List of The Sandbaggers characters

This is a list of the main and recurring fictional characters from the Yorkshire Television espionage series, The Sandbaggers.

Main characters

Neil Burnside

Neil D. Burnside[1] is a career intelligence officer, Director of Operations ("D-Ops") of SIS, a former Sandbagger and ex-Royal Marine commando.[2] He is devious, manipulative, and by turns dour, brusque, aggressive and independent-minded, putting him frequently in conflict with others. He is fiercely patriotic and devoted to the preservation of Britain's national security, but while the KGB makes life difficult enough, his main source of antagonism throughout the series are people on his side: superiors in SIS, whom he alternately considers too cautious or too reckless; the self-serving politicians who grant or withhold permission for his covert operations; territory-hungry MI5 officers; and entrenched civil servants. Once a heavy drinker, Burnside is a teetotaler since becoming D-Ops, choosing to drink Coca-Cola rather than run the risk of having to make difficult decisions while under the influence of alcohol. His single-minded devotion to his job cost him his marriage some time before the series begins, though he remains on close terms with his former father-in-law, Sir Geoffrey Wellingham, the Permanent Undersecretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This provides him a conduit through which he can bypass both the Deputy Chief of SIS and C himself. His one attempt at a serious relationship is with Laura Dickens, a Sandbagger recruit in the first series. Burnside's attraction to her becomes a source of tension between his usually non-existent personal life and his professional duties.

The series begins six months after Burnside has become Director of Operations, and one running theme is the relatively high casualty rate that his directorate suffers. While fiercely protective of his agents, especially from what he views as his superiors' willingness to squander their lives on unwise missions, Burnside is himself willing to use the Sandbaggers as pawns if doing so will protect Britain's national security interests. Burnside is played by Roy Marsden.

Willie Caine

The senior Sandbagger (or "Sandbagger One") and head of the Special Operations Section, Caine is a former Paratrooper[3] and, according to Burnside, the best operative of his kind in the world. Grounded and straightforward where his boss is not, Caine is not afraid to speak his mind, but remains steadfastly loyal to Burnside. Although he dislikes both violence and guns, he is prepared to use them when necessary. Besides Burnside, Caine is the only character who appears in every episode of the series; he is played by Ray Lonnen.

Sir James Greenley

The Head of SIS when the series begins, code-named "C". A diplomat by training, Greenley is initially treated with suspicion by Burnside. Over the course of the first two series, Burnside comes to both trust and become fond of Greenley, who has the difficult task of balancing political as well as security concerns. Greenley becomes an almost paternal figure to Burnside, often protecting him from the consequences of his worst instincts and keeping the peace between Burnside and Matthew Peele, the deputy chief. He retires at the end of the second series as a result of angina, and Burnside is disappointed to see him replaced, in "Operation Kingmaker," by the less benevolent John Tower Gibbs (Dennis Burgess), who remains C for the rest of the series. Greenley is played by Richard Vernon.

Sir Geoffrey Wellingham

Sir Geoffrey Wellingham, KCMG, DSC[4] is the Permanent Undersecretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that oversees SIS. As Burnside's former father-in-law, he is also Burnside's contact within Whitehall, and the two both share information and use each other. This avenue of communication is somewhat outside regular channels, and although it can be useful for both Burnside and the SIS, on occasion Burnside's superiors, particularly Deputy Chief Matthew Peele, show resentment of his relationship with Wellingham. Despite their relationship, the two men occasionally become adversaries when their agendas differ. Due to his background, experience, and position, Wellingham can be a formidable opponent for Burnside, and reminds him of that more than once. Wellingham appears in all but two episodes in the series and is played by Alan MacNaughtan.

Matthew Peele

The Deputy Head of SIS, the former Head of Hong Kong Station and, like Burnside, a career intelligence officer. Unlike Burnside, however, Peele has little field experience and is more concerned with going by the book, avoiding rocking the political boat, and furthering his own ambitions to higher rank. As a result, Peele often opposes what he sees as Burnside's recklessness, contempt for the proper chain of command, and lack of political tact. He is disliked by his subordinates and considered a tyrant with no opinions of his own, but he is a more complex character than he first appears. He proves himself just as committed to the security of Britain as Burnside, in his own way, and their relationship evolves over the course of the series to one of mutual respect (if still antagonistic). Peele appears in all but two episodes and is played by Jerome Willis.

John Tower Gibbs

Introduced in the last episode of the second series ("Operation Kingmaker"), John Tower Gibbs replaces Sir James Greenley as C and remains in that capacity until the end of the series. Gibbs is a career intelligence officer, former head of the Washington and Bonn Stations and working with the Joint Intelligence Commission when he is appointed C. Unlike his predecessor, Gibbs disapproves of Burnside's methods and is suspicious of the special relationship with the CIA, preferring to see it phased out; for his part, Burnside views Gibbs as a tyrant who will stifle his (Burnside's) ability to run his directorate. They clash throughout the third series, but in one episode where Burnside is on leave and Caine is Acting D-Ops, Caine and Gibbs work very well together. He is played by Dennis Burgess.

Jeff Ross

The head of the CIA's London station, Ross is probably Burnside's closest friend. The two often have lunch and work together to preserve the "special relationship" between the two intelligence agencies. Ross also takes a keen interest in Burnside's personal life and often urges his friend to actually have one. The close relationship between the two, however, does not prevent Ross from using Burnside and the SIS on at least one occasion. In some episodes, Burnside and Ross are even working at cross-purposes. He is played by Bob Sherman.

Other characters

The junior Sandbaggers in series one are Jake Landy (David Glyder), Alan Denson (Steven Grives), and Laura Dickens (Diane Keen); series two introduces Tom Elliot (David Beames), and Mike Wallace (Michael Cashman); of these, only Wallace survives to the end of the series, while the rest are killed in the field. Burnside's capable and fiercely loyal personal assistant is Diane Lawler (Elizabeth Bennett), who retires and is replaced in "Operation Kingmaker" by Marianne Straker (Sue Holderness). Karen Milner (Jana Sheldon) is a CIA field officer who reports to Jeff Ross and sometimes works alongside one or more of Burnside's Sandbaggers on assignments; she is only seen in the second series.

For the second and first two episodes of the third series, Burnside enjoys a friendly relationship with Edward Tyler (Peter Laird), the SIS Director of Intelligence (D-Int), and considers him to be the finest D-Int he's ever seen. Tyler reveals himself to have been a double agent for 23 years in the third series episode "To Hell with Justice," and asks the KGB to lift him in Malta--after leaving a trail for SIS to follow and stop the lift, he commits suicide using a KGB-provided cyanide pill before Burnside can escort him back to the UK. He is replaced as D-Int by the less capable Paul Dalgetty (David Robb), who is rarely seen and has a completely antagonistic relationship with Burnside, openly maneuvering to replace the latter as D-Ops. At the conclusion of the series, Dalgetty remains D-Int.

Bibliography

Mackintosh, Ian. (1978). The Sandbaggers. Corgi Childrens.

References

Burnside's middle initial, D., is shown on an envelope in the opening credits sequence which reads, "N.D. Burnside, Esq."
Burnside's past as a Royal Marine is mentioned by his former father-in-law, Sir Geoffrey Wellingham, in the pilot episode, "First Principles".
Caine's past as a Paratrooper is mentioned by Burnside's former father-in-law, Sir Geoffrey Wellingham, in the pilot episode, "First Principles".
Sir Geoffrey is shown wearing his KCMG around his neck, and miniature medals of his lesser honours on the lapel of his tailcoat, in episode 1.07, "Special Relationship"

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[1] Burnside's middle initial, D., is shown on an envelope in the opening credits sequence which reads, "N.D. Burnside, Esq."

[2] Burnside's past as a Royal Marine is mentioned by his former father-in-law, Sir Geoffrey Wellingham, in the pilot episode, "First Principles".

[3] Caine's past as a Paratrooper is mentioned by Burnside's former father-in-law, Sir Geoffrey Wellingham, in the pilot episode, "First Principles".

[4] Sir Geoffrey is shown wearing his KCMG around his neck, and miniature medals of his lesser honours on the lapel of his tailcoat, in episode 1.07, "Special Relationship"