When the Boat Comes In
Encyclopedia
When the Boat Comes In is a British television
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...

 period-drama produced by 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...

 between 1976 and 1981.

The series stars 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...

 as Jack Ford, a First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken (fictional) town of Gallowshield in the North East of England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...

 in the 1920s.

The memorable traditional tune "When The Boat Comes In
When The Boat Comes In (song)
"When The Boat Comes In" is a traditional English folk song, originating in Northumberland.It was popularised as the theme tune to the 1970s BBC drama serial When The Boat Comes In in an arrangement by the composer David Fanshawe.The song was also used in the TV advertisement for Young's fish, Sea...

" was adapted by David Fanshawe
David Fanshawe
David Arthur Fanshawe was an English composer, ethnomusicologist and self-styled explorer. His work is situated at the crossroads of traditional and modern music. His best-known composition is the 1972 choral work African Sanctus.- Life :Fanshawe was born in Paignton in Devon in 1942...

 for the title theme of the series. Fanshawe also composed the incidental music.

The BBC revived the series in 1981, with this fourth series telling the story of Jack Ford as he returned to Britain penniless, after six years spent bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and set up in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The series ended with Ford shot and killed while attempting to deliver guns to the partisans in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

.

The series' creator James Mitchell also wrote three tie-in
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...

 books to the T.V. show: When the Boat Comes In, When the Boat Comes In: The Hungry Years and When the Boat Comes In: Upwards and Onwards. The final book brings the reader up to date with the end of the second series of the TV show.

Series breakdown

  • Series 1 : 8 January to 1 April 1976 (13 50 min episodes)
  • Series 2 : 29 October 1976 to 4 February 1977 (13 50 min episodes)
  • Series 3 : 8 September to 15 December 1977 (15 50 min episodes)
  • Series 4 : 17 February to 21 April 1981 (10 50 min episodes)

Regular Cast

  • 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...

     as Jack Ford (1976-77,81 / Series 1-4 / 48 episodes)
  • James Garbutt
    James Garbutt
    James Garbutt is a British actor, who has been active on television since the 1960s. Originally from the North East of England, he was a key member of the People's Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne during the 1950s and '60s....

     as Bill Seaton (1976-77 / Series 1-3 / 39 episodes)
  • Jean Heywood
    Jean Heywood
    Jean Heywood is a British actress, appearing in films such as Billy Elliot and Our Day Out as well as TV series When the Boat Comes In, All Creatures Great and Small, Boys from the Blackstuff, Family Affairs, The Bill and Casualty.In 2010, Heywood made a guest appearance in the ITV series Married...

     as Bella Seaton (1976-77 / Series 1-3 / 39 episodes)
  • John Nightingale as Tom Seaton (1976-77 / Series 1-3 / 39 episodes)
  • Edward Wilson
    Edward Wilson (actor)
    Edward "Ed" Wilson was an English television actor, best known as the enthusiastic and charismatic Artistic Director of the British National Youth Theatre from 1987–2003; he later moved to Los Angeles...

     as Billy Seaton (1976-77,81 / Series 1-4 / 35 episodes)
  • Malcolm Terris
    Malcolm Terris
    Malcolm Terris is a British actor.He had a lengthy career in a large number of television programmes. Possibly his best known role was in When the Boat Comes In, a popular 1970s series, where he played the part of Matt Headley...

     as Matt Headley (1976-77 / Series 1-3 / 34 episodes)
  • Susan Jameson
    Susan Jameson
    Susan Jameson is an English actress who is best known for her television work.Jameson was born in Barnt Green, Worcestershire, England, UK. She is married to actor James Bolam with whom she has a daughter, Lucy...

     as Jessie Ashton née Seaton (1976-77,81 / Series 1-4 / 30 episodes)
  • Madelaine Newton
    Madelaine Newton
    Madelaine Newton is a British actress best known for her portrayal of Dolly in 1970s BBC television drama When the Boat Comes In. She is married to actor Kevin Whately, with whom she has two children....

     as Dolly (1976-77 / Series 1-3 / 30 episodes)
  • Basil Henson
    Basil Henson
    Basil Henson was a British actor. Henson had a lengthy career on stage and television. His stage performances included a number of parts in Shakespeare productions, including once opposite Dustin Hoffman...

     as Sir Horatio Manners (1976-77 / Series 1-3 / 25 episodes)
  • Geoffrey Rose as Arthur Ashton (1976-77 / Series 1-3 / 18 episodes)
  • Rosalind Bailey
    Rosalind Bailey
    Rosalind Bailey is a British actress known for her portrayal of Sarah Headley née Lytton in the 1970/80s BBC television drama When the Boat Comes In....

     as Sarah Headley née Lytton (1977,81 / Series 2-4 / 23 episodes)
  • William Fox
    William Fox (actor)
    William Hubert Fox TD was a British character actor and writer. Fox enjoyed early success on the stage playing juvenile roles...

     as the Duke of Bedlington (1976-77 / Series 2-3 / 13 episodes)
  • Lois Baxter
    Lois Baxter
    Lois Baxter is a British actress, best known for playing Marie Stanton in Coronation Street from 1976 to 1977, and Lady Caroline in the period drama When the Boat Comes In....

     as Lady Caroline #2 (1977,81 / Series 3-4 / 15 episodes)

Semi-Regular Cast

  • Michelle Newell
    Michelle Newell
    Michelle Newell is a British actress probably best known for her role in the BBC mini-series The Cleopatras and as Gill Gregory in Coronation Street...

     as Mary Seaton (1976 / Series 1 / 6 episodes)
  • Noel O'Connell as Young Tommy (1976-77 / Series 1-2 / 6 episodes)
  • Catherine Terris as Miss Laidlaw (1976-77 / Series 2-3 / 7 episodes)
  • Vernon Drake as Hotel Porter (1976-77 / Series 2-3 / 7 episodes)
  • Isla Blair
    Isla Blair
    Isla Blair is an India-born actress of British descent. She made her first stage appearance in 1963 as Philia in the London debut of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and her first credited film appearance in the 1965 horror film Dr. Terror's House of Horrors.- Biography :Isla Blair...

     as Lady Caroline #1 (1976-77 / Series 2 / 5 episodes)
  • Roger Avon
    Roger Avon
    Roger Avon was a British film and television actor.Some of his television appearances include Hancock's Half Hour, Dad's Army, When the Boat Comes In, Department S, Doctor Who, serials , Randall and Hopkirk , Our Friends in the North and Blackadder the Third...

     as Stan Liddell (1977,81 / Series 2-4 / 5 episodes)
  • Ian Cullen
    Ian Cullen
    Ian Cullen is a British actor born on 20 October 1939 with numerous roles in British television, including regular roles in Emergency - Ward 10 , Z-Cars , When the Boat Comes In , and five's soap opera Family Affairs...

     as Geordie Watson (1977,81 / Series 2-4 / 4 episodes)
  • Bobby Pattinson as Eddy Morton (1976-77 / Series 2-3 / 4 episodes)
  • John Gabriel as Dr. Stoker (1976-77 / Series 2-3 / 3 episodes)
  • Ralph Michael
    Ralph Michael
    Ralph Michael was an English actor. He was born in London, United Kingdom.His film appearances include: A Night to Remember, Children of the Damned, Khartoum, Grand Prix, The Assassination Bureau, and Empire of the Sun.Television credits include: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dixon of Dock Green,...

     as Father Courtnay (1976-77 / Series 2-3 / 3 episodes)
  • Sheri Shepstone as Nellie (1976-77 / Series 2-3 / 3 episodes)
  • John Malcolm
    John Malcolm (actor)
    John Malcolm was a Scottish actor who appeared in numerous films and television productions over a 40 year period....

     as Poskett (1976-77 / Series 2-3 / 3 episodes)
  • Martin Duncan as Roddy (1977 / Series 2-3 / 3 episodes)
  • David Lawton as Tovey #1 (1976-77 / Series 2 / 3 episodes)
  • John Kidd as Tovey #2 (1977 / Series 3/ 5 episodes)
  • Christopher Benjamin as Channing (1977 / Series 3/ 3 episodes)
  • Colin Douglas
    Colin Douglas (actor)
    Colin Douglas was an English actor. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Douglas was educated at the Farm School in Cumberland...

     as John Ryder (1977 / Series 3/ 3 episodes)
  • Murray Hayne as Norman Hodges (1977 / Series 3/ 3 episodes)
  • Peter McGowan as Len Laidlaw (1977 / Series 3/ 3 episodes)
  • Christine Anderson as Rosie Mason (1977 / Series 3/ 3 episodes)
  • William Morgan Sheppard as Robert Joseph Dixon (1977 / Series 3/ 3 episodes)
  • Mary Larkin as Isobel Murcheson (1977 / Series 3/ 3 episodes)
  • Joby Blanshard as Milburn (1977 / Series 3 / 3 episodes)
  • Judy Loe
    Judy Loe
    Judith M. "Judy" Loe is an English actress. She was the widow of actor Richard Beckinsale and is now married to director Roy Battersby...

     as Tania Corley (1981 / Series 4 / 3 episodes)

Series One (1976)

Title Airdate Overview
8 January 1976 In 1919 Sergeant Jack Ford returns to Gallowshield on discharge leave from the army. He meets Jessie Seaton, a schoolteacher, her brother Tom and his fiancée Mary. Later, Jack meets Jessie’s brother, Billy a medical student, and her parents – Bill, a miner, and Bella. Will Scrimgour, a shell-shocked ex-soldier, beats a child who was tormenting him. He is arrested and committed for trial despite Jack’s evidence about his condition. The magistrate, Major Pinner, who is standing for election as a Liberal, is bitter that he never won a medal. Pinner wins the election, but Jack humiliates him by arranging for local veterans to throw their own medals at him. Featuring James Bate as Will Scrimgour, Roger Hammond
Roger Hammond (actor)
Roger Hammond is an English character actor who has appeared in many films and television series.Hammond attended Cambridge University, and appeared extensively in their drama program, alongside actors such as Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, and John Wood. Following that, he attended the Royal Academy...

 as Pinner.
# 2: Say Hello...... Say Tirra 15 January 1976 Bella takes in Harry, a young boy whose mother has died. Harry steals 10 shillings from a fruit seller. Father Keenley, a local priest, arranges for the boy to be sent on an emigration scheme to Australia; Bella reluctantly agrees. Featuring Tony Doyle as Father Keenley, Jeremy Walkin as Harry.
# 3: Fish in Woolly Jumpers 22 January 1976 Times are hard as the miners strike. Jack, who is now engaged to Jessie, still has money. Tom is desperate for money because Mary is suffering from tuberculosis. He borrows from Jack. Jack sleeps with Dolly, the widowed sister of his war comrade, Matt Headley. Tom threatens to expose him unless he can join Jack’s sheep-rustling gang. Jack agrees. Tom is almost caught, but Jack knocks out the policeman. Against Jack's expectations, Jessie condones his activities.
# 4: Swords and Pick Handles 29 January 1976 Jack visits Sir Horatio Manners, father of his late commanding officer and gives him a present of a sword. Manners offers him a job. Tom is scabbing to get money for Mary. Jack saves him from a beating. Tom then turns to theft.
# 5: Coal Comfort 5 February 1976 As the strike continues, Bill works out that an abandoned coal seam runs under his house and digs for coal in the front room. Tom pursues two children who have stolen leeks from his allotment, but takes pity on them when he discovers that their mother is a war widow with no pension.
>12 February 1976 The strike ends with no concessions won by the miners. Jessie’s headmaster, Arthur Ashton, proposes to her. Matt tells Jack that Dolly is pregnant and he agrees to marry her. Bill is crippled in an accident at the pit. Jack prevents the mine owner from defrauding him of proper compensation. Jack tells Jessie that he has to marry Dolly. After he leaves, she breaks down in tears.
# 7: A First Time for Everything 19 February 1976 Bella turns the front of the house into a shop using Bill's compensation. Bill, confined to a wheel-chair, is initially hostile to the plan. Jessie is impressed by the talent intelligence of fourteen year old pupil, Ronnie Fairburn, and tries to dissuade him from working in the mines. But his widowed mother needs the money and Ronnie wants to become a man. Ronnie is killed on his first day in the pit. Jessie gets engaged to Arthur and Jack marries Dolly at the Registry Office. Featuring Tony Nelson as Ronnie.
# 8: Paddy Boyle's Discharge 26 February 1976 Mary has died. Jack meets an old comrade, Sid Hepburn, who is still in the army. Hepburn is with the Black and Tans in Ireland on very good pay. Hepburn and his colleague, Harry Bartram take Jack to see Captain Leslie who tries to recruit him. Paddy Boyle, an Irish member of Jack's sheep-stealing gang, is a member of Sinn Fein. Hepburn and Bartram are shot by Paddy and his Sinn Fein boss. Despite a warning cry from Jack, Paddy and Lynch are shot by Captain Leslie. Featuring Ralph Watson as Paddy Doyle, George Irving
George Irving (English actor)
George Irving is a British actor who is probably most famous for playing Anton Meyer in Holby City from 1999 to 2002...

 as Sid Hepburn, Terrence Hardiman as Captain Leslie, Patrick Durkin as Bartram.
>4 March 1976 Tom falls for a nurse, Rosie Trotter. Just before he dies, Mick Murphy, Bella's uncle, places a bet in Bella's name with his nephew, Ralph, a bookie’s runner. Mick's funeral is well-attended, but the winning bet was never placed because Ralph was arrested. Featuring J.G.Devlin as Mick Murphy, Judy Lamb as Rosie Trotter, John White
John White
-Musicians:* John White , English musician* John White , American country music singer, writer on the genre of western music* John Simon White , American vocal coach and opera director-Politicians:...

as Ralph Murphy, Patrick Newell
Patrick Newell
Patrick David Newell was a British actor known for his large size. It is reputed he gained weight as a deliberate attempt to boost his career, marking him out for some niche roles...

 as the Undertaker.
# 10: King for a Day 11 March 1976 Jack agreed to help Manners buy a house from Lord Calderbeck by acting as front man. At Calderbeck’s house, he meets his nephew Freddy who wants to marry Jane Cromer, a wealthy young widow. Jane sleeps with Jack, but eventually decides to marry Freddy. Billy, who is working on a nearby farm, helps Jack obtain inside information, and Jack negotiates a good deal with Freddy and a large commission from Manners. He learns that Dolly has had a miscarriage. Featuring Lesley-Anne Down
Lesley-Anne Down
Lesley-Anne Down is a British film and television actress, former model and singer.Down achieved fame as Georgina Worsley in the ITV drama series Upstairs, Downstairs...

 as Jane Cromer.
>18 March 1976 Jack is looking after Glaswegian socialist lecturer, Sandy Lewis, who is speaking at the George Hotel. There is also a Tory meeting, and Tom avoids capture having stolen from the cloak-room. Billy takes Bill to a New Year's party at Jessie's against his will. Jack turns up with Sandy who needs somewhere to stay the night. Bill is summonsed for keeping the shop open too late. He suspects a rival shopkeeper of reporting him, and Sandy throws a brick through his window. Featuring Bill Simpson
Bill Simpson (actor)
William Nicholson Simpson was a Scottish film and television actor, most famous for his portrayal of the title role in the long-running BBC TV series, Dr. Finlay's Casebook.-Beginnings:...

 as Sandy Lewis.
# 12: Heads You Win, Tails I Lose 25 March 1976 Tom is threatened by two local ruffians from whom he has won money. Jessie tries to persuade widow, Lizzie Armstrong, to let her eldest son, Robert, take up a grammar school scholarship, but Lizzie needs him to leave school to earn money. Matt proposes to Lizzie who refuses him. Jack helps Tom take on the ruffians, who are then humiliated by a 'tin-panning' by local women arranged by Lizzie. Featuring Val MacLane as Lizzie. Armstrong.
# 13: Kind Hearted Rat with a Lifebelt 1 April 1976 Les Mallow, the local branch chairman, asks Jack to help him become district secretary of the fitters union. Jack refuses. He then persuades the branch to vote against a strike and to provide financial help to Mrs Downey, the widow of union member. Tom is awaiting trial for theft. Widow Downey - who informed on Tom - is evicted. Jack helps her recover her furniture by breaking into her flat. He then lets himself be arrested. Both he and Tom are sent to Durhan jail, A month later, Jack is released to a hero's welcome . As planned, he is now favourite to beat Mallow in the election for district secretary, a post with a salary of £400 a year. Featuring John Woodvine
John Woodvine
John Woodvine is an English stage and screen actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles.-Early life:...

 as Les Mallow, Pamela Ruddock as Mrs Downey.

Series Two (1976-77)

Title Airdate Overview
29 October 1976 Jack is now the district secretary of the fitters union, and he appoints Matt as his deputy. Les Mallow still wants Jack's job and reveals that his predecessor had agreed to ask for a two-pence an hour pay increase. Jack discovers that the plan was to settle for a penny. Mallow says that Jack must deliver this to keep his job beyond the probationary period. Jack persuades Sir Horatio Manners, now chairman of the large Lewis Bishop shipyard, to concede the extra penny to keep him rather than Mallow as union secretary. But Jack is now in Manners' debt. Featuring Alan Browning
Alan Browning
Alan Browning was an English film and television actor, born in Sunderland. He is best remembered as the character Alan Howard in the television series Coronation Street, a role he played from 1969 until 1973...

 as Les Mallow.
>5 November 1976 Jack, Dolly and Matt move to their posh new house in Lavender Avenue. Dolly wants to adopt a child, and is distraught to find that Jack's prison record will prevent this. Tom, now helping in the shop, is threatened by Big Mac, whom he and Jack had exposed as a tobacco baron when they were in prison. Jack and Matt beat up Mac and his friends. Featuring Roddy McMillan
Roddy McMillan
Roddy McMillan was a Scottish actor and playwright, possibly most famous for his comedy role as Para Handy for BBC Scotland television. He also played the lead role in Edward Boyd's private eye series, The View from Daniel Pike.The Glasgow-born McMillan's earliest theatre work began in the...

 as Big Mac.
>12 November 1976 Jack is approached by Ted Chater, a Sergeant who knew him in Murmansk. Chater has got his girl-friend pregnant, unaware that she was a minor. Jack hides Chater while he looks for the girl. He traces her father, Stobart, and learns that she killed herself after the regimental adjutant, Captain Barford, told her he would put Chater in prison. Manners invites Barford and Jack to a shooting-party. Manners wants Jack to demolish a country house, Mandrake Place, to make room for a housing project. Jack stops Chater from shooting Barford, but then leaves him to shoot himself. Featuring David Daker
David Daker
David Daker is an English actor.His is best known for his role as Harry Crawford in the hit series Boon. He also played PC Owen Culshaw in Z-Cars, Jarvis in Porridge, Captain Nathan Spiker in Dick Turpin....

 as Ted Chater, Paul Darrow
Paul Darrow
Paul Darrow is an English actor best known for his portrayal of Kerr Avon in the BBC science fiction television series Blake's 7...

 as Barford, Colin Douglas
Colin Douglas (actor)
Colin Douglas was an English actor. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Douglas was educated at the Farm School in Cumberland...

 as Stobart.
# 4: Roubles for the Promised Land 19 November 1976 Billy is unable to get medical work due to his socialist principles. Tom, living in a hostel, befriends Kaganovich, a Russian Jew hoping to travel to Palestine and looking for Jack. Kaganovich accuses Jack of stealing money from his late father during the Russian revolution. Jack claims he was given the money for helping the old man escape. In any case it is worthless ‘Kerensky money'. Jack persuades Tom to return home. Featuring David Graham
David Graham (actor)
David Graham is a British character actor and voice artist. Born in London, after a period in the R.A.F as a Radar Mechanic he trained as an actor in New York but has worked mainly on British television series....

 as Kaganovich.
>26 November 1976 Les Mallow wants Jack to expose seed merchant Sanderson, whose brother is on the housing committee and sells plants to council tenants at extortionate prices. If Jack refuses, Les threatens to reveal what Jack had done in Murmansk. He had learned about this from a drunken Matt. Jessie asks Jack to employ Billy as the union's doctor for compensation cases. She lets slip that Mallow has a shameful secret in his family. Jack discovers that Mallow is living off his sister's immoral earnings, and threatens to reveal this unless he backs off. Tom starts work as a jobbing gardener. Featuring Alan Browning
Alan Browning
Alan Browning was an English film and television actor, born in Sunderland. He is best remembered as the character Alan Howard in the television series Coronation Street, a role he played from 1969 until 1973...

 as Les Mallow.
# 6: God & Love & Wellesley Street 3 December 1976 Billy gets a job at the Wellesley Street free clinic run by Dr. Stoker. His family disapprove because he has turned down Jack's job offer and will not be able to repay what he owes Bill and Tom. Charlotte Courtnay, a novelist from London, comes looking for her father, a priest who is also working with Stoker. She becomes friendly with Tom, but Jack thinks she is toying with him and persuades her to return to London before he gets hurt. Featuring Ginette Clarke as Charlotte Courtnay.
>10 December 1976 To repay his debt to Manners, Jack has to close down production for a week at Buell-Hodge, a firm that pays its workers well over the minimum. Jack calls a strike over conditions at the factory. Using Matt's name, he also discovers that Buell's American machines are dangerous. This enables him to close down Manners' factory as well, so Manners cannot fufill Buell's big contract and put him out of business. Bella gets drunk and flirts with Jack.
# 8: Ladies, Women, Sweethearts & Wives 17 December 1976 Bill opens a second shop. Jessie has a baby boy. Jack and Dolly go to a dinner party at the Duke of Bedlington’s, where Jack is to negotiate terms for his members to work a new trading estate being built on some of the Duke's land. Manners warns Jack not to take Dolly. As he predicted, bitchy society ladies pick on Dolly, but Lady Caroline, the Duke's daughter, is kind to her. Later, Jack sees Tom offer her a shoulder to cry on.
>7 January 1977 Dolly leaves Jack to be with Tom. Jack gets them both jobs on the duke's staff. He becomes increasingly friendly with Lady Caroline and buys land from her to spite Manners. Billy finally accepts Jack's job offer, saying that the money he earns will be split between repaying his family and Stoker’s clinic.
# 10: A Wreath with Our Names On 14 January 1977 Billy is shocked that Stan Mather, a cousin of Dolly's late husband, is still working at Lewis Bishop despite having pleurisy. When he is fatally injured in an accident, Jack forces Billy to keep quiet about Stan's being unfit to work to ensure his widow gets compensation. Lady Caroline offers to give Dolly and Tom the money for a cottage, but they get it from Bill instead. Jack makes his peace with Dolly and they send Stan's widow a wreath.
# 11: The Way It Was in Murmansk 21 January 1977 Stan Liddell, local Labour party secretary, asks Jack to speak on behalf of their candidate at the forthcoming election, Geordie Watson. Jack agrees on condition that Matt is made a councillor and gives a rousing speech, also bribing voters to ensure Watson's victory. The elections cause an argument between Jessie and Arthur. Matt's new girl-friend, Sarah Lytton, becomes house-keeper for him and Jack.
# 12: In the Front Line You Get Shot At 28 January 1977 A factory owner called Colfax refuses on principle to recognise union labour. Manners tells Jack that head office want to try to force the union on Colfax, and says that as a bet Colfax will give him a thousand pounds if the attempt fails. Using Eddy Morton to win the mens' support, Jack threatens strike action. But he has to call the strike off when Colfax calls in the police. He suspects that Boothroyd from head office has tipped off Colfax. Jack tears up Manners' cheque for £1000 recognising it as a trick to implicate him in corruption. Bella is rushed to hospital with appendicitis. Featuring John Savident
John Savident
John Savident is a British actor, best known for playing the part of Fred Elliott in the soap opera Coronation Street from 1994 to 2006. And also was a frequent guest on Soccer AM alongside fellow actor Jack 'The Rigger' Spooner....

 as Colfax.
# 13: The Simple Pleasures of the Rich 4 February 1977 Dolly is pregnant by Tom. Jack announces that he is resigning as Union secretary and handing over to Matt. He will also move out of the house to allow Matt and Sarah privacy when they marry. When Jack demands a high price, Manners refuses to buy the land that Jack obtained from Lady Caroline. Nevertheless Jack decides to go ahead with the demolition of Mandrake Place. Tom helps in return for Jack's agreeing to let Dolly divorce him. In the event, Jack insists that he rather than Tom fires the shot.

Series Three (1977)

Title Airdate Overview
8 September 1977 Matt and Tom rescue the injured Jack from the ruins of Mandrake Place. Arthur is appalled by the destruction and contacts the Association for the Preservation of Great Houses. Its Chairman, James Channing, threatens to prosecute. Jessie warns Jack and offers him an alibi. Jack learns from Caroline that her brother-in-law, Roddy, and Channing have been lovers. To Caroline’s disgust he says he will use this to blackmail Roddy into persuading Channing drop the prosecution.
>15 September 1977 Jessie calls a family meeting to ensure that Matt and Tom are not arrested for their part in the demolition of Mandrake Place. Bill offers Dolly a job managing his new shop in Garibaldi Street. Jack is beaten up by two thugs employed by Roddy. He gets his own back on one of them and then tells Roddy he will get him sent to prison unless all charges are dropped.
# 3: My Bonnie Lass, Goodbye 22 September 1977 Jack forces Channing to support his story that the destruction of Mandrake Place was an accident. Manners, claiming to believe this story, then refuses to pay him. Jessie is dismayed when Arthur tells her that they are moving to Kent where he has a better paid job. Jack, after a farewell kiss, arranges an introduction with the Kent Fabian Society so she can carry on with her political activities. He then leaves for Scarborough to provide Dolly’s grounds for divorce.
>29 September 1977 Matt's position as union district secretary is threatened by Eddy Morton. In an attempt to show Matt up, Eddy tells Matt that Manners has done a deal with Friedrich Peltzer, the duke's German nephew. As this could mean his members lose jobs to Germany, Matt threatens strike action unless the deal is cancelled. Matt wins the vote to confim him in his job, but then makes Eddy his deputy, aware from Billy that he is terminally ill. Dolly persuades Tom to leave the duke's estate so she can run Bill's new shop.
# 5: Travel Light, Travel Far 6 October 1977 Riddled with cancer, Dr. Stoker takes an overdose and dies, leaving Billy to run the free clinic with only Father Courtnay to help. Jack supplies Dolly with a solicitor, who tells her that she and Tom must live apart to appear blameless. Manners pays Jack to front Pioneer Enterprises, a 'nominee company' to act as go-between with Peltzer. Matt finds out and fights Jack. He later discovers that Jack's contract with Manners guarantees 20 more fitters jobs.
# 6: Requiem for a Loser 13 October 1977 Jack learns that the witness to his infidelity has died. Dolly, told by her solicitor that her own adultery jeopardises her case, accuses Jack of deliberately stalling. Billy collapses from exhaustion. At Sarah’s insistence, Matt asks Jack rather than Eddy Morton to be his best man. Eddie is drunk and abusive at the wedding and then drops dead. Father Courtnay, who is leaving the parish, discovers that Jack is trying to buy the Wellesley Street clinic.
>20 October 1977 Jack threatens to reveal that he bought votes for Geordie Watson unless he ensures Matt is made a councillor as promised. Geordie must also get Stan Liddell to ensure that the Council sells Wellesley Street to Jack. Billy asks a fellow doctor if a new operation could allow Bill to walk again. To annoy Manners, Caroline asks Jack to a ball as her father's guest.
# 8: The Empire Builders 27 October 1977 Billy reveals that Bill might walk again if he has an operation, but Bella is against it. Having bought Wellesley Street cheaply, Jack demands £5000 to sell it to Colfax, who needs to expand there. He persuades Bill to introduce loyalty savings stamp
Savings stamp
A Savings Stamp is a stamp issued by a government or other body to enable small amounts of money to be saved over time to accumulate a larger capital sum. The funds accumulated may then be used to make a larger purchase such as taking out a savings bond or to pay a large upcoming bill...

s in his shops, the two of them splitting the profits.
# 9: Look Up & See the Sky 3 November 1977 Colfax visits Jack to haggle over the sale of Wellesley Street. Jack knows that Colfax has already invested in expensive new plant and holds out for the full amount and acceptance of union labour. Colfax eventually agrees when Jack threatens to sell to Manners, who would then be able to bankrupt Colfax and take over his factory. Bella tells Jack about the possibility of an operation for Bill, and Jack reveals this to Tom. Featuring David King as Colfax.
# 10: Letters from Afar 10 November 1977 Left-winger Regan threatens a strike at Lewis Bishop unless a sacked worker is reinstated. Matt resorts to trickery to get information for Jack about Ryders, a local engineering firm run by an old-fashioned patriarch. Joe Prestwick, a former loyal employee, persuades Mr. Ryder to give Billy an old warehouse to use as a new clinic. With Ryders' undervalued shares continuing to rise, Manners tries to buy the Duke's shares. Featuring Nat Jackley
Nat Jackley
Nat Jackley was an English comic actor starring in variety, film and pantomime from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s whose trademark rubber-neck dance, skeletal frame and peculiar speech impediment made him a formidable and funny pantomime dame.His later years were spent as a character actor in...

 as Joe Prestwick.
>17 November 1977 Jack is using a nominee company to buy up Ryders shares for Manners. The Duke warns him off involving Caroline in the scheme. As the share price keeps rising, Manners has to offer Lewis Bishop shares in exchange. Jack persuades Bill to have the operation. Dolly gives birth a month early.
# 12: Diamond Cut Diamond 24 November 1977 Dolly's divorce comes through and baby Matthew William is christened. Bill goes into hospital. Regan calls an unofficial strike at Lewis Bishop and disrupts Manners' press conference about the Ryders take-over. To assume total control of Ryders, Manners needs the duke's block vote. Jack says he can deliver it, but tells the Duke to vote for Ryder. He persuades Matt to make the strike official and ensures that the news breaks at the meeting. The take-over fails, costing Manners a lot of money and finally giving Jack his revenge for Mandrake Place. Jack and Lady Caroline do well, having sold their shares to Manners when the price was high.
# 13: A Marriage & a Massacre 1 December 1977 After his operation, Bill is able to walk with a stick. Tom is frustrated working in the shop. Billy and his assistant, medical student Isobel Murcheson, alert Matt to the case of Mr. Dixon, mentally unsound after an accident at Lewis Bishop for which Manners paid his hospital bill. Jack visits the duke who asks him to find out who is sending him threatening letters and killing animals on his estate. Caroline tells Jack she is engaged.
# 14: High Life & Hunger 8 December 1977 Isobel's reactionary father tries to ban her from working at the clinic. He is Bill's wholesaler and threatens to cut off his credit. Billy and Bill argue and Bill suffers a fall. Jack visits Dixon who sends him away. Jack employs a group of homeless unemployed, including upper class con man High Life DeVere, to help him catch the person threatening the duke. He discovers it is Dixon. Featuring James Woolley as High Life De Vere.
# 15: Please Say Goodbye Before You Go 15 December 1977 Jack flirts with Isobel at a charity ball and meets Lady Caroline’s fiancé, Mostyn. Jack and High Life catch Dixon breaking into the duke's house to destroy a picture of one of the duke's ancestors who resembles his son, Christopher. Dixon wants revenge because Christopher had seduced his daughter. Manners agrees to look after Dixon. Jack lends Tom money for his own market garden, then tells Matt he is leaving for America. Matt asks why he is going to a land where you can't get whisky. “To sell them some”, Jack replies. Featuring Timothy Carlton
Timothy Carlton
Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English character actor. Among other work, he appeared in the sitcoms Executive Stress, Next of Kin and in the television film The Scarlet Pimpernel....

 as Mostyn, James Woolley.


Series Four (1981)

Title Airdate Overview
17 February 1981 Jack has made a fortune from boot-legging and lost it in the Wall Street Crash. An alcoholic and in debt to gangsters, he flees New York as a stowaway. In Liverpool he meets Canon Penfold, who gets him a room in a hostel. He has to share with Charlie Rowse, an embittered ex-teacher who forces him to drink and beats him up. Jack hits back at him and quits the hostel. Morty Black, an old business friend from New York, offers him money. Featuring David Graham
David Graham (actor)
David Graham is a British character actor and voice artist. Born in London, after a period in the R.A.F as a Radar Mechanic he trained as an actor in New York but has worked mainly on British television series....

 as Morty Black, Bernard Horsfall
Bernard Horsfall
Bernard Horsfall is a British actor.Horsfall was born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire. He has appeared in many television and film roles including: Guns at Batasi , On Her Majesty's Secret Service , Enemy at the Door , Gandhi , The Jewel in the Crown , The Hound of the Baskervilles Bernard...

 as Charlie Rowse, Jeremy Child
Jeremy Child
Sir Coles John "Jeremy" Child, 3rd Baronet is an English actor.He was born in Woking, England and educated at Eton College, as well as trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. After appearing in repertory theatre, he was cast in a significant role in the 1967 film Privilege...

 as Canon Penfold.
# 2: A Gift from Heaven 24 February 1981 Jack returns to Gallowshield and lodges with Sarah, who tells him that Matt drowned in a boating accident. Jack learns from the boat's owner, Doughty, that Matt killed himself having stolen union funds to support his mistress, Thelma. She is now dating Sarah's brother, Harry. Harry has photographs of Doughty's smuggling activities with which to blackmail him. Jack steals them and sells them to Doughty. They have Harry beaten up and run him out of town. Jack burns Matt's love letters to Thelma to convince Sarah that he was not unfaithful. Featuring Bryan Pringle
Bryan Pringle
Bryan Pringle was a British actor who appeared in television, film and theatre productions.Born in Tamworth, Staffordshire but raised in the Lancashire town of Bolton he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In 1958, he married character actress Anne Jameson; together they had...

 as Doughty.
# 3: A Medal for the Argentine 3 March 1981 Jack meets Margaret Carter-Brown, the niece of Lewis Bishop's managing director John Hartley. She is a Socialist researching the plight of the unemployed on Tyneside. He takes her to see Danny Lockhart, who is unemployed and has sold his war medal. Hartley learns that the Argentine navy want a warship and asks Jack to use his contacts to win the contract for Lewis Bishop. The deal fails, but Jack is able to win another order for an American millionaire and uses his fee to buy back Danny's medal. Featuring William Squire
William Squire
William Squire was a Welsh actor of stage, film and television, born in Neath, South Wales.As a stage actor, Squire performed at Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Old Vic, and notably replaced his fellow-countryman Richard Burton as King Arthur in Camelot at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway.His...

 as Hartley.
# 4: Flies & Spiders 10 March 1981 Doughty introduces Jack to Captain Bauer, who offers Jack work guarding an air-strip in South America against local tribes. Learning that Bauer wants the locals killed for the oil on their land, Jack refuses. He buys fire damaged goods from Bauer and he and Sarah sell them in Gallowshield market. Margaret becomes engaged. Featuring William Squire
William Squire
William Squire was a Welsh actor of stage, film and television, born in Neath, South Wales.As a stage actor, Squire performed at Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Old Vic, and notably replaced his fellow-countryman Richard Burton as King Arthur in Camelot at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway.His...

, Bryan Pringle
Bryan Pringle
Bryan Pringle was a British actor who appeared in television, film and theatre productions.Born in Tamworth, Staffordshire but raised in the Lancashire town of Bolton he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In 1958, he married character actress Anne Jameson; together they had...

.
# 5: Oh, My Charming Billy Boy 17 March 1981 Schoolteacher, Sid Meek, tells Jack about Matt's nephew, Bill Pierce. He is a law student at Oxford but wants to drop out to get married. Sid is secretly in love with Bill and supporting him financially. In Oxford, Jack meets Bill, his patron, Labour philanthropist Violet Laurence, and her niece, Imogen Lorrimer. Jack loans Bill money to pay off his debts. Featuring David Daker
David Daker
David Daker is an English actor.His is best known for his role as Harry Crawford in the hit series Boon. He also played PC Owen Culshaw in Z-Cars, Jarvis in Porridge, Captain Nathan Spiker in Dick Turpin....

 as Sid Meek, Paul Antony-Barber as Bill Pierce, Sabina Franklyn
Sabina Franklyn
Sabina Franklyn is an English actress, and the daughter of William Franklyn and Margo Johns.Franklyn attended the independent Queen's Gate School and acted on stage with repertory theatres before her television appearances....

 as Imogen Lorrimer, Louie Ramsay
Louie Ramsay
Louie Ramsay was a British actress perhaps best known to television audiences for her portrayal of the wife of Chief Inspector Reg Wexford on the ITV television series, Ruth Rendell Mysteries...

 as Violet Laurence.
# 6: Friends, Romans, Countrymen 24 March 1981 Jack has been living in London for three years with Imogen. She leaves him to avoid scandal as her aunt is standing to be Labour MP for Gallowshield. Tipped off about oil by Geordie Watson, Jack buys cheap land in Gallowshields to sell to the interested company. At a toga party given by Mrs. Laurence for the Tyneside hunger marchers, Jack meets Jessie. Although still married to Arthur, she is seeing upper class socialist Robin Cunningham. She opposes the land deal, but Jack buys her silence by threatening to tell Arthur about Robin. Featuring Sabina Franklyn
Sabina Franklyn
Sabina Franklyn is an English actress, and the daughter of William Franklyn and Margo Johns.Franklyn attended the independent Queen's Gate School and acted on stage with repertory theatres before her television appearances....

, Louie Ramsay
Louie Ramsay
Louie Ramsay was a British actress perhaps best known to television audiences for her portrayal of the wife of Chief Inspector Reg Wexford on the ITV television series, Ruth Rendell Mysteries...

, Christopher Neame
Christopher Neame
Christopher Neame is an English actor.-Education:Neame was educated at The King's School, Canterbury, an independent school in Canterbury in Kent.-Life and career:...

 as Robin Cunningham.
# 7: The Bright Young Things 31 March 1981 Having made money from his deal with the oil company, Jack is mixing in London high society. His land agent, Frank, asks Jack to broker the sale of an expensive emerald necklace to Morty Black. The necklace is owned by Philip Martin whose sister, Jane, is unbalanced and would kill to get the necklace for herself. The sale goes ahead. When Jack learns that Morty paid off the mobsters who were after him, he waives his share of the price. Featuring Simon Cadell
Simon Cadell
Simon John Cadell was an English actor.Born in London, he was the grandson of the Scottish character actor Jean Cadell, the brother of the actress Selina Cadell, and the cousin of the actor Guy Siner. He was educated at Bedales School at Petersfield where his close friends included Gyles...

 as Philip Martin, Mel Martin
Mel Martin
Mel Martin is an English actor. She has appeared in such British television programmes and films as The Pallisers, Love for Lydia, Bergerac, Cover Her Face, Lovejoy, Inspector Morse, Cadfael, When the Boat Comes In, Midsomer Murders and "A Touch of Frost".She starred as Fiona Samson, the double...

 as Jane Martin, David Graham
David Graham (actor)
David Graham is a British character actor and voice artist. Born in London, after a period in the R.A.F as a Radar Mechanic he trained as an actor in New York but has worked mainly on British television series....

.
# 8: Action! 7 April 1981 Lady Caroline invites Jack to visit her in Northumberland. Sarah is seeing Stan Lidell. Jack helps shop-keeper Manny Goldstein who is being persecuted by Blackshirt thugs. At a function given by Caroline's husband, Edward Mostyn, Jack argues with the local Fascist leader, Hector Smith-Jameson, which attracts him to socialist guest, Tania Corley. Jack buys a share in Manny's shop and when the thugs attack it again, he forces Smith-Jameson to pay compensation or face prosecution, and then exposes him for having paid money to a Jew. Featuring Timothy Carlton
Timothy Carlton
Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English character actor. Among other work, he appeared in the sitcoms Executive Stress, Next of Kin and in the television film The Scarlet Pimpernel....

 as Mostyn, John Rowe
John Rowe (actor)
-TV:*BBC Television Shakespeare - Henry VIII *Juliet Bravo *When the Boat Comes In *Chambers *Agatha Christie's Poirot...

 as Smith-Jameson, Ray Mort as Manny.
# 9: Comrades in Arms 14 April 1981 Tania’s mother, Lady Leamington, gives a party to raise funds for the victims of Franco in the Spanish civil war. Billy treats Bob Randall, son of Jack's old sergeant-major Fred, wounded fighting for the Spanish Republicans. Jack considers himself in debt to Fred who once saved his life. Jessie and Billy get Fred to persuade Jack to smuggle guns to the Republicans. Using a pleasure cruise as cover, Jack sails for Spain with Tania, Jessie, Billy and communist Nigel Scott-Palliser. Featuring Clive Merrison
Clive Merrison
Clive Merrison is a Welsh actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College.- Television :...

 as Scott-Palliser, Phyllida Law
Phyllida Law
-Personal life:Law was born in Glasgow, the daughter of William and Megsie Law, who divorced after World War II. She was married to Eric Thompson from 1957 until his death in 1982. Their two children Emma and Sophie Thompson are both actresses...

 as Lady Leamington, David Wood
David Wood (actor)
David Wood OBE is an English-born actor and writer, called "the National Children's Dramatist" by The Times.He was educated at Chichester High School For Boys and Worcester College, Oxford....

 as Ceddie Corley, Colin Douglas
Colin Douglas (actor)
Colin Douglas was an English actor. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Douglas was educated at the Farm School in Cumberland...

 as Fred Randall.
# 10: Roll of Honour 21 April 1981 Jack learns from Ceddie Corley that Scott-Palliser is planning to have him arrested for gun-running. He sends Tania home, warns the ship's captain and goes ashore with the ship's steward, Raoul Savory. Jessie is shocked to discover that Scott-Palliser plans to give the guns to the Communists and not the Socialists. Raoul diverts the Communist convoy. Jack, Jessie, Billy and Raoul set off to deliver the guns to the socialists. They fight off Franco's Moorish cavalry, but Scott-Palliser is lying in wait and shoots Jack. Featuring Michael Melia
Michael Melia
Michael Melia is an established British actor best known for his work on television.Melia was born in Berkshire and attended St. Mary's College, Twickenham, the oldest Roman Catholic college in England. Before taking up acting he was a teacher. At one stage he ran a bar in Spain and thought about...

 as Raoul Savory, Clive Merrison
Clive Merrison
Clive Merrison is a Welsh actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College.- Television :...

, David Wood
David Wood (actor)
David Wood OBE is an English-born actor and writer, called "the National Children's Dramatist" by The Times.He was educated at Chichester High School For Boys and Worcester College, Oxford....

.
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