The Sweeney (2012 film) for the role of Jack Regan. One of Winstone's earliest roles had been in the TV series of the same name as an unnamed youth. Ben Drew, alias rapper Plan B, took the role of George Carter. It was confirmed by the film's director, Nick Love, that the budget was around £3 million. The film was completed in mid-2012, and released on 12 September 2012. The final spend on the production was actually less than £2 million, coming in more than £1 million under budget. BBC's "Top Gear" filmed a car chase for the production in Series 18, Episode 3.
The Sweeney "Shouting George from "The Weeny"" (played by Jim Broadbent). Despite the character's name, he is in fact a direct yet affectionate parody of Jack Regan. In 1977 and 1978, publishers Brown Watson (who specialised in annuals based on TV series') published two editions of 'The Sweeney Annual' featuring a mix of comic strips (some with art by Brian Lewis) and illustrated text stories, interspersed with occasional features on the TV series, articles about policing, puzzles and (in the 1978 annual) an interview with John Thaw and Dennis Waterman. In the early 1980s, the comic "Jackpot" featured a strip called "The