Police 5's Shaw Taylor guest-stars - Radio Times, March 2008

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Police 5's Shaw Taylor guest-stars - Radio Times, March 2008

Shaw Taylor in Ashes to Ashes Image © Angus Muir

Danny Scott meets the man behind Crimewatch forerunner Police 5 as he makes a cameo appearance in Ashes to Ashes.

It's been 18 years since Shaw Taylor last reminded us to "keep 'em peeled". Taylor - and his iconic catchphrase - will be familiar to several generations of viewers as the presenter of Police 5. Running for nearly 30 years from 1962, the five-minute show encouraged the public to report suspicious goings-on and help police solve crimes in the capital.

Now 83, Taylor has pulled his famous thick-framed glasses out of retirement - yes, they really are the ones he used to wear back in the 80s - for a cameo on this week's episode of Ashes to Ashes. Gene Hunt has been persuaded to allow the reconstruction of a recent crime on the show and, as Taylor delivers his piece to camera, actor Philip Glenister reveals to RT that he was a huge fan of Police 5.

"Shaw is a genuine TV icon," he says. "We all grew up with him. I'll never forget seeing him on Sunday afternoons, followed by The Big Match and Black Beauty. Telly doesn't get much better than that, does it? Police 5 set the agenda for modern shows like Crimewatch. I think Shaw was one of the first guys to understand the real power of TV."

The feeling is mutual. Taylor was honoured to be a guest on the show. "When you get to my age, you've seen an awful lot of police dramas. This - and Life on Mars - is one of the best things I've seen in years. Very funny, very sharp…very different. And you can't help but feel that, had he actually been around at the time, Gene Hunt is the sort of character that would have turned up on Police 5."

Initially, the show went out on Saturday night in the London region only. "When American films were shown over here, they had all their sponsorship slots removed and that left them five minutes short," explains Taylor. "Lew Grade [the TV impresario] said, 'Come up with something that will fill the gap.'"

The Met wasn't keen on the idea of a crime-based programme - until Taylor mentioned that they would be reaching three million potential witnesses every week. "The first one went out on 30 June 1962 and we turned up two cases within days," he says. "A missing getaway car and the mother of two little girls who'd been abandoned."

Taylor eventually took Police 5 to ITV channels all over the country and, in the early 80s, approached the fledgling Channel 4 with an idea for a national, networked crime show. Even now, he can't help smiling when he remembers the encounter. "I pitched the idea to this particular editor. She listened - very politely - and then said, 'I don't think so, Shaw. The public aren't really interested in crime.'"

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Now take a look at our full Ashes to Ashes guide.

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