Have a butcher's at the new Sweeney

Ray Winstone and Ben Drew as Regan and Carter - hang on, where's Gene Hunt?

The way they were: Dennis Water in The Sweeney 1977

The new Sweeney film opens in September, starring everyone’s go-to gruff cockney Ray Winstone and rapper, actor and indy film maker Ben Drew (AKA Plan B) in the roles made famous by John Thaw as Regan and Dennis Waterman as Carter.
    The makers recognized that the appeal of the original series was great characters, gritty dialogue (“We’re the Sweeney and we haven’t had our dinner”) and some thumping good car chases - followed by some thumping. Expect plenty of the latter two, although it’s hard to find a warehouse empty, except for a pile of cardboard boxes, in London these days.
  
   Can the Sweeney still fly in the twenty-first century, driving a Focus ST? Or will they suddenly realise they've been dead for a while and need DCI Gene Hunt to take them to the pub?

Click here for my Top 10 Sweeney cars and the updated version of the excellent Sweeney! The Official Companion, by Robert Fairclough and Mike Kenwood, released August 31.