The Sweeney

The Sweeney

Det. Insp. Jack Regan

Det. Sgt. George Carter

Det. Chief Insp. Frank Haskins

Bill the Driver

Many of the famous catchphrases used by Regan and Carter (e.g., "Get your trousers on - you're nicked" and "We're The Sweeney, son, and we haven't had our dinner yet") were the result of the programme's researchers studying the way real members of the Flying Squad ("The Sweeney") talked when off-duty in pubs near New Scotland Yard.

Whenever there was a car chase which ended in a crash scene, the cars used would invariably be 3.8 litre 'S' type Jaguars. This is because the stunt drivers found them to be the safest cars to use. The same cars would be fixed up, resprayed and re-used a number of times.

In several episodes, an ambulance featured in the plot. It was always the same vehicle, carrying the fictitious registration number SJA 374R, SJA 374S (The Sweeney: Loving Arms (1976)) or SJA 374T (The Sweeney: Bait (1978)), with the suffix letter changing according to the year of filming because it denotes the year of registration. SJA stands for St John Ambulance, who owned the vehicle, and 374 is 374 Division, based at Kingston Upon Thames.