Look and Read
Spywatch

HOME | STORIES | WHAT AIRED WHEN               PREVIOUS STORY | NEXT STORY


[TEACHER'S NOTES]

This time-travelling story jumps from past (the Second World War) to present and features a computer virus called Professor CD Rom who demonstrates various language points using songs and animation.

#EPISODE TITLE1st AIRING

1.   Sent Away 15-Jan-96
Starkey goes to Westbourne Library and Museum to do some research for a book he is writing about his experiences as an evacuee in World War II.
2.   Grainger Danger 22-Jan-96
The evacuees are finding it hard to settle down and Mary has to earn her keep by working as a maid. In the present day, Starkey explains rationing to Miss Lee and discusses why children were evacuated from the towns.
3.   Spies All Around 29-Jan-96
Amy's cows have escaped and it looks as if the fence has been cut deliberately. Polly thinks Grainger wants to drive them off the farm, but Norman reckons he's a spy.
4.   Trouble For Mary 05-Feb-96
An Italian POW arrives to help on the farm and Starkey looks back on some wartime posters. Miss Millington accuse Mary of stealing.
5.   The Poster Comes To Life 12-Feb-96
Norman goes fishing and befriends an American GI called Mike Johnson. Polly and Dennis make contact with Mary at Westbourne Hall, and then meet Vivienne Belling, who looks just like the spy on the poster. Joan the goat has got loose and has eaten Amy's vegetables. Meanwhile, Norman gets a letter from his mum and feels homesick.
6.   Bombs in the Country 26-Feb-96
Belling claims she is a government photographer but the children are convinced she is a spy. Mary overhears a suspicious conversation between Miss Millington and Grainger. Dennis and Polly spot a German plane.
7.   Surprise 04-Mar-96
Mary searches Westbourne Hall for evidence that Grainger is a spy and there's a surprise in store for the children in the hideout.
8.   The Pilot 11-Mar-96
The children capture a German pilot.
9.   The Secret Quarry 18-Mar-96
The children discover a tunnel leading from an abandoned quarry to Westbourne Hall. Grainger catches the boys, but they are rescued by Luigi. The children's confidence in their GI friend is misplaced.
10.   Captured 25-Mar-96
The children discover Grainger's secret.


Written by Derek Farmer, music by Peter Howell, executive producer Frank Flynn, producer/director Nicholas Whines.
Starring Keith Barron as Starkey, Josephine D'Arby as Lee, Roger Kitter as CD Rom, Raymond Pickard as Norman Starkey, Russell Tovey as Dennis Seales Sophie Ward as Polly Hobbs, Josie McCabe as Mary Parker, Rosemary Leach as Aunty Amy, Lesley Joseph as Miss Millington, Norman Bird as Cyril Jenkins, Abigail Thaw as Vivienne Belling, Terence Maynard as Mike Johnston and Joseph Alessi as Luigi Balzoni.
BBC Online's Look and Read section currently features exercises associated with Spywatch. I'm able to mirror this content should they remove it (which is very unlikely actually).


Spywatch aired during the following terms. See the Air Dates page for exact details.
      Spring 1996
      Autumn 1997
      Autumn 1999
      Autumn 2000


If you have any information, opinions or recollections to add to this page, please mail me, ben@lookandread.fsnet.co.uk



This information is based on what was published in the Radio Times and similar sources. It is not necessarily complete or reliable, as space constraints or misprints may have led to inaccuracy.
Most cast and crew credits are taken from TV Chronicles (see Links page).