The Tale of Sweeney Todd character of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, originated in an 1846–47 penny dreadful entitled "The String of Pearls". In 1847, George Dibdin Pitt adapted the story for a stage melodrama. A directed by George King was the first screen version. Christopher Bond's 1973 stage adaptation was musicalized by Stephen Sondheim in 1979. Schlesinger's film is a dramatic departure from the previous narratives. It dispenses with all the characters except Todd and Lovett, adds the plotline involving the missing diamonds, and offers a completely different reason for Todd's murder spree. The Victorian era locales were filmed in Dublin,
The Sweeney the same time. In September 2018 Network confirmed on Twitter that Blu-ray releases of Series 2 to 4 had been abandoned due to 'lack of demand'. The Sweeney The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It was made by Thames Television for broadcast on the ITV network. The programme's title derives from 'Sweeney Todd', which is Cockney rhyming slang for "Flying Squad". It starred John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman