''Andy Robson'' is a 1982 British children's television series, produced by

Tyne Tees Television ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from stud ...

, which aired on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

network for two series in 1982 and 1983. It was based on Frederick Grice's novel ''The Courage of Andy Robson'', published in 1969.

Plot

Set in

Edwardian England The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

and starring Tom Davidson as the eponymous hero, the series concerned the adventures of Andy, who had been sent from a

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

town in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

, to live with his aunt and uncle in rural

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

after his father was injured in a pit accident. The series also starred Stephanie Tague and Stevie-Lee Pattinson as Victoria and Alec, two of Andy's friends in his new surroundings.

Cast

Production

Music

The series' theme tune, "Best of Friends" was written by

BA Robertson Brian Alexander Robertson (born 12 September 1956) is a Scottish musician, composer and songwriter. He had a string of hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s characterised by catchy pop tunes and jaunty humorous lyrics, including " Knocked It ...

and Alan Parker and sung by

Barbara Dickson Barbara Ruth Dickson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish singer and actress whose hits include 'I Know Him So Well', 'Answer Me' and 'January February'. Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK Albums Chart from 1977 to date, and had a n ...

. A full song running 3'20" was recorded but never commercially released, although it can be heard on Dickson's official YouTube channel. An abridged version accompanied the closing credits of the television series.

External links

* 1982 British television series debuts 1983 British television series endings 1980s British children's television series British children's drama television series Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Tyne Tees Television ITV children's television shows English-language television shows {{UK-tv-prog-stub