Video Cover, with main cast Drop the Dead Donkey was 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 tried to use current news events as a means of giving the programme a greater sense of realism. It was created by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. Contrary to popular belief, the title was entirely made up. The series made stars of Haydn Gwynne, Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson. 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
For the darts player see Andy Hamilton (darts player). ...
Robert Duncan (born 27 July 1952 in St. ...
Jeff Rawle Jeff Rawle (born 1951 in Birmingham, England) is a British actor. ...
Haydn Gwynne is a British actress best known for her roles in Drop the Dead Donkey, Peak Practice and Merseybeat. ...
Ingrid Lacey as Helen in the TV series Drop the Dead Donkey. ...
David Swift (born 1933) is a British actor, best known for his role in the sitcom, Drop the Dead Donkey. ...
Victoria Wicks is a British actress. ...
British actor, born 15th October 1965 in Stockton-on-Tees. ...
Neil Pearson (born London, England, April 27, 1959) is a popular British actor. ...
Susannah Doyle is best known for her roles as Joy Merryweather in Britcom Drop The Dead Donkey, and Avril Burke in Ballykissangel. ...
Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ...
This a list of episodes of the satirical British sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey (1990-1998). ...
Hat Trick Productions is a British independent television production company. ...
It has been suggested that Channel Four Television Corporation be merged into this article or section. ...
August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ...
MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ...
December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
It has been suggested that Channel Four Television Corporation be merged into this article or section. ...
MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ...
1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ...
For the darts player see Andy Hamilton (darts player). ...
Haydn Gwynne is a British actress best known for her roles in Drop the Dead Donkey, Peak Practice and Merseybeat. ...
British actor, born 15th October 1965 in Stockton-on-Tees. ...
Neil Pearson (born London, England, April 27, 1959) is a popular British actor. ...
The series started with the acquisition of Globelink by media mogul Sir Roysten Merchant, whose name is probably a reference to Rupert Murdoch, although Robert Maxwell was still alive when the series started. Indeed Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin note on their DVDs that it was more than somewhat fortuitous for their libel lawyers that the two men shared exactly the same initials. The series is mostly based on the on-going battle between the staff of Globelink, led by George Dent, trying to keep the company as a serious news organisation, and Sir Roysten's right-hand man Gus Hedges, trying to make the show more sensationalist and move it away from stories that might harm Sir Roysten's business empire. A media proprietor is a person who controls, either through personal ownership or a dominant position in a public company, a significant part of the mass media. ...
Keith Rupert Murdoch AC, KCSG, (born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-American global media executive and is the controlling shareholder, chairman and managing director of News Corporation, based in New York. ...
Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell MC (June 10, 1923 – November 5, 1991) was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and formerly Member of Parliament (MP), who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire. ...
Characters
Major characters - 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 was played by Roger Hammond, where he claims 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 the illegal. However, on buying the company Sir Roysten installed Gus Hedges (see below) in order to prevent any information being leaked out in news stories that may prove damaging. Sir Roysten is a strong, right-wing figure, supporting both Margaret Thatcher and John Major. However, when Major was looking weak in 1994, he defected to Tony Blair. In private, it is known that he sees prostitutes, and that his wife, Lady Caroline, also has many affairs. He also has a daughter, Octavia (Hermione Norris), that Dave tried to have a relationship with, but he broke it off for worrying of making Sir Roysten angry. It turned out that dumping her made Sir Royston even more angry. He also has a son, Roy Merchant Junior, who does not like his father. Sir Royston it seems has a will that will leave the empire to the sibling who can display the most ruthlessness and leave the other sibling without a penny. There may be more offspring as Gus refers once to Sir Royston having a daughter by the name of "the lovely Roystonia" which may or may not be Octavia. Rumour has it that Sir Royston's father, who was also a businessman, was a Nazi sympathiser. He also has several pet rottweilers and a personal security team who guard his mansion.
- 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 transformed Globelink from a serious news network to a ratings-chasing tabloid channel. He always talks in management jargon, and is notable for such phrases as, "Are we cooking with napalm? You bet!" Supposedly due to 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'. 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.
- George Dent (Jeff Rawle) - The chief editor. A nervous wreck and hypochondriac who is often in conflict with Gus over editorial decisions, but 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 overridden 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. Earlier scripts followed the deterioration of George's marriage to his somewhat exploitative wife, Margaret, and following their divorce, George's problems at home generally revolved around the antisocial and occasionally criminal behaviour of his daughter Deborah.
- Alex Pates (Haydn Gwynne) - Assistant editor and George's second-in-command. The token normal person, Alex was determined, skilled and professional. However, her personal life was complicated and messy, and from time to time this would intrude into her work life. Married and divorced before the series, her ex-husband once used Alex to thwart a story on his unlawful business practices. She broke his nose. Her mother repeatedly interrupted important meetings with frivolous and bizarre telephone enquiries, such as whether she should stockpile petrol in the bath in response to rising fuel prices. Alex left Globelink to join the BBC at the end of the second season. In the very final moments of Christmas Party episode (her last) Alex's mother finally visits the Globelink office at the very moment she announces to the entire assembled staff that the rumour that she has had a drunken one night stand with Dave is true.
- Helen Cooper (Ingrid Lacey) - Replaced Alex as assistant editor from the third series onwards. A single mother of a daughter called Chloe (Jocelyn Barker), she was briefly an object of desire for George until she explained she was a lesbian, though this didn't stop her having a drunken one-night stand with Dave. Dedicated to bringing people proper news, she often clashes with Gus, while George offers moral support from the outer office. She often takes charge in the office if George is feeling too delicate to do so himself. Nicknamed by the office staff as Stalin due to her obsession with organisation.
- Henry Davenport (David Swift) - One of the news anchors. A veteran reporter and wig-wearer, he is deeply contemptuous of Gus, Sally and everything about the "modern" news industry. He is in constant conflict with Sally, and the two of them take 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. He frequently derides younger presenters on other stations as 'androids' and 'holograms', and often bemoans the loss of what he considers to be the more interesting personalities of the past. He spends much of his spare time drinking, gambling and womanising, often in cahoots with Dave. Married and divorced several times, with two daughters, Henry is constantly struggling with alimony repayments and the demands of his exes. 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. Henry is supposed to have been based on Reginald Bosanquet, and indeed at one point owned a yacht (never seen) named 'Bosanquet'. Although the difference between his rather sordid private life and wholesome public persona was also somewhat reminiscent of Frank Bough. Although he had achieved some of the great scoops of the 20th century and met many of the great leaders of the modern world it often transpired that many of these exploits were intertwined with or as a result of his sexpolits.
- Sally Smedley (Victoria Wicks) - The other news anchor, handpicked by Sir Roysten and noted for her snobbishness and vapidity. She always has a problem with at least one member of the staff, although commonly prefaces any complaint with "I'm not one to complain…" She is largely disliked by everyone else, generally 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, and although she usually recovers quickly, back to her abrasive self, she did once go into therapy. She was raised by her grandmother, who clearly abused her as a child. She tried to cure Sally's fear of trees by abandoning her in a forest. Sally lives alone with her Filipino maid, who she often fires for stupid reasons. Sally is infamous throughout the Globelink office and elsewhere for her supposedly secret liaisons with lorry drivers and dockers. In one of these, she was wearing a live radio microphone at the time. Writer Andy Hamilton has hinted that this was based on a real life incident. Another leads to a short pregnancy subsequent miscarriage. All her views are conservative (with a big C) and it is much to her chagrin that she is a pin-up for so many homosexual men.
- Damien Day (Stephen Tompkinson) - The field reporter who tries to make his stories as sensational as possible, often by using untruths or stunts, thus becoming popular and increasing the channel's ratings, and making it impossible for George to fire him, despite his frequent desire to do so. 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 deliberately threw a hand-grenade over a wall to create panic before delivering a piece to camera. He is 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 brief appearance by Arvril Day (Rosemary Martin) Damien's overbearing, nothing-is-good-enough constantly criticising nuclear physicist mother who starves him of praise gives us some background as to why and how Damien became the driven amoral monster he is. Damien "I'm perfectly capable of self fulfilment" Day has virtually no interest in sex except in the episode where he loses his virginity to the danger obsessed weather girl at the end of series 4.
- 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. He often has several books and sweepstakes going at once, and his affairs with normally married women have always got him into trouble, as have his gambling debts. Although Dave clearly has the potential to be a highly competant professional his professional progress is continually hampered by these many weaknesses and addictions and his generally irresponsible and childish behaviour. After seducing a drunken Helen, he finds that he has feelings for her and takes some time to recover when she tells him their fling has just helped her to confirm her homosexuality further. He later got engaged in the fifth series but the relationship soon ended.
- Joy Merryweather (Susannah Doyle) - Joy is in no way joyful or merry. From Series 2 onwards, she is the terrifyingly outspoken PA who is utterly cynical, completely unafraid and prone to threatening violence. She gets away with this owing to being very good at her job, and the fact that even Gus is afraid of her. Her violent background was probably the result of her childhood. Her father left home, her mother was suicidal, and all of her brothers and sisters have problems. Her main role in the series is to offer sarcastic commentary on anything anyone does, and predict disaster, usually accurately. During the first series only, the PA was played as a flighty blonde, by Sara Stewart.
Roger Hammond (b. ...
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC (born October 13, 1925), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in office from 1979 to 1990. ...
Sir John Major, KG, CH, PC (born 29 March 1943) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the British Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. ...
For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency...
Hermione Norris (born 1968 in Essex, England) is a British actress. ...
// This article is about the dog breed. ...
Robert Duncan (born 27 July 1952 in St. ...
Yes man is a pejorative term (borrowed from the German Jasager) for a person who outwardly displays agreement with his superiors opinions in order to gain power or prestige. ...
Look up metaphor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
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It has been suggested that Channel Four Television Corporation be merged into this article or section. ...
Michael Ian Grade CBE (born March 8, 1943) is a British businessman and a distinguished figure in the field of broadcasting. ...
Jeff Rawle Jeff Rawle (born 1951 in Birmingham, England) is a British actor. ...
Hypochondria (sometimes hypochondriasis) is the unfounded belief that one is suffering from a serious illness. ...
Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal, pathological anxiety, fears, phobias and nervous conditions that may come on suddenly or gradually over a period of several years, and may impair or prevent the pursuing of normal daily routines. ...
This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...
Haydn Gwynne is a British actress best known for her roles in Drop the Dead Donkey, Peak Practice and Merseybeat. ...
The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion...
Ingrid Lacey as Helen in the TV series Drop the Dead Donkey. ...
“Stalin†redirects here. ...
David Swift (born 1933) is a British actor, best known for his role in the sitcom, Drop the Dead Donkey. ...
A news anchor (US,Can. ...
Reginald Bosanquet was a newsreader on Independent Television News in the United Kingdom for several years. ...
Frank Bough (IPA pronunciation of his last name: ) (born Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, England, January 15th 1933) is a British television presenter who specialised in sports programmes. ...
Victoria Wicks is a British actress. ...
British actor, born 15th October 1965 in Stockton-on-Tees. ...
Tarot (Tar-oh) is a system of symbolical images. ...
Nostradamus: original portrait by his son Cesar Michel de Nostredame (December 14, 1503 – July 2, 1566), usually Latinized to Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous world-wide. ...
This article is about the auto company. ...
Antisocial personality disorder (APD) is a personality disorder which is often characterised by antisocial and impulsive behaviour. ...
Rosemary Martin is a British actress, equally well remembered for her sitcom roles (Mrs. ...
Neil Pearson (born London, England, April 27, 1959) is a popular British actor. ...
Susannah Doyle is best known for her roles as Joy Merryweather in Britcom Drop The Dead Donkey, and Avril Burke in Ballykissangel. ...
Sara Stewart as the fiesty Stella from hit TV show, Sugar Rush. ...
Minor characters - Gerry - Damien's (unseen) cameraman, occasionally voiced by Andy Hamilton. Damien's reports would usually end with something unpleasant happening to Gerry, while Damien yelled at him to keep filming. He appears in one episode, at the station's Christmas party, but is covered in bandages.
- Deborah Dent (Louisa Millwood-Haigh) - George's daughter, and one of the main problems at home. A juvenile delinquent, Deborah has been known to run away from home, steal cars and other vehicles (including a fully-laden car transporter and an InterCity 125), sell drugs (George's pills), burn supply teachers and attack 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.
- Lynn Yeats (Elizabeth Downes) - Damien's biggest rival. Lynn always seems to get bigger and better news stories, due to having a bigger budget according to Damien. Some may say that she is even more amoral than Damien, if such a thing was possible.
- Anna (Nina Marc) - A woman of Polish origin, she got engaged to George so that she could get a British passport and stay in the country. The rest of the staff tried to make him see sense, but it he just ignored them. In an attempt to save George, Dave asked Anna to marry him. Anna asked if he was wearing any cameras, trying to incriminate her. He stripped to show her, just as George entered the room. As a result, George thought she was having an affair and left her.
- 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 seemingly callous Sir Gordon (34th richest man in the world). The physically diminutive Sir Gordon is probably the most fleshed out of the several recurring characters in series 6. He is the epitome of a controlling husband with the pre-nuptual agreement to iron out absolutely every future disagreement or opinion. Despite this coldness Sally claims to actually have feelings for him because "he reminds me of my granny" and claims that actually he does have a heart ... and more importantly a heart condition.
- Wes Jasper (Neil Stuke) - Also popping up in series 6 was a thinly disguised parody of Chris Evans who hosted what was clearly a very thinly disguised parody of TFI Friday with identical set and morally and cerebrally vacuous ridicule-the-punter features. Henry makes several appearances on this show in series 6 in an attempt to forge a new career after Globelink much to the disgust of Dave Charnley and, indeed, himself. Henry is eventually goaded by Jasper into issuing a string of swearwords on air before the watershed ... another regular feature of TFI.
- Sue (Victoria Carling) - Sue (Henry's niece) becomes George's final girlfriend. Calm and gentle almost to the level of a Stepford Wife (George tells her "you keep my viral warts at bay") she is the mirror image of George's highly emotional and manipulative ex-wife Margaret. Like George she is an escapee from an unhappy marriage. They plan a new life together in Australia that Margaret (now a stroke victim) seems determined to undermine.
- Vivian Stanmore (James Bannon) - Modern art gallery owner who decides to exhibit Joy's "naif minimalist" sketches alongside Damien Hurst style living sculptures. He tries to seduce Joy and ends up being made an exhibition of himself when Joy discovers his seemingly attentive and thoughtful nature is simply the mask for an exploitative ruthlessness which he soon plans to turn on her.
- Chloe Cooper (Jocelyn Barker) Helen's self-obsessed and attention seeking daughter in several episodes.
- Alfred and Bernice Cooper (Geoffrey Hutchings & Paula Jacobs) Helen's supposedly conservative parents from whom she goes to ever more complicated lengths to conceal her lesbianism (including persuading Dave to impersonate her boyfriend) also pop up across the series. In series six Helen's father dies and it is revealed that actually their lives aren't quite as conservative as Helen supposed.
- Roy Merchant Jnr (David Troughton) - Sir Roysten's badly stammering bullying and bullied offspring who acts as the corporate axeman and finally closes globelink.
- Amanda (Saira Todd) - Helen's much metioned girlfriend in the later series. The first and only time we actually see Amanda in series 5 she is clearly a social embarrasment of Helen when she arrives at the office being “only” a dispatch rider (a job to help pay for her University course) but by the time Helen’s seemingly respectable career ends abruptly Amanda has invented her own send-out snack delivery business which Helen refers to sarcastically as “the sarnie army” and involves “dressing up in a black and white outfit that makes you look like a sodding Zebra”. Something Helen eventually finally swallows her pride and does in the last episode.
Christmas is an annual holiday that marks the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. ...
An InterCity 125 train (often referred to as High Speed Train or HST) is a formation of two Class 43 power cars with a rake of Mark 3 carriages in between. ...
Melvyn Hayes is an English actor, born 11 January 1935. ...
Neil Stuke (born 1967), is a British actor. ...
This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
TFI Friday was a light entertainment show hosted by Chris Evans and broadcast on Fridays at 6pm on Channel 4 from 1996 to 2000, with a repeat later that night. ...
James Bannon (born 1959) is an Irish politician and member of the 22nd Seanad Éireann for Fine Gael. ...
Geoffrey Hutchings (born 1939 in Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom) is a British actor from stage, movies and television. ...
David Troughton (born June 9, 1950 in Hampstead, North London, England) is a respected Shakespearean actor on the British stage. ...
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, or a voiceover for the ending credits was filmed either the day before or sometimes on the day of broadcast. The most frantic rewrite 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. Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell MC (June 10, 1923 – November 5, 1991) was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and formerly Member of Parliament (MP), who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire. ...
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock, PC (born 28 March 1942) is a British politician. ...
Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born June 17, 1945) is an English politician who became Mayor of London on the creation of the post in 2000. ...
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. Do they think these people are dying of stress?" Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ...
The series ended with GlobeLink being closed down. This contradicted the already thoroughly contradicted novel Drop The Dead Donkey 2000 by Hamilton and Alistair Beaton (1994) ISBN 0-316-91236-0, which had predicted its destruction at the turn of the millennium. Alistair Beaton Alistair Beaton (born 1947) is a Scottish left wing political satirist, journalist, radio presenter, novelist and television writer. ...
See also: 1993 in literature, other events of 1994, 1995 in literature, list of years in literature. ...
A millennium (pl. ...
Repeats Reruns of the programme often appear on Paramount Comedy 2. 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. Paramount Comedy 2 is a television channel shown in Ireland and the United Kingdom. ...
Channel 4 now has a Video on Demand service, where episodes can be downloaded from the internet and watched on computers.
See also This a list of episodes of the satirical British sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey (1990-1998). ...
The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs news programmes. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
IBS News, A Broken News Network Broken News is a comedy programme shown on BBC Two in autumn 2005. ...
Newshounds is a humorous webcomic drawn and written by Thomas K. Dye. ...
This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ...
Frontline is an Australian comedy television series which satirised Australian television current affairs programs and reporting. ...
External links - Drop the Dead Donkey at the Internet Movie Database
- Official Hat Trick Productions Website
- Travails with a Donkey - London Evening Standard article from 6th December 1991, looking behind-the-scenes at the making of an episode.
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