Freewheelers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Freewheelers |
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| Genre | Children's television series |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 104 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Chris McMaster |
| Production location(s) | Southern England, Spain, France, Sweden, Netherlands |
| Cinematography | Stan Bréhaut |
| Editor(s) | Michael Womersley |
| Running time | 24 mins |
| Production company(s) | Southern Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Original release | 4 April 1968 – 5 May 1973 |
Freewheelers was a cool British television show made by Southern Television between 1968 and 1973. It was shown on the ITV network. The show was created by Chris McMaster. He noticed that grown-up action shows like The Avengers were popular with teenagers. So, he thought it would be awesome to make a similar show just for younger viewers!
What's the Show About?
In the very first story, three young people get caught up in a big plan by a former bad guy named Karl von Gelb. He wanted to "change the outcome of the last war" and get revenge on his old enemies.
With help from Colonel Buchan, a secret agent from MI5 (Britain's security service), the three young heroes stop Gelb's plan. He was trying to launch powerful Polaris missiles at London from a captured nuclear submarine! This first adventure set the stage for the whole series. The teenagers often had to stop Gelb from carrying out huge and clever threats to Britain's safety.
Meet the Characters
Ronald Leigh-Hunt played Colonel Buchan, the British secret agent. He was in most of the series, from season 1 to 4 and again in season 6. In 1971, he was busy filming a big movie called Le Mans. Because that movie took longer than expected, he couldn't be in season 5. The show explained his absence by saying his character was on a mission overseas.
The young heroes were almost always called "the kids." Their team changed over the years. The first group included Tom Owen, Mary Maude, and Gregory Phillips. Chris Chittell joined in seasons 2 and 3. Adrian Wright played Mike Hobbs in seasons 4 through 7.
Wendy Padbury, who was also a companion in Doctor Who, joined the cast in season 5. She played Sue Craig, an art student. Even though she was in her mid-twenties, she looked young enough to play a much younger character. By the final season, she was married to actor Melvyn Hayes. The camera angles had to be careful to hide her pregnancy. Wendy Padbury was the only main actor to appear in the eighth and final series. In that series, she teamed up with Martin Neil, who played Sue's boyfriend, Dave.
Initially, Geoffrey Toone played the main villain, Karl von Gelb. He was a former high-ranking officer from a past war. To make the show easier to sell to other countries, like West Germany, they stopped mentioning his past in season 3. From season 4 onwards, other clever criminals took his place. These included Professor Nero, played by Jerome Willis, and Commander Caine, played by Kevin Stoney. These villains often had helpers, like Ryan (Richard Shaw) and Burke (Michael Ripper), who wore a beret, in seasons 5 and 6.
Episodes and Where to Watch Them
In total, 104 episodes were made over 8 seasons. The first five seasons were unfortunately "wiped" by Southern Television. This means the original recordings were erased or lost. However, special recordings made from a TV screen, called "telerecordings," of season 1 and one episode from season 2 still exist. The last three seasons (6-8) are still available in different formats.
You might have seen repeats of the surviving Freewheelers episodes! They were shown on the British satellite TV channel Film 24 in 2010. They also aired on Talking Pictures TV in 2017 and 2019.
