A man with phobias is brainwashed into carrying out acts of terrorism. RICHARD PHILLIPS-JONES looks at Armchair Thriller: The Girl Who Walked Quickly (1978)
BROADCAST: In four parts 28 March-06 April 1978
STARRING: Denis Lawson (David Cooper), Phyllida Nash (Liz), Clive Merrison (Godolt), Anna Nicholas (The Girl), Barry Stanton (Swift), John Gregg (Everly)
WRITER: Ray Jenkins
DIRECTOR: Brian Farnham
Armchair Thriller: The Girl Who Walked Quickly Review
Dave is a man suffering from phobias who, thinking he has engaged with a reputable self-help group, finds himself instead being manipulated by the brain-washing of a terrorist outfit, having been lured to them by a seemingly trustworthy, unnamed girl.
When Dave can’t be found by his girlfriend, Liz, she enlists the help of Dave’s former college tutor, Godolt, to track him down. Meanwhile, it seems that Dave’s puppeteers are intending to use him as a stooge, unwittingly planting explosive devices around London…
The scenes depicting the aftermath of the bombings are well mounted and genuinely chilling, whilst the episode two cliff-hanger, with an unsuspecting commuter kicking around a cigarette packet on a lift floor, unaware that it contains a bomb, is a memorable series-one highlight.
That said, despite its effectively done moments, The Girl Who Walked Quickly somehow doesn’t quite hang together as it should.
There’s a hint of traumatic events in David’s past which are never really explored, and the production seems uncertain of whether it wants to focus on what is happening to David, or on Liz and Godolt’s search for him.
After an admittedly strong third episode, which tantalisingly feels like a redemptively grand finale is in store, a hurried-feeling final instalment runs out of gas and limps to an underwhelming coda with too many questions left unanswered, not least of which are the motivation of “The Girl” and the actual aims and motivations of the terrorists (the latter point, interestingly didn’t seem to hinder the series-opener, Rachel In Danger).
Perhaps the intention was for an enigmatic conclusion but it ultimately just feels confusing, leaving The Girl Who Walked Quickly standing as perhaps the least satisfactory entry in Armchair Thriller’s first series.
Thankfully, not only was the show back on form with its next story, it bounced back with a classic of British TV chills…
TRIVIA POINTS: In a long and varied career, Dennis Lawson perhaps found his greatest global exposure with a recurrent role as Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars Trilogy (1977-83), returning to the role for The Rise Of Skywalker (2019), as well as voicing the character for a number of tie-in video games over the years.
Lawson also had the distinction of appearing in the classic Inside No. 9 episode, A Quiet Night In (2014) as Gerald.
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Read our Armchair Thriller Episode Guide: 1978-81 Anthology Series
