''Chelmsford 123'' is a British television

situation comedy 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 ...

produced for Channel 4 by

Hat Trick Productions Hat Trick Productions is an independent British production company that produces television and radio programmes, mainly specialising in comedy, based in London. History Hat Trick Productions was founded in 1986 by Rory McGrath, Jimmy Mulville ...

. Chelmsford ran for two series, of six and seven episodes respectively, in 1988 and 1990. The series was set in the British town of Chelmsford in the year AD 123 and concerned the power struggle between Roman governor Aulus Paulinus ( Jimmy Mulville) and the British chieftain, Badvoc (

Rory McGrath Patrick Rory McGrath (born 17 March 1956) is a British comedian, television personality, and writer. He came to prominence in the comedy show ''Who Dares Wins'' and was a regular panellist on the game show ''They Think It's All Over'' for many ...

). Britain is a miserable place, cold and wet – just the place to exile Aulus for accidentally insulting the Emperor's horse but also give him something useful to do. Aulus, probably a play on Aulus Platorius Nepos, the governor of Roman Britain between 122 and 125, was a rather delicate Roman and was usually outwitted by the scheming Badvoc, who hadn't had a haircut for twenty-five years. Many of the other regular "Hat Trick" actors, previously seen in shows such as ''

Who Dares Wins ''Who Dares Wins'' (Latin: ''Qui audet adipiscitur''; el, Ο Τολμών Νικά, ''O tolmón niká''; french: Qui ose gagne; it, Chi osa vince; Portuguese: ''Quem ousa vence''; German: ''Wer wagt, gewinnt'') is a motto made popular in the E ...

'', appeared. Both series are available on All 4. Series 1 and 2 were released on DVD by

Acorn Media UK RLJE International Ltd, d/b/a Acorn DVD, a British company that publishes and distributes DVDs, as well as selling home-video products and streaming videos with a particular focus on British television. History Launched in 1997, Acorn Media U. ...

on 15 September 2011.

Principal cast

as Badvoc, A British chieftain * Jimmy Mulville as Aulus Paulinus, the Roman Governor of Britain * Philip Pope as Grasientus, Aulus' Brother in-law. (Pope also wrote the series' title music.) *

Howard Lew Lewis Howard Lew Lewis (21 August 1941 – 20 January 2018) was a British comedian and actor, best known for his roles in comedy series including ''Maid Marian and Her Merry Men'', ''Brush Strokes'' and ''Chelmsford 123''. Biography Lewis was b ...

as Blag *

Neil Pearson Neil John Pearson (born 27 April 1959) is a British actor, known for his work on television. He was nominated for the 1994 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor for '' Between the Lines'' (1992–1994). His other television roles include ''Drop the D ...

as Mungo * Erika Hoffman as Gargamadua, Badvoc's girlfriend (Series 1 only) * Robert Austin as Functio (Series 1 only) * Geoffrey McGivern as Wolfbane (one episode in Series 1, regular cast member in Series 2) Also appearing in a number of episodes were: * Geoffrey Whitehead as Viatorus, engineer, bringer of rain, sculptor (3 episodes) * Andy Hamilton as Taranis, British "warrior" (2 episodes) (also sometime programme associate). * Chris Langham as The Gate Guard and later Chief Of Security (2 episodes) * Bill Wallis as

Emperor Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

(2 episodes).

Episode list

Series 1: 1988

* ''Arrivederci Roma''—9 March 1988 (''sections in Rome played entirely in Latin, until Aulus arrives in Britain'') * ''What's Your Poison?''—16 March 1988 * ''The Girl of My Dreams''—23 March 1988 * ''One For The Road''—30 March 1988 * ''Vidi Vici Veni''—6 April 1988 * ''Peeled Grapes and Pedicures''—13 April 1988

Series 2: 1990

* ''Heads You Lose''—9 January 1990 * ''Get Well Soon''—16 January 1990 * ''Bird Trouble''—23 January 1990 * ''Odi, et Amo''—30 January 1990 * ''The Secret War''—6 February 1990 * ''Mine's a Double''—13 February 1990 * ''Something Beginning With 'E' ''—20 February 1990 (''as with first episode, sections in Rome played entirely in Latin, until the Emperor arrives in Britain'')

References

External links

* * * {{IMDb title, 0094432 Channel 4 sitcoms Fiction set in Roman Britain 1988 British television series debuts 1990 British television series endings 1980s British sitcoms 1990s British sitcoms Television series by Hat Trick Productions Television series set in the Roman Empire Latin-language television