Cuffy is a 1983 British

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 ...

. It spawned off from the 1980–1981 ATV

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

Shillingbury Tales ''Shillingbury Tales'' is a British television comedy-drama series made by ATV for ITV and broadcast 1980–81. Comprising a single feature-length pilot, 'The Shillingbury Blowers ', starring Trevor Howard, and six one-hour episodes, the seri ...

'', and both series were created by

Francis Essex Francis Essex (24 March 1929 – 5 March 2009) was a British television and stage producer, author and composer. Essex's career spanned several decades during which he worked for several TV production companies. His jobs included: Light Entertai ...

. In ''Shillingbury Tales'', the character of Cuffy appeared in two episodes and was played by

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over eight decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Ground" ...

, who reprised this role, now given centre stage, for this series, alongside the rest of the main ''Shillingbury'' cast: Jack Douglas as farmer Jake, Linda Hayden as his daughter Mandy,

Nigel Lambert Nigel Lambert (11 May 1944 – 11 September 2024) was an English voice actor. He is best known for his role as the narrator of the first series of the BBC comedy series '' Look Around You'', as well as Merle Ambrose in the MMORPG ''Wizard101''. ...

as the

Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

Norris, and

Diana King Diana King (born 8 November 1970) is a Jamaican singer-songwriter who performs a mixture and fusion of reggae, reggae fusion and dancehall. They are best known for their hit 1995 single " Shy Guy" and their remake of " I Say a Little Prayer ...

as the local

spinster Spinster or old maid is a term referring to an unmarried woman who is older than what is perceived as the prime age range during which women usually marry. It can also indicate that a woman is considered unlikely to ever marry. The term origin ...

Mrs. Simkins. In as much the ''Shillingbury Tales'' were made by

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in the production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme C ...

and seen on the ITV network via its parent company ATV, ''Cuffy'' was made by ATV's successor company

Central Independent Television ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the ITV (TV network), Independent Television franchisee in Midlands, the English Midlands ...

also for the ITV network.

Plot

The show revolved around the

tinker Tinker or tinkerer is an archaic term for an wikt:itinerant, itinerant tinsmith who mends household utensils. Description ''Tinker'' for metal-worker is attested from the thirteenth century as ''tyckner'' or ''tinkler''. Some travelling grou ...

Cuffy, who lived in a scruffy caravan in the fictional picturesque English

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

of Shillingbury. Beneath his raggy image (flat cap, grubby coat and stubble), deep underneath he had a heart of gold, although he had a tendency to get into mischief (unintentionally). The episodes revolved around some of his hapless misadventures.

Episodes

*1. "Cuffy and a Carpetbagger" (13 March 1983) *2. "Cuffy and a Holiday" (20 March 1983) *3. "Cuffy and a Fashion Show" (27 March 1983) *4. "Cuffy and a Downpour" (3 April 1983) *5. "Cuffy and the Status Quo" (10 April 1983) *6. "Cuffy and a Green Eye" (17 April 1983)

Trivia

The character of Cuffy was actually the brainchild of

Bob Monkhouse Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, television presenter, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including '' The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and ' ...

, who was a close friend of Shillingbury creator Francis Essex, and gave it to him to include in both series. The series' interior scenes were shot at the former

ATV Elstree Studios The BBC Elstree Centre, sometimes referred to as the BBC Elstree Studios, is a television production facility, currently owned by the BBC. The complex is located between Eldon Avenue and Clarendon Road in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England. Th ...

, which were still owned by Central TV and were its production base until their new

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

studios were completed in November 1983, after which they sold Elstree to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and made the move northwards.

DVD release

The Complete Series of Cuffy was released on 3 May 2010.

References

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

, ''BBC Online Comedy Guide''/''Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy'' *British TV Online Resources

External links

* * {{British Comedy Guide, tv, cuffy 1983 British television series debuts 1983 British television series endings 1980s British sitcoms ITV sitcoms Television series by ITV Studios British English-language television shows Television shows produced by Central Independent Television Television shows shot at ATV Elstree Studios Television shows set in England