Hope and Glory (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Hope and Glory is a BBC television drama
about a comprehensive school
struggling with financial, staffing and disciplinary problems, and faced with closure. It starred Lenny Henry
as maverick "Superhead
" Ian George, enlisted to turn around the school's fortunes.
It was created by Lucy Gannon
, who had previously created Soldier Soldier
, and was inspired by a real head teacher named William Atkinson
.
) breaks down during his farewell speech and delivers an emotional rant against the students, telling them how worthless they are.
After meeting staff and pupils at the school, in particular pupil Keeley Porter and teacher Debbie "Debs" Bryan, Ian George believes there is some hope for the school. He is offered help by the chair of governors, whose son died young and would have been at the school. Ian turns down a Governmental job to take over as the new Head.
With the help of Deputy Head "Debs" (Redman), George rectified these issues. He identified the talents of rebellious students, and the music equipment was finally used.
Romances developed between Ian and Debs, and Tony (Lee Warburton
) and Sally (Sara Stephens).
Philip Whitchurch
played Derek, the chair of governors, who was desperate to save the school. The refurbished and replenished library was subsequently dedicated to his dead son. The Chief Education Officer was played by Richard Griffiths
.
Francis Coombe School in Watford
and Langleybury
School in Three Rivers
, Hertfordshire
, were used as locations for the school.
The first series was driven by the incidental music: a soundtrack CD was released.
(Region 2 and 4
) on 15 May 2006. A compilation audio CD featuring some of the classical music used in the first series was released on 1 October 1999.
BBC television drama
BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom...
about a comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
struggling with financial, staffing and disciplinary problems, and faced with closure. It starred Lenny Henry
Lenny Henry
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
as maverick "Superhead
Head teacher
A head teacher or school principal is the most senior teacher, leader and manager of a school....
" Ian George, enlisted to turn around the school's fortunes.
It was created by Lucy Gannon
Lucy Gannon
-Life:Lucy Gannon once worked as a military policewoman, a residential social worker, as well as a nurse and lived in a concrete council house with no central heating. Now she resides in a converted barn, in Derbyshire, and is one of the most sought-after TV writers aroundShe started in 1987, to...
, who had previously created Soldier Soldier
Soldier Soldier
Soldier Soldier is a British television drama series. The title comes from a traditional song of the same name.Produced by Central Television and broadcast on the ITV network, it ran for a total of seven series and 82 episodes from 1991 to 1997...
, and was inspired by a real head teacher named William Atkinson
William Atkinson (teacher)
Sir William Atkinson is a head teacher who 'turned around' Phoenix High School, a secondary school near White City. He also contributed to Channel 4's The Unteachables, and was the inspiration behind Lenny Henry's character in the 1999 BBC TV series Hope and Glory.-References:...
.
Plot
Ian George, the head of an exclusive school, is asked to take a look at Hope Park Comprehensive School, which is on special measures, and asked to confirm its closure. When he visits the school, he's greeted by disaffected staff and teachers alike. The sixth form centre was derelict after it was torched a few years previously, and the music room is full of expensive equipment, unused because the school could not attract a music teacher. The outgoing head (Peter DavisonPeter Davison
Peter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
) breaks down during his farewell speech and delivers an emotional rant against the students, telling them how worthless they are.
After meeting staff and pupils at the school, in particular pupil Keeley Porter and teacher Debbie "Debs" Bryan, Ian George believes there is some hope for the school. He is offered help by the chair of governors, whose son died young and would have been at the school. Ian turns down a Governmental job to take over as the new Head.
With the help of Deputy Head "Debs" (Redman), George rectified these issues. He identified the talents of rebellious students, and the music equipment was finally used.
Romances developed between Ian and Debs, and Tony (Lee Warburton
Lee Warburton
Lee Warburton is a British actor, known for several ongoing television roles.He appeared in Coronation Street as Tony Horrocks, Natalie Barnes' drug addict son, played gay male nurse Tony Vincent in Casualty and its spin-off Holby City in 2003, and played Melanie Costello's violent boyfriend...
) and Sally (Sara Stephens).
Philip Whitchurch
Philip Whitchurch
Philip Whitchurch is a British stage, film, and television actor. He is best known for playing Chief Inspector Philip Cato in The Bill from 1993 to 1995...
played Derek, the chair of governors, who was desperate to save the school. The refurbished and replenished library was subsequently dedicated to his dead son. The Chief Education Officer was played by Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths, OBE is an English actor of stage, film and television. He has received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor...
.
Production
The four episodes of the second season were transmitted before the summer holidays (27 June – 18 July 2000), with the third series and final six episodes transmitted in the autumn of the same year (4 October – 5 November).Francis Coombe School in Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
and Langleybury
Langleybury
Langleybury was a country house and estate in Hertfordshire, England situated 2 miles north of the town of Watford on a low hill above the valley of the River Gade.-Raymond 1711-1756:...
School in Three Rivers
Three Rivers (district)
Three Rivers is a local government district in Hertfordshire in the East of England. Its council is based in Rickmansworth.It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Rickmansworth Urban District and Chorleywood Urban District with part of Watford Rural District...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, were used as locations for the school.
The first series was driven by the incidental music: a soundtrack CD was released.
Home media
All three series were released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
(Region 2 and 4
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
) on 15 May 2006. A compilation audio CD featuring some of the classical music used in the first series was released on 1 October 1999.
External links
- British Film Institute Screen Online
- BBCi minisite with cast interviews, character profiles and season three episode guide.