King Cinder

King Cinder was a British drama series made for children and screened in 1977. It was based around a young speedway star, played by Peter Duncan, seen above posing on an upright Jawa, and went down well with the nation's post-school telly watchers. I was 12 and spent much of my time wishing my life away so I could be old enough to ride on the road. Back then, learners aged 17 and over could ride a 250 on L plates and when our hero wasn't hammering his methanol-whippet round the track, he was stinking up the streets on an early Kawasaki KH250, one of a clutch of quarter-litre teen lust objects.

Track sequences were shot at Rye House in Hertfordshire using members of the Rye House Rockets, with a young Bobby Garrad standing in for Duncan. Garrad went on to finish third in the 1978 British Under-21 Championship. King Cinder was often described (I'm sure no punnage intended) as 'gritty', dealing as it did with kidnap, organised crime, Corona pop and tank tops (what we Brits call sleeveless pullovers). It's never been released on video or DVD and as far as I know, the only clip available is the one below. MP