The scene of Hunt chasing a suspect over a wall and into a garden, and Skelton throwing a can of fuel oil over the wall into the fish pond, references a famous incident in which the Blue Peter (1958) garden was vandalised on 21 November 1983. Despite on-air appeals for information (shown in the next scene) the culprits were never identified.
Blue Peter (1958) is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. The show uses a studio for the main format of the presenting; there is also a garden, often referred to as 'The Blue Peter Garden', that is used during the summer months or used when they are showing any outside activities. As depicted in this episode, the Blue Peter Garden was actually vandalised over the weekend of 19/20 November 1983. The clip from Blue Peter, featuring then-host Janet Ellis, seen in this episode was originally broadcast on BBC1 at 5.10pm on Monday 21 November 1983. The Blue Peter Garden was designed by Percy Thrower in 1974 and had been vandalised once before in 1978. Blue Peter was broadcast twice weekly on Mondays and Thursdays in the 80s.
Ray (Dean Andrews) says to Chris (Marshall Lancaster), "Go easy on that Hai-Karate, mate," referring to the aftershave lotion Hai-Karate, first sold in the US in the 1960s. In the UK it is best remembered for the 70s TV ads featuring tall brunette actress Valerie Leone. Previous ads had featured various blonde actresses. The scent of Hai Karate is an important clue to solving the murder in Series 1: Episode 5 of Life on Mars (2006).
Music:
- Reward - The Teardrop Explodes
- Golden Brown - The Stranglers
- No More Heroes - The Stranglers
- Aint That a Kick in the Head - Dean Martin
- My Way - Frank Sinatra
- Watching the Detectives - Elvis Costello and The Attractions
Gene (Philip Glenister) says, "I'm in a conspiracy with Linda Lovelace and Shergar." Shergar (born 1978) was a bay colt with a distinctive white blaze, an Irish racehorse who won the 1981 Epsom Derby. On the 8th February 1983 he was stolen from The Balleymony Stud farm near the Curragh in County Kildare, Ireland by armed gunmen. The horse was never found and is believed to have been killed.