''The Broken Horseshoe'' was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

first aired by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in 1952 featuring

John Robinson John Robinson may refer to: Academics *John Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), Irish astronomer and physicist * John J. Robinson (1918–1996), historian and author of ''Born in Blood'' *John Talbot Robinson (1923–2001), paleontologist *John ...

, John Byron, Andrew Crawford and Robert Adair. A

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

series, the plot concerns a public-spirited doctor's involvement with a horse-doping gang after he protects a young woman who is a witness to a murder carried out by the syndicate. It was written by

Francis Durbridge Francis Henry Durbridge (; 25 November 1912 – 10 April 1998) was an English dramatist and author, best known for the creation of the character Paul Temple, the gentlemanly detective who appeared in 16 BBC multi-part radio serials from 1 ...

and aired in six half-hour parts on Saturday nights. It was the first thriller serial aired by the BBC.

Episodes

*1. Mr. Constance *2. Mr. Felix Gallegos *3. Miss Jackie Leroy *4. Mr. Ernest Carrol *5. Mr. Mark Fenton *6. Operation Horseshoe

Cast

*John Robinson as Mark Fenton *John Byron as Inspector George Bellamy *Andrew Crawford as Dr. Duncan Craig *Robert Adair as Felix Galegos *Elizabeth Maude as Sister Rogers *

Barbara Lott Barbara Dulcie Lott (15 May 1920 – 19 December 2002) was a British actress who played Phyllis Lumsden in the BBC television sitcom '' Sorry!''. She also appeared in ''Coronation Street'', '' Rings on Their Fingers'', ''Survivors'', ''Z-Cars'', ...

as Della Freeman

Archive status

''The Broken Horseshoe'' was broadcast live from the historic studios at

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

and never actually recorded. As with all the 1950s Francis Durbridge-based serials, no episodes survive.

Adaptation

In 1953 a film '' The Broken Horseshoe'' was made based on the series starring

Robert Beatty Robert Rutherford Beatty (19 October 1909 – 3 March 1992) was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK. Early years Beatty was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the son of ...

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broken Horseshoe BBC television dramas 1952 British television series endings 1952 British television series debuts Black-and-white British television shows Lost BBC episodes 1950s British television miniseries 1950s British drama television series 1950s British crime television series