Pulling Moves
Encyclopedia
Pulling Moves was a Northern Irish television
programme set in Lenadoon, West Belfast
. It follows the exploits of four friends: Wardrobe (Simon Delaney
), Ta (Ciarán McMenamin
), Shay (Ciaran Nolan) and Darragh (Kevin Elliot).
Wardrobe is the leader of the group, who only loves one person, his 'wee ma' and he would do anything for her. Ta lives with Una, the mother of his kids. She is always on his case, trying to get him to leave the group, get a respectable job and make a living for her and the kids, but his nature stops him from doing this. Darragh is always trying to impress his ex-wife to allow him to keep seeing his son. Shay is the youngest in the group, and the one who always makes the mistakes. He is always getting into trouble and his mother always hopes that one day he will be able to get a job and be sensible like his wee sister Niamh.
Each episode follows the guys trying different scams to earn money. These schemes vary from nobbling pigeon-racing to dog-breeding, and always with something funny happening to the group. They are joined by other various characters, including "Hoker," an anti-social element who can get anything from stolen cars to lost dogs for the crowd. Wardrobe doesn't like this guy, but Hoker is a friend of Shay's, and he's useful now and again. Crazy Horse is the local wino, he's always drunk and sitting outside the butcher's shop, and finally, Tiny Tim, who owns a pet salon, who the guys help out now and again.
Aired:
Directed by: Brian Kirk
The guys are skint as usual and get involved in trying set up a phoney accident which would get them compensation.
Episode 2. Meat is Murder.
Aired:
Directed by: Brian Kirk
Ta's uncle asks the guys to dispose of a cow, but the guys spot a chance of making a few pounds selling bits of it off, and not realising it's possibly infected with Mad Cow disease.
Episode 3. The Quiz.
Aired:
Directed by: Brian Kirk
Ta owes his ex-wife child support and she won't let him see their son until he pays up. £1,000 prize money for a quiz at the local pub might help him out.
Episode 4. Dog-Eat-Dog.
Aired:
Directed by: Brian Kirk
The owner of a prize Shih-tzu hires the guys to steal another prize Shih-tzu so the two dogs can mate, but as usual, things don't go as planned.
Episode 5. Spousal Arousal.
Aired:
Directed by: Brian Kirk
'Mick Bad News' thinks his wife is having an affair and hires the guys to trail her to a local hotel, where shepicks up various men. After telling him the bad news, he suggests they set up a trap for her.
Episode 6. Catch the Pigeon.
Aired:
Directed by: Pearse Elliot
As a favour for the wife of recently deceased Barney the Bird, the guys knock down his pigeon shed, and accidentally come across the secret formula which he fed to his pigeons to make them fly faster. The guys then decide to sell it to the highest bidder, starting a bidding war between 'Honk Kong Paddy' and 'Petsey Pigeon'.
Episode 7. The Pirate and the Choir Boys.
Aired:
Directed by: Pearse Elliot
Ta gets a legit job and Shay becomes a taxi driver. It looks like the boys are breaking up until Shay upsets Concepta McCluskey, the mother of the three biggest guys in the west.
Episode 8. Two Weddings and a Break In.
Aired:
Directed by: Phillipa
Wardrobe wants to buy his mum's house for her as a birthday present, but the guys are skint. An offer from his cousin for the gang to break in and steal his wedding presents whilst he is away on honeymoon could solve Wardrobe's problem, until the local hoodlum, Hokey, gets involved.
Episode 9. The Grandfather Clock.
Aired:
Directed by: Phillipa
Local entrepreneur JJ Diamond enlists the help of the guys to bring a grandfather clock across the border. But dissident republicans hi-jack their van and use it for planting a bomb.
Episode 10. All Day Long.
Aired:
Directed by: Phillipa
Still working for JJ Diamond, the guys almost have enough money for a stag night for Ta, but when they go to do one last move for JJ, the police have arrived at his house and arrested Carol, so the guys are asked to smuggle JJ out of the country.
)
Ta (Ciaran McMenamin
)
Darragh (Kevin Elliott)
Shay (Ciaran Nolan)
Hoker (Gerard Jordan)
Una (Kathy Kiera Clarke)
Siobhan (Lorraine Pilkington
)
Wardrobe’s Ma (Doreen Keogh
)
Bap The Butcher (Sean McGinley
)
Aran (Stephen Boyd
)
Crazyhorse (Dennis Greig)
Dole Clerk (Tony Flynn
)
Goretti (Paula McFetridge)
Client Advisor (Lalor Roddy)
Policeman (George Shane)
Niamh (Louise Ewings)
Shay’s Da (Sean McNamee)
Ciaran (Ossian McCulloch)
Aoife (Roisin Finnegan)
Ma Maguire (Bridie McMahon)
The show was first aired on BBC
Northern Ireland in 2003, and aired nationwide on BBC Three
, which ran for one series of ten episodes.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
programme set in Lenadoon, West Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. It follows the exploits of four friends: Wardrobe (Simon Delaney
Simon Delaney
Simon Delaney is an Irish television and theatre director, whose works include the RTE series Bachelors Walk as one of three bachelors living together in a flat on the quays in Dublin....
), Ta (Ciarán McMenamin
Ciarán McMenamin
Ciarán McMenamin is an Irish actor who is now living in South London. He is best known for playing Matt Anderson, replacing Jason Flemyng as lead on Primeval.- Early life :...
), Shay (Ciaran Nolan) and Darragh (Kevin Elliot).
Wardrobe is the leader of the group, who only loves one person, his 'wee ma' and he would do anything for her. Ta lives with Una, the mother of his kids. She is always on his case, trying to get him to leave the group, get a respectable job and make a living for her and the kids, but his nature stops him from doing this. Darragh is always trying to impress his ex-wife to allow him to keep seeing his son. Shay is the youngest in the group, and the one who always makes the mistakes. He is always getting into trouble and his mother always hopes that one day he will be able to get a job and be sensible like his wee sister Niamh.
Each episode follows the guys trying different scams to earn money. These schemes vary from nobbling pigeon-racing to dog-breeding, and always with something funny happening to the group. They are joined by other various characters, including "Hoker," an anti-social element who can get anything from stolen cars to lost dogs for the crowd. Wardrobe doesn't like this guy, but Hoker is a friend of Shay's, and he's useful now and again. Crazy Horse is the local wino, he's always drunk and sitting outside the butcher's shop, and finally, Tiny Tim, who owns a pet salon, who the guys help out now and again.
Episode guide
Episode 1. Clamitis.Aired:
Directed by: Brian Kirk
The guys are skint as usual and get involved in trying set up a phoney accident which would get them compensation.
Episode 2. Meat is Murder.
Aired:
Directed by: Brian Kirk
Ta's uncle asks the guys to dispose of a cow, but the guys spot a chance of making a few pounds selling bits of it off, and not realising it's possibly infected with Mad Cow disease.
Episode 3. The Quiz.
Aired:
Directed by: Brian Kirk
Ta owes his ex-wife child support and she won't let him see their son until he pays up. £1,000 prize money for a quiz at the local pub might help him out.
Episode 4. Dog-Eat-Dog.
Aired:
Directed by: Brian Kirk
The owner of a prize Shih-tzu hires the guys to steal another prize Shih-tzu so the two dogs can mate, but as usual, things don't go as planned.
Episode 5. Spousal Arousal.
Aired:
Directed by: Brian Kirk
'Mick Bad News' thinks his wife is having an affair and hires the guys to trail her to a local hotel, where shepicks up various men. After telling him the bad news, he suggests they set up a trap for her.
Episode 6. Catch the Pigeon.
Aired:
Directed by: Pearse Elliot
As a favour for the wife of recently deceased Barney the Bird, the guys knock down his pigeon shed, and accidentally come across the secret formula which he fed to his pigeons to make them fly faster. The guys then decide to sell it to the highest bidder, starting a bidding war between 'Honk Kong Paddy' and 'Petsey Pigeon'.
Episode 7. The Pirate and the Choir Boys.
Aired:
Directed by: Pearse Elliot
Ta gets a legit job and Shay becomes a taxi driver. It looks like the boys are breaking up until Shay upsets Concepta McCluskey, the mother of the three biggest guys in the west.
Episode 8. Two Weddings and a Break In.
Aired:
Directed by: Phillipa
Wardrobe wants to buy his mum's house for her as a birthday present, but the guys are skint. An offer from his cousin for the gang to break in and steal his wedding presents whilst he is away on honeymoon could solve Wardrobe's problem, until the local hoodlum, Hokey, gets involved.
Episode 9. The Grandfather Clock.
Aired:
Directed by: Phillipa
Local entrepreneur JJ Diamond enlists the help of the guys to bring a grandfather clock across the border. But dissident republicans hi-jack their van and use it for planting a bomb.
Episode 10. All Day Long.
Aired:
Directed by: Phillipa
Still working for JJ Diamond, the guys almost have enough money for a stag night for Ta, but when they go to do one last move for JJ, the police have arrived at his house and arrested Carol, so the guys are asked to smuggle JJ out of the country.
Cast list
Wardrobe (Simon DelaneySimon Delaney
Simon Delaney is an Irish television and theatre director, whose works include the RTE series Bachelors Walk as one of three bachelors living together in a flat on the quays in Dublin....
)
Ta (Ciaran McMenamin
Ciarán McMenamin
Ciarán McMenamin is an Irish actor who is now living in South London. He is best known for playing Matt Anderson, replacing Jason Flemyng as lead on Primeval.- Early life :...
)
Darragh (Kevin Elliott)
Shay (Ciaran Nolan)
Hoker (Gerard Jordan)
Una (Kathy Kiera Clarke)
Siobhan (Lorraine Pilkington
Lorraine Pilkington
Lorraine Pilkington is an Irish actress from Dublin, who is best known for her role as Katrina Finlay on Monarch of the Glen. Trained at the Gaiety School of Acting, Pilkington began her career at the age of 15 when she appeared in The Miracle directed by Neil Jordan. She appeared onstage in the...
)
Wardrobe’s Ma (Doreen Keogh
Doreen Keogh
Doreen Keogh is an Irish actress. Keogh left school at the age of 15 to train with the Abbey Theatre School, before moving to London....
)
Bap The Butcher (Sean McGinley
Seán McGinley
Seán McGinley is an Irish film and television actor.-Early life:McGinley was born in Pettigo, County Donegal, Ireland where his father was a customs officer, and raised in nearby Ballyshannon...
)
Aran (Stephen Boyd
Stephen Boyd
Stephen Boyd was an Irish actor, from Glengormley, Northern Ireland, who appeared in around 60 films, most notably in the role of Messala in Ben-Hur.-Biography:...
)
Crazyhorse (Dennis Greig)
Dole Clerk (Tony Flynn
Tony Flynn
Tony Flynn is a rock guitarist best known for his stints with Steppenwolf and an unauthorized 1980 "reunion" of Deep Purple. He was originally hired to play with Steppenwolf in 1977 to fill in for Kent Henry, and found himself called upon multiple times until 1980, at which point John Kay and...
)
Goretti (Paula McFetridge)
Client Advisor (Lalor Roddy)
Policeman (George Shane)
Niamh (Louise Ewings)
Shay’s Da (Sean McNamee)
Ciaran (Ossian McCulloch)
Aoife (Roisin Finnegan)
Ma Maguire (Bridie McMahon)
The show was first aired on 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...
Northern Ireland in 2003, and aired nationwide on BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
, which ran for one series of ten episodes.