Dead Man Weds
Encyclopedia
Dead Man Weds is a 6-part comedy series shown on ITV
on British
TV in January and early February 2005 (and repeated on ITV2
).
The series was written by Dave Spikey
who played the part of Jerry St Clair in Phoenix Nights
. It was produced for ITV by the independent producers Red Production Company
.
There are two lead parts, one being Dave Spikey and the other being Johnny Vegas
.
The series is based on the fictional newspaper
, The Fogburrow Advertiser. (The title Dead Man Weds is a typical example of the paper's front page headlines.) New editor, Gordon Garden (Spikey), is determined to shake up the small rural newspaper office. Acting editor and all-round lazy slob Lewis Donat (Vegas) is furious at Gordon's appointment, convinced that the job should be his. Lewis's school of journalism involves going on a break as soon as he gets in, stealing stories from old piles of newspapers and getting the rest of the news from Joan at the cake shop, Cake That.
The show's title was inspired by a headline from the Bolton Evening News.
The series was filmed in (amongst other places) Castleton in Derbyshire.
The theme music, also used as incidental music and stings throughout the series, was a version of the Jonathan King
composition "It's Good News Week", a 1965 hit for Hedgehoppers Anonymous
.
The production company have announced that the series will not be released on DVD due to problems with copyright clearance for the music used.
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
on British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
TV in January and early February 2005 (and repeated on ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
).
The series was written by Dave Spikey
Dave Spikey
Dave Spikey is an English comedian, actor, writer and film producer, currently residing in Chorley, Lancashire....
who played the part of Jerry St Clair in Phoenix Nights
Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights
Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights was a BAFTA-nominated English sitcom about The Phoenix Club, a working men's club in the northern English town of Farnworth, Greater Manchester. The show was written by Neil Fitzmaurice, Peter Kay and Dave Spikey, produced by Goodnight Vienna Productions and Ovation...
. It was produced for ITV by the independent producers Red Production Company
Red Production Company
Red Production Company is a British independent television production company, formed in 1998 by Nicola Shindler, an experienced television producer who had worked on such prestige dramas as Our Friends in the North and Cracker...
.
There are two lead parts, one being Dave Spikey and the other being Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his angry rants, portly figure, high husky voice and support of St Helens rugby league club. More recently he has moved into dramatic acting.-Early life:He was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the youngest of four children of Laurence...
.
The series is based on the fictional newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, The Fogburrow Advertiser. (The title Dead Man Weds is a typical example of the paper's front page headlines.) New editor, Gordon Garden (Spikey), is determined to shake up the small rural newspaper office. Acting editor and all-round lazy slob Lewis Donat (Vegas) is furious at Gordon's appointment, convinced that the job should be his. Lewis's school of journalism involves going on a break as soon as he gets in, stealing stories from old piles of newspapers and getting the rest of the news from Joan at the cake shop, Cake That.
The show's title was inspired by a headline from the Bolton Evening News.
The series was filmed in (amongst other places) Castleton in Derbyshire.
The theme music, also used as incidental music and stings throughout the series, was a version of the Jonathan King
Jonathan King
Jonathan King is an English singer, songwriter, impresario and record producer. He is also the author of three novels, Bible Two and The Booker Prize Winner , and Beware the Monkey Man , and an autobiography, 65 My Life So Far .King first came to prominence as an...
composition "It's Good News Week", a 1965 hit for Hedgehoppers Anonymous
Hedgehoppers Anonymous
Hedgehoppers Anonymous were a 1960s beat group from the United Kingdom. They formed in November 1963 as The Trendsetters, and became The Hedgehoppers the following year...
.
The production company have announced that the series will not be released on DVD due to problems with copyright clearance for the music used.