The Protectors (TV Series) Petard (1973) User Reviews

The Protectors clean up

[raeames · 7/10 · 16 May 2019]

It is laughable trying to graft the aura of international espionage and sophistication on to a plot about industrial espionage in a cleaning products company but that's no reason not to enjoy this episode if you're a Protectors fan.

As well as our favourite glamorous heroes, there's a cameo from Carry On legend Angela Douglas as a secretary and there's the future Mrs Boswell from the Liver Birds playing a rather sexy looking office cleaner.

The car phone must have been the height of sophistication for the time and plays a suitably crucial role.

Industrial Espionage

[profh-1 · 7/10 · 3 January 2022]

So nice to see a story that doesn't involve violence or anything like that.

The most outstanding thing here is the cast. It's like a DOCTOR WHO reunion, before-the-fact.

Wyatt is Iain Cuthbertson, the con man in "The Ribos Operation", and the main villain in the CAMPION story "Sweet Danger".

His sidekick Alec Weston is Cyril Luckham, who was The White Guardian in "The Ribos Operation" and "Enlightenment".

His secretary Linda is Angela Douglas, who played the Brigadier's wife in "Battlefield".

Conway, the industrial spy, is Milton Johns, who played the astronaut in "The Android Invasion" and the really rotten Castellan in "The Invasion Of Time". He also played an artist in the CAMPION story "Death of A Ghost", and played Adolph Eichmann in WAR AND REMEMBRANCE.

Scudder, Conway's assistant, is Mark Jones, who played Keeler in "The Seeds Of Doom".

Charles Engleton, the main bad guy, is Basil Dignam, who played the Cabinet Minister blown up in that car crash in the UFO pilot "Identified".

David Lee, another board member, who asked Caroline out to dinner to pump her for info about Harry, was Ralph Bates, who I mostly remember as Lord Courtley in TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA.

According to the IMDB credits, there was a character named "Liz", who I don't remember seeing. She was played by Joanna Lumley. She's NOT the cleaning lady. I scanned thru the entire episode, and the only person she could possibly be is a customer at the restautrant at the very end, but, if that's her, it is IMPOSSIBLE to verify, so the credit listing her is patently ridiculous.

Petard

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 19 November 2023]

Harry Rule is brought in to deal with a hi tech hustle. A company dealing with cleaning products is suffering losses due to industrial espionage.

The company owner Wyatt Iain Cuthbertson wants the Protectors to find the leak. It has to be a high level executive and they want them found before their next big project.

Harry Rule brings in Ludo Jones, a surveillance expert. Contessa Caroline di Contini poses as a secretary to smoke out the suspect.

In the end, Harry decides it is better to give Wyatt's corporate rival a taste of their own medicine. Leak information that would cause them big losses.

Almost something out of Robert Vaughn's later show, Hustle. It was enjoyable to see that The Protectors decided to be one step ahead.

I agree with the plethora of Doctor Who links with the guest cast.