''Nicholas Nickleby'' is a British

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

which first aired on

BBC 1 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, ...

in 1968. It is based on the novel ''

Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

, following a compassionate young man who, after the death of his father, tries to save his friends and family from his wicked uncle, and earn a living strong enough to support them.Pointer p.92

Cast

* Martin Jarvis as Nicholas Nickleby (13 episodes) * Susan Brodrick as Kate Nickleby (12 episodes) * Hugh Walters as Smike (12 episodes) *

Derek Francis Derek Francis (7 November 1923 – 27 March 1984) was an English comedy and character actor. Biography Francis was a regular in the Carry On film players, appearing in six of the films in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in ''The Tomb of Lige ...

as Ralph Nickleby (11 episodes) *

Gordon Gostelow Gordon Massey Gostelow (14 May 1925 – 3 June 2007) was an Australian actor. He was educated in Australia at North Sydney Boys High School and Sydney University where he graduated in Economics. Gostelow went to England in 1950 and worked ...

as Newman Noggs (11 episodes) *

Thea Holme Thea Holme (nee Johnston, 1904–1980) was a British actor and writer. Holme was born Thea Johnston in 1904. Her father was the architect Philip Mainwaring Johnston. She studied art at The Slade and then theatre at the Central School of Drama. ...

as Mrs. Catherine Nickleby (11 episodes) *

Ronald Radd Ronald Radd (22 January 1929 – 23 April 1976) was a British television actor. He is perhaps best remembered for originating the role of Hunter in the television thriller series ''Callan''. In 1971, he was nominated for a Tony Award for ''Abe ...

as Wackford Squeers (7 episodes) *

Maxwell Shaw Maxwell Shaw (21 February 1929 - 21 August 1985 in London, England) was an actor, known for ''The Barber of Stamford Hill'' (1962), '' Once More, with Feeling!'' (1960) and ''BBC Sunday-Night Theatre'' (1950). He is best remembered for his televis ...

as Mr. Mantalini (7 episodes) * Thelma Ruby as Madame Mantalini (6 episodes) *

Terence Alexander Terence Joseph Alexander (11 March 1923 – 28 May 2009) was an English film and television actor, best known for his role as Charlie Hungerford in the British TV drama '' Bergerac'', which ran for nine series on BBC One between 1981 and 1991. ...

as Sir Mulberry Hawk (5 episodes) * Raymond Clarke as Lord Frederick Verisopht (5 episodes) * Hazel Coppen as Miss La Creevy (5 episodes) * Sharon Gurney as Madeline Bray (5 episodes) * John Bailey as Brooker (4 episodes) *

Geoffrey Bayldon Albert Geoffrey Bayldon (7 January 1924 – 10 May 2017) was an English actor. After playing roles in many stage productions, including the works of William Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series ''C ...

as Arthur Gride (4 episodes) * Malcolm Epstein as Wackford Junior (4 episodes) * John Gill as Ned Cheeryble (4 episodes) *

Bartlett Mullins Bartlett Mullins (13 August 1904 – 15 May 1992) was a British actor. Career He is best remembered by British TV viewers as Mr Clough ''"Cloughie"'', Bob and Terry's workmate in the sitcom ''The Likely Lads''. He also appeared on episodes of ' ...

as Tim Linkinwater (4 episodes) *

Paul Shelley Paul Shelley (born Paul Matthews; 15 May 1942) is an English actor. Shelley was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, and trained at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art). Since then he has mainly worked in the theatre as a classical actor. ...

as Frank Cheeryble (4 episodes) *

Rosalind Knight Rosalind Marie Knight (3 December 1933 – 19 December 2020) was an English actress. Her career spanned 70 years on stage, screen, and television. Her film appearances include ''Blue Murder at St Trinian's'' (1957), ''Carry On Nurse'' (1959), ' ...

as Miss Snevellicci (2 episodes)

Archive status

The original black and white master

videotapes Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassette ...

for the serial were wiped sometime after broadcast, although all episodes survived as 16mm

telerecordings Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940s ...

. The full serial is unavailable online and was not included on DVD by Simply Media when the company released other surviving Dickens serials produced by the BBC between 1958 and 1969 (such as versions of ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and ...

'' and ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

''). As of 2023, it remains unreleased in any format.

References

Bibliography

* Michael Pointer. ''Charles Dickens on the Screen: The Film, Television, and Video Adaptations''. Scarecrow Press, 1996.

External links

* {{Nicholas Nickleby BBC television dramas 1968 British television series debuts 1968 British television series endings 1960s British drama television series English-language television shows Television series set in the 19th century Television shows based on works by Charles Dickens

Cast

Archive status

See also

References

Bibliography

External links