Z-Cars been running for seven years but which some considered 'cosy'. The one character present throughout the entire run (though not in every episode) was Bert Lynch, played by James Ellis (though John Phillips as Det. Chief Supt. Robins would reappear sporadically during the show's run – by the end of the series he had become Chief Constable). Other characters in the early days were Stratford Johns (Inspector Barlow), Frank Windsor (Det. Sgt Watt), Robert Keegan (Sgt Blackitt), Joseph Brady (PC "Jock" Weir) and Brian Blessed ("Fancy" Smith). Also in 1960s episodes as David Graham was Colin Welland, later a screenwriter.
James Ellis (actor) James Ellis (actor) James Ellis (15 March 1931 – 8 March 2014) was a Northern Irish actor and stage director with a career stretching over sixty years. Originally a stage actor and director in Northern Ireland, he moved to London in the early 1960s. After gaining recognition in Great Britain through the "Z-Cars" (1962–78) police series on BBC1, he appeared in many other television and film roles. He was also a translator. Ellis was born in Belfast and attended the Methodist College Belfast and later studied at Queen's University Belfast and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He