Shoestring

"THE PRIVATE EAR."

Shoestring was a BBC television show set in Bristol. It featured a private detective with his own show on Radio West, the local radio station.

The programme ran between 30 September 1979 and 21 December 1980, in two series with 21 one hour-long episodes. Star Trevor Eve decided not to return to the role after two series, as he wanted to diversify into theatre roles, so the same production team changed the format to be based in Jersey and created Bergerac, also about a detective returning to work after a bad period in his life.

Status

Ended

Original Name

Shoestring

First Air Date

September 30, 1979

Last Air Date

December 21, 1980

Seasons

2

Episodes

21

Language

English

Production Companies

Networks

BBC One

S02E10

The Dangerous Game

Pete Johnson, a market trader dealing in dodgy goods, gives his young son Mike an early Christmas present - a powered moon buggy called Lunar Race 2000. As soon as the buggy is plugged in, it bursts into flames, causing Mike severe burns, and he finds himself in hospital. However, Pete lies to the hospital staff about the cause of the accident, as he had bought a box of the games believing them to be stolen.Eddie meets Mike while he is at the hospital delivering presents in the children's ward, and a doctor tells him that Mike has given a different story which may need investigation. Eddie gets the truth out of Pete, who says he has sold the other moon buggies, and Eddie begins broadcasting warnings about the potentially dangerous toy - but then the radio station is threatened with legal action by Wing's, the manufacturers, who say there is no such product...

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