Common As Muck
Encyclopedia
Common As Muck was a comedy drama serial made by the BBC
about the lives of a crew of binmen; it ran for two series.
7 September 1994
14 September 1994
21 September 1994
28 September 1994
5 October 1994
12 October 1994
coping with retirement after serving 45 years on the bins. A number of new characters were introduced into the second series including those played by veteran actors Frank Finlay
, Paul Shane and June Whitfield
and a minor role for James Nesbitt
as a parish priest.
8 January 1997
15 January 1997
22 January 1997
29 January 1997
5 February 1997
12 February 1997
immediately prior to the screening of the second series. The two series were also re-shown on the now-defunct satellite channel Granada Plus in 2002.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
about the lives of a crew of binmen; it ran for two series.
Characters
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Edward Woodward Edward Woodward Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York... |
Nev Smith |
| Neil Dudgeon Neil Dudgeon Neil Dudgeon is a British actor best known for his many television appearances, most often in crime drama.-Early Life:Dudgeon was born 1 January 1961 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, and attended Danum Grammar School among others. He established himself as an actor in school plays and went on to study... |
Ken Andrews |
| Richard Ridings Richard Ridings Richard Ridings is a British actor and is best known for his portrayal of Allan Ashburn in the ITV television drama Fat Friends, and for playing Bernard Green in the BBC1 comedy-drama Common as Muck. He trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.Ridings was born in... |
Bernard Green |
| Tim Healy Tim Healy (actor) Timothy Malcolm Healy is an English actor. He is best known for playing Dennis Patterson in the television series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He is married to the actress Denise Welch.-Career:... |
Foxy |
| Stephen Lord Stephen Lord Stephen Lord is a British actor probably best known for playing Jase Dyer, in BBC soap opera EastEnders between 2007-2008.- Personal life :... |
Jonno Fox |
| Roy Hudd Roy Hudd Roy Hudd, OBE is an English comedian, actor, radio host and author, and an authority on the history of music hall entertainment.- Early life :... |
John Parry |
| Derek Rogers | |
| June Whitfield June Whitfield June Rosemary Whitfield, CBE is an English actress, well known in the United Kingdom since the 1950s for roles in radio and television comedy series.... |
Irene Watson |
| Kathy Burke Kathy Burke Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke is an English actress, comedienne, playwright and theatre director. She is best known for her portrayals of Perry in the Harry Enfield film Kevin and Perry Go Large, and of Linda La Hughes in the British sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme... |
Sharon |
| Terence Rigby Terence Rigby Terence Christopher Rigby was an English actor with a number of film and television credits to his name. In the 1970s he was well-known as police dog-handler PC Snow in the long-running series Softly, Softly: Taskforce... |
Dougie Houd |
| Saeed Jaffrey Saeed Jaffrey Saeed Jaffrey OBE is an Indian-born British actor, who has done numerous British movies. He was born in Malerkotla, Punjab... |
Nat Prabhakar |
| Lesley Sharp Lesley Sharp Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress, particularly well known for her variety of British television roles including Clocking Off, Bob & Rose and afterlife.-Early life:... |
Christine Stranks |
| Freda Dowie Freda Dowie Freda Dowie is an English actress.Her television credits include: Dixon of Dock Green, Doomwatch, Edna, the Inebriate Woman, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Carnforth Practice, I, Claudius, The Old Curiosity Shop, The Pickwick Papers, Lillie, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Our Friends in the North and... |
Dulcie Green |
| George Raistrick | Mister Arnold |
| Paul Shane | Mike Roberts |
| Tony Melody Tony Melody Anthony John "Tony" Melody was an English television actor who appeared in a number of long running comedies and soap operas. He was a prolific character actor with over 100 television roles.-Early life:... |
Nev's Friend |
| William Ivory | Vinny |
| Simon Ashley Simon Ashley Simon Ashley is a Liberal Democrat politician in the City of Manchester. He is a councillor for the Gorton South ward and is currently leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Manchester City Council .-References:... |
Stan |
| Anthony Barclay | Sunil Prabhakar |
| Michelle Holmes Michelle Holmes Michelle Holmes , born Corinne Michelle Cunliffe, is an English actress who has appeared in several television serials.Born in Rochdale, Lancashire, she performed in a pop band called The Dunky Dobbers.... |
Marie |
| Nimmy March Nimmy March Lady Naomi Burke , known as Nimmy March, is a British actress.Her biological parents were a black South African father and white English mother. She was brought up and adopted by Earl and Countess of March and Kinrara, now the Duke and Duchess of Richmond... |
Denice Andrews |
Series One (1994)
The first series concentrated on the trials and tribulations of a team of bin men through a number of politically-motivated moves by the local council to privatise the refuse collection of the fictional town in which the series is set. The main characters are pitched against the corrupt council leaders and are seen to be taken over by a contractor and ultimately triumphing over an increasingly corrupt management. The first series featured Tim Healy whose character died in the penultimate episode and therefore did not appear in the second series.- Episode One
7 September 1994
- Episode Two
14 September 1994
- Episode Three
21 September 1994
- Episode Four
28 September 1994
- Episode Five
5 October 1994
- Episode Six
12 October 1994
Series Two (1997)
The focus of the second series shifted away from the refuse disposal theme, with the opening episode showing the main characters being made redundant; subsequent episodes followed the lives of the characters, showing them experimenting with a number of different jobs including window cleaners, painters and decorators and in the case of Nev SmithEdward Woodward
Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York...
coping with retirement after serving 45 years on the bins. A number of new characters were introduced into the second series including those played by veteran actors Frank Finlay
Frank Finlay
Francis Finlay, CBE is an English stage, film and television actor.-Personal life:Finlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Margaret and Josiah Finlay, a butcher. A devout Catholic, he belongs to the British Catholic Stage Guild. He was educated at St...
, Paul Shane and June Whitfield
June Whitfield
June Rosemary Whitfield, CBE is an English actress, well known in the United Kingdom since the 1950s for roles in radio and television comedy series....
and a minor role for James Nesbitt
James Nesbitt
James Nesbitt is a Northern Irish actor. Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Nesbitt grew up in the nearby village of Broughshane, before moving to Coleraine, County Londonderry. He wanted to become a teacher like his father, so he began a degree in French at the University of Ulster...
as a parish priest.
- Episode One
8 January 1997
- Episode Two
15 January 1997
- Episode Three
22 January 1997
- Episode Four
29 January 1997
- Episode Five
5 February 1997
- Episode Six
12 February 1997
Scheduling
Owing to the long period of time between the two series the original series was repeated on BBC OneBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
immediately prior to the screening of the second series. The two series were also re-shown on the now-defunct satellite channel Granada Plus in 2002.
Filming locations
- Newton HeathNewton HeathNewton Heath is an urban area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is east north east of Manchester city centre and has a population of 9,883....
- Miles PlattingMiles PlattingMiles Platting is an inner city district of Manchester, England. It is east-northeast of Manchester city centre, along the course of the Rochdale Canal and A62 road...
- Shaw and CromptonShaw and CromptonShaw and Crompton is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines, north of Oldham, southeast of Rochdale, and to the northeast of the city of Manchester...
(Series One) - OldhamOldhamOldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
(Series One & Two) - BlackpoolBlackpoolBlackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
(Series Two) http://archive.thisislancashire.co.uk/1996/5/30/852082.html - FleetwoodFleetwoodFleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...
(Series Two) http://archive.thisislancashire.co.uk/1996/5/30/852082.html - CleveleysCleveleysCleveleys is a town on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, England, about 4 miles north of Blackpool and 2 miles south of Fleetwood...
(Series Two) http://archive.thisislancashire.co.uk/1996/5/30/852082.html - StalybridgeStalybridgeStalybridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically a part of Cheshire, it is east of Manchester city centre and northwest of Glossop. With the construction of a cotton mill in 1776, Stalybridge became one of...
(Hough Hill area used for Nev's retirement and Parade of Dustbin Trucks - Series 2 Ep.1)
External links
- This is Lancashire Common As Muck, series 2 filming details.