The Gaffer (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Gaffer is an ITV
situation comedy series of the early 1980s starring Bill Maynard
and written by businessman Graham White. 20 episodes were shown between 1981 and 1983. It was made for the ITV
network by Yorkshire Television
), Maynard's next character could not have been more different from the bumbling Selwyn Froggitt. Fred Moffatt is a survivor - just. Bearded, wearing a battered hat and a crumpled suit, his car a rusting wreck, he runs a struggling engineering firm and is constantly trying to avoid his creditors, the tax man, the bank manager, and indeed anyone who might want him to pay for something. The series' background accurately reflected the precarious condition of many small businesses of the era and added a dark undercurrent to the comedy. Unlike the physical comedy of Froggitt, the scripts for The Gaffer were wordy and sardonic and the plots relatively complex, with Moffatt usually managing to outwit at least some of the people who were chasing him for money.
The cast included (the late Russell Hunter
) as the radical union shop steward whose interest was in parting Moffatt from as much money as possible to better pay his members, and Pat Ashton as his ineffectual secretary Betty.
to make a new start, only to return and take back the business after having attended his son Spencer's wedding. The show thus ended abruptly, despite its success, after a two year run.
In later years, it was revealed that during the production of series 3, White (the creator of the show) protested that Maynard kept changing his scripts too much, thus embittering the relationship between the two and so a planned fourth series (for 1984) was cancelled.
, A 3-disc set of the complete series has also been released.
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...
situation comedy series of the early 1980s starring Bill Maynard
Bill Maynard
Walter Frederick George Williams , better known by the stage name Bill Maynard, is an English comedian and actor.-Early life and career:...
and written by businessman Graham White. 20 episodes were shown between 1981 and 1983. It was made 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 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...
Cast
- Bill MaynardBill MaynardWalter Frederick George Williams , better known by the stage name Bill Maynard, is an English comedian and actor.-Early life and career:...
- Fred Moffatt - Russell HunterRussell HunterRussell Hunter was a popular Scottish television, stage and film actor. He is perhaps best known as the character "Lonely" in the TV thriller series Callan, starring Edward Woodward and that of Shop-Steward Harry in the Yorkshire Television sitcom The Gaffer.-Life:Born Russell Ellis in Glasgow,...
- Harry - Pat Ashton - Betty
- David Gillies - Ginger
- Don Crann - Charlie
- Keith Marsh - Henry
- Chris LanghamChris LanghamChristopher "Chris" Langham is an English writer, actor and comedian. He is most famous for playing MP Hugh Abbot in BBC Four sitcom The Thick of It and as presenter Roy Mallard in People Like Us, first on BBC Radio 4 and later on its transfer to television on BBC Two, where Mallard is almost...
- Spencer Moffatt (from series 2)
Plot
After the lack of success of the sitcom Selwyn (sequel to 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...
), Maynard's next character could not have been more different from the bumbling Selwyn Froggitt. Fred Moffatt is a survivor - just. Bearded, wearing a battered hat and a crumpled suit, his car a rusting wreck, he runs a struggling engineering firm and is constantly trying to avoid his creditors, the tax man, the bank manager, and indeed anyone who might want him to pay for something. The series' background accurately reflected the precarious condition of many small businesses of the era and added a dark undercurrent to the comedy. Unlike the physical comedy of Froggitt, the scripts for The Gaffer were wordy and sardonic and the plots relatively complex, with Moffatt usually managing to outwit at least some of the people who were chasing him for money.
The cast included (the late Russell Hunter
Russell Hunter
Russell Hunter was a popular Scottish television, stage and film actor. He is perhaps best known as the character "Lonely" in the TV thriller series Callan, starring Edward Woodward and that of Shop-Steward Harry in the Yorkshire Television sitcom The Gaffer.-Life:Born Russell Ellis in Glasgow,...
) as the radical union shop steward whose interest was in parting Moffatt from as much money as possible to better pay his members, and Pat Ashton as his ineffectual secretary Betty.
Abrupt End
The third and final series (broadcast 1983) saw Moffatt elected to the local council, extending his struggles to local politics. But, disgruntled with the losing battle he was fighting, in the final episode ("Goodbye") at the end of the season Moffatt upped sticks, sold off the business to his employees and emigrated to AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to make a new start, only to return and take back the business after having attended his son Spencer's wedding. The show thus ended abruptly, despite its success, after a two year run.
In later years, it was revealed that during the production of series 3, White (the creator of the show) protested that Maynard kept changing his scripts too much, thus embittering the relationship between the two and so a planned fourth series (for 1984) was cancelled.
DVD release
All three series of The Gaffer have been released on DVD by NetworkNetwork DVD
Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...
, A 3-disc set of the complete series has also been released.
| DVD | Year(s) | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete Series 1 | 1981 | 17 August 2009 |
| The Complete Series 2 | 1982 | 5 July 2010 |
| The Complete Series 3 | 1983 | 13 September 2010 |
| The Complete Series 1 to 3 Box Set | 1981- 1983 |
11 October 2010 |