Sixties TV - Memories of the Z Cars series

The hit Sixties TV series Z Cars was an entertaining look at crime as seen through the eyes of Liverpool cops patrolling in their trusty Ford Zephyrs.

In the December issue of Scottish Memories magazine we take a look at what made the show so popular and why Glaswegians felt a particular affinity with the Liverpool-based drama.

The show's theme tune, played by BBC maestro Fritz Spiegl, soon became a familiar one to the thousands who tuned into their black and white TV sets for the latest instalment:



The show proved a springboard to the careers of several actors and actresses who are now household names, including Brian Blessed, Jeremy Kemp – and Dame Judi Dench, who appears in this early episode 'made for each other':



The show first aired in January 1962 and continued until September 1978. This is part one of episode two, starring Frank Windsor as Sargeant Watt:



Read more about Z Cars in our special feature on the show's history and stars, in the December issue of Scottish Memories magazine.