Freewheelers is a British television series made by Southern Television between 1968 and 1973 for the ITV network. It was created by the television producer Chris McMaster, who was aware of the popularity of adult action series such as The Avengers and Department S amongst teenagers and saw the potential of a version aimed at a younger audience. Plot In the opening story, three young people become caught up in the plans of ex-Nazi officer Karl von Gelb to "reverse the verdict of the last war" and inflict revenge on his former enemies. Under the direction of Colonel Buchan of MI5, the trio thwart Gelb's scheme to launch Polaris missiles on London from a captured nuclear submarine. This set the template for future stories, with the teenagers regularly preventing Gelb from carrying out massive and ingenious threats to Britain's security. Background and production The format of fast-paced action and outdoor locations was enormously successful and the programme enjoyed a large home audience as well as gaining overseas sales. In colour from the fourth series, location filming moved out of the South of England with scenes shot in Spain and Majorca. Future locations would include Amsterdam, Sweden and the Ardèche. High-tech gadgets were a regular component, often machines developed for peaceful purposes seized by the villain and turned to criminal use. Teams of scientists were also regularly kidnapped and coerced into building similar gadgets: devices for changing the weather, controlling minds and melting metal at great distances all featured. Strong incidental and closing music by Laurie Johnson and a memorable theme tune, the Carnaby Street Pop Orchestra's "Teenage Carnival" composed by Keith Mansfield, helped maintain the momentum, and Von Gelb's appearances were usually accompanied by stirring passages from Wagner's Ring Cycle. The frequent waterborne sequences of the programme were recorded using Southern Television's unique marine outside broadcast unit, known as Southerner, which also doubled as von Gelb's ship. Cast and characters Ronald Leigh-Hunt, as the British secret service agent Colonel Buchan, was the most regular cast member, appearing in series 1–4 and series 6. In 1971, he had a major part in the feature film Le Mans and when production of that overran by two months, he was unavailable for series 5; the absence of his character from the series was explained as him being on an overseas mission. The teenagers, almost invariably referred to as "the kids", varied over the