New Scotland Yard (1972 - 1974)

New Scotland Yard is a police drama series produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network between 1972 and 1974. It features the activities of two officers from the Criminal Investigations Department in the Metropolitan Police force headquarters at New Scotland Yard, as they dealt with the assorted villains of the day. The first three series ran from 1972 to 1973 and starred John Woodvine as Det. Chief Supt. Kingdom and John Carlisle as Det. Sgt. Ward. But the series, scheduled on a Saturday night, failed to match the ratings of its more glamorous midweek sister programme, Special Branch. The programme was resurrected for a fourth series in 1974, with an all-new cast headed by Michael Turner as Det. Chief Supt. Clay and Clive Francis as Det. Sgt. Dexter LWT were considered to have broken the rules of Saturday night broadcasting by showing a tough police drama in place of entertainment, but it was an inspiration for The Sweeney. Dennis Waterman, who went on to play a lead role in The Sweeney, appeared in the earlier series. There were several television series about Scotland Yard during the 1950s, the longest-running being Scotland Yard on the American Broadcasting Company from 1957-1958.