Bread (television series)

Bread was a television programme, written by Carla Lane which focused on the lives of an extended family in Liverpool. It was broadcast on BBC One between 1986 and 1991.

Related Topics:
Carla Lane - Liverpool - BBC One - 1986 - 1991

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The Boswell family was led by its matriarch, the staunchly Catholic Nellie through a number of ups and downs as they tried to make their way through life in Thatcher's Britain with no visible means of support.

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Nellie's feckless husband, Freddy, had left her for another woman known as 'Lilo Lil'. Her children continued to live in the family home and contributed money to the central family fund, largely through benefit fraud and the sale of stolen goods.

Related Topics:
Lilo - Benefit fraud

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The colourful, sprawling, cross-generational nature of Bread gave it overtones more befitting a soap opera or airport novel. Its move to a 50 minute Sunday evening time slot in 1989 betrayed its true nature and it can be considered as being on the fringes of the situation comedy genre in which it is usually categorised.

Related Topics:
Soap opera - Airport novel - 1989 - Situation comedy

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Bread belongs to a peculiar subtype of British sitcom which repudiates any explicit effort to produce jokes and instead exists in a kind of timeless, hyperreal world where a scatter of catchphrases and minor slapstick are sufficient to engage the audience and induce them to laugh. Similar examples include Birds of a Feather, Just Good Friends, and the complete oeuvre of Roy Clarke.

Related Topics:
Hyperreal - Slapstick - Birds of a Feather - Just Good Friends - Roy Clarke

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Bread was criticised for perpetuating the stereotype of lazy, criminally minded Scousers, despite this, the programme was enormously successful and at its peak obtained viewer figures of more than 20 million. Linda McCartney appeared in one episode.

Related Topics:
Scouser - Linda McCartney

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The cast consisted of :

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• Grandad (who lived next door) - Kenneth Waller
• Nellie - Jean Boht
• Freddie (Nellies ex husband) Ronald Forfar
• Eldest son Joey - Peter Howitt series 1-4, Graham Bickley series 5-7 Nellie's lieutenant to his siblings
• Adrian - Jonathon Morris who aspired to be an actor
• Aveline - Gilly Coman series 1-4, Melanie Hill series 5-7 who attempted to become a model,
• Billy - Nick Conway who attempted to do as little as possible.
• Jack - Victor McGuire in all but series 4

The children had the following partners

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• Julie (Billy) - Caroline Milmoe series 1 & 2 Hilary Crowson series 3 onwards
• Carmen (Jack) - Jenny Jay
• Irenee (Adrian) - Sharon Byatt

and

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• Oswald, the local protestant vicar, much to Nellie's chagrin (Aveline) - Giles Watling

From series 4 onwards the family was supplimented by cousin

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• Shifty (by name and by nature) - Bryan Murray

who was joined for series 4 only by his ex girlfriend

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• Celia - Rita Tushingham

Trying to stop the siblings committing benefit fraud was local DSS official Martina - Pamela Power

Related Topics:
DSS - Pamela Power

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Other characters that made occaisional appearances were

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• Lilo Lil - Eileen Pollock
• Roxy - Joanna Phillips-Lane
• Derek - Peter Byrne
• Fr Dooley - J.G. Devlin
• Yizzel - Charles Lawson
• Yizzel's mate - Simon Rouse
• Leonora Campbell - Deborah Grant