The Liverpool TV shows that made the city famous 

Get ready to reminisce with this list of Liverpool TV shows that certainly left a mark on the city.

There’s no mistaking that famous Scouse accent when it comes screaming, sobbing or giggling out of the telly box, and there have been a few Liverpool-set TV shows that have put the city on the map.

You might remember The Responder starring Martin Freeman as the crisis-stricken police first-responder tackling a series of night shifts on the city beat only last year.

But what about these classic dramas, sitcoms, and shows that came before?

Why Don’t You…?

Kids series Why Don’t You…? was presented by children and aimed at finding things to do during the school holidays. From 1973 to 1995, the idea was it was unhealthy for kids to spend too long watching the telly and they’d be better off playing outside, or maybe making something (the full title was ‘Why don’t you just switch off your television set and go and do something less boring instead?). Put together in response to viewers’ letters, a typical week featured a teenager’s plastic bag collection, a trip on a steam railway, recipes for fruit punch, viewers’ jokes, and tricks with matches. It started life in Bristol, but was later made by teams across the country including Liverpool with a very young Alexandra Fletcher, who became better known as Jacqui Dixon in Brookside and Diane O’Connor in Hollyoaks, as presenter.

Boys from the Blackstuff

Nothing captured the mood of the nation quite like this ‘80s drama by Alan Bleasdale, a bleak yet fiercely funny exploration of the effect of the UK’s economic depression; and there was no more oft- repeated phrase than that of Yosser Hughes (aka Bernard Hill) who constantly pleaded ‘Gizza job’.  Set in the city, it centred on the fortunes of five unemployed tarmac workers (hence the black stuff) struggling to find work and driven to despair by rising unemployment, and also starred Michael Angelis as Chrissie, and Julie Walters as his wife.  It followed a play, The Black Stuff, originally written for BBC1’s Play For Today in 1978, and a new adaptation by James Graham is coming to the Royal Court theatre this September.

The Liver Birds

Each episode started with a familiar theme tune by The Scaffold and a view of one of the city’s best-known landmarks, The Liver Building. Liverpool-born writers Carla Lane and Myra Taylor created the sitcom about two young women sharing a flat in Huskisson Street and looking at the ups and downs of dating, work, parents, and each other! The pilot and series one starred Pauline Collins as Dawn and Polly James as Beryl Hennessey, but from series two and for the rest of the run Nerys Hughes replaced Dawn as posh ‘Bird’ Sandra Hutchinson. Elizabeth Estensen co-starred as Carol Boswell from series five onwards. It ran from 1969 to 1979 before being briefly reprieved in 1996 – but nothing’s ever as good as the original.

Brookside

‘Brookie’ chronicled the drama and daily lives of the residents of Brookside Close and it dominated our screens for 21 years before it ended 20 years ago. Conceived by Grange Hill and Hollyoaks creator, Sir Phil Redmond, and produced by Mersey Television (now Lime Pictures), it had millions of viewers and is remembered for the first ever pre-watershed lesbian kiss aired between Anna Friel and Nicola Stephenson – and, let’s not forget, the body under the patio! It was home for some very famous faces including Sue Johnson OBE as Sheila Grant, Anna Friel as Beth Jordache, Michael Starke as Sinbad, Ricky Tomlinson as Bobby Grant, and John McArdle as Billy Corkhill.

Liverpool 1

Mark Womack, Samantha Janus, and Paul Usher, starred in the ITV drama series about a fictional Merseyside Police vice squad. Usher played John Sullivan, the main antagonist of the series and much of the saga revolved around the squad’s pursuit of him over his dodgy business dealings – and the fact that he was none other than DC Callaghan’s (Womack) cousin. Produced by Colin McKeown for Lime Street Pictures, it ran for two series between 1998 and 1999 but, despite good viewing figures, was not recommissioned. 

Hotel

Just cook will yer?! Yep, who can forget the row between deputy manager Brian Burchill and head chef David Smith and the phrase that made TV history in this 1997 fly-on-the-wall documentary series set in the Britannia Adelphi Hotel (it even made it into the charts after it was released as a single by Alternative Radio). Eileen Downey was the no-nonsense boss of the Adelphi in Lime Street which made for gripping viewing during the eight-episode series which looked at the day-to-day dramas of the city’s largest hotel.

Merseybeat

Launched in 2001, Haydn Gwynne, John McArdle and Jonathan Kerrigan starred in the BBC1 series that followed the personal and professional lives of officers from the fictional Newton Park police station. It was filmed largely in Widnes and Runcorn – hence we saw local landmarks like the Silver Jubilee Bridge and Fiddlers Ferry power station – but despite a major overhaul for series four including a move to Liverpool and the introduction of the station’s Criminal Investigation Department led by Mark Womack as DI Pete Hammond, it never made it to series five.

Bread

Another Carla Lane show, Bread focused on the Boswells from Dingle, a Catholic and working class family led by the acid-tongued matriarch Nellie Boswell (played brilliantly by Jean Boht) who ruled the roost with an iron fist. Early series focused on her children attempting to make enough money to support the family through various illicit means and getting more dole money, while later episodes saw more emphasis on the family’s love lives and marriages (Nellie was plagued by free-spirited husband Freddie’s affair with ‘that tart!’, flame-haired Lilo-Lil).

Eyes Down

The late and much-missed Paul O’Grady starred as Ray Temple, the embittered manager of Liverpool bingo hall The Rio, in this BBC series which aired from 2003 to 2004. It was written by actress Angela (Angie) Clarke, sibling of Margi and Frank Clarke in Kirkby library of all places: “I did some of the writing at home, but not too much – there was so much going on and the house is never empty.” It had loads of free-flowing patter and gags, and some great characters like young pregnant Sandy, played by Sheridan Smith, loveable Bobby, played brilliantly by Liverpool’s Neil Fitzmaurice and love-shy Martin, brought to life by Benidorm and Corrie star Tony Maudsley. Although set in Liverpool, it was actually filmed in London.

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