''The Worker'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1965 to 1978. Co-written by and starring comedian

Charlie Drake Charles Edward Springall (19 June 1925 – 23 December 2006), known professionally as Charlie Drake, was an English comedian, actor, writer and singer. With his small stature (5' 1"/155 cm tall), curly red hair and liking for slapstick, h ...

, the programme revolved around a man who has been dismissed from nearly 1,000 jobs.

Cast

- Charlie * Percy Herbert - Mr Whittaker ''(series 1)'' *

Henry McGee ''For the American businessman and academic, see Henry W. McGee.'' Henry James Marris-McGee (14 May 1929 – 28 January 2006) was a British actor, best known as straight man to Benny Hill for many years. McGee was also often the announce ...

- Mr Pugh ''(series 2 onwards)'' * Frank Williams - Vicar

Plot

Charlie, although willing to work, has been dismissed from the 980 jobs that the local

Labour Exchange An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency. Public employment agencies One ...

has found him over the previous 20 years. Mr Whittaker, and later Mr Pugh, is the clerk at the exchange who tries to find Charlie a suitable job.

Episodes

The first two series of ''The Worker'', a total of thirteen 35 minute episodes, aired in 1965 on Saturdays at 8.25pm. The next two series - by now in colour - broadcast from 1969 to 1970, with the first airing on Mondays at 9.30pm and the second on Thursdays at 9.00pm. This time the twelve episodes were 30 minutes long. A short special as part of ''All-Star Comedy Carnival'' was shown on Christmas Day 1970. The final ten episodes - all of about 15 minutes duration - aired in 1978. The first eight were shown as part of '' Bruce Forsyth's Big Night'', the ninth as a stand-alone programme and the final episode as part of '' Bruce Forsyth's Christmas Eve''. Due to the archival policies of the time, not all of the programme exist in the archives. The 1970 Christmas short is missing and is presumed

wiped Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...

. All but the first episode of the third series and the entire fourth series exist only in

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

, though they were originally shot in colour.

Series One

Series Two

The closing logo for Series Two reads: "An ATV Production by arrangement with

Bernard Delfont Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont (born Boris Winogradsky; 5 September 1909 – 28 July 1994) was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario. Life and career Delfont was born in Tokmak, Berdyansky Uyezd, Taurida Governorate, Russian ...

Series Three

Series Four

Christmas Special

Series Five

DVD release

The 25 episodes from the first four series of ''The Worker'' were released on DVD on 28 May 2007. The colour episodes were presented in their surviving black and white versions with

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...

logos. The only surviving colour episode from the original series ("Hallo, Cobbler" with incomplete end titles) is included as an extra. This DVD also included episodes 3-5 from the 1978 series, claimed to be the only ones that survive, with introductions and endpieces by

Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series '' Sunday Nig ...

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Worker, The 1960s British sitcoms 1970s British sitcoms 1965 British television series debuts 1978 British television series endings English-language television shows ITV sitcoms Lost television shows London Weekend Television shows Television shows produced by Associated Television (ATV) Television shows set in London