1960s such as "The Avengers" and "Department S" with its story of three young people who were working for British intelligence, having been recruited by Colonel Buchan. The series had a distinctive theme tune, and title sequences . The Team's main opponent was the ex-Nazi officer von Gelb, who made repeated attempts to take power in Great Britain as a revenge for the German defeat. There were several series of the show, some of which were set abroad, notably in Amsterdam. Much use was made of the fact that the series was made by the seaside, and thus had more appeal to teenagers watching the adventures. When the series was sold to Germany, the von Gelb character disappeared and other criminals took his place. As with much of past television, little of the series survives, with large chunks of the serial now no longer existing in the archive.

The major cast included Adrian Wright and Wendy Padbury. The part of Colonel Buchan was played by Ronald Leigh-Hunt, von Gelb by Geoffrey Toone.

Trivia

The aquatic sequences of the programme were recorded using Southern Television's unique marine outside broadcast unit known as "Southerner".

External links

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