''Big Breadwinner Hog'' is a

British television Television broadcasts in the United Kingdom began in 1932, however, regular broadcasts would only begin four years later. Television began as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transm ...

thriller serial devised by Robin Chapman, 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 on weekdays only, 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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) 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 ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

Hogarth (

Peter Egan Peter Joseph Egan (born 28 September 1946) is a British actor. He is known for television roles including Hogarth in '' Big Breadwinner Hog'' (1969), the future King George IV in ''Prince Regent'' (1979); smooth neighbour Paul Ryman in the sitco ...

). He exploits the resources of a declining gangster, Ryan ( Godfrey Quigley), to take over the dominant crime syndicate Scot-Yanks, controlled by the equally ruthless and manipulative Lennox ( Timothy West). 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 or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungency, pungent smell. It is classified as a acid strength, strong acid. It is ...

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 Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited. However, in 1966, during the application pr ...

and Anglia Television 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 star Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle of ...

'') and

Michael Apted Michael David Apted (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was an English television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the ''Up (film series), Up'' documentary series from 1970 to 2019). He later di ...

. It gave an early role to

John Challis John Spurley Challis (16 August 1942 – 17 September 2021) was an English actor. He had an extensive theatre and television career but is best known for portraying Boycie, Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long-running BBC Television sitcom ...

, later Boycie of ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

'' and an important role for Priscilla Morgan. Peter Egan is also better known these days for

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

s like '' Ever Decreasing Circles'' (1984–89), ''Joint Account'' (1989) and '' Home Again'' (2006).

Cast

* Hogarth –

* Edge – Rosemary McHale * Ryan – Godfrey Quigley * 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 Adventur ...

* Lennox – Timothy West * Gould – Hamilton Dyce * Moira – Priscilla Morgan * Ackerman – Donald Burton * Greenwood – Brian McDermott * Izzard – Alan Browning * Grange – David Leland * Raymond – James Hunter * Nicholson – Tenniel Evans * Walker – Arthur Pentelow * Parker – John Horsley * Raspberry – Peter Thomas * Operative –

DVD release

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

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 ...

'' 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 British English-language television shows