''Man Down'' is a

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

which was broadcast from 18 October 2013 to 29 November 2017. It was broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

and stars

Greg Davies Gregory Daniel Davies ( ; born 14 May 1968) is a Welsh comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Greg in ''We Are Klang'', Mr Gilbert in ''The Inbetweeners'', Ken Thompson in ''Cuckoo'', the Taskmaster in '' Tas ...

as Dan Davies, who is a man undergoing a

midlife crisis A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle age, middle-aged individuals, typically 40 to 60 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a pe ...

. Channel 4 commissioned an additional 25-minute

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

special before the first series aired, and a second series was announced during Davies's live tour "The Back of My Mum's Head", though this was prior to

Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative ...

's death in June 2014. Following Mayall's death, Davies met with Channel 4 to discuss the future of the show, Mayall having been intended to have a more prominent role in the second series. The series returned for a second Christmas special in 2014, a second series in 2015, a third in 2016, and a fourth in 2017.

Plot

Man Down centers on Dan Davies, a man in his forties who lives with his parents and is suffering a midlife crisis. He hates his job as a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

drama teacher. His long-term girlfriend breaks up with him at the beginning of series 1 and during the rest of the first series, he makes several failed attempts to win her back. From the Christmas specials through to the end of series 3, he pursues young, highly

attractive Attraction may refer to: * Interpersonal attraction, the attraction between people which leads to friendships, platonic and romantic relationships ** Physical attractiveness, attraction on the basis of beauty ** Sexual attraction * Object or event ...

deputy

headmistress A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

Emma. During series 4, they have a son together, although Dan and Emma are not a couple.

Cast

Main cast

as Daniel "Dan" Davies *

Roisin Conaty Roisin Marcella Conaty ( ; born 26 March 1979) is an English comedian, actress, and writer. She won the Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010 for her show ''Hero, Warrior, Fireman, Liar''. She played Jo in Channel 4 sitcom '' Man ...

as Jo Bellingham *

Mike Wozniak Michael James Wozniak is a British comedian, writer and actor. He portrays Brian in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Man Down'' and is a member of the team that makes ''Small Scenes'' for BBC Radio 4. Early life Wozniak was born in Oxford, was raised in ...

as Brian Clive Ames *

Gwyneth Powell Gwyneth Powell (5 July 1946 – 8 September 2022) was an English actress. She was best known for her portrayal of headmistress Bridget McClusky in the BBC television series ''Grange Hill'' for eleven series between 1981 and 1991. Background P ...

as Polly Davies (Mum) *

Jeany Spark Jeannette "Jeany" Spark (born 7 November 1982) is an English actress, known for portraying Linda Wallander in the British television series '' Wallander''. The actress has also had significant roles in the comedy series '' Man Down'' and the dram ...

as Emma Lipsey *

as Richard Davies (Dad) (series 1 - 2013 special) *

Stephanie Cole Patricia Stephanie Cole (born 5 October 1941) is an English stage, television, radio and film actress, known for high-profile roles in shows such as '' Tenko'' (1981–1985), ''Open All Hours'' (1982–1985), ''A Bit of a Do'' (1989), '' Waiti ...

as Nesta (2014 special – series 4) *

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television series ''Blackadder'' and has presented several historical documentaries ...

as Daedalus (series 3–4) *

Isy Suttie Isobel Jane "Isy" Suttie (; born 11 August 1978) is a British musical comedian, actress, and writer. She played Dobby in the British sitcom ''Peep Show'', and in 2013 won the gold Sony Radio Academy Award for her radio show ''Pearl And Dave''. ...

as Ally (series 3–4) * Deirdre Mullins as Naomi (series 1)

Supporting cast

* Ashley McGuire as Shakira * Geoffrey Sergison as Mickey Two Face * Stephen Morrison as Community officer *

Annette Badland Annette Badland (born 26 August 1950) is an English actress known for a wide range of roles on television, radio, stage, and film. She is best known for her roles as Margaret Blaine in the BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who'', Mrs. Glen ...

as Mrs Wigmore (series 1–2) *

Ramon Tikaram Ramon Tikaram is a British stage and screen actor of Indo-Fijian and Southeast Asian descent. He is known for playing such roles as Ferdy in the BBC television series ''This Life'' and Qadim Shah in the BBC One soap opera '' EastEnders''. Earl ...

as Dom (series 1–2) * Daniel Adegboyega as Sam (series 2–4) *

Elliot Levey Elliot Levey (born 6 December 1973) is an Olivier award winning actor. Career Olivier award winner for the role of Herr Shultz in Cabaret.known for his work in British Theatre, he has performed at the Donmar Warehouse, Almeida and National Th ...

as Mr Hogan (series 2–4) *

Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style eponymously k ...

as Mr Klackov *

Ruth Bratt Ruth Bratt is an English actress and comedian. Bratt has appeared in the BAFTA award winning BBC2 series ''People Just Do Nothing''. In 2022 she was at the Edinburgh Festival in "Starship Improvise" with the Mischief Theatre. Life Bratt was a r ...

as Carol (series 4) *

Madeleine Harris Madeleine Harris (born 28 April 2001) is a British film and television star known for her roles in ''Paddington'' (2014) along with its sequel Paddington 2 (2017). Life and work Harris grew up in London and Shepton Mallet, Somerset. In 2012, ...

as Karen (series 1–3) * Alfie Davis as Dennis (series 1–3) * Frankie Akhurst as Robin (series 2–3) * George Bothamley as Maurice (series 1) * Rihanna Joy Hosmer as Josephine (series 4) * Michael Bunani as Jason (series 4) * Sam Hunt as Kevin (series 4) * Max Gill as Gregory (series 4) *

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...

as Bob (series 3)

Writers

* Greg Davies * Stephen Morrison *

Sian Harries Sian Harries is a Welsh writer and actor. She is known for her work on '' Man Down'' and ''Tourist Trap''. Harries is married to comedian Rhod Gilbert. Career Harries worked on season one of ''Man Down'' and was promoted to co-writer during t ...

Ed Gamble Edward Stephenson Jamison Gamble (born 11 March 1986) is an English comedian, known for co-presenting ''The Peacock and Gamble Podcast'' and his regular appearances on ''Mock the Week''. He studied at Durham University, where he began his come ...

* Mike Wozniak * Richard Herring (additional material) * Andrew Collins (script editor) * Barry Castagnola *

Lloyd Langford Lloyd Langford (born 6 August 1983) is a Welsh comedian, comedy writer and voice artist. Early life and education Langford was born in Baglan, Neath Port Talbot. He studied film and television at the University of Warwick; he chose this be ...

* Carl Rice

Locations

The majority of exterior scenes are filmed in and around

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

and

South Oxhey South Oxhey is a suburb of Watford in the Watford Rural parish of the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England. It is located in the south western corner of Hertfordshire and close to the boundary with Greater London. At the 2011 Census S ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. Their local pub is filmed in South Oxhey shops as well as the bakery in an earlier series when Dan buys a massive cake. Lower Charles Street in Camberley, Surrey, is featured in episode 1, season 1. The car park scene in episode 6 of series 4 is filmed in

Cassiobury Park Cassiobury Park is the principal public park in Watford, Hertfordshire, in England. It was created in 1909 from the purchase by Watford Borough Council of part of the estate of the Earls of Essex around Cassiobury House which was subsequently ...

, Watford. Dan's house exterior filmed in Kendrick Road,

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. Scenes in both the hospitals and

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...

s were filmed at Wimbledon Film and TV Studios. The school during the show was St Clement Danes school near Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, featuring their Barbirolli hall and drama facilities. The tailors in episode one and episode six were filmed in

Farncombe Farncombe, historically Fernecome, is a village and peripheral settlement of Godalming in Waverley, Surrey, England and is approximately 0.8 miles (1.3 km) north-east of the Godalming centre, separated by common land known as the ''Lammas La ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. The exterior of "Bob's Cafe" is the exterior of "The Nile Cafe" on the corner of Nile St and Custance St, London N1. The Elephant & Castle pub in episode 6 in series 2 is the Elephant & Castle pub,

Wheathampstead Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north of St Albans. The population of the ward at the 2001 census was 6,058. Included within the parish is the small hamlet of Amwell. History Settlements in this area were ...

, Hertfordshire. The pub filmed in series 4 episode 3 is The Horns, Hempstead Road, Watford. Then the baby and push chair scene is outside Watford Town Hall and the main underpass. The church scenes in which Dan attends for butcher's funeral and his son's christening is filmed in Hanwell, Greater London. Emma Lipsey's parent's house is in Orchard Close on the Cassiobury Estate.

Episodes

Viewing figures from

BARB Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

Series overview

Series 1 (2013)

Specials (2013–14)

Series 2 (2015)

Series 3 (2016)

Series 4 (2017)

On 8 November 2016 Greg Davies officially confirmed the renewal of the show for a fourth series consisting of 6 episodes.

Cancellation

In 2017, Channel 4 announced it would not be renewing ''Man Down'' for a fifth series.

International broadcast

The series premiered in Australia on 12 January 2015 on

SBS One SBS is a national public television network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2018, SBS had a 7.7% audience share. As of 2022, SBS is the lowest ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{IMDb title , id=3063454 2013 British television series debuts 2017 British television series endings 2010s British sitcoms 2010s high school television series British high school television series Channel 4 sitcoms English-language television shows Midlife crisis in television Television series about dysfunctional families Television series about educators Television series by ITV Studios