Preventers are go!

They're cool, they're sophisticated and they wear jolly nice sunglasses. But don't be fooled by that suave exterior. When confronted by evil, these three individuals combine to create a force so lethal that even the world's most ruthless criminals are left quaking. Well, sort of.

Meet Penelope Gold, Craig Sturdy and Mike Stallion - together known as The Preventers. Their mission? To anticipate the evil activities of a merciless media tycoon. And to, er, prevent them.

The year is 2000 and something-or-other, and the wicked Roger Mordick is hell-bent on global domination. His plan? To brainwash the planet by broadcasting nostalgic pap via his network of TV channels - thereby convincing the world's population that it's living in the Sixties.

That way, he figures, we'll all become so hippy-dippy and flowery- powery that taking over will be a relative doddle. Mike, Craig and Penny could be society's last hope.

But don't panic just yet. Mr Mordick, you see, isn't entirely real. Nor, for that matter, are our trio. The Preventers is, in fact, a new ITV comedy, a spoof on Sixties' series such as The Avengers and The Champions. Its heroes - played by Chris England, Robert Harley and Morwenna Banks - are ordinary citizens plucked from obscurity and moulded into a dynamic force in the battle against nastiness.

"The only problem," explains Robert (who plays Craig Sturdy), "is that they're stupid. Half the time they haven't a clue what they're doing. So although they always succeed, it's invariably by accident."

In fact, the very reason the characters are selected for the job is that they're such complete losers. "They get chosen precisely because nobody will miss them," says Robert. "This is crucial because their mission is hush-hush."

Craig Sturdy starts off as a fourth-rate Scottish pub singer, Mike Stallion is a sadistic games teacher and Penelope Gold is a mousy librarian from Stoke. Only when abducted and re-programmed do they emerge as a force to be reckoned with.

Morwenna, who you may recognise from the comedy show Absolutely, plays Penny - inspired by the likes of Diana Rigg and Honor Blackman. "I do her with a vaguely foreign accent," she says. "It's not one you could place, but it gives her a certain style."

And her relationship with the chaps? "She wouldn't touch either with a bargepole, to be honest. But they never realise."

As you'd expect, all three are equipped with ingenious gadgetry. Penny has a compact which opens safes. Each has a phone in their shoe. And other handy devices - such as a briefcase which turns into a powerboat - will, you can guarantee, conveniently materialise when necessary.

The characters zip around in a swish Sunbeam. Swish, but not entirely ideal. In fact, while Penny and Craig sit in the front, Mike is hunched up in the tiny back seat with his knees bashing his chin.

The show also features guest appearances from Chris Langham, Neil Mullarkey and Simon Williams. Simon plays Lord Timothy Belvoir-St Nash, whose surname is pronounced decidedly differently from the way it's written, and sounds so rude the writers are amazed they got it past their legal team!

Those writers, inciden-tally, are the very people playing the lead roles. All three have already established themselves in the comedy world after first meeting as Cambridge graduates who performed in the university's famous Footlights revue. Robert has appeared in many comedy series, including Paramount City, Harry Enfield's Television Programme and Paul Merton - The Series. Morwenna, twice nominated as best actress in the British Comedy Awards, has starred alongside Jo Brand and Alexei Sayle, and Chris England is best known as co-writer of the successful play An Evening With Gary Lineker.

The pilot of The Preventers will hit our screens shortly. But their main mission, in the form of an entire series, will start later in the year. You have been warned.

Copyright 1996 MGN LTD
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