Z-Cars Watt), James Ellis (Bert Lynch) and Brian Blessed ("Fancy" Smith). Barlow and Watt were later spun into a separate series "Softly, Softly". The title comes from the radio call signs allocated by Lancashire Constabulary. Lancashire police divisions were lettered from north to the south: "A" Division (based in Ulverston) was the detached part of Lancashire at the time around Barrow-in-Furness, "B" Division was Lancaster, and so on. Letters further into the alphabet were in the south around the Manchester and Liverpool areas. (See also the Wikipedia page about Home Office radio.) The TV series took the non-existent signs Z-Victor 1
Ray Smith (actor) old. After leaving school Smith became a builder's labourer. Following national service in the army, he began acting professionally at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Cardiff, then joined the Swansea Grand Theatre as an assistant stage manager. He later moved to London, where he spent a year unemployed before he landed a part in a play about the Hungarian uprising. Smith made his television debut in "Shadows of Heroes" in 1959, and then his appearances in series such as "Z-Cars" and "A Family at War" made him known to the public. He also appeared as Detective Inspector Percy Firbank