Texas Rangers

Harry has sold the Grand Hotel and bought a much more prestigious hotel, The Coaching Inn in Edgbaston. Doreen has moved to Spain and out of Ken’s life. Harry is trying to raise some publicity for the grand opening that he has planned at The Coaching Inn, but the newspaper reporter isn’t very interested. However Harry persuades them to print a photo if he can get it to the newspaper by their deadline. But who can perform the opening ceremony, now that the mayor isn’t able to attend? By chance Emlyn Price Jones, a fiery red-haired Welsh MP, who is somewhat the worse for drink, is staying in the hotel so Harry gets him to do the honours. While Ken is taking the film of the grand opening to the newspaper office, he is ambushed by a gang of Hells Angels [see later].

Ken is starting up a motorcycle courier firm, Texas Rangers, which will operate out of the stables at the Coaching Inn, in which he has a financial stake. He is living in a flat above the stables. He has bought an ancient transceiver and some walkie-talkies from an Irishman, Flannery, so can keep in touch with his couriers. However the radio actually belonged to a rival firm, Romany Riders, which is run by Lomas and his son Mickey who operate a protection racket. Mickey and two of his biker friends, Des and Parrot, try to intimidate Ken into paying a percentage of his takings to Romany Riders. When this fails they tamper with the brakes on his bike, causing him to crash as he is leaving a car park. Ken escapes unscathed but the bike is damaged. He takes it to Greaves, an aging teddy boy who owns a motorcycle repair business and transport cafe. Rocky Cassidy, one of the Romany Riders couriers who is eating in the Greaves’ cafe, had witnessed the accident. He now switches allegiance because he thinks that Lomas and Mickey have gone too far by breaking the Biker’s Code: never attack another biker. Mickey gets a gang of his Hells Angels mates to chase Ken and to threaten to beat him up unless he shuts Texas Rangers down. Rocky rescues Ken from the ambush that the Hells Angels have planned in the suburban streets of Birmingham. Ken offers him a job as his first dispatch rider.

Debbie Yates, a chirpy Liverpudlian who is working as a chambermaid and waitress for Harry, is making it very clear that her heart is not in the job. After Emlyn Price Jones accosts her while she is cleaning his room, she hands in her notice. She jumps at the chance of working as Ken’s dispatcher, taking calls from customers and directing the couriers.

Notes and episode list © Martin Underwood, 1998

Page last modified: 17 December 2008, 23:48