The Wackers (TV series)
The Wackers is a British television sitcom that was first broadcast on ITV from 19 March to 23 April 1975. It was written by Vince Powell, and starred Ken Jones, Sheila Fay, David Casey, Alison Steadman, Keith Chegwin, Bill Dean, Joe Gladwin and Pearl Hackney. It followed the lives and interactions of the Clarksons, a Liverpudlian family living in the poor area of Dingle.
It was the first series to be written solely by Powell, following the death of his writing partner Harry Driver in 1973. The series was heavily criticised in the press for its offensive humour, resulting in its cancellation before the final episode had aired.
Premise
Billy Clarkson returns home to his family, after serving two years in prison for petty larceny. His wife Mary, meanwhile, informed the family that he was "at sea"; upon his return, they reveal they already knew he was in prison. Home once again, Billy attempts to reintegrate into his family – divided by football teams and religion – and the outside world.Cast
Main
- Ken Jones as Billy Clarkson
- Shelia Fay as Mary Clarkson
- David Casey as Tony Clarkson
- Alison Steadman as Bernadette Clarkson
- Keith Chegwin as Raymond Clarkson
- Bill Dean as Charlie
Recurring
- Joe Gladwin as Joe Farrell
- Pearl Hackney as Maggie Clarkson
Production
The title is derived from the term "wacker" or "whacker", which was a name commonly used to refer to Liverpudlians up until the 1960s. The series was the first written solely by Vince Powell, following the death of writing partner Harry Driver on 25 November 1973. It was produced by the London-based Thames Television, to which Powell was employed as a comedy consultant. Philip Jones, the head of light entertainment at Thames, admired Powell's idea and his previous expertise in sitcom writing, and commissioned a full series, rather than a pilot. Although born in Manchester, Powell had lived in Liverpool for four years, so he had an understanding of Liverpudlian humour. To promote the series, producer Anthony Parker stated to the press that "whether the Clarksons are arguing about birth control or sex, we're not going for cheap laughs, but for reality. This is strong demanding stuff; it is hard hitting and explicit, but we are showing a family exactly as it is".Ken Jones and Shelia Fay, who portrayed married couple Billy and Mary Clarkson respectively, were married in real life. Jones, Fay, Keith Chegwin, Bill Dean and Alison Steadman were all born in Liverpool. Pearl Hackney, though not born in Liverpool, spent much of her early life there.
Cancellation
Following severe press criticism of the series, including pressure from Mary Whitehouse, the president of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, Jones told producer Anthony Parker to remove all crude references from each episode. Powell and Parker refused, seeking advice from Jeremy Isaacs, the Controller of Programming at Thames. Isaacs suggested that Powell and Parker nominate one episode they deemed more offensive than the rest; that episode would not be aired and the remaining six episodes would be broadcast without censorship. However, despite withdrawing the episode, the series was soon cancelled. The unaired episode, titled "Up the Reds", was broadcast for the first time in Australia, on 13 July 1976 on New South Wales-based channels and ABC-TV, and was eventually released on DVD in 2013. Robert Sellers, writing in Raising Laugher, noted that Powell remained proud of the series despite its controversy, believing it to be "a probable forerunner" for the later Liverpool-based sitcom Bread.To fill the schedules caused by the programme's cancellation, My Son Reuben, another sitcom scripted by Powell and produced by Parker, was commissioned by Thames. It ran for one series.