''Big Breadwinner Hog'' is a British television thriller serial devised by

Robin Chapman Robin John Chapman (18 January 1933 – 29 July 2020) was an English novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Early life Chapman was born in Croydon, Surrey. He was educated at Selhurst Grammar School (later Selhurst High School) and Christ' ...

, produced by

Granada TV ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

and transmitted in eight parts, starting at 9.00pm on 11 April 1969 on the ITV network.

Overview

The series focussed on the ruthless rise through the criminal underworld of the trendy young

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

Hogarth (

Peter Egan Peter Joseph Egan (born 28 September 1946) is a British actor and animal rights activist. He is known for his television roles, including Hogarth in ''Big Breadwinner Hog'', the future George IV of the United Kingdom in ''Prince Regent'' (1979 ...

). He exploits the resources of a declining gangster, Ryan (

Godfrey Quigley Godfrey Quigley (4 May 1923 – 7 September 1994) was an Irish film, television and stage actor. He appeared in Stanley Kubrick's films ''A Clockwork Orange'' and ''Barry Lyndon''. Biography Quigley was born in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine, ...

), to take over the dominant crime syndicate Scot-Yanks, controlled by the equally ruthless and manipulative Lennox (

Timothy West Timothy Lancaster West, CBE (born 20 October 1934) is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on both stage and television, including stints in both ''Coronation Street'' (as Eric Babbage) and ''EastEnders'' (as Stan Carte ...

). The key to Hogarth's success is knowledge of a murder arranged by Lennox, of which there is a crucial witness, Ackerman ( Donald Burton), a one-time private eye who has been blackmailed into working for Scot-Yanks and bitterly resents Lennox. The eight-part serial was widely condemned at the time for its amorality and violence. Its first episode featured a scene in which a jar of

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid Acid strength is the tendency of an acid, symbol ...

was thrown into a rival's face. "Barely minutes after the first episode was transmitted, the Granada TV switchboard was inundated" with viewers' complaints about the violence and the second episode was preceded by a Granada apology for the previous week's episode.The ITV Encyclopaedia of Adventure, page 87, pub 1988 by Boxtree Ltd for TV Times Publications Granada toned down some of the more violent aspects of later episodes but despite this, viewer complaints continued and from episode 5 some ITV regions moved transmission to a later timeslot. Southern Television and

Anglia Television ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

stopped transmission of the serial. The serial was directed by Mike Newell (later of ''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle ...

'') and

Michael Apted Michael David Apted, (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was a British television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the '' Up'' documentary series (1964–2019). He later directed '' Coal Miner's ...

. It gave an early role to

John Challis John Spurley Challis (16 August 1942 – 19 September 2021) was an English actor. He had an extensive theatre and television career but is best known for portraying Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long-running BBC Television sitcom ''Only ...

, later Boycie of ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas ...

'' and an important role for

Priscilla Morgan Priscilla Morgan (born 14 January 1934) is a British actress who appeared in British TV series such as ''Rooms'' (1977) and ''Pride and Prejudice'' (1980) and '' My Old Man'', and movies such as ''Separate Tables'' (1958), ''On the Fiddle'' (1961 ...

. Peter Egan is also better known these days for

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

s like ''

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 ...

'' (1984–89), ''Joint Account'' (1989) and '' Home Again'' (2006)

Cast

* Hogarth –

* Edge – Rosemary McHale * Ryan –

* Spicer – Barry Linehan * Singleton –

Tony Steedman Anthony Francis Steedman (21 August 1927 – 4 February 2001) was an English character actor, perhaps best known for roles in British TV drama series of the 1970s and 1980s, and for his role as Socrates in ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' ...

* Lennox –

* Gould –

Hamilton Dyce Hamilton Dyce (14 March 1912 – 8 January 1972) was an English stage, film and television actor. His television work included the 1970 '' Doctor Who'' serial ''Spearhead from Space'', where he played General Scobie. Selected filmography * ...

* Moira –

* Ackerman – Donald Burton * Greenwood – Brian McDermott * Izzard –

Alan Browning Alan Brown (23 March 1926 – 7 September 1979), known professionally as Alan Browning, was an English actor. He is best remembered for portraying Alan Howard in the television series ''Coronation Street'', a role he played from 1969 to 1973. H ...

* Grange –

David Leland David Leland (born 20 April 1947) is an English film director, screenwriter and actor who came to international fame with his directorial debut ''Wish You Were Here'' in 1987. Life He initially trained as an actor at Central School of Speech ...

* Raymond – James Hunter * Nicholson –

Tenniel Evans Walter Tenniel Evans (17 May 1926 – 10 June 2009) was a British actor and, latterly, clergyman. Family Walter Tenniel Evans was born in Nairobi, Kenya. His middle name derived from the illustrator Sir John Tenniel, a distant relation.

* Walker –

Arthur Pentelow Arthur William Pentelow (14 February 1924 – 6 August 1991) was an English actor who was best known for playing Henry Wilks in ''Emmerdale Farm'' (later renamed ''Emmerdale''), appearing from the first episode in 1972 until 1991. Early career ...

* Parker – John Horsley * Raspberry – Peter Thomas * Operative –

DVD release

The series was released on Region 2 DVD in a box set with ''

Spindoe ''Spindoe'' is a British television series shown on ITV in the spring of 1968. It was named after the lead character, Alec Spindoe, a South London gangster; the plot of the series showed how Spindoe re-established his gangland empire after he ha ...

'' by Network DVD in June 2007. The series is presented on the DVD from the original videotapes, except episode one (containing the infamous acid-throwing scene) which exists only via a telerecorded film copy, where the image quality is noticeably inferior to the other episodes. Disc 3 (the 3rd "Hog" disk) contains an episode of the 1972 LWT series, ''Villains'', a serial as seen from the bank robbers point of view. The included episode focuses on womanising safe-cracker Charles Grindley as played by Bob Hoskins.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0063870, Big Breadwinner Hog 1960s British drama television series 1969 British television series debuts ITV television dramas 1969 British television series endings Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Granada Television English-language television shows