''C.A.T.S. Eyes'' is a British

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

series made by TVS for

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

between 1985 and 1987. The series was a spin-off from ''

The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police procedural drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 24 November 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a fema ...

'', and saw

Jill Gascoine Jill Viola Gascoine (11 April 1937 – 28 April 2020) was an English actress and novelist. She portrayed Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes in the 1980s television series ''The Gentle Touch'' and its spin-off series '' C.A.T.S. Eyes''. In the 1 ...

reprise her role as Maggie Forbes, portrayed as having left the police force to join an all-female private detective agency called "Eyes", based in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, that is a front for a

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

team called C.A.T.S. (Covert Activities Thames Section). The first series of ''C.A.T.S. Eyes'' was shown on Friday nights in 1985, before moving to a Saturday night slot for the second and third series. The series was a ratings success, regularly in the top twenty most-watched programmes each week of broadcast.

Synopsis

The ''C.A.T.S. Eyes'' team consisted of former police officer Maggie Forbes (

), refined

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

graduate Pru Standfast (

Rosalyn Landor Rosalyn Landor (born 7 October 1958) is an English film, television and stage actress and audio book narrator. Early life Landor was born in 1958 in Hampstead, London, the daughter of English actor and radio presenter Neil Landor and of an Irish ...

), the leader of the unit, and streetwise computer expert Frederica "Fred" Smith (

Leslie Ash Leslie Ash (born 19 February 1960) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles in '' Quadrophenia'' (1979), ITV series '' C.A.T.S. Eyes'' (1985–1987), the BBC sitcom '' Men Behaving Badly'' (1992–1998), drama '' Where the Heart ...

). Nigel Beaumont (

Don Warrington Don Warrington MBE (born Don Williams, 23 May 1951) is a Trinidadian-born British actor. He is best known for playing Philip Smith in the ITV sitcom '' Rising Damp'' (1974–78), and Commissioner Selwyn Patterson in the BBC detective series ' ...

) was the "man from the ministry" overseeing their activities. For the second series onwards, the Eyes detective agency front had been dropped; Pru was replaced by the similarly upper-class but more frivolous Tessa "Tess" Robinson (

Tracy Louise Ward Tracy Louise Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort (née Ward; born 22 December 1958) is a British duchess, environmental activist, and former actress. She is usually known as Tracy Worcester, the married Style (form of address), style that she often ...

); and Maggie was elevated to team leader. The only other character from ''The Gentle Touch'' to make an appearance in the series was Maggie's love interest, DI Mike Turnbull (

Bernard Holley Bernard John Holley (9 August 1940 – 22 November 2021) was a British actor whose career spanned more than six decades. Life and career Holley was born in Eastcote, Middlesex. He attended Kilburn Grammar School and the Rose Bruford Drama Sch ...

), who appeared in the second episode of the first series, "The Black Magic Man", to help her with a case. Although they had still been a couple at the end of ''The Gentle Touch'', it was implied in ''C.A.T.S. Eyes'' that since that time they had ended their relationship and were still good friends. However, their relationship was left somewhat ambiguous and unresolved. In the first episode, "Goodbye Jenny Wren", Maggie refers to her son, Steve Forbes, as having "taken off to Australia". She said that if he hadn't done so, she would not have volunteered to join the organisation. An ongoing reference throughout the series was whenever Maggie was addressed as "Miss", she would correct it sharply to "Mrs" - referring to her being widowed during the first episode of ''The Gentle Touch''.

Cast

as Maggie Forbes — A former police officer, and leader of the unit following Pru's departure. *

as Frederica 'Fred' Smith — A streetwise computer expert. *

as Pru Standfast — The leader of the unit, and a refined Oxford graduate. (Series 1) *

as Tessa Robinson — A new recruit to the unit following Pru's departure and Maggie's promotion. (Series 2—3) *

as Nigel Beaumont — A ministry officer who oversees the work of the unit.

Production

The series was filmed in the then-closed

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...

, as well as locations in

Medway Medway is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of City of Roche ...

and

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

. All filming was done on location, and post-production editing was performed at the TVS Television Centre in Maidstone. The cars used by the regular cast in the series were loaned by the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

. In the first series, Pru drove a 1985 Ford Escort 1.6i Mark III Cabriolet, which was also featured at the end of the first series title sequence. Fred had a 1984 Fiesta XR2 Mark II, and Maggie used 1985 Escort 1.6 Mark III. In the second series, Fred and Tessa drove 1986 white and Azure blue Ford Escort RS Turbos respectively, with the latter being the only one produced in that colour, whilst Maggie now had a 1986 Ford Sierra Mark I. Similar-looking 1987 models of the vehicles were also used in the third series.

Availability

There has been no domestic commercial release of the series on any format, due to ongoing rights issues. After the production company, TVS, dropped out of the ITV network in 1992, it underwent a number of takeovers. During these years much of the original production paperwork and sales documentation was lost, meaning that the distribution rights to the series could not be determined. The same problem affects the majority of the TVS programme archive. However, a VHS video containing the episodes "Goodbye Jenny Wren", "Frightmare" and "The Double Dutch Deal" was released in Germany in 1987. The theme music from the first series by

John Kongos John Theodore Kongos (born 6 August 1945) is a South African singer and songwriter of Greek ancestry, best known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single " He's Gonna Step on You Again", on which Happy Mondays based their hit " Step On". His other big hit ...

was also released as a single in 1985, with a vocal version on the B-side sung by Louise Burton.

Episodes

Series 1 (1985)

Series 2 (1986)

Series 3 (1987)

References

External links

* * {{Epguides, CATSEyes 1985 British television series debuts 1987 British television series endings 1980s British crime drama television series 1980s British workplace drama television series ITV crime dramas British television spinoffs British English-language television shows Television shows produced by Television South (TVS) British action television series British detective television series Television shows set in Kent Television shows shot in Kent British spy television series