Drop the Dead Donkey (TV Series 1990–1998) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Political satire about a TV news company. Creators: Henry can't cope with what's happening, George doesn't remember what happened and Alex and Dave try very hard to forget what has happened. 9.2 Gus holds a celebrity dinner in honour of Sir Royston. George prepares for a very public debut and Henry's newspaper column suffers from a ghost in the machine. 9.0 Sexual harassment raises its ugly head in the newsroom - but for once its not Henry's. Meanwhile, Damien is busy invading every bit of privacy he can to track down a Nazi war criminal.

8.9 a list of 35 titles created 16 Jun 2012 a list of 48 titles created 18 Jun 2012 a list of 37 titles created 30 May 2013 a list of 32 titles created 08 Apr 2014 a list of 41 titles created 4 months ago Title: Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998) 8.1/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 9 wins & 8 nominations. See more awards » Photos In the never ending, high tech war against crime, Detective Constables Bob Louis and David Briggs are the Scud missiles of the police arsenal of intuition, hunches and inspired guesses... ... See full summary » Stars: Jasper Carrott, Robert Powell, George Sewell Gordon Brittas is the manager of the Whitbury-Newtown Leisure Centre. Despite his ambition and good intentions, everything seems to go wrong when he's around, despite the best efforts of ...

See full summary » Stars: Chris Barrie, Harriet Thorpe, Michael Burns A satire show using puppets that are charicatures of major public figures. Stars: Steve Nallon, Kate Robbins, Chris Barrie British sketch comedy starring the likes of Rowan Atkinson and Mel Smith. Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Pamela Stephenson, Mel Smith BBC Television comedy detailing the fortunes of Reginald Iolanthe Perrin. Disillusioned after a long career at Sunshine Desserts, Perrin goes through a mid-life crisis and fakes his own ... See full summary » Stars: Leonard Rossiter, Pauline Yates, John Barron Mel Smith and Griff Rhys-Jones present a series of short (often tasteless, always scathing) sketches about modern life and the stupidity and gullibility of those who believe in it. Stars: Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones, Geoffrey McGivern Comedy panel quiz show on the theme of sport. Stars: Nick Hancock, Rory McGrath, David Gower Popular sitcom set in a seedy bedsit lorded over by the mean, vain, boastful, cowardly landlord Rigsby. In each episode, his conceits are debunked by his long suffering tenants.

Stars: Leonard Rossiter, Don Warrington, Frances de la Tour UK comedy sketch show depicting most forms of stereotypical mid-90's British society. Stars: Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Arabella Weir BBC sketch show that while continuing to show the misadventures of a series of popular characters now also introduces a slew of new oddballs and misfits for us to enjoy including Tory Boy and The Lovely Wobbly Randy Old Ladies. Stars: Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke, Paul Whitehouse Popular BBC sketch show that introduces a whole host of memorable characters such as Tim-Nice-But-Dim, Wayne and Waynetta Slob, The Old Gits and teenagers Kevin and Perry. The show spawned a slew of spin-off series and films. Stars: Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse, Kathy Burke A series of self contained TV films starring performers from London's "Comic Strip" comedy club and their friends. Noted for a high sense of parody of previous films, literature, and generally everyone in sight. Stars: Peter Richardson, Adrian Edmondson, Jennifer Saunders 9 August 1990 (UK) See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know?

Trivia During the BBC documentary show "Comedy Connections" screened in March 2006, the cast members confessed that most of their lines were actually written on the pieces of paper and clipboards that they were forever looking at during each episode. This was because script was written so close to transmission in order to keep it topical that they often didn't have time to learn all their lines before shooting began. See more » Quotes See more » Crazy Credits For the first four series, the end credits invariably featured two characters discussing a recent news item in voiceover. This was changed to a more conventional final scene each week for the last two series due the pressure of filming so close to broadcast. See more » Connections (United States) – See all my reviews As an Irish observer, this comedy has to be one of the high points of 1990's comedy. While the main talking point of the series initially was it's topicality (being written and filmed in the week before filming so as to include observations and jokes about breaking news stories), later series were far less dependent on the topicality angle and more on funny honest and sharp character development.

It was immeasurably superior both to other office based comedy (viz the overrated IMHO "office") and to the likes of other newsroom comedies viz Murphy Brown. DTDD's humour was sharp acidic and right on the money. No-one was spared it's barbs. On reruns and DVD releases a brief voice-over identifies the week each particular episode was shown and what the major stories breaking that week were. More interestingly a lot of what was clearly the target of DTDD's humour (the dumbing down and tabloidisation of news reporting promoted by TV newstations) are even more in evidence today 10-15 years later as witnessed by the likes of FOX News and Sky News I wonder who Sir Royten Merchant was really based on.... 8 of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes h2g2 - 'Drop the Dead Donkey' - the TV Series - Edited Entry 5 Conversations An award-winning topical office comedy produced by Hat Trick productions for UK Channel 4.

With its winning combination of strong characterisations, alongside sharply observed topical humour - topical humour so integral that many of the older repeats have a brief introduction to the news of the day at the time of broadcast - this series was a truly contemporary comedy and undoubtedly one of the great comedy series of the 1990s. About the Title The title 'Drop the Dead Donkey' has been the subject of many column inches. Various journalists have with great authority explained its providence as a well known industry expression. The truth, sadly, is that the writers made it up. It's just something stupid that they imagined might be shouted out in the tense few minutes before a news broadcast. - Written in the Drop the Dead Donkey - The Writers' Choice video/DVD box after discussion with Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin The working title was Dead Belgians Don't Count. Sorry Belgians. Globe Link News Based in high-rise offices on Sir Roysten Merchant Way, in central London, Globe Link News is an important and respected News organisation. Well, it was until Sir Roysten Merchant took it over. Prior to the takeover, Globe Link was a serious independent news broadcaster, which just happened to employ a load of basket cases 1 .

After the take over it tried to transform into a populist news channel run by, as Helen puts it at one point, 'a paranoid smarm ball, who talks total b******ks', which just happened to employ a load of basket cases. Now, it was during this important transfer that the world looked in on the strange universe of Globe Link News. Characters George Dent (Jeff Rawle) As the editor of Globe Link News, he is at the cutting edge of news broadcasting and current medical knowledge. He has a range of illnesses that cause his doctor to ask him to just fax today's symptoms through. He is a family man with a daughter well on the way to becoming an urban terrorist and a wife intimately known to every other man in her life apart from George. He is unlucky, stressed, wears cardigans, and, still, mustn't grumble. Jeff Rawle made an early TV appearance in Doctor Who: 'Frontios' in 1984. Gus Hedges (Robert Duncan) Now, as he likes to remind everyone: 'I'm not here'. Gus is the verbose managing director of Globe Link News who remarkably manages to use the English language in a way that completely avoids communication.

In his role as a hands-off over-viewer, part of Globe Link's mental matrix, he throws ideas around to see if they bounce and particularly bounce George in the right direction. Although he would never interfere with editorial policy as that would be quite wrong. A great believer in self-improvement and the latest management techniques (ie, fashionable fad), he delivers his own unique style of management to the Globe Link team. Alex Pates (Haydn Gwynne) Being a serious professional news broadcaster she, not unnaturally, feels slightly out of place at Globe Link. After years of working as Assistant Editor at Globe Link News, helping George, organising the office, trying to do professional journalism within Globe Link, and being humiliated by her mother's all too frequent calls to the office, Alex left for a job at the BBC in 1992. At the time the BBC had the same level of management incompetence under the then director general, but had the advantage of fewer basket cases. Helen Cooper (Ingrid Lacey) Replacing Alex as assistant editor in 1993, Helen set about maintaining a high level of professionalism, efficiency, accuracy and incisive questioning at Globe Link despite Damien's presence.

And on top of this full-time job, she has to cope with all the emotional problems of the office, handle the guests, help George cope with his dizzy spells and ailments, and bring up a daughter on her own. Dave Charnley (Neil Pearson) As deputy sub-editor of Globe Link and general office dogsbody, Dave is given the impossible editing jobs, like finding pictures of Yeltsin looking sober or Jeffery Archer not looking smug. He has more than his fair share of faults including drinking, gambling, and brief liaisons with married women and, to top it all off, he's also one of the nicest people in the office. He runs several sidelines from copies of reports, Damien Day disaster compilations, bootleg films, the recording of the time Sally left her radio mic on while 'entertaining' a lighting engineer, or anything else he thinks will sell. He also runs a betting book on any event ranging from major political events, to what the first letter of the first word George says after lunch, or the winner of the annual cockroach race during the Tory party conference. Neil later went on to other TV and film projects, including the TV series Between the Lines, and the movie Bridget Jones's Diary.

Damien Day (Stephen Tompkinson) As Gus describes him, he is Globe Link's 'Front Line News Warrior'; everyone else describes him as arrogant, borderline psychotic, and a person who would 'napalm his own granny if he thought he would get good pictures'. His reports are sensationalist, and he doesn't get restricted by silly little things like taste or what actually happened. Camera crews generally view going out on reports with Damien as a form of Russian roulette, only more dangerous. So it is usually left to Gerry. This series launched Stephen Tompkinson's TV and film career, and in fact he got a Best Comedy Actor Award in 1994 for playing Damien Day. His other work includes TV's Ballykissangel and the film Brassed Off. Henry Davenport (David Swift) A veteran broadcaster and famous field reporter, Henry is now restricted to studio work as the anchor for Globe Link news. He never restrains his opinions or anything else for that matter. His main interests include drink, women, gambling and baiting Sally Smedly (a hobby the whole office takes part in) and so he is best friends with Dave.

Sally Smedley (Victoria Wicks) After a career spanning children's radio, a month on the sofas of breakfast television, and investigative journalism on John Craven's Newsround 2 , she joined Globe Link News at the start of the '90s as Henry's co-anchor. A shameless self-publicist she fronts fitness videos, opens supermarkets, and attends parties in order to link herself to as many other celebrities as possible and maintain the high profile of her prim, proper and squeaky clean image. An image that would be blown apart by a ten-minute conversation with Henry or by reading any of the graffiti in the Globe Link building. However, the reality of Sally Smedly is a shallow person who is callous, bitchy, pretentious, snide and lacking in any understanding of politics, geography, or anything relating to news. Joy Merryweather (Susannah Doyle) Joy is the most efficient PA ever to work at Globe Link, which is a shame seeing as how much Gus would like to sack her. Joy is a strong personality within the office, deeply sarcastic, tending to look at people in a way that Dave described as saying, 'I don't respect you. You're crap'.

Many of the people in the office if asked to choose words to describe Joy would choose scary, intimidating, angry, and vindictive. She seems to take great pleasure in mocking and humiliating Gus, Sally, and occasionally Damien, though anyone is fair game for her sarcastic sideswipes. She stands up for people who deserve it, but maintains vendettas and meets out retribution in a way that would impress the Mafia. Sir Roysten Merchant The ruthless head of an international business empire and from 1990 the owner of Globe Link News. A controversial figure within the business community, never good at receiving criticism. Gus noted in 'A New Dawn': 'you know I saw him head butt a speak-your-weight machine once'. He's a person who takes a keen interest in who to fire. He is feared by the staff and idolised by Gus. Gerry the Cameraman NHS patient of the year throughout the 1990s, he is the poor fool who usually goes out on reports with Damien before returning after extended sick leave. Gusisms In the high powered world of modern media, and news in particular, good communication is essential.

So as a guide to good communication there follows some prime examples from Globe Link's chief executive Gus Hedges. I'm not here. George, can we pool our brain spaces into a centre of excellence? What's filling today's scoop sandwich chief? Good morning newsbusters, are we cooking with napalm today? You bet! Henry, television is no longer corner store it's a hyper-mega-market. And if we want Connie Consumer to slip her hand into the freezer cabinet and pull us out, we have to be the frozen peas with the nice picture on the front and the 10% off coupon. Helen we need a rapid interface in the chin-wag department. However, the fickle hand of Mr Fate has spun the coin of destiny. All right Team are we achieving megathrust? Ace! Jill, could you come for a brief scuba in my think tank? I think we have a slight togetherness shortfall here. Look, Henry, if it's any help, I do have a sleep area over capacity situation. I'm in major cellular rejuvenation mode, fast tracking my way to eternal biological viability.

Common Episode Aspects As Drop the Dead Donkey is mostly an office based comedy, there are aspects common to many episodes, and here are some of them: The Morning Meeting Where the editorial team of Globe Link debate the major issues of the day (like where Fergie's toe sucking should go in the running order or which Tory sleaze story to lead with today) with Sally giving them the benefit of her ignorance. Conversations in George's Office When people need to talk away from the gossip factory that is Globe Link, they retreat into the only office that isn't Gus's. Meetings in Gus's Office When Gus needs to have a rapid interface in the chin-wag department with someone, he invites them into the working war room that is at the helm of SS Globe Link. The Notice Board It holds occasional messages and the winner of 'The Slimey Git of the Week Competition' 3 . The Ending Conversation All the episodes were filmed the day before broadcast and in front of a live studio audience apart from the 'Ending Conversation'. As the titles run two members of Globe Link comment on the news on the day of broadcast.

The Production Team Episode Writers and Additional Material Contributors Ian Brown Nick Revell Malcolm Williamson Although most of the in-office plot was scripted well before recording, there were the worrying gaps left for the topical aspects to be written just before broadcast. In many cases this led to frantic re-writes as last minute news stories came in. The worst rush was actually triggered when Robert Maxwell rather inconveniently fell off his boat prompting frantic rewrites and the issuing of the emergency copy of The Bumper Book of Dead Corrupt Capitalist Jokes. Director Liddy Oldroyd directed all six series, in total 65 episodes, each recorded the day before broadcast in front of a live studio audience. A daunting task for any director, which she more than met judging by the high quality of the programmes produced. Apart from her work on Drop the Dead Donkey, Liddy Oldroyd worked on many successful comedy series including Spitting Image, Desmond's, Gimme, Gimme, Gimmie and the second series of Paul Merton, the Series. Throughout her career she worked with many of the stars of contemporary comedy.

As well as the awards for Drop the Dead Donkey, she won the Women in Film Kodak Award for Creativity in 1992 and a Montreux Award in 1992. However, sadly she was diagnosed with cancer and died on June 27, 2002, aged just 47. Series List Series One The series started at Globe Link's takeover on the eve of the Gulf War amidst Tory sleaze that would become standard.

'A New Dawn' (9 August, 1990) 'Sally's Arrival' (16 August, 1990) 'A Clash of Interests' (23 August, 1990) 'A Blast from the Past' (30 August, 1990) 'Old Father Time' (6 September, 1990) 'Sex, Lies and Audiotape' (13 September, 1990) 'Stress Therapy' (20 September, 1990) 'The Root of All Evil' (27 September, 1990) 'Animal Rights' (4 October, 1990) 'The Big Interview' (11 October, 1990) Series Two 'Don't Mention the Arabs' (14 November, 1991) 'Damian Down and Out' (21 November, 1991) 'The Evangelist' (28 November, 1991) 'George's Daughter' (5 December, 1991) 'Dave's Day' (12 December, 1991) 'The Christmas Party'

 (19 December, 1991) Series Three This series saw the Drop The Dead Donkey really take off.

Helen replaced Alex, and the series won its second Emmy and a BAFTA 4 . 'In Place of Alex' (7 January, 1993) 'Sally's Accountant' (14 January, 1993) 'Henry's Lost Love' (21 January, 1993) 'Helen'll Fix It' (28 January, 1993) 'Sally's Libel' (4 February, 1993) 'Lady Merchant' (11 February, 1993) 'The New Newsreader' (18 February, 1993) 'Joy' (25 February, 1993) 'The Graveyard Shift' (10 December, 1996) 'Sex 'n Death' (17 December, 1996) Series Six Most of series six is untitled so unofficial titles have been allocated.

'The News Makers' (28 October, 1998) 'Arrival of the Weather Babe' (4 November, 1998) 'Eternal Youth' (11 November, 1998) 'When George met Sue' (18 November, 1998) 'Damien's Virus' (25 November, 1998) 'The Underworld and Youth TV' (2 December, 1998) 'The Final Chapter' (9 December, 1998) Repeats Drop the Dead Donkey is regularly repeated in the UK on the Paramount Comedy Channel . 1 People with psychological problems, or mad people. 2 A BBC children's news program, title now changed to simply Newsround. 3 The winner for 473 noxious weeks: Peter Lilley. 4 An Emmy is the American television equivalent of an Oscar. A BAFTA is an award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The programme, all told, won a total of 17 awards.

drop the dead donkey : definition of drop the dead donkey and synonyms of drop the dead donkey (English) Original run 9 August 1990 (1990-08-09) – 9 December 1998 (1998-12-09) Drop the Dead Donkey is a situation comedy that ran on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1998. It was set in the offices of “GlobeLink News”, a fictional TV news company. Recorded close to transmission, it made use of current news events as a means of giving the programme a greater sense of realism. It was created by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin . The series had an ensemble cast , making stars of Haydn Gwynne , Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson . The series began with the acquisition of GlobeLink by media mogul Sir Roysten Merchant, whose name is probably a reference to Rupert Murdoch , or perhaps Robert Maxwell , who was still alive when the series started. Indeed, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin note on their DVDs that it was fortunate for their libel lawyers that the two men shared the same initials.

The series is mostly based on the on-going battle between the staff of GlobeLink, led by editor George Dent, as they try to maintain the company as a serious news organisation, and Sir Roysten’s right-hand man Gus Hedges, trying to make the show more sensationalist and suppress stories that might harm Sir Roysten’s business empire. According to Swedish comedian Kryddan Petersson , he and the group behind Helt Apropå had come up with an idea for a show like this, which they presented to British colleagues sometime around 1989-90. Most of them were not impressed, but two of them took the idea seriously and wrote this show. Later on, the Swedish group bought the material rights to the show back to Sweden, and created the show Döda danskar räknas inte ("Dead Danes don't count"), which aired on SVT in 1994. [1] Contents 7 External links Title The originality of the title attracted speculation as to its origins. The working title was Dead Belgians Don’t Count which was replaced by Drop the Dead Donkey: Finally, the title ‘Drop the Dead Donkey’ has been the subject of many column inches.

Various journalists have with great authority explained its provenance as a well-known industry expression. The truth, sadly, is that the writers made it up. It’s just something stupid that they imagined might be shouted out in the tense few minutes before a news broadcast. —Andy Hamilton & Guy Jenkin , Drop the Dead Donkey—The Writers’ Choice Characters Major characters Gus Hedges ( Robert Duncan ) — The unctuous Chief Executive of the company, and yes-man to Sir Roysten Merchant. A management stereotype, complete with clichés and clumsy metaphors , he swiftly transforms GlobeLink from a serious news network to a ratings-chasing tabloid channel. He talks in barely comprehensible management jargon , and is notable for such phrases as, “Are we cooking with napalm? You bet!” In light of what he refers to as his “hands-off” role, he frequently prefaces his interference in editorial matters with the opening, “Now, as you all know, I’m not here…” He is disliked and distrusted by the staff, who are unafraid to treat him with contempt. Outside of office life, Gus is a very lonely man — although he is far too afraid to admit this, even to himself.

He has no real friends, and his occasional attempts to make friends at work often fail, largely because of his inability to behave like a human being rather than an “executive management module”. Some of these personality traits stem from his childhood. One episode features his older brother who, it later transpires, was clearly his parents’ favourite and Gus has terrible feelings of inadequacy. He is very sexually inexperienced and fears advances from women. He is also afraid of illness — particularly mental illness — and thoughts of his own mortality terrify him. Despite his executive position, he fears that he has not really achieved anything or made a mark, and worries that he will be quickly forgotten. Gus is alleged to have been based on Channel 4 ’s controller at the time, Michael Grade , although the original idea was first pitched to the BBC, with Channel Four only picking up the series after the BBC refused to broadcast it. In series six it becomes clear that Gus has absolutely no life beyond GlobeLink and working for Sir Roysten and cannot come to terms with the station’s closure. The final scene of the last episode sees a host of furniture-removal men clearing the office with Gus sitting miserably on his chair with a gloomy expression on his face.

George Dent ( Jeff Rawle ) — The station’s editor. George is a nervous wreck and hypochondriac who frequently finds himself in conflict with Gus over editorial decisions, but he is usually too afraid to argue with the Chief Executive. George is generally a moral man, who has a good sense of what a news company should really be doing and what stories are important, but he is frequently bullied by Gus and distracted by his staff. He suffers from a number of anxiety disorders and apparently psychosomatic symptoms, which he will often relate apprehensively to his colleagues. George once remarked that his doctor had suggested that he stop visiting the surgery and simply fax his new symptoms in every day. George also suffers from appalling bad luck, such as when he buys Henry's car, which gearbox almost immediately fails, so Damien has the car stolen so George can claim it on insurance, but George has already spent £2,000 on a new gearbox, and before Damien can get the car back, it rolls off a cliff. George does become noticeably more confident and extroverted when drunk, although this rarely happens.

Earlier scripts followed the deterioration of George’s marriage to his somewhat exploitative and vindictive wife, Margaret, and following their divorce, George’s problems at home generally revolved around the antisocial and increasingly criminal behaviour of his daughter Deborah. He meets a woman from Poland called Anna who wants to marry him but he believes it is out of love when all she wants is a passport . When GlobeLink closed in 1998, George chose to devote his future to caring for the ill Margaret rather than pursue a new life in Australia with new love Sue, despite making promises to finally leave his loveless marriage and painful home lifestyle behind. Alex Pates ( Haydn Gwynne ) — Assistant editor and George’s second-in-command. The token “normal” person, Alex is determined, skilled and professional, if very cynical. She has a fierce temper, and can be violent when provoked. Married and divorced before the series begins, her ex-husband — now a slum landlord — reappears on one occasion to use Alex to thwart the broadcasting of a news story about his unlawful business practices. In response to this, Alex breaks his nose. Alex’s mother (known only as “Mummy” or “Mrs.

Pates” and until the final episode of series 2 an unseen character) repeatedly interrupts important meetings with frivolous and bizarre telephone enquiries, such as whether she should stockpile petrol in the bath in response to rising fuel prices or whether signing up to the Social Chapter would mean having to use a squat toilet. In the very final moments of Series 2, the final series in which Alex appears, Mrs. Pates finally visits the GlobeLink office just in time to hear her daughter announcing to the office that she has had a one-night stand with Dave. Between Series 2 and 3, Alex leaves GlobeLink for the BBC . Helen Cooper ( Ingrid Lacey ) — Replacing Alex as Assistant Editor from the beginning of Series 3, Helen is extremely efficient and organised, and is frequently annoyed and frustrated by the general inefficiency of GlobeLink. At home, she is the single mother of a daughter called Chloe ( Jocelyn Barker ), and is a lesbian — a fact she has been keeping secret from her daughter and her parents despite a powerful sense that she really ought to tell them. When George admits that he has fallen in love with her and asks her out, she discloses her sexuality to him in an attempt to let him down gently.

George assumes she is lying to spare his feelings — a suspicion reinforced when Helen has a drunken one-night stand with Dave while the staff are on a team-building weekend. Dedicated to the service of “proper” news, Helen often clashes with Gus, but is usually supported, if ineffectually, by George. Helen quickly earns the nickname of Stalin from other staff due to her obsession with organisation. She does join in with some of the zanier antics of the office and has been seen to be the only source of support for Joy and Sally despite the latter’s vindictive behaviour. Surprisingly unable to land another job in the industry, Helen reluctantly works for her girlfriend’s food delivery company when GlobeLink closes. Henry Davenport ( David Swift ) — One of the station’s news anchors . Apparently a dignified veteran reporter, he is deeply contemptuous of Sir Roysten, Gus, and everything about the “modern” news industry. He in constant conflict with his newsreading counterpart Sally, the two of them taking any opportunity to make jokes and jibes at the other’s expense.

However, very infrequently, particularly in later episodes, the viewer gets the impression that Henry and Sally have become rather fond of each other — although neither would admit it. They also on one occasion work together to prevent an up and coming presenter from potentially replacing either of them by getting her to badmouth Sir Roysten, unaware she is in earshot of a newspaper journalist. Henry frequently derides younger presenters on other stations as “androids” and “holograms”, and bemoans the loss of what he considers to be the more interesting personalities of the past. In contrast to his stately on-screen persona, he spends much of his spare time drinking, gambling and womanising, often in cahoots with Dave. The tabloids occasionally report these activities, but Henry’s image seems oddly untarnished by these articles. Married and divorced several times, with two daughters, Henry is constantly struggling with alimony repayments and the demands of his ex-wives. Henry also believed for a short time that he had an illegitimate son, although the “son” later proved to be a fraud who was out for Henry’s money. His extramarital affairs in the past have included wives of so-called friends in the industry.

Henry may have been based, at least in part, on Reginald Bosanquet , and indeed at one point he owned a yacht named Bosanquet. Although Henry has made some remarkable contributions to TV news, and met many of the great leaders of the modern world, it often transpires that his achievements were intertwined with or as a result of his drink- or sex-related excesses. After GlobeLink closed at the end of series six in 1998, Henry found a new role well suited to his outspoken nature — as a late-night radio host on Radio Gab. Sally Smedley ( Victoria Wicks ) — GlobeLink’s second news anchor, handpicked by Sir Roysten when he acquired the company. Sally is noted for her snobbishness and vapidity, and tends to view newsreading merely as a means to boost her public image and attract fashionable promotional contracts. All her views are conservative and it is much to her chagrin that she is a pin-up for so many gay men. She always has a problem with at least one member of the staff, and complains incessantly, usually prefacing her gripes with “I’m not one to complain…”.

She is generally disliked and mocked by her colleagues, mainly due to her obsession with fashion and her own image to the exclusion of any real awareness of current affairs. Helen occasionally tries to sympathise with her, and there are infrequent incidents that reveal Sally’s vulnerability. She was raised by her grandmother, who clearly abused her as a child — incidents are recounted in which Sally is locked in a rat-infested cellar; or abandoned in a forest, ostensibly to cure her fear of trees . Sally lives alone with her Filipina maid, whom she views (and treats) as little more than a slave. Sally is infamous throughout the GlobeLink offices and elsewhere for her supposedly secret liaisons with dockers, soldiers, sailors, sportsmen and, in particular, lorry drivers. During one encounter with a sound engineer, her colleagues were delighted to discover she had left her radio microphone on, and tapes of her experience were quickly circulated around the office. The episode where Sally miscarries her baby and agrees to conduct a magazine interview suggests that Sally’s sexual preferences are something of a defence mechanism to ensure that she is devoid of emotional feeling because she fears being overwhelmed by them.

Sally — who is 42 at the end of the final series in 1998 and no longer wanted by many television companies echoing many of the complaints by middle-aged female news readers such as Selena Scott , Jan Leeming and Anna Ford — opts to make her money by marrying a very rich old man with a weak heart, Sir Gordon Miller (see minor characters). Damien Day ( Stephen Tompkinson ) — GlobeLink’s star field reporter, whose goal is always to make his stories as sensational as possible, even where doing so requires the use of exaggeration or misrepresentation. Damien’s unorthodox (and unethical) methods are undeniably a hit with the viewers, and therefore he is popular with Sir Roysten and Gus, making it impossible for George to fire him, despite his frequent desire to do so. Damien is quite happy to stage incidents for the camera, arguing when challenged that he is making “reconstructions” of what would have happened. When filming a firing-squad execution in a South American dictatorship, Damien asked the officer for a retake so he could make the execution look better.

When filming in a war-torn country he punched a small boy in the face to make sure he had a crying child in shot, and threw a hand-grenade over a wall to create panic before delivering his piece to camera. Perhaps surprisingly, he is generally open-minded about other cultures, expressing interest in Tarot cards and the predictions of Nostradamus . He likes to keep himself fit, does not drink or smoke, drives a Porsche and is considered to be sociopathic . A psychologist who visits the office to carry out a study of workplace stress describes Damien’s personality as “completely stress-free. Psychotic, but stress-free”. Some indication as to why Damien became the driven, amoral individual he is was provided when his mother, Professor Avril Day ( Rosemary Martin ), made a one-off appearance: she was a nuclear physicist who had unrealistically high expectations of her son, rarely if ever praised him and constantly pressured him to achieve. Damien gets his kicks from danger and excitement, and has virtually no interest in actual sex, except in one episode at the end of Series 4, in which he loses his virginity to a similarly danger-obsessed GlobeLink weather girl.

Despite his high opinion of himself, Damien’s frequent breaches of ethical standards do not go unnoticed by other stations and he fails job interviews in the final series. After going off to film a piece on an Amazonian tribe, Damien is made a God by the natives — who refuse to let him return to civilisation. Dave Charnley ( Neil Pearson ) — The deputy sub-editor and general dogsbody. As a compulsive womaniser and gambler, he gets on very well with Henry, owing to these shared interests, and Damien, owing to his willingness to bet on outrageously tasteless things. Dave and Henry have the only friendship that appears to extend beyond the office, although it can occasionally turn volatile — usually over gambling matters or women. Dave runs a large number of office books and sweepstakes, although outside the office his gambling has landed him in debt to the tune of several tens of thousands of pounds. Dave has occasionally been very successful in his gambling but usually through his own actions manages to squander his good fortune. He is also addicted to one-night stands with married women, and sees any married female colleague or acquaintance as a challenge. These involvements rarely last long enough to qualify as affairs, since Dave seems to relish the chase.

As a colleague put it, “[Dave doesn’t] want to get involved with anyone who could conceivably want to get involved back.” Although Dave clearly has the potential to be a highly competent professional, his career progress is continually hampered by these many weaknesses and addictions, and his generally irresponsible and childish behaviour. On rare occasions, however, Dave does develop real feelings for others. After seducing a drunken Helen — initially just for the challenge of winning over a lesbian — he finds that he has a genuine attraction to her, and it takes him some time to recover when she tells him that their brief fling has simply helped her to reassure her of her homosexuality. He also gets engaged — despite serious doubts — in Season 5; however he is shocked when his fiancee breaks up with him, claiming she had had no idea he would get so serious. Dave became assistant to Henry on his radio show when they left GlobeLink in 1998. Joy Merryweather ( Susannah Doyle ) — Joy Merryweather is entirely wrongly named; she is in no way joyful or merry. She began in season 2 as a cynical and surly personal assistant; in later seasons, she becomes increasingly aggressive and vindictive.

There are a few occasions throughout the series when she shows sensitivity however. George often remarks that she is the most efficient production assistant GlobeLink has ever had. Joy began as a background character, intended to feed topical gags; however her popularity with audiences was such that she took an increasingly prominent role and eventually had a number of storylines of her own. Perhaps the most significant of these in terms of character development was the Series 5 episode The Graveyard Shift, in which it is revealed that her father, (already established as an alcoholic , and, according to Joy, "wanted to be Peter Stringfellow ") abandoned the family; her mother "went from vallium addiction, to nervous breakdown to attempted suicide ," and all of her brothers and sisters were affected by psychological problems, (except, at least in her own mind, Joy-herself); her brothers' are named "Jolly" (who is in " Wormwood Scrubs ") and "Happy", (who was " released into the care of the doorway "), and her sister's name is "Merrily" (who is "in a Detox centre ").

In the final series, Joy has much of her doodled artwork put on display as she looks set to find a new career — only to discover she is being conned by the man and apparent lover behind the exhibition, and gets revenge by tying him up and exhibiting him naked at one of her art exhibitions . Her best friend from childhood is a Buddhist . Joy's childhood nickname was "Floppsy", which she put an end to by force-feeding worms to the boys in question. Sir Roysten Merchant — Sir Roysten Merchant is a wealthy businessman who buys out GlobeLink News in the first episode and remains the owner of the company throughout all six series. He is unseen on screen until a brief appearance in the final show, in which he is played by Roger Hammond and suggests that he does not know who Gus is. Sir Roysten is a terrifying figure, with a large business empire. He is also involved in housing, shipping, and sundry more shady enterprises which, based on the information that occasionally comes to attention of the GlobeLink News team, border on (if not specifically involve) the illegal.

On buying the company Sir Roysten installs Gus Hedges (see above) in order to prevent any potentially damaging information being leaked out in news stories. Sir Roysten is a strong, right-wing figure, supporting both Margaret Thatcher and John Major . However, when Major and the Conservative government begin to weaken from 1994, his support starts to shift, and with the Labour victory in 1997 Sir Roysten defects to Tony Blair . In private, it is known that Sir Roysten visits prostitutes, and that his wife, Lady Caroline, also has many affairs. He has a daughter, Octavia, who works for a brief time in the GlobeLink office, and a son, Roy Merchant Junior, who lives in fear of his father. Other offspring are not named, aside from one reference from Gus to a “Roystonia” — however no further information is provided. Persistent rumours circulate to the effect that Sir Royston’s father, who was also a businessman, was a Nazi sympathiser and war profiteer. Sir Roysten has several pet rottweilers and an armed personal security team who guard his mansion.

Minor characters Gerry (voiced by Andy Hamilton ) – One of GlobeLink’s outside broadcast cameraman, Gerry is regularly assigned to work with Damien and frequently suffers injuries and mishaps as a result. His footage would normally end with something unpleasant happening to Gerry, while Damien yells at him to keep filming. Gerry is an unseen character , but incidents are frequently shown from the point of view of his camera as it disappears down holes, off cliffs or into rivers. His only on-screen appearance (of sorts) is at the office Christmas party, but on this occasion he is covered head to toe in bandages. Gerry seems to have a decent sense of both morals and safety standards, but is usually over-ruled by a determined Damien. Deborah Dent ( Louisa Milwood-Haigh ) — George’s daughter, and one of the main problems at home. A juvenile delinquent, Deborah frequently runs away from home, steals cars and other vehicles (including a fully laden car transporter and an InterCity 125 ), sells drugs (George’s prescription medication), sets fire to supply teachers, and attacks her school classmates with a pickaxe handle.

She once attempted to sue her school for failing to provide her with an education — having previously burned the school buildings down; and on one occasion is mentioned as having found her way to a Middle East guerilla training camp. Lynn Yeats ( Elizabeth Downes ) — A reporter for a rival news company and Damien’s nemesis. Lynn invariably arrives at disaster sites and warzones before Damien; she gets bigger and better stories; wins awards and generally manages to achieve everything Damien fails to achieve. Although Damien usually attributes her success to her greater resources and financial support, Lynn is simply more ruthless and unethical even than Damien himself. Damien also makes references to his bitterness towards real-life reporters such as Kate Adie . Anna ( Nina Marc ) — A short-term love interest of George’s, Anna is a Polish migrant seeking marriage in order to obtain a British passport and stay in the country. George, however, is convinced that she is the love of his life, though the rest of the staff try to persuade him of her true intentions. In an attempt to save George, Dave finally asks Anna to marry him, offering her a straightforward and honest arrangement rather than an exploitative marriage to the vulnerable George.

Suspicious that Dave is trying to incriminate her, Anna instructs him to remove his clothes so she can ensure there is no hidden microphone. Dave complies, removing his trousers just as George enters the room. Gus later made a proposition of marriage to her, in order that she might stay in the country and he might find companionship, but Anna declined, saying that she had to draw the line somewhere. Sir Gordon Miller ( Melvyn Hayes ) — When GlobeLink News is axed in Series 6, Sally starts to plunder the Sunday Times Rich List as her final career move. Eventually, she teams up with the miserly and dispassionate Sir Gordon, the 34th richest man in the world. The physically diminutive Sir Gordon is probably the most fleshed-out of the several recurring characters in the short Series 6. He is the epitome of a controlling husband, with a pre-nuptial agreement designed to iron out absolutely every future disagreement or opinion in his favour. Despite his coldness, Sally claims to have genuine feelings for him because, she says, he reminds her of her granny.

She discloses to Helen that, actually, he does have a heart…and that, importantly for her ambitions, he also has a very severe heart condition. Wes Jasper ( Neil Stuke ) — Wes Jasper is a thinly disguised parody of Chris Evans , hosting what is clearly a very thinly disguised parody of TFI Friday , with an identical set, and the same “ridicule-the-punter” features. In an attempt to forge a post-GlobeLink career for himself in Series 6, Henry makes several appearances on this show as a sidekick for Wes. Dave Charnley is appalled and disappointed by his distinguished friend’s fall in standards, but so is Henry himself. Torn by the conflict between the need for a job and the desire to recover his dignity, Henry is finally goaded into issuing a string of swearwords on air before the watershed (another regular feature of TFI) after being told to remove his wig live on air by Jasper. Although this outburst effectively ends Henry’s television career, it helps him land a new role as a talk show host. Sue ( Victoria Carling ) — Sue is Henry’s niece, with whom George develops a promising relationship in the final episodes of Series 6.

She is kind, compassionate, calm and gentle: the polar opposite of George’s highly emotional and manipulative ex-wife Margaret. Like George, Sue is an escapee from an unhappy marriage. Although George — due to his natural pessimism and lack of confidence — has to be prompted and encouraged every step of the way, their relationship blossoms, and they plan a new life together in Australia. However, Margaret, having suffered a heart attack and now looking to George to nurse her, seems determined to undermine their future. Despite George vowing to go to Australia with a woman who genuinely loves him, he opts to stay and look after Margaret. Vivian Stanmore ( James Bannon ) — Modern-art gallery owner who decides to exhibit Joy’s office sketches, assuring her that, despite her doubts, they are works of genius. Joy soon discovers that his seemingly attentive and thoughtful nature is simply the mask for an exploitative ruthlessness which he soon plans to turn on her. His final appearance is on a gallery pedestal, naked, gagged and bound, exhibited by Joy as a work called Naif Minimalism — a term he had smirkingly applied to her sketches while in discussion with an associate.

Chloe Cooper ( Jocelyn Barker ) — Helen’s self-obsessed and attention-seeking daughter in several episodes. Helen, who worries constantly over the time she spends at work and away from her daughter, agonises over Chloe’s upbringing and doubts her own abilities as a mother. She is particularly alarmed when she discovers that Chloe has written a school essay entitled “The Invisible Mummy”. Chloe eventually admits, however, that she is entirely happy with arrangements at home and wrote the essay merely in an attempt to gain sympathy from a new teacher. Alfred and Bernice Cooper ( Geoffrey Hutchings & Paula Jacobs ) — Helen’s supposedly conservative parents, from whom she spends years concealing her lesbianism — even going to the extent of persuading Dave to impersonate her boyfriend while they visited for an evening. In Series 6, Helen’s father dies, with Helen fearing the shock of him reading a letter from her admitting her sexuality will have killed him.

But Helen discovers the letter was never sent and, when she comes out to her mother on the day of his funeral, finds out they had suspected she was a lesbian all along and their lives are not quite as conservative as Helen supposed… Roy Merchant Jnr ( David Troughton ) — Sir Roysten’s badly stammering, bullied, and reluctantly bullying son, sent by his father to the GlobeLink office to oversee the company’s final hours. Roy, whose stammer is always at its worst when referring to Sir Roysten, reveals that he has been pitted against his siblings in a challenge: only the most ruthless will inherit the Merchant empire. Roy announces early in series 6 that GlobeLink News will close, after initially proposing to significantly cut the workforce. One of his sisters, Octavia ( Hermione Norris ), appeared in the Series 2 episode “The Gulf Report” as a trainee reporter who is a love interest of Dave’s. Amanda ( Saira Todd ) — Helen’s much-mentioned girlfriend in the later series.

Her only on-screen appearance is in Series 5, where she arrives at the office while working as a despatch rider — a job she took to help pay for her university course, but which causes Helen some social embarrassment. The pair soon break up after a dinner at their house with Helen’s friends from the office ends in disaster, but they are later back together. By the time Helen’s own respectable career comes to its abrupt end, Amanda is running her own send-out snack delivery business, The Sarnie Army. She quickly offers Helen a job after the closure of GlobeLink in the final episode, and although Helen is initially reluctant to lower herself to such work, she finally swallows her pride and accepts. Jenny ( Sara Stewart ) — Joy’s more easy-going predecessor as PA who appears several times in the first series. Her main contribution is to join Dave, Henry and Henry’s great-nephew Jack on a night out and then apparently sleep with Jack — to the bemusement of Dave and Henry who have both failed to get anywhere with her, and Sally, who clearly fancied Jack.

In a classic single-entendre, Sally snaps at Jenny, who asks “What’s got into her?”, and is told “It’s more who’s got into you.” Scripting Unusually for a sitcom, the show was topical, and was usually written and filmed in the week before broadcast. The writers commented that this made for a very natural style of acting. In most offices people normally converse while looking at monitors, clipboards or newspaper crosswords; the cast of the show reproduced this while actually cribbing their lines. Typically, the last scene was filmed either the day before or sometimes on the day of broadcast, and episodes concluded with audio-only dialogue or (in later seasons) an additional scene during the credits, which would usually involve topical references. The most frantic rewrite is said to have occurred when, on the day of filming, British media mogul Robert Maxwell drowned. (As the writers said in a later episode, “We don’t want to go overboard with the story.”) A number of politicians including Neil Kinnock and Ken Livingstone made guest appearances. The humour, like that in a real newsroom, was often very black, as the writers did not shy away from sensitive subjects.

A typical line (from Henry): “The ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland . What a bloody stupid phrase. What do they think two thousand people have died from? Stress?” The view of relationships in the programme is also very bleak: all the main characters have very unstable romantic lives, with no-one being happily married. The series ended with GlobeLink being closed down, with Series 6 being spent with the main characters trying to plan their futures elsewhere (largely unsuccessfully). The format for the final series differed slightly from the previous five. As well as being shorter (seven episodes), far less emphasis was placed on the news than before (both in terms of topical references and stories covered in the newsroom). Instead, much of the focus was on where the main characters would be once GlobeLink closed, after an announcement in the second episode of the series. Several minor characters appeared over the course of a few episodes in the final series, whereas most previously had only been in single episodes.

The ending contradicted the already thoroughly contradicted novel Drop The Dead Donkey 2000 by Hamilton and Alistair Beaton ( 1994 ) ISBN 0-316-91236-0 , in which the company is almost destroyed in a bomb blast at the turn of the millennium . Repeats Reruns of the programme often appear on Comedy Central Extra . Before the show starts, there is often a short review of the major news events which happened during the week of each episode’s filming. Episodes on DVD compilations are introduced in the same way (although not for Series 6 when topical references were very limited). Channel 4 now has a Video on Demand service, where episodes can either be downloaded from the Internet and watched on computers or watched on cable TV. See also Comedy Connections Series 4 episode guide - British Comedy Guide 2. Dinnerladies First broadcast: Monday 13th March 2006 Victoria Wood 's canteen was staffed with a dazzling array of talent including stalwarts of Acorn Antiques, Duncan Preston and Celia Imrie and, revelling in the chance to bring her own brand of inspired chaos to the series, Julie Walters .

3. Drop The Dead Donkey First broadcast: Monday 20th March 2006 One of the most enjoyable qualities of this consistently rewarding series is the casual way it dispenses its flow of anecdotes. Indeed, so chatty are tonight's titbits that the story of newsroom satire Drop The Dead Donkey feels more like a coffee morning than a serious look at one of the best comedies of the 1990s. Writers Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin - and cast members including Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson - reminisce, and a volley of clips suggests it was far sharper than many gave it credit for. As always, the revelations are a treat. Did you know, for example, that one of the original titles posited for the show was Dead Belgians Don't Count? 4. Shooting Stars First broadcast: Monday 3rd April 2006 Shooting Stars was the most anarchic and unpredictable gameshow ever seen on British TV. Appearing alongside Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer in their slice of slapstick, surreality and silliness, were acerbic stand-up comedian Mark Lamarr and erstwhile weather girl Ulrika Jonsson . 5.

To The Manor Born First broadcast: Monday 10th April 2006 To The Manor Born was created in 1979 by new writer Peter Spence as a vehicle for The Good Life 's Penelope Keith . By the end of its run three series later, more than half the country's population tuned in to see if Audrey fforbes-Hamilton and Richard DeVere would finally get together. 6. 'Allo 'Allo! First broadcast: Monday 24th April 2006 David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd 's WW2 French Resistance sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! . Among the revelations brought to light: actor Gordon Kaye says he had his doubts before taking the lead role as he thought René might be Renee, a northern female impersonator; Sam Kelly (Lt Hans Gruber) tells us what he was saying when he gave the Nazi salute; and Richard Gibson (Herr Flick) reveals how much he liked dressing in kinky underwear. 7.

That Was The Week That Was First broadcast: Monday 1st May 2006 That Was The Week That Was changed not just comedy, but television, as the BBC was being actively disrespectful towards politicians, royalty and religion, all previously seen as untouchable. Among the facts uncovered are: how the programme's working title stuck; how the director letting the cameras be seen on camera was regarded as avant-garde; and how presenter David Frost managed to get the programme scheduled after TW3 was taken off air. 8. Ever Decreasing Circles First broadcast: Monday 8th May 2006 When creating the character of bumbling do-gooder Martin Bryce, they only had one actor in mind - Richard Briers - because they felt he was the only person who could bring some kind of charm to this appalling character.

Question: ‘Dead Belgians Don’t Count’ was the original working title of which 90s sitcom?
Answer: DROP THE DEAD DONKEY