Jossy's Giants was a children's footballing comedy drama that ran on BBC1 between 1986 and 1987. The show's plot centred around the ups and downs of a boys' football team, the Glipton Giants (formally Glipton Grasshoppers), and their enthusiastic Geordie

Geordie

Geordie is a regional nickname for a person from the Tyneside region of the north east of England, or the name of the English-language dialect spoken by its inhabitants...

 manager Joswell 'Jossy' Blair.

The show was written by darts commentator and television personality Sid Waddell, himself a native of Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

. In total, only ten episodes were made; the distinctive theme tune was written by Mike Amatt. Both series' football club scenes were shot at a football club in Middleton, now a housing estate. Exterior scenes were shot in and around Stalybridge and the studio material was shot at BBC Oxford Road. The Producer/Director Edward Pugh became an Executive Producer and ran Children's Programmes Department at BBC Manchester after the series.

Stars

Many of the child actors from the series have long since left the acting profession, although Jim Barclay (who played Jossy Blair) still appears on British television in such programmes as My Family and Blessed

Blessed (TV series)

Blessed was a BBC television sitcom written by Ben Elton and starring Ardal O'Hanlon as Gary, a record producer, who is struggling to bring up two small children...

. Julian Walsh (who played Harvey) has also forged out a relatively good acting career, appearing in many TV shows such as Sorted

Sorted (TV series)

Sorted is a BBC television drama series, first broadcast in 2006, and transmitted on BBC One and BBC HD. It was created by Danny Brocklehurst, who has also written Clocking Off, The Stretford Wives and Shameless...

. Walsh was also the chosen 'face' of the Warburton's Bread TV advertising campaign in 2007. He is still acting today and has appeared in notable programmes, such as Jimmy McGovern

Jimmy McGovern

Jimmy McGovern is a BAFTA award-winning English television scriptwriter from Liverpool.-Early career:McGovern started his career working on Channel 4's soap opera Brookside in 1982, tackling many social issues such as unemployment.-Successes:...

's The Street

The Street (TV series)

The Street is a British television drama series created by Jimmy McGovern and produced by Granada Television for the BBC. The series follows the lives of various residents of an unnamed street in Manchester and features an all-star cast including Timothy Spall, Jim Broadbent, Jane Horrocks, Bob...

, alongside Bob Hoskins

Bob Hoskins

Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...

. Julie Foy, who played Tracey Gaunt, went onto appear in Press Gang

Press Gang

Press Gang is a British children's television comedy-drama consisting of forty-three episodes across five series that were broadcast from 1989 to 1993...

 and Coronation Street

Coronation Street

Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...

, while Suzanne Hall

Suzanne Hall

Suzanne Hall .Before attending her first high school, Worden Sports College in Leyland, she went to Hayward School in Bolton and, at that time lived in Great Lever, but currently lives in Smithills...

, who appeared in four episodes as Harvey's girlfriend Opal, has been in Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...

 since 2005 as
Suzanne Ashworth

Suzanne Ashworth

Suzanne Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Suzanne Hall. She made her first on-screen appearance on 3 October 2005. Suzanne was introduced by series producer David Hanson as part of the Ashworth family. In February 2010, Suzanne was axed...

Cast

Character	Played by	Notes
Jossy Blair	Jim Barclay	Profligate manager of the Glipton Grasshoppers. Fiance to Glenda Fletcher.
Albert Hanson	Christopher Burgess	Blair's assistant manager and business partner.
Tracey Gaunt	Julie Foy	The Giants' number one fan. Sagacity belies her years.
Bob Nelson	John Judd	Jack of all trades and father to Ross.
Ross Nelson	Mark Gillard	Glipton's star turn.
Ricky Sweet	Paul Kirkbright	Captain of the team.
Harvey McGuinn	Julian Walsh	Goalkeeper.
Glenn Rix	Stuart McGuinness	One of two outlandishly coiffured strikers.
Ian 'Selly' Sellick	Ian Sheppard	As above.
Wayne Chapman	Oliver Orr	Club stalwart.
Daz	Lee Quarmby	Bright young thing.
Cllr Glenda Fletcher	Jenny McCracken	Jossy Blair's fiancée.

External links

• Jossy's Giants tribute site | Site Deleted
• Jossy's Giants on IMDB