Ticker is a world-weary London based detective whose favourite place is the back streets where he can obtain information from his ‘informants’ or his ‘snouts’ as he calls them. He is also rather too fond of the police canteen where his appetite for all the unhealthy foods is well known. Despite his nagging hunger he is a very astute crime solver, however he clashes with authority and lacks many of the civil niceties that the senior management would prefer. He is regarded as something of a ‘dinosaur’ preferring to rely on his instincts rather than technology.  He doesn’t suffer fools gladly and sometimes cuts ‘corners’ to get the result needed. He bases his approach on his hero – Jack Regan from ‘The Sweeney’, but lacks John Thaw’s athleticism.