The Beiderbecke Trilogy
Encyclopedia
The Beiderbecke Trilogy refers to three television
serials
written by Alan Plater
and made by Yorkshire Television
for the ITV
network in the United Kingdom
between 1984 and 1988. Each serial centres around schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin (James Bolam
) and Jill Swinburne (Barbara Flynn
) who work at a rundown comprehensive school
in Leeds
. Woodwork teacher Trevor enjoys football
and jazz
music while English teacher Jill is a political activist concerned with saving the environment.
In each of the three serials – The Beiderbecke Affair
, The Beiderbecke Tapes
and The Beiderbecke Connection
– Jill and Trevor inadvertently become embroiled in a series of unlikely adventures involving such things as political corruption, nuclear espionage and serious fraud. In each serial, the plot rambles, moving from one seemingly unrelated event to another, all of which are eventually shown to be interconnected. However, it is the clever interplay between the characters that is the core of each these stories.
Each episode unfolds to a soundtrack of jazz music in the style of Bix Beiderbecke
performed by Frank Ricotti
with Kenny Baker
as featured cornet soloist. Extensive use is made of leitmotif
s for the various characters. Ricotti won a BAFTA award for his work on The Beiderbecke Connection.
) and Jill Swinburne (Barbara Flynn
) – who teach at a comprehensive school in Leeds
, in Yorkshire
. Jill is a keen conservationist
, interested in the environment as well as social issues. Trevor on the other hand is interested in jazz
, football and snooker
and has little interest in conservation. Jill being the more headstrong of the pair, often coaxes Trevor into involvement in her political activities.
Trevor is a middle-aged woodwork teacher. A fairly care-free and amicable character, Trevor drifts through life with few ambitions or principles. Trevor's main interest is jazz
, however he is also interested in football and snooker
(his footballing allegiances are unknown, he is known to be a Geordie, but seen in the opening sequences of the Beiderbecke Affair to possess a Leeds United mug). Trevor at first lives in a rented flat at the top of a large Victorian house, in which he resides in squalor. Trevor later moves into Jill's house (a small terrace in Chapel Allerton
). Although Trevor shows little interest in politics, he generally champions society's underdogs and when provoked defends his girlfriend's left leaning political views.
Jill is a liberal minded English
teacher. Jill is interested in conservation and social issues and at one point stands in a local council by-election. Jill's tastes are slightly more sophisticated than Trevor's, with Jill being interested in great literature
, old films and classical music
. Jill is a divorcee, with no fond memories of her ex-husband.
Only ever referred to as Mr Carter, his first name is never revealed. Mr Carter is a history teacher at the same school as Jill and Trevor. Mr Carter is a solitary character, whose only friends appear to be Trevor and Jill. Mr Carter openly fancies Jill, often asking if he can sit next to her and 'kindle my desires'. The character seems to find company in Trevor and Jill as the three of them all hate Mr Wheeler, the headmaster. Mr Carter appears to be completely world-weary and jaded with his job.
Like Mr Carter, Mr Wheeler's first name is never revealed. Mr Wheeler is headmaster of the school, where he is equally despised by staff and pupils. Mr Wheeler is a pedantic jobsworth
, with little idea what is really going on amongst staff and pupils. Mr Wheeler is a conservative character who has a defined idea how people should live, and shows no restraint in questioning the morality of his staff's private lives.
Big Al, along with his brother Little Norm, runs a slightly dubious, but largely legal mail order catalogue business, which after redundancy was Big Al's way of saying 'bollocks to the system'. Big Al is the more dominant and headstrong of the two, whose input to the business seems greater. He describes this business relationship by saying 'I deal with the wisdom, Norm deals with the installation'. Big Al runs his business from an allotment and a church crypt and later from a bowling green. Big Al often makes quite abstract philosophical comments, however he claims the Vicar is the professional, whereas he being an ardent atheist is just an 'enthusiastic amateur'.
Little Norm deals with the more menial tasks of running the business, leaving Big Al to make all of the decisions. At times Little Norm seems dismayed by his brothers dominance over him, this perhaps being best shown during the football match in the Beiderbecke Affair.
Another character whose first name is never known. Hobson is a principled, enthusiastic and somewhat naive graduate police officer. While Hobson is academic and hard working, he is also inefficient and of not much use to the police force. Hobson participates in exposing corruption in the police force and is quickly promoted.
Forest is a cynical senior police officer, and is Hobson's immediate superior. Forest shows little regard for procedure and is utterly corrupt. Forest is resentful of Hobson's middle class upbringing, education and entry into the police force. Forest sees Hobson as 'having it easy' as he spent his early years in the force 'stitching up pieces of dockers' in Liverpool
. Although Forrest may not have such knowledge of practice or procedure he is effective in executing his business. Forest loses his job following the exposure of his corruption. A mention of this affair by Peterson in the Beiderbecke Tapes reveals he escaped a prison sentence and was only sacked.
Known by Trevor as 'Helen of Tadcaster
', after Jill makes a comparison with Helen of Troy, Helen is Trevor's former fiancée. Helen is a feeble and impressionable character, who is secretly despised by the headstrong Jill, after a drunken night between the two of them in a restaurant.
Mr McAllister is father of Helen of Tadcaster. Mr McAllister runs a chain of chemist shops as well as other mainly corrupt businesses. Mr McAllister believes society should have 'an equilibrium', and sees it as his duty to enforce this. Anything that threatens his businesses he sees as a threat to this equilibrium. Mr McAllister is eventually sent to prison for his corrupt dealings.
Brother of Mr McAllister, Councillor McAllister is never seen without dark glasses, and usually driving a Jaguar
. Councillor McAllister is also imprisoned for his part in the corruption scandal.
Peterson, at first known as the 'man with no name', until Jill finally asks him his name, is an 'Old Etonian' style employee of some sort of special branch. Peterson gives the impression of being ruthless, however after making a pass a Jill he becomes unmasked as being sentimental and not particularly efficient.
Yvonne at first appears as a pupil in class 5C where she runs protection. She reappears as Jill and Trevor's nanny in the Beiderbecke Connection. She was portrayed by Judy Brooke
.
Ivan is a sophisticated, public school eductated bank robber, who stole from banks using electronic bugs. He spent time in prison, and ended up staying with Jill and Trevor after being sent their under the guise as a foreign refugee. Ivan showed little interest in the money he stole, instead seeing it as a game. Ivan left with Peter from a boat in Flamborough
.
Peter is Jill's ex-husband, who is an unseen character
until the Beiderbecke Connection. Prior to his appearance he was mentioned, always unsympathetically. He turns up in the Beiderbecke Connection and stays with Jill and Trevor. It appears Peter knew Ivan in prison, after Peter was sent to prison following a scam involving greetings cards. Peter is somewhat suave, and always dresses in a business like fashion (in the yuppie
style fashionable at the time in 1988, wearing red braces and a trench coat
). Peter leaves with Ivan on a boat from Flamborough.
and had been a regular writer on the police series Z-Cars
(1962–78) and its spin-off series Softly, Softly
(1966–69) and Softly, Softly: Task Force
(1969–76). He had also written several plays for the BBC
and ITV and wrote the sitcom Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt!
(1974). Plater's scripts were noted for their strong depiction of the life of the inhabitants of Northern England
. In 1978, Plater was commissioned by David Cunliffe
, an executive producer at Yorkshire Television
(YTV), for four episodes of what Plater called a “non-violent thriller”. Using characters inspired by Nick and Nora Charles, the detectives in the film The Thin Man
(1934) and its sequels, Plater sought to juxtapose the conventions of the hardboiled
thriller, as expounded by the likes of Raymond Chandler
and Dashiel Hammett, with the mundanity of life in Yorkshire. Originally to be called "Lost And Found", the scripts were written in late 1979 and early 1980 and the result was Get Lost!, a four part serial starring Alun Armstrong
and Bridget Turner
that was broadcast in June and July 1981.
The plot of Get Lost! concerns the disappearance of Jim Threadgold (Brian Southwood), husband of English teacher Judy Threadgold (Turner). Aided by her colleague, woodwork teacher Neville Keaton (Armstrong), Judy sets out to find out what has happened to her husband. Judy and Neville soon discover the existence of a secret organisation dedicated to assisting people who want to escape the mundanity of their lives and families and just disappear. Plater apportioned elements of his own interests to his two heroes, making Judy an environmental campaigner and Neville a football and jazz fan. Neville's love of jazz is reflected in the serial's soundtrack which features re-recordings, by Frank Ricotti and featuring Kenny Baker
, of tracks by the likes of Duke Ellington
. The same team would also provide the music for each of the Beiderbecke serials.
Get Lost! aired to respectable ratings – averaging 10.9 million viewers across its run – and Plater soon began work on a sequel. When it transpired than Alun Armstrong would not be available to reprise the role of Neville Keaton, Plater decided that, rather than recasting the role, he would create two new characters and rewrite the scripts. The sequel to Get Lost! was reworked by Plater into what was to become The Beiderbecke Affair.
and Charlie Chaplin
respectively). Similarly, since Judy Threadgold had been named in homage to Sunderland A.F.C.
goalkeeper Harry Threadgold so Jill Swinburne was named after Newcastle United F.C.
goalkeeper Tom Swinburne. However, despite the on-paper similarities, inevitably, the two new lead performers brought their own acting styles to the central characters, making Trevor and Jill entirely memorable and original in their own right.
In coming up with a name for the serial, Plater decided that, since it would be Trevor's pursuit of a rare set of Bix Beiderbecke records that would kickstart the plot, he would use the title The Beiderbecke Affair. The individual episodes got their titles from the first line of the script of each episode e.g. “What I don't understand is this...” (episode 1), “We are on the brink of a new era, if only...” (episode 6).
The Beiderbecke Affair was broadcast in six parts in January and February 1985 and averaged 12 million viewers over its run.
and Charlie Parker
respectively. However, YTV felt that they wanted to stick with the Beiderbecke “brand” and so the first sequel was re-named The Beiderbecke Tapes. Plater intended The Beiderbecke Tapes to be another six part serial set in Yorkshire, Holland and Athens
. As well as Trevor and Jill, returning characters would include Big Al, Little Norm, Hobson (now an officer in British Intelligence), Mr Carter and the Headmaster. When financial problems at YTV delayed production, Plater reworked his scripts as a novel, also titled The Beiderbecke Tapes. YTV later decided that they would film the novel as a two-part serial, each episode of ninety minutes duration. To fit the shorter length, Big Al, Little Norm and Hobson were dropped from the script. Financial constraints meant that the action originally intended for Athens had to be relocated to Edinburgh
, an event which became an in-joke
when it was worked into the script as a planned trip to Greece being changed at the last minute for the trip to Scotland.
The Beiderbecke Tapes was broadcast in December 1987 and averaged 9.9 million viewers over its run. Frank Ricotti was nominated for a 1987 BAFTA Award for Original Television Music for The Beiderbecke Tapes, losing out to Porterhouse Blue
.
One major change to the production team was that David Cunliffe had by this stage moved on from YTV. He was replaced by Keith Richardson, best known as the producer of the thriller serial Harry's Game
(1982). The Beiderbecke Connection was broadcast in four parts in November and December 1988 and averaged 8.8 million viewers over its run.
Frank Ricotti was again nominated and this time won the 1988 BAFTA Award for Original Television Music for The Beiderbecke Connection.
The stories were also published as books by Alan Plater. The book of The Beiderbecke Affair was written after the TV series was made. The other two books were written before the TV shows were made and contain an earlier version of the stories.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
serials
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
written by Alan Plater
Alan Plater
Alan Frederick Plater, CBE, FRSL was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s.-Career:...
and made by Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
for the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
between 1984 and 1988. Each serial centres around schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin (James Bolam
James Bolam
James Christopher Bolam, MBE is a British actor, best known for his roles as Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Dr Arthur Gilder in...
) and Jill Swinburne (Barbara Flynn
Barbara Flynn
Barbara Flynn is an English actress. She first became known for her appearance in the ITV drama A Family at War, that followed the fortunes of a lower middle class family living in Liverpool from 1938 and through World War II.During the 1980s Flynn's acting skills led to her being cast in several...
) who work at a rundown 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...
in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. Woodwork teacher Trevor enjoys football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music while English teacher Jill is a political activist concerned with saving the environment.
In each of the three serials – The Beiderbecke Affair
The Beiderbecke Affair
The Beiderbecke Affair is a television series produced in the UK by ITV during 1985, written by the prolific Alan Plater, whose lengthy credits to British Television since the 1960s included the preceding 4 part mini series Get Lost! for ITV in 1981...
, The Beiderbecke Tapes
The Beiderbecke Tapes
The Beiderbecke Tapes is a two-part British television drama serial written by Alan Plater and broadcast in 1987. It is the second serial in The Beiderbecke Trilogy and stars James Bolam and Barbara Flynn as schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne...
and The Beiderbecke Connection
The Beiderbecke Connection
The Beiderbecke Connection is a four part British television serial written by Alan Plater and broadcast in 1988. It is the third and final part of The Beiderbecke Trilogy and stars James Bolam and Barbara Flynn as schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne...
– Jill and Trevor inadvertently become embroiled in a series of unlikely adventures involving such things as political corruption, nuclear espionage and serious fraud. In each serial, the plot rambles, moving from one seemingly unrelated event to another, all of which are eventually shown to be interconnected. However, it is the clever interplay between the characters that is the core of each these stories.
Each episode unfolds to a soundtrack of jazz music in the style of Bix Beiderbecke
Bix Beiderbecke
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s...
performed by Frank Ricotti
Frank Ricotti
Frank Ricotti is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist.Ricotti played in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra while a teenager, then attended Trinity College of Music...
with Kenny Baker
Kenny Baker (trumpeter)
Kenny Baker was born on 1 March 1921 in Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire and died 7 December 1999. He was an accomplished player of jazz trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn, and a composer.-Biography:...
as featured cornet soloist. Extensive use is made of leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
s for the various characters. Ricotti won a BAFTA award for his work on The Beiderbecke Connection.
Concept
The Beiderbecke Trilogy centres around two schoolteachers – Trevor Chaplin (James BolamJames Bolam
James Christopher Bolam, MBE is a British actor, best known for his roles as Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Dr Arthur Gilder in...
) and Jill Swinburne (Barbara Flynn
Barbara Flynn
Barbara Flynn is an English actress. She first became known for her appearance in the ITV drama A Family at War, that followed the fortunes of a lower middle class family living in Liverpool from 1938 and through World War II.During the 1980s Flynn's acting skills led to her being cast in several...
) – who teach at a comprehensive school in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. Jill is a keen conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
, interested in the environment as well as social issues. Trevor on the other hand is interested in jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, football and snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
and has little interest in conservation. Jill being the more headstrong of the pair, often coaxes Trevor into involvement in her political activities.
Cast
- James BolamJames BolamJames Christopher Bolam, MBE is a British actor, best known for his roles as Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Dr Arthur Gilder in...
as Trevor Chaplin - Barbara FlynnBarbara FlynnBarbara Flynn is an English actress. She first became known for her appearance in the ITV drama A Family at War, that followed the fortunes of a lower middle class family living in Liverpool from 1938 and through World War II.During the 1980s Flynn's acting skills led to her being cast in several...
as Jill Swinburne - Terence RigbyTerence RigbyTerence Christopher Rigby was an English actor with a number of film and television credits to his name. In the 1970s he was well-known as police dog-handler PC Snow in the long-running series Softly, Softly: Taskforce...
as Big Al - Danny Schiller as Little Norm
- Dudley SuttonDudley Sutton-Life:He served in the RAF as a mechanic before enrolling in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from which he was later expelled.Known for his eccentricity, he became a cult figure after playing a gay biker in The Leather Boys . He married American actress Marjorie Steele in 1961; she had previously...
as Mr Carter - Dominic JephcottDominic JephcottDominic Jephcott is a RADA-trained British actor.He has played in several roles, including Sir Andrew Ffoulkes in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Mount in Good and Bad at Games, Reggie in The Jewel in the Crown, Det. Sgt. Hobson BA in The Beiderbecke Affair Dominic Jephcott (born 28 July 1957) is a...
as Hobson - Keith SmithKeith Smith (actor)Keith Smith is an English actor he is best known to for his roles in The Army Game and The Beiderbecke Trilogy. Smith also appeared in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin as a manager of a Grot shop.-Roles:* Private Hatchett, The Army Game * Mr Wheeler, The Beiderbecke Trilogy -External links:...
as Mr Wheeler
Trevor Chaplin
Appeared throughoutTrevor is a middle-aged woodwork teacher. A fairly care-free and amicable character, Trevor drifts through life with few ambitions or principles. Trevor's main interest is jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, however he is also interested in football and snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
(his footballing allegiances are unknown, he is known to be a Geordie, but seen in the opening sequences of the Beiderbecke Affair to possess a Leeds United mug). Trevor at first lives in a rented flat at the top of a large Victorian house, in which he resides in squalor. Trevor later moves into Jill's house (a small terrace in Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, from the city centre, West Yorkshire, England. The Chapel Allerton electoral ward includes areas otherwise referred to as Chapeltown and Potternewton - the suburb is generally considered to be only the northern part of this...
). Although Trevor shows little interest in politics, he generally champions society's underdogs and when provoked defends his girlfriend's left leaning political views.
Jill Swinburne
Appeared throughoutJill is a liberal minded English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
teacher. Jill is interested in conservation and social issues and at one point stands in a local council by-election. Jill's tastes are slightly more sophisticated than Trevor's, with Jill being interested in great literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, old films and classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
. Jill is a divorcee, with no fond memories of her ex-husband.
Mr Carter
Appeared throughoutOnly ever referred to as Mr Carter, his first name is never revealed. Mr Carter is a history teacher at the same school as Jill and Trevor. Mr Carter is a solitary character, whose only friends appear to be Trevor and Jill. Mr Carter openly fancies Jill, often asking if he can sit next to her and 'kindle my desires'. The character seems to find company in Trevor and Jill as the three of them all hate Mr Wheeler, the headmaster. Mr Carter appears to be completely world-weary and jaded with his job.
Mr Wheeler
Appeared throughoutLike Mr Carter, Mr Wheeler's first name is never revealed. Mr Wheeler is headmaster of the school, where he is equally despised by staff and pupils. Mr Wheeler is a pedantic jobsworth
Jobsworth
A jobsworth is a person who uses their job description in a deliberately uncooperative way, or who seemingly delights in acting in an obstructive or unhelpful manner....
, with little idea what is really going on amongst staff and pupils. Mr Wheeler is a conservative character who has a defined idea how people should live, and shows no restraint in questioning the morality of his staff's private lives.
Big Al
Appeared in the Beiderbecke Affair and Beiderbecke ConnectionBig Al, along with his brother Little Norm, runs a slightly dubious, but largely legal mail order catalogue business, which after redundancy was Big Al's way of saying 'bollocks to the system'. Big Al is the more dominant and headstrong of the two, whose input to the business seems greater. He describes this business relationship by saying 'I deal with the wisdom, Norm deals with the installation'. Big Al runs his business from an allotment and a church crypt and later from a bowling green. Big Al often makes quite abstract philosophical comments, however he claims the Vicar is the professional, whereas he being an ardent atheist is just an 'enthusiastic amateur'.
Little Norm
Appeared in the Beiderbecke Affair and Beiderbecke ConnectionLittle Norm deals with the more menial tasks of running the business, leaving Big Al to make all of the decisions. At times Little Norm seems dismayed by his brothers dominance over him, this perhaps being best shown during the football match in the Beiderbecke Affair.
Detective Sergeant Hobson
Appeared in the Beiderbecke Affair and Beiderbecke ConnectionAnother character whose first name is never known. Hobson is a principled, enthusiastic and somewhat naive graduate police officer. While Hobson is academic and hard working, he is also inefficient and of not much use to the police force. Hobson participates in exposing corruption in the police force and is quickly promoted.
DCI Forest
Appeared in the Beiderbecke AffairForest is a cynical senior police officer, and is Hobson's immediate superior. Forest shows little regard for procedure and is utterly corrupt. Forest is resentful of Hobson's middle class upbringing, education and entry into the police force. Forest sees Hobson as 'having it easy' as he spent his early years in the force 'stitching up pieces of dockers' in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Although Forrest may not have such knowledge of practice or procedure he is effective in executing his business. Forest loses his job following the exposure of his corruption. A mention of this affair by Peterson in the Beiderbecke Tapes reveals he escaped a prison sentence and was only sacked.
Helen of Tadcaster
Appeared in the Beiderbecke AffairKnown by Trevor as 'Helen of Tadcaster
Tadcaster
Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. Lying on the Great North Road approximately east of Leeds and west of York. It is the last town on the River Wharfe before it joins the River Ouse about downstream...
', after Jill makes a comparison with Helen of Troy, Helen is Trevor's former fiancée. Helen is a feeble and impressionable character, who is secretly despised by the headstrong Jill, after a drunken night between the two of them in a restaurant.
Mr McAllister
Appeared in the Beiderbecke AffairMr McAllister is father of Helen of Tadcaster. Mr McAllister runs a chain of chemist shops as well as other mainly corrupt businesses. Mr McAllister believes society should have 'an equilibrium', and sees it as his duty to enforce this. Anything that threatens his businesses he sees as a threat to this equilibrium. Mr McAllister is eventually sent to prison for his corrupt dealings.
Councillor McAllister
Appeared in the Beiderbecke AffairBrother of Mr McAllister, Councillor McAllister is never seen without dark glasses, and usually driving a Jaguar
Jaguar (car)
Jaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....
. Councillor McAllister is also imprisoned for his part in the corruption scandal.
Peterson
Appeared in the Beiderbecke TapesPeterson, at first known as the 'man with no name', until Jill finally asks him his name, is an 'Old Etonian' style employee of some sort of special branch. Peterson gives the impression of being ruthless, however after making a pass a Jill he becomes unmasked as being sentimental and not particularly efficient.
Yvonne
Appeared in the Beiderbecke Tapes and the Beiderbecke ConnectionYvonne at first appears as a pupil in class 5C where she runs protection. She reappears as Jill and Trevor's nanny in the Beiderbecke Connection. She was portrayed by Judy Brooke
Judy Brooke
Judy Brooke is an English actress born in Leeds, West Yorkshire on 21 February 1970. She is perhaps best known for her roles in The Beiderbecke Trilogy and Band of Gold...
.
Ivan
Appeared in the Beiderbecke ConnectionIvan is a sophisticated, public school eductated bank robber, who stole from banks using electronic bugs. He spent time in prison, and ended up staying with Jill and Trevor after being sent their under the guise as a foreign refugee. Ivan showed little interest in the money he stole, instead seeing it as a game. Ivan left with Peter from a boat in Flamborough
Flamborough
Flamborough is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north east of Bridlington town centre on the prominent coastal feature of Flamborough Head. The most prominent man-made feature of the area is Flamborough lighthouse. The headland...
.
Peter
Appeared in the Beiderbecke ConnectionPeter is Jill's ex-husband, who is an unseen character
Unseen character
In fiction, an unseen character is a character that is never directly observed by the audience but is only described by other characters. They are a common device in drama and have been called "triumphs of theatrical invention". They are continuing characters — characters who are currently in...
until the Beiderbecke Connection. Prior to his appearance he was mentioned, always unsympathetically. He turns up in the Beiderbecke Connection and stays with Jill and Trevor. It appears Peter knew Ivan in prison, after Peter was sent to prison following a scam involving greetings cards. Peter is somewhat suave, and always dresses in a business like fashion (in the yuppie
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
style fashionable at the time in 1988, wearing red braces and a trench coat
Trench coat
A trench coat or trenchcoat is a raincoat made of waterproof heavy-duty cotton drill or poplin, wool gabardine, or leather. It generally has a removable insulated lining; and it is usually knee-length.-History:...
). Peter leaves with Ivan on a boat from Flamborough.
Origins – Get Lost!
Alan Plater had begun writing for television in the early nineteen-sixties1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
and had been a regular writer on the police series Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
(1962–78) and its spin-off series Softly, Softly
Softly, Softly
Softly, Softly may refer to:* Softly, Softly , a 1966–1969 British police drama series** Softly, Softly: Taskforce, a 1969–1976 revamped version of the series* "Softly, Softly" , a popular song...
(1966–69) and Softly, Softly: Task Force
Softly, Softly: Taskforce
Softly, Softly the popular BBC television police drama series, was revamped in 1969, partly to coincide with the coming of colour broadcasting to BBC 1...
(1969–76). He had also written several plays for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and ITV and wrote the sitcom Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt!
Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt!
Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt! was a popular ITV situation comedy which ran from 1974 to 1977.It starred Bill Maynard as the council labourer, Scarsdale Working Men’s Club secretary, hapless handyman and all-round public nuisance Selwyn Froggitt. It was created by Roy Clarke, who wrote the pilot...
(1974). Plater's scripts were noted for their strong depiction of the life of the inhabitants of Northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
. In 1978, Plater was commissioned by David Cunliffe
David Cunliffe
David Richard Cunliffe is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party, and the sitting member of parliament for New Lynn, West Auckland. He served as the Minister of Health and Minister for Communications and Information Technology for the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand...
, an executive producer at Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
(YTV), for four episodes of what Plater called a “non-violent thriller”. Using characters inspired by Nick and Nora Charles, the detectives in the film The Thin Man
The Thin Man
The Thin Man is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in Redbook. Although he never wrote a sequel, the book became the basis for a successful six-part film series which also began in 1934 with The Thin Man and starred William Powell and Myrna Loy...
(1934) and its sequels, Plater sought to juxtapose the conventions of the hardboiled
Hardboiled
Hardboiled crime fiction is a literary style, most commonly associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of violence and sex. The style was pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s, popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the decade, and refined...
thriller, as expounded by the likes of Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
and Dashiel Hammett, with the mundanity of life in Yorkshire. Originally to be called "Lost And Found", the scripts were written in late 1979 and early 1980 and the result was Get Lost!, a four part serial starring Alun Armstrong
Alun Armstrong (actor)
Alun Armstrong is a prolific British character actor. Armstrong grew up in County Durham in North East England. He first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began in the early 1970s, he has played, in his words, "the full spectrum of...
and Bridget Turner
Bridget Turner
Bridget Turner is a British actress.She has worked with a number of very famous actors including Peter O'Toole, Elizabeth Taylor, Kirk Douglas, Bernard Blier, Trevor Howard, Bernadette Lafont and Richard Burton and Christina Ricci.On May 8, 2009 John Cleese stated in an interview that Bridget was...
that was broadcast in June and July 1981.
The plot of Get Lost! concerns the disappearance of Jim Threadgold (Brian Southwood), husband of English teacher Judy Threadgold (Turner). Aided by her colleague, woodwork teacher Neville Keaton (Armstrong), Judy sets out to find out what has happened to her husband. Judy and Neville soon discover the existence of a secret organisation dedicated to assisting people who want to escape the mundanity of their lives and families and just disappear. Plater apportioned elements of his own interests to his two heroes, making Judy an environmental campaigner and Neville a football and jazz fan. Neville's love of jazz is reflected in the serial's soundtrack which features re-recordings, by Frank Ricotti and featuring Kenny Baker
Kenny Baker (trumpeter)
Kenny Baker was born on 1 March 1921 in Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire and died 7 December 1999. He was an accomplished player of jazz trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn, and a composer.-Biography:...
, of tracks by the likes of Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
. The same team would also provide the music for each of the Beiderbecke serials.
Get Lost! aired to respectable ratings – averaging 10.9 million viewers across its run – and Plater soon began work on a sequel. When it transpired than Alun Armstrong would not be available to reprise the role of Neville Keaton, Plater decided that, rather than recasting the role, he would create two new characters and rewrite the scripts. The sequel to Get Lost! was reworked by Plater into what was to become The Beiderbecke Affair.
The Beiderbecke Affair
The central characters Plater created for The Beiderbecke Affair – Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne – were virtually identical to that of Neville Keaton and Judy Threadgold from Get Lost!. Both were teachers of woodwork and English respectively and Trevor was a fan of football and jazz music (especially Bix Beiderbecke) and Jill was an environmental activist just like Neville and Judy. Since Neville's surname had been Keaton, Plater named his new male character Chaplin (after Buster KeatonBuster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
and Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
respectively). Similarly, since Judy Threadgold had been named in homage to Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
goalkeeper Harry Threadgold so Jill Swinburne was named after Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
goalkeeper Tom Swinburne. However, despite the on-paper similarities, inevitably, the two new lead performers brought their own acting styles to the central characters, making Trevor and Jill entirely memorable and original in their own right.
In coming up with a name for the serial, Plater decided that, since it would be Trevor's pursuit of a rare set of Bix Beiderbecke records that would kickstart the plot, he would use the title The Beiderbecke Affair. The individual episodes got their titles from the first line of the script of each episode e.g. “What I don't understand is this...” (episode 1), “We are on the brink of a new era, if only...” (episode 6).
The Beiderbecke Affair was broadcast in six parts in January and February 1985 and averaged 12 million viewers over its run.
The Beiderbecke Tapes
Shortly after the completion of The Beiderbecke Affair, David Cunliffe asked Plater to write a new serial with the same characters. At this point Plater decided to create a jazz-themed trilogy; The Beiderbecke Affair would be followed by The Gillespie Tapes and The Yardbird Suite, referencing Dizzy GillespieDizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
and Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
respectively. However, YTV felt that they wanted to stick with the Beiderbecke “brand” and so the first sequel was re-named The Beiderbecke Tapes. Plater intended The Beiderbecke Tapes to be another six part serial set in Yorkshire, Holland and Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. As well as Trevor and Jill, returning characters would include Big Al, Little Norm, Hobson (now an officer in British Intelligence), Mr Carter and the Headmaster. When financial problems at YTV delayed production, Plater reworked his scripts as a novel, also titled The Beiderbecke Tapes. YTV later decided that they would film the novel as a two-part serial, each episode of ninety minutes duration. To fit the shorter length, Big Al, Little Norm and Hobson were dropped from the script. Financial constraints meant that the action originally intended for Athens had to be relocated to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, an event which became an in-joke
In-joke
An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or in joke, is a joke whose humour is clear only to people who are in a particular social group, occupation, or other community of common understanding...
when it was worked into the script as a planned trip to Greece being changed at the last minute for the trip to Scotland.
The Beiderbecke Tapes was broadcast in December 1987 and averaged 9.9 million viewers over its run. Frank Ricotti was nominated for a 1987 BAFTA Award for Original Television Music for The Beiderbecke Tapes, losing out to Porterhouse Blue
Porterhouse Blue
Porterhouse Blue is a novel written by Tom Sharpe, first published in 1974. There was a Channel 4 TV series in 1987 based on the novel, adapted by Malcolm Bradbury...
.
The Beiderbecke Connection
Plater began work on The Beiderbecke Connection, the third part of the trilogy, in late 1987. At the conclusion of The Beiderbecke Tapes Jill had discovered that she was pregnant with Trevor's child. The new serial would pick up six to nine months after the birth of their child. The presence of the baby was a restricting factor on the plot; hence the introduction of the character of Yvonne, who would mind the child while Trevor and Jill went about their adventures. The plot this time called for Trevor and Jill to look after “Ivan”, apparently a refugee, for Big Al and Little Norm. Plater originally intended that Trevor and Jill would have to keep Ivan hidden from his pursuers by means of different disguises and cover stories – for example, one scene called for him to pose as a school inspector – but this was dropped. A subplot concerned the challenges of teaching in the face of budget cuts that meant the necessary books and materials were not available. In this respect, Plater sought to ask the question, “If education is a universal right, if you are deprived of that by people in authority, how do you think you will resolve that?”.One major change to the production team was that David Cunliffe had by this stage moved on from YTV. He was replaced by Keith Richardson, best known as the producer of the thriller serial Harry's Game
Harry's Game
Harry's Game is a British television miniseries made by Yorkshire Television for ITV in 1982. It is based on the novel of the same name by Gerald Seymour, which was published in 1975.The three-part serial starred Ray Lonnen as Capt...
(1982). The Beiderbecke Connection was broadcast in four parts in November and December 1988 and averaged 8.8 million viewers over its run.
Frank Ricotti was again nominated and this time won the 1988 BAFTA Award for Original Television Music for The Beiderbecke Connection.
Other media
All three series are available as individual DVD releases, as a boxed set, The Beiderbecke Trilogy, and as a boxed set Beiderbecke Trilogy 21st Anniversary Edition (containing The Beiderbecke Trilogy plus Get Lost!, cast interviews, CD soundtrack and collectors booklet), released on Region 2.The stories were also published as books by Alan Plater. The book of The Beiderbecke Affair was written after the TV series was made. The other two books were written before the TV shows were made and contain an earlier version of the stories.
External links
- The Beiderbecke Tapes at the British Film InstituteBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's screenonline