''Civvies'' is a six-part thriller first broadcast on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

on 22 September 1992. The series was written by

Lynda La Plante Lynda La Plante, CBE (born Lynda Titchmarsh; 15 March 1943) is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the ''Prime Suspect'' television crime series. Early life Lynda La Plante was born Lynda Titchmarsh on ...

- her first writing contribution for the BBC, after being poached by the BBC following the success of ''

Prime Suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who ...

''. The series focuses on Frank Dillon ( Jason Issacs), a former Army soldier who finds life outside the army tougher than being in it - and slowly falls under the power of east end gangster Barry Newman ( Peter O'Toole), who is looking to hire a trained hitman. The complete series was released on DVD on 3 June 2013 on Acorn Media UK.

Plot

Reconciling the danger and excitement of serving in the elite

British Parachute Regiment The Parachute Regiment, colloquially known as the Paras, is an airborne infantry regiment of the British Army. The first battalion is part of the Special Forces Support Group under the operational command of the Director Special Forces. The oth ...

with life back home with his family does not prove simple for Frank Dillon (Jason Isaacs). An impulsive and aggressive man, he is aware that his pay-off from the army isn't sufficient to secure his future but, like his friends, struggles to find stable employment elsewhere. With no one prepared to take a chance on him, Frank may be powerless to resist the approaches of Barry Newman (Peter O'Toole), an East End gangster who could certainly find a use for a trained killer.

Cast

Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor. Isaac's film roles include Col. Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001), Lucius Malfoy in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2002–2011), Ca ...

as Frank Dillon *

Elizabeth Rider Elizabeth Rider is an English actress, sometimes credited as Liza Rider. She is known for her portrayal of Lynette Driver in the BBC soap opera '' Doctors''. Education Rider trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was ...

as Suzie Dillon * Caleb Lloyd as Kenny Dillon * Bobby Coombes as Phil Dillon *

Lennie James Lennie Michael James (born 11 October 1965) is a British actor, screenwriter, and playwright. His work includes playing Morgan Jones in the television series, '' The Walking Dead'' and in its spin-off, '' Fear the Walking Dead'', and starring ...

as Cliff Morgan * Eddie O'Connell as Jimmy Hammond * Seamus O'Neill as Harry Travers *

Peter Howitt Peter Howitt (; born 5 May 1957) is a British actor and film director. Biography Early life Howitt was born on 5 May 1957, the son of Frank Howitt, a renowned Fleet Street journalist who, in 1963, broke the infamous Profumo Scandal by get ...

as Steve Harris * Peter O'Toole as Barry Newman * David J. Nichols as Johnny Blair *

Shirley Stelfox Shirley Rosemary Stelfox (11 April 1941 – 7 December 2015) was an English actress, known for her portrayal of the character Edna Birch, a moralising busybody in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', and as Rose, the vampy sister of the snobby ...

as Helen Bunning * Bhasker Patel as Marway * John H. Francis as Taffy Davies * Gareth Marks as Wally Simpkins

Locations

An entrance gate at the

Imperial War Museum Duxford Imperial War Museum Duxford is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Britain's largest aviation museum, Duxford houses the museum's large exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraft, military vehicles, artill ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

stood in for the gates of Depot Para, then the barracks and training facility for the Parachute Regiment at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

. A

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained ...

from the museum's collection was parked at the gates during filming to replicate the

gate guardian A gate guardian or gate guard is a withdrawn piece of equipment, often an aircraft, armoured vehicle, artillery piece, or locomotive, mounted on a plinth and used as a static display near to and forming a symbolic display of "guarding" the main ...

at Depot Para in Aldershot.

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Civvies (Tv Series) 1992 British television series debuts 1992 British television series endings 1990s British drama television series 1990s British crime television series British drama television series BBC television miniseries English-language television shows Serial drama television series BBC television dramas BBC Cymru Wales television shows 1990s British television miniseries Television series by BBC Studios