The Newcomers (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Newcomers was a late 1960s BBC soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 which dealt with the subject of a 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...

 family, the Coopers, who moved to a housing estate in the fictional country town of Angleton. It was broadcast in bi-weekly half hour episodes from 5 October 1965 until 28 November 1969. It was initially produced by Verity Lambert
Verity Lambert
Verity Ann Lambert, OBE was an English television and film producer. She is best known as the founding producer of the science-fiction series Doctor Who, a programme which has become a part of British popular culture, and for her association with Thames Television...

.

In the series, a fictional light industrial manufacturing company called Eden Brothers decides to relocate to the rural location. There are conflicts with the older members of the existing community, as well as some lighter moments as urbanites encounter "country characters". Many of the relocated workers have trouble living outside the city. As the series progresses, problems on the factory floor spill over into the community. Throughout this the Coopers strive to raise their daughter and two sons, who are having their own issues.

The show was recorded principally in the BBC's West London studios, mainly Riverside 1
Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios is a production studio, theatre and independent cinema on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. It plays host to contemporary and international dramatic and dance performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production.-History:In 1933, the...

, with external scenes filmed in Haverhill
Haverhill, Suffolk
Haverhill is an industrial market town and civil parish in the county of Suffolk, England, next to the borders of Essex and Cambridgeshire. It lies southeast of Cambridge and north of central London...

, a town in South-west Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, which itself expanded rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s through residents moving from London. The cast included several actors who went on to wider fame, including 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...

 (later seen in 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...

), Maggie Fitzgibbon
Maggie Fitzgibbon
Maggie Fitzgibbon, an Australian actress and singer, was born in Melbourne on 30 January 1929. Coming from a show-business family, Maggie is the sister of the late Smacka Fitzgibbon. She began her career as operatic soprano Margaret Fitzgibbon with the Tivoli Circuit in 1946 before graduating to...

, Judy Geeson
Judy Geeson
Judith Amanda "Judy" Geeson is an English actor.-Early life:Geeson was born in Arundel, Sussex, England on 10 September 1948. She came from a middle class family; her father edited the National Coal Board magazine. Her sister, Sally Geeson, is also an actress and is known for her roles in British...

, Jenny Agutter
Jenny Agutter
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.She...

 and Wendy Richard
Wendy Richard
Wendy Richard, MBE was an English actress best known for playing Miss Brahms in Are You Being Served? and Pauline Fowler in EastEnders...

. The theme music was composed by John Barry
John Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...

.

In terms of a TV career, Wendy Richard was the most successful alumna, playing the role of Miss Shirley Brahms on Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...

 and its sequel, Grace and Favour
Grace and favour
A grace and favour home is a residential property owned by a monarch by virtue of their position as head of state and leased rent-free to persons as part of an employment package or in gratitude for past services rendered....

 and then playing matriarch Pauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. She was played by actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer...

 on the long-running EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...

.

The Cooper and Harker families were the initial focus of the series. The on-screen sudden death of the character of Ellis Cooper led to a gradual shift away from the Coopers, who by the end of the serial barely featured.

A change of the managing director of Eden Bros heralded the arrival of his daughter Kirsty, played by Jennifer Agutter, but only during her school holidays.

Only three editions are known to have survived in the BBC's Archives:
  • Episode 59 – Original transmission 26 April 1966.
  • Episode 172 – Original transmission 26 May 1967.
  • Episode 222 – Original transmission 7 December 1967.

Cast

  • The Coopers
    • Ellis Cooper, father and supervisor at Eden Brothers – 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...

    • Vivienne Cooper, mother – Maggie Fitzgibbon
      Maggie Fitzgibbon
      Maggie Fitzgibbon, an Australian actress and singer, was born in Melbourne on 30 January 1929. Coming from a show-business family, Maggie is the sister of the late Smacka Fitzgibbon. She began her career as operatic soprano Margaret Fitzgibbon with the Tivoli Circuit in 1946 before graduating to...

    • Phillip Cooper, eldest son – Jeremy Bulloch
      Jeremy Bulloch
      Jeremy Bulloch is an English actor. He is best known for the role inside the costume of the bounty hunter Boba Fett in the original Star Wars trilogy, though he did not voice the character...

    • Maria Cooper, daughter – Judy Geeson
      Judy Geeson
      Judith Amanda "Judy" Geeson is an English actor.-Early life:Geeson was born in Arundel, Sussex, England on 10 September 1948. She came from a middle class family; her father edited the National Coal Board magazine. Her sister, Sally Geeson, is also an actress and is known for her roles in British...

    • Lance Cooper, youngest son – Raymond Hunt

  • The Harkers
    • Bert Harker, worker at Eden Brothers – Robert Brown
    • Vera Harker, his wife – June Bland
      June Bland
      June Bland is a British actress.Bland played a leading role in the 1960s British soap, The Newcomers. She also appeared in two Doctor Who serials - Earthshock and Battlefield.-External links:...

    • Jimmy Harker – David Janson
      David Janson
      David Janson is an English actor whose stage debut was in Oliver! in 1962. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963 in A Midsummer Night's Dream and appeared as the young boy in The Beatles film A Hard Day's Night.Janson became well known for his role as Jimmy Harker in the 1960s British...

    • Joyce Harker – Wendy Richard
      Wendy Richard
      Wendy Richard, MBE was an English actress best known for playing Miss Brahms in Are You Being Served? and Pauline Fowler in EastEnders...


  • Others
    • Caroline Kerr - Heather Chasen
      Heather Chasen
      Heather Jean Chasen is a Singapore-born English actress. Her best known roles are playing Valerie Pollard in the ITV soap opera Crossroads and voicing many roles in BBC Radio 2's The Navy Lark...

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