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Shoestring

  • TV Series
  • 1979–1980
  • 50m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
516
YOUR RATING
Trevor Eve in Shoestring (1979)
Drama

Lighthearted detective series set in the West Country, about radio-phone-in detective Eddie Shoestring.Lighthearted detective series set in the West Country, about radio-phone-in detective Eddie Shoestring.Lighthearted detective series set in the West Country, about radio-phone-in detective Eddie Shoestring.

  • Creators
    • Robert Banks Stewart
    • Richard Harris
  • Stars
    • Trevor Eve
    • Michael Medwin
    • Doran Godwin
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    516
    YOUR RATING
    • Creators
      • Robert Banks Stewart
      • Richard Harris
    • Stars
      • Trevor Eve
      • Michael Medwin
      • Doran Godwin
    • 14User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 3 BAFTA Awards
      • 3 nominations total

    Episodes21

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    Top cast99+

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    Trevor Eve
    Trevor Eve
    • Eddie Shoestring
    • 1979–1980
    Michael Medwin
    Michael Medwin
    • Don Satchley
    • 1979–1980
    Doran Godwin
    Doran Godwin
    • Erica Bayliss
    • 1979–1980
    Liz Crowther
    • Sonia
    • 1979–1980
    Colin Maitland
    Colin Maitland
    • Sound Engineer…
    • 1979–1980
    Jeanna L'Esty
    • Liz
    • 1979–1980
    Julian Littman
    • Vincent Dinsdale…
    • 1979–1980
    Stewart Bevan
    Stewart Bevan
    • DJ…
    • 1979
    John Vine
    • Disc Jockey…
    • 1979–1980
    John Cannon
    • Man in Betting Shop…
    • 1979–1980
    Alan David
    Alan David
    • Dr. Ben Fischer
    • 1979–1980
    Peter Dean
    • Jack…
    • 1979
    Andy Bradford
    Andy Bradford
    • Phil…
    • 1979
    Geoffrey Bateman
    Geoffrey Bateman
    • DJ…
    • 1979–1980
    Nicholas Donnelly
    • Insp Adams…
    • 1979–1980
    Pippa Sparkes
    • Phone-in Girl
    • 1979
    Sheila Dunn
    • Carol…
    • 1979–1980
    Shirley Anne Field
    Shirley Anne Field
    • Barbara Knight
    • 1979
    • Creators
      • Robert Banks Stewart
      • Richard Harris
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews14

    7.5516
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    Featured reviews

    buckaroobanzai50

    One two buckle my shoe...string

    Why isn't this available on video? So many other series are lauded and repeated over and over (Only Fools and Horses, etc.) and go on forever, turning up at Christmas with so called 'specials'. We could certainly do with some more Eddie as the rumours indicate. But I fear, as the times have now changed, and we have become jaded by the amount of detective dramas that the TV channels pump out as a safe bet to win ratings, some new Shoestring wouldn't look as innovative as it quite clearly was. The Beeb for once has repeated something watchable, as a while back, I was able to see some classic episodes again. Especially good was the one where Eddie loses it with a villain at the end.

    Get your arse in gear BBC...Put this thing out on DVD!! Now!!
    9liamfromlimerick

    Brilliant series that I would love to see again

    One of the great shows that lives on in the memories.

    Based in Radio West, Trevor Eve plays Eddie Shoestring, a former cop who, in a plot line with which those familiar with the US series Midnight Caller will identify, proceeds to investigate the crimes off-the-air.

    Whereas Midnight Caller worked better when the main character was confined to the studio, Shoestring works best when Shoestring is out and about.

    Unfortunately, the absence any reruns or repeats, and the unavailability of a DVD version (apparently due to copyright and licensing problems) means that it will be virtually impossible to ever see this again, while we are subjected to endless repeats of much lesser shows.

    A classic - would absolutely love if the BBC would rerun it.
    ALIZEEBUM

    Great Laidback Detective Series

    About a year ago I got one of the VHS tapes of Shoestring featuring Toyah Wilcox.I used to enjoy Trevor Eve as the chilled out gumshoe who solved murders & mysteries on the West Coast of England when I was a teenager.

    Shoestring is now very dated, it seems to be from an era further back than the late 70's but I don't hold that against it.It is charming and witty and Trevor Eve is excellent.

    As far as I know only 2 VHS compilations were ever made and the other one is rare & expensive to buy.Why can't ITV or whoever release this great series on DVD? It really is very good and has that great quirky 'English' style that still holds up today.

    Check a famous online auction site for the tape.
    10ShadeGrenade

    The Private Eye Who Became A Private Ear

    'Shoestring' is, in my view, the finest detective series the B.B.C. has ever made. The same production team were responsible for the later ( and vastly inferior ) 'Bergerac', but it had something the Jersey-based show lacked - Trevor Eve. In his pyjama jacket, Beatles-styled mop ( Eve had once played Paul McCartney on stage ) and sporting a fashionable moustache, the character could easily have crossed the line into parody ( he also had a habit of sketching the people he met in the course of cases ), but Eve made Eddie warm and believable.

    Shoestring was originally a computer programmer who'd lost his job as the result of a nervous breakdown. His landlady, Erica Bayliss, worked in the police archives, and was a big help to him as she had access to confidential files. After a case involving a dead prostitute, Eddie was offered his own show by Radio West. Nowhere was Eve's acting ability more impressive than the scene in the second episode where Eddie suffers a fit of nerves whilst on air for the first time. Admittedly, his cases were small beer by comparison with U.S. detectives such as 'Philip Marlowe' - religious cults, fake antiques dealers, punk rockers and dangerous Christmas toys - but the scripts were good and the cast performed them excellently. Special mention must go to George Fenton for his wonderful music, and Sid Sutton for his titles.

    'Shoestring' was a big hit ( Cary Grant was reputedly a fan ), even though its second season clashed with 'The Professionals' on I.T.V., and should have run for five years at least. But it was not to be. Fearing typecasting, Trevor Eve quit after two. Due to complicated music rights issues, we are unlikely to see 'Shoestring' on D.V.D. for the foreseeable future. A great shame.
    Powysw

    Intense Gripping Crime Show

    Shoestring was a unique series, a ratings winner for the BBC it was perhaps the most popular thing around at the time and spurned a fashion for loud pyjama style shirts! At the core of the show was Trevor Eve, a superb actor who played Eddie Shoestring with power and frightening intensity. Always on edge, you never knew how Eddie, the former mental patient turned Private Eye would react, and you kind of guessed another breakdown was always on the cards (none more so than in Mocking Bird). There wasnt a bad episode in this show, and Eve quit after two series leaving us with a show whose legacy was untarnished, giving a good lesson to other series that carry on long past their time. The show gave us some superb cameos too. Toyah Wilcox turns up as a wannabe pop star long before she was one and Christopher Biggins, Peter Dean, Michael Elphick, Eric Richard, Sean Arnold not forgetting Bert Kwouk

    (better knowk as Peter Seller's sidekick Cato) all turn up in this series. The last episode The Dangerous Game is like a roll call of the future stars of The Bill, Boon, Dear John and I am sure many others besides. Eddie went out on a high and there are rumours that the eagle may fly again, Trevor Eve's wife dropping a less than subtle hint in a recent interview. I must mention Michael Medwin & Liz Crowther as the radio station stalwarts and of course Erica Bayliss, Eddie's long suffering girlfriend without whom this series would have missed something. Despite this, the glory of this show beloged to one man, Trevor Eve.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The radio station was called Radio West. In 1981, shortly after the series had finished, a real-life radio station of the same name was launched in Bristol. It used a picture of Trevor Eve as Eddie Shoestring in the publicity information announcing its launch. The real-life Radio West was not very successful, but merged in 1985 with Wiltshire Radio to form the station "GWR". GWR became very successful, and has now grown into a large company whose portfolio includes stations such as CLASSIC FM
    • Connections
      Featured in The Cult of...: Shoestring (2008)

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    FAQ16

    • How many seasons does Shoestring have?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 10, 1983 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Ring så spanar vi
    • Filming locations
      • Brent Cross Shopping Centre, Hendon, London, England, UK
    • Production company
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 50m
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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