By Geoff Lake and Alan Jones 

1) John Drake is seen to own two cars – an Aston Martin and a Mini Clubman.  Never, is Drake seen to be driving a Lotus Seven.

2) John Drake is never seen at the No. 6 home address, 1 Buckingham Place.

3) Drake, in the first half hour series works for N.A.T.O.  Later in the second series he is seen working for H.M. secret services.  Never in ‘The Prisoner’ are these occupations referred to.

4) During the whole ‘Danger Man’ series (86 episodes) John Drake is never to be seen romantically involved with any woman**, but it is clear in the ‘Prisoner’ episode ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling’ that No. 6 has a fiancée, Janet Portland. 

**Unless the job called for him to do so. 

5) The No. 6 headquarters (seen in the opening credits of ‘The Prisoner’) are never seen in ‘Danger Man’. 

6) No. 6 is seen as a cigar smoker (‘The Schizoid Man’) but Drake is not.  He smokes cigarettes. 

7) Finally, Drake is not Six simply because McGoohan has said so, so many times.  In an interview with Barrington Calia (New Video magazine 1985) when asked: “Is The Prisoner John Drake?”, McGoohan replied:  “No!  People assume that ‘The Prisoner’ is a sequel to ‘Danger Man’ because I began the project closely afterward”. 

Geoff’s Conclusion

I don’t doubt for a minute that ‘The Prisoner’ was intended as a sequel but as McGoohan wanted the character John Drake out of his life, it is not likely he would want to continue with Drake in a new format.  So, although ‘The Prisoner’ may have been filmed (for most) as a sequel, McGoohan did not see it that way. 

The Case For (by Alan Jones)

1) Number Six is a spy in ‘The Girl Who Was Death’.  This episode is a spoof on ‘Danger Man’, a self-parody perhaps.  Potter appears in both this episode and ‘Danger Man’ and while ‘Girl’ is played with tongue firmly in cheek (it is a children’s bedtime story) was No. 6 drawing on his experiences in ‘Danger Man’ days?  

2) When asked in ‘Arrival’, “Can you fly a helicopter?”, No. 6 replies “I might”.  John Drake flew a helicopter in the ‘Danger Man’ episode ‘Time To Kill’.  Not proof positive but a plausible link. 

3) Number Six and John Drake share the same (irritating) habit of clicking their fingers when musing over a problem.

4) Both Drake and Number Six adopt the “Foreigners are a little deaf” approach.  Compare ‘Koroshi’ and ‘The Chimes Of Big Ben’.  In each case they speak through an interpreter in a loud and stilted fashion.  The two scenes are so alike they are almost interchangeable! 

5) Number Six shows many skills in ‘The Prisoner’.  He makes a dug-out canoe, a raft, a compass, and even a Triquetrum (Alternative ‘Chimes’). He is a proficient marksman, swordsman, swimmer and Kosho player (!).  He has a public school background and a good knowledge of the arts (literary and musical) together with an ability to solve problems by lateral thinking.  Number Six’s vast array of talents reads like a curriculum vitae for spies!  Many of No. 6’s survival skills may have been taught during his time with N.A.T.O. and the Secret Service. 

6) In reply to some of Geoff’s comments – someone working undercover wouldn’t use a car as conspicuous as a green and yellow Lotus Seven, It’s Drake’s own car not his company (!) car, Drake’s fiancée would be kept “in the background” for her own safety while he was still on active service.  I changed from cigarettes to cigars – it’s not that unusual. 

7) Finally, in ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling’, No. 6 (in the Colonel’s body) tells Danvers details about himself (Danvers that is!) “…joined the Civil Service in 1948 as a junior clerk but moved to this department some three years later…” No. 6 knows Danvers well.  It would seem quite likely that “this department” is H.M. Secret Service for whom Drake worked.

Alan’s Conclusion

Alright, so Number Six is never called ‘Drake’ in ‘The Prisoner’ (that would be too easy) but then he isn’t referred to by any other name either (very few people in The Village are.  I don’t hold with McGoohan’s denial of Number Six being John Drake.  I suspect this idea came about in hindsight after the mystique of the first few episodes (and the confusion of the general public) had been established.  It is well known that the series developed its more quirky style as it was being filmed (“There will be an ending”).  I believe that Number Six was John Drake from the start (George Markstein thought so) but as McGoohan’s monster grew, it outgrew Markstein and John Drake.  McGoohan didn’t want Six to be Drake any more.

Footnote (by Alan)

So there you have it – two different views that just about come to the same conclusion!  The difference lies in Geoff believing that Six is not Drake and Alan “he is, but McGoohan wished he wasn’t!”  What do you think? (I don’t believe we just asked that!)  

Disconnected Jottings – by Alan 

While surrounded by video tapes researching the ‘Danger Man’/No. 6 article, I came across a few other points which may be of interest.

The sound effect of the electronic doors in ‘Koroshi’ is the same as that used in ‘The Prisoner’. 

In ‘Koroshi’, Drake wears deck shoes just like those of Number Six!

Many of the ‘Danger Man’ film crew were used for ‘The Prisoner’. 

In the ‘Danger Man’ episode ‘Time To Kill’, the location is Llyn Vyrnwy (Lake Vyrnwy) in North Wales.  The border checkpoint is on the road across the reservoir.  The tower alongside the lake (where Drake’s car is stopped at another checkpoint) is in fact the water filtration tower which is actually in the lake!  

*At the time of writing this article both authors were co-editing TPF . For a reply to this article click here - Webmaster