''Enemy at the Door'' is a British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

drama series made by

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

for

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 ...

. The series was shown between 1978 and 1980 and dealt with the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

occupation of Guernsey, one of the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The programme generated a certain amount of criticism in Guernsey, particularly for being obviously filmed on

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

despite being ostensibly set on

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

. The series also marked the TV debut of

Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, w ...

as a member of the island resistance. The theme music was composed by

Wilfred Josephs Wilfred Josephs (24 July 1927 – 17 November 1997) was an English composer. Life Born in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, the fourth and youngest son of Russian and South Shields Jewish parents, Wilfred Josephs had his first musical studies in Ne ...

Plot

The islanders were chiefly represented by the respected local doctor, Philip Martel (

Bernard Horsfall Bernard Arthur Gordon Horsfall (20 November 1930 – 28 January 2013) was an English actor of stage and screen. Early life Horsfall was born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, and educated at Rugby School. He trained as an actor at the Webb ...

), who struggled to maintain the peace while the Germans were led by Major Dieter Richter (

Alfred Burke Alfred Burke (28 February 1918 – 16 February 2011) was an English actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Frank Marker in the drama series '' Public Eye'', which ran on television for ten years. Early life Born in London's south-east ...

), a peacetime academic who was inclined to be lenient on the Guernsey populace but whose approach was challenged by his more conventionally nasty SS counterpart

Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...

Klaus Reinicke (

Simon Cadell Simon John Cadell (19 July 1950 – 6 March 1996) was an English actor, best known for his portrayal of Jeffrey Fairbrother in the first five series of the BBC situation comedy ''Hi-de-Hi!''. Early life Born in London, he was the son of theatr ...

). Rounding out the principal German characters were Major Freidel and Oberleutnant Kluge, a former policeman still more inclined to act as a policeman rather than a soldier. Many episodes portrayed the balance of power and fragile harmony between the islanders and the German occupying forces, and how it was threatened by either resistance action or over-zealous clamping down by the Germans. A precursor to his role as Bergerac in the detective series set on Jersey,

John Nettles John Vivian Drummond Nettles, OBE, (born 11 October 1943) is an English actor and author. He is best known for his starring roles as detectives in the crime drama television series '' Bergerac'' (1981–1991) in the title role, and ''Midsomer M ...

played a police detective ordered to work for the Germans and anguished by the conflict between his duty and collaborating with the enemy. The series' narrative ended in 1943 with the Germans still occupying the island.

Cast

as Major Richter *

as Dr. Philip Martel *

as Hauptsturmfuhrer Reinicke *

John Malcolm Major-General Sir John Malcolm GCB, KLS (2 May 1769 – 30 May 1833) was a Scottish soldier, diplomat, East India Company administrator, statesman, and historian. Early life Sir John Malcolm was born in 1769, one of seventeen children of Geo ...

as Oberleutnant Kluge *

Simon Lack Simon Lack (19 December 19138 August 1980) was a Scottish actor. He was born Alexander MacAlpine, in Cleland, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Known locally as Alec, he was the youngest child and only son of his father, Alexander McAlpine (known ...

as Major Freidel *

Richard Heffer Richard Heffer (born 28 July 1946 in Cambridge) is a British actor, best known for his roles on television in the 1970s and 1980s. His film career included appearances in ''Women in Love'' (1969), '' Waterloo'' (1970), '' Penny Gold'' (1973), ''T ...

as Peter Porteous *

Helen Shingler Helen Shingler (29 August 1919 – 8 October 2019) was a British film and television actress. Biography Shingler was born on 29 August 1919. She married producer Seafield Head, and was the mother of actor and singer Murray Head and actor Antho ...

as Helen Porteous * Antonia Pemberton as Olive Martel *

Emily Richard Emily Richard (born 25 January 1948) is a British actress and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. One of three sisters, Richard was born in London, where she attended drama school in 1966, aged 18, but she was asked to leave after ...

as Clare Martel

Reception

The review on the ''

Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lot ...

'' website by Sergio Angelini describes ''Enemy at the Door'' as featuring "stories and characters that explore the complex issues of alienation and wartime collaboration in a multi-faceted and surprisingly subtle fashion." However, " ile striving for a sense of day-to-day reality, the series was shown well before the 9 o'clock watershed, consequently holding back from showing too much of the grim reality of the situation." The series was re-broadcast in the UK by

Talking Pictures TV Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage-film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky channel 343, but later also became available on Freeview, Freesat, and Virgin Media. It is on air for 24 ho ...

from September 2020.

Episode list

Series Overview

*Series 1: 21 January 1978 to 15 April 1978 (13 Episodes) *Series 2: 5 January 1980 to 29 March 1980 (13 Episodes)

Series 1 (1978)

Series 2 (1980)

References

External links

Episode guide, DVD review, cast gallery
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Enemy At The Door ITV television dramas World War II television drama series 1978 British television series debuts 1980 British television series endings 1970s British drama television series 1980s British drama television series Television series based on actual events Television series by ITV Studios London Weekend Television shows English-language television shows