1968, Television: The Champions

The first episode of the British science fiction spy television series "The Champions" was broadcast on 25 September 1968 on ATV Midlands. The series, created by Dennis Spooner, was produced by Monty Berman for ITC Entertainment. The main roles were played by Stuart Damon, Alexandra Bastedo, William Gaunt and Anthony Nicholls. A total of thirty 50-minutes episodes were produced. The theme music was composed by Tony Hatch.

Alexandra Bastedo as Sharron Macready, Stuart Damon as Craig Stirling
and William Gaunt as Richard Barrett

Alexandra Bastedo as Sharron Macready

Stuart Damon as Craig Stirling

William Gaunt as Richard Barrett

Synopsis
Agents Craig Stirling (Stuart Damon), Sharron Macready (Alexandra Bastedo), and Richard Barrett (William Gaunt) work for a United Nations law enforcement organisation called Nemesis, based in Geneva. Barrett is a codebreaker, Stirling a pilot, and Macready a scientist and doctor.

In the first episode, the team is escaping by air following a spying mission in China. Their stolen aircraft, damaged by gunfire during the getaway, crashes in the Himalayas. They are rescued by the inhabitants of Shangri-La, an advanced civilisation living in secret in the mountains of Tibet. From Shangri-La, they receive enhanced abilities, including extrasensory powers that allow them to communicate telepathically and to foresee future events...

Anthony Nicholls as W.L. Tremayne

William Gaunt as Richard Barrett, Stuart Damon as Craig Stirling and
Alexandra Bastedo as Sharron Macready

Main Cast

• Stuart Damon as Craig Stirling
• Alexandra Bastedo as Sharron Macready
• William Gaunt as Richard Barrett
• Anthony Nicholls as W.L. Tremayne.
• The list of guest stars includes Burt Kwouk, Peter Wyngarde, Basil Dignam, Anton Rodgers, Imogen Hassall, Allan Cuthbertson, Michael Gough, Peter Arne, Steven Berkoff, Julian Glover, Gerald Harper, John Woodvine, John Carson, Jennie Linden, Donald Sutherland, Colin Blakely, Patricia Haines, Bernard Lee, Philip Madoc, Jeremy Brett, Gabrielle Drake, David Langton, William Franklyn, and Paul Eddington, among others.

Opening and closing credits episode 1