The Sweeney: Taste of Fear (ITV 4 Oct 1976, with Norman Eshley)

In Taste of Fear a pair of army deserters, Cook and Ames, are on the run in London. They perform a vicious robbery with violence on the Shaw family, leaving the father badly injured. Having been injured himself on a tour of duty of Northern Ireland Cook has a major problem with Irish people.

Regan and Carter, along with possible new recruit Hargreaves (played by Norman Eshley, soon to be of George and Mildred), need to bring them in quickly before they kill someone. Hargreaves proves to be something of a liability, he “bottles” it when caught in a shoot out with Cook and Ames allowing them to get away and then dishes out the heavy stuff to old villain Tug Wilson (played by Arthur English). Regan wants him out but Haskins thinks he is picking on him. When it comes to the crunch though Hargreaves completely loses it and runs away.

There is a typically tough performance from George Sweeney as Cook, he definitely excelled in these type of psycho roles.

There was an excellent two page feature in the TV Times (2 Oct 76) for the weeks episode, on the stunt men, led by Peter Baynham who provided a lot of the car driving action in The Sweeney, this contrasted with the other half of the feature which focused on two real life cops and the risks they faced on the roads.

classic quote
“It’s a hard world.”
“Yeh but keep it under your hat George, nobody else wants to know. “

production details
UK / ITV – Thames / 1×50 minute episode / Broadcast Monday 4 October 1976

Writer: Roger Marshall / Director: David Wickes

Series: The Sweeney Season 3 Episode 5

cast
John Thaw as Regan
Dennis Waterman as Carter
Garfield Morgan as Haskins
Norman Eshley as Robert Hargreaves
Arthur English as Tug Wilson
George Sweeney as Cook
Ralph Arliss as Ames
Bernard Spear as Benny
Lesley Dunlop as Eileen Shaw
Norma Streader as Helen Hargreaves
John Alkin as Daniels
Anne-Louise Wakefield as Susie Farmer
Shay Gorman as Shaw