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WIEDERSEHEN PET DVDs available from Peace & Freedom
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Auf Wiedersehen, Pet was one of the most popular TV shows to come out of Britain in the early-mid 1980s, and again, when revived, in the early part of the 21st Century.
The original series was set on a building site in Germany, and was first broadcast by ITV in 1983. The second series was set in Spain, and broadcast in 1986. Marred by the death of Gary Holton, who played chirpy Cockney punk Wayne, the second series often included body doubles for Holton.
Though 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' was one of the most popular shows on TV, the loss of Gary Holton knocked the stuffing out of the show.
The series had a motley crew of three Geordies - slobbish, but occasional psychological genius Oz (Jimmy Nail), worrier and decent family man Neville (Kevin Whately), team leader and rock Dennis (Tim Healy). Whingeing Brummie Barry Taylor (Timothy Spall) - and somehow flash Wayne's best mate, dodgy, lovable Scouser Moxey (Christopher Fairbank), and Bristolian gentle giant Bomber (Pat Roach).
'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' was revived in 2002 - this time on the BBC. Featuring the surviving original cast members, and original writers, Dick Clement and Ian la Frenais.... - P.R.
Wikipedia Entry on Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet is a popular
British comedy-drama series about a group of seven British
migrant construction workers: Wayne, Dennis, Oz, Bomber, Barry,
Neville and Moxey, who are living and working on a German
building site.
It was created by Franc Roddam and mostly written by Dick Clement
and Ian La Frenais, who also wrote The Likely Lads, What
Ever Happened to the Likely Lads? and Porridge. The
first two series of the show were broadcast in 1983 and 1986 on
ITV. A successful revival of the show saw two series and a
Christmas special shown on the BBC in 2002 and 2004.
It notably starred Tim Healy, Kevin Whately, Jimmy Nail, Gary
Holton, Christopher Fairbank, Pat Roach and Timothy Spall as the
leading roles.
The Magnificent Seven
Wayne Winston Norris (Gary Holton, 1983-1986) - Wayne as
he so accuratley describes himself is a 'jack the lad' type
character. He's a chirpy carpenter who's proud of his cockney
roots. His obsession with women often lands himself and his
friends in troublesome situations. He drives a flash red BMW and
often wears his trademark red/blue hockey jacket. He is by far
the most cool and stylish member of the gang. He died in 2000.
Dennis Patterson (Tim Healy) - Dennis, whether he likes
it or not, has been hailed as the leader of the seven. When we
first meet the geordie brickie, he is divorcing his first wife
Vera. He later has an affair with a German on-site secretary
named Dagmar. When we next catch up with him in series two, he's
working for a dodgy Glaswegian gangster called Ally Fraser. He
has two children and a very short temper.
Albert Arthur Moxey (Christopher Fairbank) - Moxey is
the only character not to be introduced in the first episode.
He's a Liverpudlian plasterer with bad acne, a stutter and a
constant cold. However, despite his bland but friendly exterior -
he has a dark side, he's on the run from the law (for arson)
after breaking free from jail - this always makes him anxious. He
emmigrated to Australia in the final episode.
Leonard "Oz" Osbourne (Jimmy Nail) - Oz is a
forward, abrasive, drunken, ugly, Geordie lout with a tart of a
wife and a constant xenophobic attitude to Germans. His major
passion in life is getting into fights. He re-united his five
surviving pals at his phony funeral which led them off on new
adventures overseas.
Neville Hope (Kevin Whately) - Neville constantly lives
under the shadow of his formiddable wife Brenda. He is almost
always miserable about something or other, much to the irritation
of his friends. He has 3 children in Newcastle - and also his
heart. He married young and has no regrets about it... but his
mates do!
Brian "Bomber" Busbridge (Pat Roach, 1983-2004) -
Bomber is a quiet West-Country brickie with rippling muscles and
a bushy beard. He very often 'goes with the flow' and lets others
make decisions, much to the respect and admiration of his
associates. He laid his last brick before the final two episodes.
Barry Taylor (Timothy Spall) - Barry is a bashful,
boring, bumbling Brummie electrician with a large vocabulary and
a nice motorbike. His irritating tendencies to be 'boring' are
always the mimicked as the centre of jokes by his mates, mostly
in fondness. He married a beautiful Russian woman named Tatiana
who ran away with another man... except from that he's had no
luck with girls whatsoever.
Supporting cast
The main supporting cast from all four series
Julia Tobin as Brenda Hope (series 1-4)
Michael Sheard as Herr Grunwald (series 1)
Michael Elphick as McGowan (series 1)
Caroline Hutchinson as Vera Patterson (series 1)
Su Elliot as Marjorie Osbourne (series 1-2)
Bill Paterson as Ally Fraser (series 2)
Val McLane as Norma (series 2)
James Booth as Kenny Aimes (series 2)
Bryan Pringle as Arthur Pringle (series 2)
Bill Nighy as Jeffrey (series 3)
Noel Clarke as Wyman Norris (series 3-4)
Michael Angelis as Mickey Startup (series 3)
Origins
Series 1
The first series, produced by Central for ITV in 1983, is the
story of seven out-of work builders from various parts of England
who are forced to look for work in West Germany. (The title
refers to their farewells to their wives and girlfriends - "Auf
Wiedersehen" being German for "Farewell", and
"Pet" being a North-East English term of endearment.):
Dennis, a bricklayer from Newcastle upon Tyne
Oz, a bricklayer from Newcastle upon Tyne
Neville, a bricklayer from Newcastle upon Tyne
Moxey, a plasterer from Liverpool
Bomber, a bricklayer from Bristol
Wayne, a carpenter from London
Barry, an electrician from Wolverhampton
They find work on a German building site but are forced to live
in a small hut that reminds them of a POW camp. The rest of the
series is driven by the interactions and growing friendships
between the various characters: for instance, Barry is an
obsessive bore, Neville is an insecure young newlywed, Oz is
aggressive and jingoistic, and Wayne is a womaniser. Dennis,
being older, more experienced and generally more mature than the
others, becomes the de facto leader of the group. Over the course
of 13 episodes the "Magnificent Seven" enjoy lots of
comic and romantic adventures, until a change in German tax laws
forces them to return home.
The series was extremely well-received, with praise for the
writing and acting.
Series 2
A second series of 13 episodes followed in 1986, in which the
boys are reunited initially to help Barry complete some building
work on his house. Dennis is working for a crooked businessman,
Ally Fraser (played by Bill Paterson), after building up large
gambling debts to him. Dennis encourages the rest of the gang, to
help renovate a country manor house owned by Ally but end up
falling afoul of the suspicious locals. When things become a
little too hot for Ally he flees to Spain and invites them to
follow suit and redecorate his Spanish villa. Once in Spain the
gang are soon mistaken for criminals themselves, and the series
ends with them fleeing the Spanish police in a motor yacht,
together with Barry's fiancée who had only expected a wedding at
sea.
The second series was less successful because the characters were
no longer under the same kind of pressure they had been in
Germany. Even in Spain they were more likely to encounter
expatriate Brits than foreigners who could bring out their
patriotic tendencies. The series was also clouded by the death of
Gary Holton (Wayne) from a drug overdose during production.
Holton died before the Spanish indoor scenes were filmed. The
script was reworked to explain Wayne's absence from these indoor
scenes. In one critical scene, where Bomber manhandles Wayne away
from Ally's girlfriend in a nightclub, a double was used.
Revival
Series 3
In 2002 the show was revived, this time as a 6-part series made
by Ziji Productions for BBC One. The original writers and all of
the surviving cast returned, and were joined by Noel Clarke as
Wayne's son Wyman. The storyline revolves around a plan by a
corrupt politician (played by Bill Nighy) to demolish the
Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge (a real-life industrial landmark)
and sell it for reconstruction elsewhere. Persuading Oz to get
the old gang back together, he then plans to cheat them out of
their share of the profits, until a Native American from Arizona
(played by Gordon Tootoosis) turns up to announce that he would
like to buy the bridge for the benefit of his tribe's casino.
The special effects depicting the demolition of the bridge are so
realistic that many people believed it was really being
demolished, forcing the BBC to add a caption to the last episode
reassuring them that it was still there.
Despite some initial scepticism that the reunion would not work,
the show was an immediate hit.
Comic Relief sketch
Some of the cast made an appearance on Comic Relief's Red Nose
Day 2003, in which they find a suitcase full of money in a Miami
hotel room and assume it belongs to a drug dealer who wants to
shoot them - but actually it belongs to U2, who invite them to
their penthouse.
Series 4
A fourth series of 6 episodes was aired on BBC One from 4 January
to 8 February 2004. Most of the story involves the characters
working for the British Embassy in Havana, with Neville being
reluctantly recruited as a spy for the British and Oz falling in
love with a local ballet dancer. Despite extensive negotiations
between the BBC and the Cuban Government, it was not possible to
obtain permission to film in Cuba, so the series was actually
shot in the Dominican Republic.
Special
A new "special" comprising two 1-hour episodes was shot
in Bangkok and Chiang Mai in July - August 2004 and was broadcast
on BBC 1 on 27 and 28 December. Shooting in Bangkok took place
partly in the red-light district Soi Cowboy. Pat Roach, although
suffering from cancer, had hoped to appear in the miniseries but
in the event he was not well enough and died in July.
The story sees the remaining six working in a British Embassy
somewhere in central Africa that is about to be overrun by
rioters. Most of them escape uninjured, except for Oz who
sustains a painful injury to the backside protecting a female
staff member (with whom he is of course having an affair) from a
bomb. The boys then move on to Laos and later Thailand, where
Barry's Russian ex-wife (from Series 3) turns up to announce that
she is carrying his child following a brief "reconciliation".
Barry is then kidnapped and held by guerrillas in a village in
Laos. When the others follow they are also captured, but Dennis
has the idea (inspired by the film The Bridge on the River Kwai)
of working for the villagers to prevent the guerillas from moving
them on. Eventually they are able to steal the guerilla leader's
mobile phone and send a call for help. It turns out that the man
who set them up to the guerillas was actually Neville's corrupt
spymaster (from Series 4). Deprived of their hostages the
guerillas decide to kidnap him instead.
In the final scenes Dennis, Neville and Oz ask the Embassy to
give them an assignment in a nice peaceful country - and find
themselves heading back to Germany once more. Following a
dedication to Pat Roach, the closing credits of the final episode
are accompanied by the opening theme tune from Series 1, bringing
the show full circle.
Pat Roach's death was just one factor in the show's final
cancellation. The cast and writers have stated that they wanted
to go out on a high and not allow the show to become stale.
Episode guide
Series 1: ITV, 1983 - 1984
If I Were A Carpenter... - 11 November
Who Won The War Anyway? - November 18
The Girls They Left Behind - November 25
Suspicion - December 2
Home Thoughts From Abroad - December 9
The Accused - December 16
Private Lives - December 30
The Fugitive - January 6
The Alien - January 13
Last Rites - January 20
The Lovers - January 27
Love And Other Four Letter Words - February 3
When the Boat Goes Out - February 10
Series 2: ITV, 1986
The Return of the Seven Part I - February 21
The Return of the Seven Part II - February 28
A Law for the Rich - March 7
Another Country1 - March 14
A Home from Home - March 21
Cowboys - March 28
No Sex Please We're Brickies - April 4
Marjorie Doesn't Live Here Anymore - April 11
Hasta la Vista - April 18
Scoop - April 25
Law and Disorder - May 2
For Better or Worse - May 9
Quo Vadis Pet - May 16
Series 3: BBC 1, 2002
Bridging the Gap - April 28
Heavy Metal - May 5
Bridge over Troubled Water - May 12
A Bridge Too Far - May 19
Another Country1 - May 26
An Inspector Calls - June 2
Series 4: BBC 1, 2004
Britannia Waives the Rules - January 4
Our Men in Havana - January 11
A Gift from Fidel - January 18
Moonlighting - January 25
Dangerous Liaisons - February 1
The End of the Affair - February 8
Christmas special: BBC One, 2004
Hut on the River Kwai December 28
Auf Wiedersehen....December 29
Theme music
Opening Credits Closing Credits
Season 1 (ITV, 1983) Breaking Away
(David Mackay/Ian La Frenais)
Vocals by Joe Fagin That's Living Alright
(David Mackay/Ian La Frenais)
Vocals by Joe Fagin
Season 2 (ITV, 1986) Get it Right
(David Mackay/Ian La Frenais)
Vocals by Joe Fagin Back with the Boys Again
(David Mackay/Ken Ashby)
Vocals by Joe Fagin
Season 3 (BBC, 2002) Incidental music Why Aye Man
(Mark Knopfler)
Season 4 (BBC, 2004) Incidental music Incidental music
Special (BBC, 2004) Incidental music Breaking Away
(David Mackay/Ian La Frenais)
Vocals by Joe Fagin
A 7" single, "Breaking Away" b/w "That's
Living Alright", was released and became a UK hit single,
peaking at number 3. Unusually, the B-side of this record became
much better known than the official A-side.
Joe Fagin has reworked "That's Livin' Alright" for the
2006 FIFA World Cup. "That's England Alright" will be
released on 22 May 2006.
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