''King Street Junior'' is a

radio comedy Radio comedy, or comedy, comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve variety show, sitcom elements, sketch comedy, sketches, and various types of comedy found in other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic element ...

which was broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

between March 1985 and November 1998. The show ran for ten series and the cast included

Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan ...

James Grout James David Grout (22 October 1927 – 24 June 2012) was an English actor of radio and television. Early life Grout was born in London, the son of Beatrice Anne and William Grout. He trained to be an actor at RADA. Career His BBC Radio 4 appear ...

and

Karl Howman Karl Howman (born 13 December 1953) is an English actor and voice-over artist. He is best known for playing Jacko in the sitcom ''Brush Strokes'' from 1986 to 1991, Mulberry in ''Mulberry'' from 1992 to 1993 and Buster Briggs in ''EastEnders'' ...

. The series is written by

Jim Eldridge Jim Eldridge (born November 1944) is an English radio, film and television screenwriter with hundreds of radio and TV scripts broadcast in the United Kingdom and across the world in a career spanning over 30 years. Eldridge is the creator and ...

. Research for the show was done at Newtown Road School in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

. A continuation series aired in 2002 and was named '' King Street Junior Revisited''. Episodes closed with a children's choir singing "See the Farmer Sow the Seed," a hymn written by Baptist minister Frederick Arthur Jackson (1867-1942).

Cast

as Mr. Eric Brown (Series one and two) *

as Mr. Harry Beeston *

as Mr. Philip Sims (From series three onwards) * Tom Watson as Mr. Fred Holliday *

Margaret John Margaret John (14 December 1926 – 2 February 2011) was a Welsh, BAFTA award-winning actress, known for her role as Doris O'Neill in ''Gavin & Stacey''. Early life Born in Swansea, as a child she wanted to be a nurse or vet, but she could ...

as Mrs. Dorothy Stone * Vivienne Martin as Mrs. Lillian Rudd *

Paul Copley Paul Mackriell Copley (born 25 November 1944) is an English actor and voiceover artist. From 2011 to 2015 he appeared as Mr. Mason, father of William Mason, in 16 episodes of ''Downton Abbey'', and from 2020 to 2021, he appeared in the ITV soa ...

as Mr. Geoff Long * Marlene Sidaway as Miss. Glenda Lewis * Deirdre Costello as Mrs. Yvonne Patterson

Episodes

Series 1

Broadcast in 1985 All episodes written by

* The New School Year Starts Here * Redeployment * Crime And Punishment * The Principle Of The Thing * Scale Points * Language Units * Christmas At King Street

Series 2

Broadcast in 1987 * Priorities * Dispute * Barn Dance * Problem Parents * The Sound Of Music * Assemblies * Parents' Evening * The Outing * Sports Day * Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Series 3

Broadcast in 1988. Peter Davison's character is no longer in the show, having taken a position at another school; from here on is

as Philip Sims. * Back To School * Fireworks * The Spirit Of Christmas * The History Game * Pressures * Facts Of Life * Under Canvas * The School Fete

Series 4

* It's Only Rock'n'Roll * Closure * Opting Out * Fundraising * Health * The Succession * It's Not Cricket * That Old Time Religion

Series 5

Broadcast in 1990 * D-Day Minus One * Is This A Career I See Before Me? * Good Times, Bad Times * Choices * Bon Voyage * Work * The Reunion

Series 6

* In Real Terms * Travellers * Safety First * A Good Read * Emergency * A Day At The Centre * Thursday's Child * The Games Children Play

Series 7

Broadcast in 1992 *Back In The Jug Again *Witch Hunt *Is There A Father Christmas? *Fatal Attraction *Horses For Courses *Beside The Seaside *Taking The Rap *Endings & Beginnings

Series 8

Back after a few years in 1995 * Mr Chips - by

* Settling In * Beginnings & Endings * Left Out, Roped In * Confusion - by Richard Stoneman * Internal Enquiries

Series 9

*Responsibilities by Richard Stoneman *Danger Zone by Jim Eldridge *A Bridge To Afar by Paul Copley *Relative Value by Andy Rashleigh *With Love by Jim Eldridge *Crossed Lines Richard Stoneman *Financial Times by Paul Copley *Gridlocked by Jim Eldridge

Series 10

Broadcast in 1998 *Proposals *The Rivals *Accusations *Target Practice *Incidental Music *Final Thoughts

Broadcast History

For most of its run, it was broadcast in Radio 4's lunchtime comedy slot at 12.27, with later series moving to a morning broadcast. Repeats have also been aired on

BBC Radio 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British Digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio broadcasting, radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a ...

and

BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...

Critical Reception

The series was described as follows:

Multimedia

The ten series of the show are published by Penguin and available to purchase at Audible.

Book

Jim Eldridge, who created the show and wrote 87 episodes, also wrote a 2006 book, ''King Street Junior – The Inside Story'', describing the history of the show including the behind-the-scenes conflicts.

References

{{Reflist

External links

British Comedy & Drama Guide

British Comedy Guide
BBC Radio comedy programmes 1985 radio programme debuts BBC Radio 4 programmes