''Fox'' was a British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

drama series produced by

Euston Films Euston Films is a British film and television production company. It was originally a subsidiary company of Thames Television, and operated from 1971 to 1994, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network ...

and

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 ...

for the ITV network in 1980. Consisting of thirteen episodes, it recounted the lives of the titular Fox family, who lived in

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

in South London and had gangland connections. It was notable in that it was an early work that featured the criminal as the protagonist. The series was 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 ...

, produced by

Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of ...

and directed by

Jim Goddard Jim Goddard (2 February 1936 – 17 June 2013) was an English film and TV director who was born in Battersea, London. He directed episodes of many UK TV series such as ''Public Eye'', ''Callan'', ''Special Branch'', ''The Sweeney'', ''The Ruth R ...

. Goddard noted that a dominant theme of the show was loyalty. The show aired on Monday nights, but received fewer viewers than BBC's ''Yes, Minister''.

Plot summary

Billy Fox is outwardly a retired Covent Garden market porter, but is involved in crime in London's East End.

Cast

The Fox family

* Billy –

Peter Vaughan Peter Vaughan (born Peter Ewart Ohm; 4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016) was an English character actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on the stage. He is perhaps best known ...

* Connie – Elizabeth Spriggs * Kenny –

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...

* Joey –

Larry Lamb Lawrence Douglas Lamb (born 1 October 1947) is an English actor and radio presenter. He played Archie Mitchell in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', Mick Shipman in the BBC comedy series '' Gavin & Stacey'' and Ted Case in the final series ...

* Vin –

Bernard Hill Bernard Hill (born 17 December 1944) is an English actor. He is well recognized for playing King Théoden in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Captain Edward Smith in '' Titanic'', and Luther Plunkitt, the Warden of San Quentin Prison in ...

* Ray –

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 ...

* Phil –

Eamon Boland Eamon Denis Boland (born 15 July 1947 in Manchester, Lancashire) is an English actor. He has played Tony Walker in ''Casualty'', Frank O'Connor in '' Coronation Street'', Gerry Hollis in '' Kinsey'', Jim Gray in '' The Chief'', Phil Fox in ''F ...

* Renie –

Rosemary Martin Rosemary Martin (17 December 1936 – 14 August 1998) was an England, English actress, born in Birmingham. She appeared in dozens of films from 1964 to 1998 and is also known for television roles including Mrs. Partridge in ''Last of the Summe ...

* Andy – Richard Weinbaum * Nan –

Cindy O'Callaghan Cindy O'Callaghan is an Irish psychologist and former actress. Her acting career began in her adolescence, when she was chosen to play the part of Carrie Rawlins in the Disney feature film ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'' in 1971. She has appeared i ...

* Jenny – Gail Shaw * Frank –

Sidney Livingstone Sidney Frederick Livingstone (born 29 March 1945) is an English stage, television, and film character actor. He has sometimes been credited as Sydney Livingstone. Early life Born in Rochdale, Lancashire, Livingstone was an apprentice chef, a sale ...

List of episodes

# "King Billy" # "Arched Fingers for Bach, Flat Fingers for Love" # "Pugilism Not Vandalism" # "It's All Them Psychia-Whatever-You-Call-It Books He Reads" # "Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble" # "Stick or Twist" # "The Perfect Scapegoat Syndrome" # "'If It's Good Enough for New Orleans, It's Good Enough for Clapham" # "Fox Big 'F' – Family" # "Just an Iron Monkey" # "Just Another Villain in a Cheap Suit" # "Oh Dear – Oh Dear – Oh Dear!" # "The Family ... and the Future"

References

External links

*
British Film Institute Screen Online
ITV television dramas Television shows set in London 1980s British drama television series 1980 British television series debuts 1980 British television series endings Television series by Fremantle (company) Television shows produced by Thames Television English-language television shows Television series by Euston Films {{UK-tv-prog-stub