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In his biography John Mills writes that the first four scripts were sensational but the last three were pretty dreadful. "We did our best with them: we even pulled in Mary (Mills' wife and writer) to rewrite one completely unplayable scene; but that didn't save the day. Brian Keith, an excellent actor, seemed completely to lose heart halfway through, and strolled through the scenes looking bewildered and lost."

The series was developed for television by Reginald Rose from Paul Gallico's 1971 novel of the same name. In this The Zoological Gang is comprised of five male ex-Maquis: Col. Pierre Roquebrun ("The Fox"), Jean Soleau ("The Elephant"), Gaston Rive ("The Leopard"), Antoine Petitpierre ("The Tiger") and Alphonse Cousin ("The Wolf").

As the Gestapo Wanted For Terrorist Activities poster in the opening credits displays, The Zoo Gang were made up of:

• Steven Halliday, American OSS Agent (known as "The Fox")
• Captain Thomas Devon, 3rd British Commandos (known as "The Elephant")
• Manouche Roget, French National (known as "The Leopard")
• Lieutenant Alec Marlowe, RCAF (known as "The Tiger")

The fifth member, Manouche's husband Claude Roget, was also a French National (known as "The Wolf"); he was tortured and killed in front of his pregnant wife in 1945.

Manouche Roget's bar/restaurant is Les Pêcheurs (The Fishermen). The exterior used for location footage is a genuine eatery and still operates under that name. It opened in 1945 and since 2014 has featured in the prestigious Michelin Guide. Les Pêcheurs can be found at 18 Quai des Docks, 06300 Nice.

ITC's penultimate action adventure series. Return of the Saint (1978) followed five years later.