Season 12 • Episode 15
LatestSoftly, Softly is a British television drama series, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It centred around the work of regional crime squads, plain-clothes CID officers based in the fictional region of Wyvern, supposedly in the Bristol area of England.
Writing
Troy Kennedy Martin's procedural precision — every interview counts.
Production
Wyvern's grimy authenticity — this IS 1960s regional England.
Acting
Understated performances that defined British TV naturalism.
Creator
Troy Kennedy Martin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The title comes from a 1960s policing slogan: 'Softly, softly, catchee monkey' — emphasizing patience over force. The BBC literally named a show after a motivational poster.
This was a spin-off from Z-Cars that outlived its parent by DECADES, eventually becoming Softly, Softly: Task Force in 1969 when they finally let the characters advance past 1960s rank structures.
GB
