detective fiction
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal investigation, investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around ...
drama series, set in an unnamed city in the West of England and filmed in
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, featuring the down-at-heel private detective Eddie Shoestring ( Trevor Eve), who presents his own show on Radio West, a local radio station. Broadcast on
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
, the programme lasted for two series, between 30 September 1979 and 21 December 1980, featuring a total of 21 episodes. After the second series was broadcast Eve decided not to return to the role, as he "wanted to diversify into theatre roles". Subsequently, the production team began taking popular elements of the series and revising them for a new series, '' Bergerac'', set in Jersey and first shown in 1981. BBC Books published two novels written by Paul Ableman, ''Shoestring'' (1979) and ''Shoestring's Finest Hour'' (1980).
''Shoestring'' was repeated on terrestrial television in January 2002, with 14 of the 21 episodes being shown airing back to back on daytime
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
. However, due to scheduling, between six and eight minutes of footage was cut from every episode.
The first series was originally scheduled to be released on DVD in its entirety by DD Home Entertainment in 2005, but the idea was abandoned because of the high cost of music rights licensing. In 2011 2, Entertain confirmed that it had picked up the rights to release the series on DVD and announced that the first series would be released on 17 October 2011. They announced that all 11 episodes would be uncut except for one minor music replacement, meaning that it would be the first time the series had been seen uncut since UK Gold repeats of the series in the early 1990s. This DVD was later deleted.
In June 2017, Network Distribution announced that a DVD box set of both series was planned for release on 16 October 2017 and would contain a book on the series written by Andrew Pixley. The complete series (minus the book) has since been re-issued on the BBC label in September 2024.
Synopsis
Eddie Shoestring is a former
computer
A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...
expert who has resigned after suffering a
nervous breakdown
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
tape drive
A tape drive is a data storage device that reads and writes data on a magnetic tape. Magnetic-tape data storage is typically used for offline, archival data storage. Tape media generally has a favorable unit cost and long archival stability.
...
s creating considerable noise. In one episode Shoestring visits such a computer room and finds it mentally distressing. Following a period of convalescence, Shoestring has turned his hand to private detective work. His landlady,
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
Erica Bayliss, arranges for him to investigate a potential scandal involving an entertainer who works for the local Radio West.
After sorting the matter out, Shoestring visits Radio West to brief his client who has just chaired an unsuccessful planning meeting to come up with new programme ideas. Inspired by a sketch of herself made by Shoestring, Radio West's receptionist Sonia proposes that he be hired as the station's "private ear" to present a weekly broadcast entitled 'The Private Ear of Eddie Shoestring', in which members of the public are offered his services in order to investigate cases affecting them, such as disappearances or the unsolved deaths of loved ones. At first, Shoestring drives an old Hillman Hunter, but when this is destroyed, he purchases a bright orange
Ford Cortina
The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car manufactured in various body styles from 1962 to 1982. It was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s.
The Cortina was produced in five generations (Mark I through to Mark V, although of ...
estate. The final episode was a Christmas special. The episode "Find The Lady" featured singer
Toyah Willcox
Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and television presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, she has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 ...
and allowed her to perform some of her own material in character. The building in Welsh Back utilised to portray the Radio West premises was owned by the GPO at the time, and is now a block of flats, Riverside House.
Almost a year after the show finished, Bristol's first independent radio station was started under the name of Radio West on 27 October 1981, broadcasting on 238 metres medium wave - almost the same wavelength as the 237 metres ascribed to Radio West in the show. In 2022, Shoestring was the subject of 'Eddie Shoestring's Bristol', a documentary presented by Xander Brett for
Burst Radio
Bristol University's Radio Station (Burst) is a radio station run by students of the University of Bristol, UK. Its studios are located within the University of Bristol Students' Union building and it broadcasts online.Trevor Eve as Eddie Shoestring – A "Private Ear" for Radio West, who investigates cases for the public free of charge. He is sometimes called "Bootlace", and is nearly always scruffy and dishevelled in his appearance.
*
Michael Medwin
Michael Hugh Medwin (18 July 1923 – 26 February 2020) was an English actor and film producer.
Life and career
Medwin was born in London. He was educated at Canford School, Dorset, and the Institute Fischer, Montreux, Switzerland. He first ...
as Don Satchley – The owner of Radio West. He sometimes finds that Shoestring's cases conflict with his commercial interests.
* Doran Godwin as Erica Bayliss – Shoestring's landlady. As a barrister, she sometimes provides legal advice for the cases he is investigating. There are also some hints of a romance between the pair.
* Liz Crowther as Sonia – The receptionist at Radio West.
Supporting cast
* Colin Maitland as Pete – A sound engineer and studio assistant at Radio West (eight episodes)
* Jeanna L'Etsy as Liz (four episodes)
* Julian Littman as Vincent Dinsdale (four episodes)
* John Vine as Karl Winning – A DJ and announcer at Radio West (three episodes)
* Stewart Bevan as Paul – A DJ and presenter at Radio West (three episodes)
* Alan David as Ben Fischer (two episodes)
*
Toyah Willcox
Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and television presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, she has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 ...
as Toola (one episode, December 1979)
Episodes
Series 1 (1979)
Series 2 (1980)
Novels
Two novels were published to tie-in with the series. Both were written by Paul Ableman. The first, simply titled ''Shoestring'' (1979) was an extended adaptation of the first episode. The first part of the novel gives details of Eddie's breakdown, treatment, and becoming a detective. This was followed by ''Shoestring's Finest Hour'' (1980). This was an original novel, not based on an episode, in which Eddie finds himself a suspect in a murder, and has to discover the real culprit.