''Out'' is a British television crime drama written by

Trevor Preston Trevor Preston was a British screenwriter. He wrote the series '' Out'' and created the series '' Ace of Wands''. He also wrote a 1976 TV movie adaptation of ''James and the Giant Peach''. Writing credits 1960s work 1966 * ''Four People'' (seria ...

and directed by Jim Goddard. It was produced by

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

in 1978 and starred Tom Bell as Frank ("Frankie") Ross. It was hugely popular at the time of its release with an average audience of 10 million viewers. There was one series (6 episodes), with Bell declining to make a sequel.

Plot summary

Frank Ross (actor Tom Bell) returns from an eight-year prison sentence for a robbery that was thwarted because somebody 'grassed' the gang. Nobody knows who put the finger on him, but Ross is determined to find out and seeks revenge on those who betrayed him. Whilst inside, his wife has gone into a home and his son is going off the rails. Little by little, Ross pieces together the trail that leads to a dramatic conclusion.

Cast

The gang included

John Junkin John Francis Junkin (29 January 1930 – 7 March 2006) was an English actor and scriptwriter who had a long career in radio, television and film, specialising in comedy. Early life Born in Ealing, Middlesex, the son of a policeman, he and hi ...

, Frank Mills,

Oscar James Oscar James (born 25 July 1942) is a Trinidadian actor, who is based in the United Kingdom. He has had a long and varied career, but is best known for appearing on British television, in particular the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', where he pla ...

and Peter Blake. Other notable actors included Norman Rodway (as Inspector Bryce - the man who put Ross away),

Brian Croucher Brian Croucher (born 23 January 1942) is an English actor and director best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997, in the soap opera ''EastEnders''. Croucher also had a regular role in the science fiction series ''B ...

(Frank's only real friend Chris), Andrew Paul as his son Paul Ross with

Linda Robson Linda Patricia Mary Dunford ( Robson; born 13 March 1958) is an English actress and television presenter. She is best known for playing Tracey Stubbs in the sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'' (1989–1998, 2014–2020) and her appearances as a weekl ...

as Paul's girlfriend Mo, Brian Cox (as gangland rival McGrath),

Derrick O'Connor Derrick O'Connor (3 January 1941 – 29 June 2018) was an Irish theatre and character actor. O'Connor was best known for his performance as South African mercenary Pieter Vorstedt in ''Lethal Weapon 2'' and for his roles in three Terry Gilliam ...

and

Bryan Marshall Bryan Marshall (19 May 1938 – 25 June 2019) was a British actor, with a number of major credits in film and television to his name, in both his native country and Australia. Early life Marshall was born in Battersea, south London. He was educ ...

(two of McGrath's heavies).

Cultural impact

In the weeks prior to its broadcast on Monday evenings, brief clips of the programme were shown to rouse viewer interest in which a character provided only the cryptic information that 'Frank Ross is OUT'. Also, around the time of the series, a lot of

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

saying, "Frank Ross is innocent" appeared around London, an apparent parody of the " George Davis is innocent" campaign slogans still visible on walls at the time. When a rail strike disrupted many people's plans to make it home in time for the final episode, "who grassed Frank Ross?" could be seen scrawled across blackboards at Euston station.

Awards

Tom Bell was nominated for Best Television Actor BAFTA, whilst Ralph Sheldon won for Television Craft/Film Editor, in 1979.

References

External links