In a near-future Britain crippled by economic decline, the nation is governed by the iron hand of the Public Control Department (PCD). Civil liberties have been extinguished in favour of rationing, constant surveillance, and the suppression of dissent. Jim Kyle (Edward Woodward) is a journalist for the Star, the last independent newspaper, who uses his position to undermine the PCD’s authority. He secretly helps persecuted citizens emigrate and sabotages government operations, making him the chief antagonist of the ruthless PCD Controller, Herbert Skardon (Robert Lang).
Kyle receives aid from his friend Dave Brett (Tony Doyle), an import-export agent, and a clandestine informant known only as Faceless (Paul Hardwick). His mission is complicated by his relationships with two successive PCD Deputy Controllers: the conflicted Delly Lomas (Barbara Kellerman) and his ambitious former lover, Lynn Blake (Lisa Harrow).
Creator Wilfred Greatorex conceived the serial as a direct response to what he saw as the oppressive growth of state bureaucracy in 1970s Britain. The production channels this contemporary paranoia into the framework of a taut political thriller, rooting its speculative fiction in the tangible anxieties of the era.
While its political premise invited scrutiny, the drama operated primarily as an adventure serial, built around espionage, narrow escapes, and car chases rather than dense ideology. The casting of Edward Woodward, already a household name from the spy series Callan, was crucial, lending Kyle an immediate gravity and a weary moral authority. The series remains a potent example of British dystopian fiction, a grim forecast of a future shaped by administrative tyranny.
Broadcast: BBC Two, 16 Episodes, 1977-1978
Creator: Wilfred Greatorex
Producer: Prudence Fitzgerald
Directors: Alan Gibson, Kenneth Ives, Peter Sasdy
Writers: Wilfred Greatorex, Edmund Ward
Theme Music: John Cameron
Main Cast: Edward Woodward (Jim Kyle), Robert Lang (Herbert Skardon), Barbara Kellerman (Delly Lomas), Lisa Harrow (Lynn Blake), Tony Doyle (Dave Brett), Paul Hardwick (Faceless), Yvonne Mitchell (Kate Smith)
