''Duty Free'' is a

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

written by Eric Chappell and Jean Warr that aired on ITV from 1984 to 1986. It was made by

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

Cast

Keith Barron Keith Barron (8 August 1934 – 15 November 2017) was an English actor and television presenter who appeared in films and on television from 1961 until 2017. His television roles included the police drama '' The Odd Man'', the sitcom '' Duty Fr ...

as David Pearce *

Gwen Taylor Gwen Taylor (born 19 February 1939) is an English actress who has appeared in many British television programmes. She is known for her roles as Amy Pearce in the sitcom ''Duty Free'' (1984–1986); Barbara Liversidge in the sitcom '' Barbara'' ...

as Amy Pearce * Joanna Van Gyseghem as Linda Cochran *

Neil Stacy Neil Stacy (born 1941) is a British actor particularly known for his role in the 1980s television series '' Duty Free''.Vahimagi p.292 Selected television filmography * ''The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling'' (1964) * '' It's Dark Outside'' (196 ...

as Robert Cochran *Carlos Douglas as Carlos the Waiter *Bunny May as Hotel manager ''(series 1)'' *George Camiller as Hotel manager ''(series 2 and 3)'' *Ray Mort as George ''(series 1 and 2)'' *Hugo Bower as Zimmerman ''(series 1)'' *Joseph Fazal as Spanish Policeman ''(series 2)''

Plot

''Duty Free'' is about two British couples, David and Amy Pearce and Robert and Linda Cochran, who meet while holidaying at the same

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

and the interruptive affair conducted by David Pearce and Linda Cochran during their break. Another recurring character is the hotel waiter Carlos. Although set in Spain, the show was recorded entirely in the

Leeds Studios The Leeds Studios (also known as the ITV Television Centre, Yorkshire Television Studios or YTV Studios) is a television production complex on Kirkstall Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. ITV plc had proposed to close the studios in 200 ...

– only for the concluding Christmas special was the budget found to film some scenes in Spain at the Don Carlos Hotel and Spa. Like many British sitcoms, there was a class-related tension between the two; with the Pearces

working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

socialists from

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

, and the Cochrans a more affluent,

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Co ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

couple from

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Bucki ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. The character of David Pearce, much to his wife's chagrin, became uncomfortable with his own status and politics after meeting the Cochrans and tried to change his outlook. During the show's run, it was never satisfactorily resolved if it was the same holiday being depicted in each series (or whether it was a different visit to Spain set within another time period) leading to the show famously being dubbed "the holiday that never ends". Although the first episode of Series 3 was set with the characters back home in the UK, it subsequently returns to Spain. The series was based on a one-off TV play by Chappell, ''We're Strangers Here'', first performed on TV with

Geraldine McEwan Geraldine McEwan (born Geraldine McKeown; 9 May 1932 – 30 January 2015) was an English actress, who had a long career in film, theatre and television. Michael Coveney described her, in a tribute article, as "a great comic stylist, with a ...

and

Ian Hendry Ian Mackendrick Hendry (13 January 1931 – 24 December 1984) was a British actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of '' The Avengers'' and '' The Lotus Eaters'', and played ...

as a two-hander and subsequently on stage as a four-hander at the Theatre Royal, Windsor.

Episodes

Series 1 (1984)

Series 2 (1984)

Series 3 (1986)

Christmas Special (1986)

Trivia

The actor

Frazer Hines Frazer Simpson Frederick Hines (born 22 September 1944) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and appeared in ''A King in New York'' (1957) with Charlie Chaplin. He later played Jamie McCrimmon in ''Doctor Who'', appearing i ...

, known for his former role in ''

Emmerdale Farm ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, ' ...

'', and television presenter

Judith Chalmers Judith Rosemary Locke Chalmers (born 10 October 1935) is a British television presenter who is best known for presenting the travel programme '' Wish You Were Here...?'' from 1974 to 2003. Early life Chalmers was born in Gatley, Cheshire. Her ...

made guest appearances in the series, playing themselves. The former was a hotel guest who tried to seduce Amy Pearce; the latter was filming an episode of '' Wish You Were Here...?'' from the hotel and interviewed the two couples. It set viewing records for a sitcom at the time, regularly topping the UK TV ratings, and was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Comedy Series in 1986 alongside ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until t ...

'', ''

Yes, Prime Minister ''Yes Minister'' is a British political satire sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode series, it was first transmitted on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister'', ran for 16 episodes fro ...

'', ''

'Allo 'Allo! ''Allo 'Allo!'' is a British sitcom television series, created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, starring Gorden Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Guy Siner and Richard Gibson. Originally broadcast on BBC1, the series focuses on the life of a French caf ...

'', ''

Ever Decreasing Circles ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' is a British sitcom which ran on BBC1 between 1984 and 1989, consisting of four series and one feature-length special. It was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, and it reunited them with Richard Briers, who ha ...

'', and lost out to the winner, ''

Just Good Friends ''Just Good Friends'' is a British sitcom written by John Sullivan. It stars Paul Nicholas and Jan Francis as former lovers Vincent Pinner and Penny Warrender, who meet in a pub five years after he jilted her at the altar. Three series and ...

''. In May 2015, both Gwen Taylor and Keith Barron played a couple again in an episode of the daytime soap opera '' Doctors''.

Last of the Duty Free - Play

''Last of the Duty Free'' by Eric Chappell and Jean Warr is a theatrical sequel to the TV series. The scene is many years later in which, as before, deceptions, misunderstandings and preposterous situations abound. Gwen Taylor, Keith Barron and Neil Stacy returned to their previous roles when the play opened at The Royal Theatre, Windsor in April 2014. On tour, the play's title was shortened to ''Duty Free''.

References

External links

''Duty Free''
British TV Comedy * * {{Eric Chappell 1980s British sitcoms 1984 British television series debuts 1986 British television series endings English-language television shows ITV sitcoms Television series by Yorkshire Television Television shows set in Spain Television series by ITV Studios Television series about vacationing