Public Eye

Public Eye is a British television drama series that ran from 1965 to 1975, for a total of seven series. It was produced by ABC Weekend TV for three series, and Thames Television for a further four. The series depicted the cases and investigations handled by the enquiry agent Frank Marker (Alfred Burke), an unmarried loner who is in his early forties when the series begins. The title is a twist on the more usual "private eye". Background The series was created by writers Roger Marshall and Anthony Marriott with the aim of getting away from "square-jawed" heroes of the type featured in Hollywood movies—a wish shared by Alfred Burke, the actor chosen to play Marker. This aim allowed for flexibility in the structure and plot lines of the episodes; each individual episode usually dealt with an individual case for Marker, but story arcs spanning several episodes, or in one case an entire series, were produced during the life of the programme. Marker's work ranged broadly, from routine matters such as gathering evidence for divorces (at a time when British law required evidence of infidelity or other compelling reason for annulling a marriage) or creditworthiness enquiries, to more exotic investigations such as tracing missing people (or in one case, a prize-winning whippet). Many of the narratives conclude with Marker leaving a situation as it was at the beginning of the episode—for example, in "The Man Who Didn't Eat Sweets", he fails to tell his client that she is one of her husband's three wives. Cast Alfred Burke as Frank Marker Recurring Pauline Delaney as Helen Mortimer (Series 4-7) John Grieve as Hull (Series 4) Ray Smith as D.I. Percy Firbank (Series 5-7) Brenda Cavendish as Nell Holdsworth (Series 5-6) Peter Childs as Ron Gash (Series 7)