''The Fenn Street Gang'' is a British television

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 ...

which ran for three seasons between 1971 and 1973. Created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, it was a spin-off from their popular '' Please Sir!'' series.

Synopsis

The series follows the lives of many of the pupils from Fenn Street School as they enter the world of work. Some episodes were written by Geoff Rowley and Andy Baker, as well as David Barry and Tony Bilbow. The series' stars were

Peter Cleall Peter Cleall (born 16 March 1944 in Finchley, Middlesex) is an actors' agent and former actor who is probably best known for playing wise-cracking Eric Duffy in the London Weekend Television comedy series ''Please Sir!'' which ran from 1968 to ...

, Carol Hawkins (who also replaced Penny Spencer as Sharon in the 1971 ''

Please Sir ''Please Sir!'' is a British television sitcom created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey and featuring actors John Alderton, Deryck Guyler, Penny Spencer, Joan Sanderson, Noel Howlett, Erik Chitty and Richard Davies. Produced by London Weekend ...

!'' film), David Barry,

Peter Denyer Peter John Denyer (20 August 1947 – 18 September 2009) was an English actor who played Dennis Dunstable in London Weekend Television's ''Please Sir!'', and its spin-off series ''The Fenn Street Gang'', taking on the role of a teenager when a ...

and Liz Gebhardt. Leon Vitali replaced Malcolm McFee as Peter Craven during the first series, although Malcolm took this role back for the second and third series'. Peter Denyer (Dennis Dunstable) and Liz Gebhardt (Maureen Bullock) were absent from the third (and final) series.

John Alderton John Alderton (born 27 November 1940) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', '' Thomas & Sarah'', '' Wodehouse Playhouse'', ''Little Miss'' (original television series), '' Please Sir!'', '' No, Hones ...

(Mr Hedges, their form-master in ''Please Sir!'') guest-appeared in three episodes of the first series of ''The Fenn Street Gang'' and the first two episodes from the final series of ''Please Sir!'', which ran alongside ''The Fenn Street Gang'' in transmission dates. Richard Davies, who played science teacher Mr Price in ''Please Sir!'', also appeared again as Mr Price in one episode of series one. The series ran for two years and 47 episodes, but proved not as popular as its progenitor and was axed.

Production

The first season, consisting of twenty-one episodes, was produced by

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

Wembley Studios Fountain Studios was an independently owned television studio in Wembley Park, northwest London. The company was last part of the Avesco Group plc. Several companies owned the site before it was bought by Fountain in 1993. Originally a film st ...

in north-west

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Seasons two and three, consisting of eighteen and eight episodes respectively, were recorded at LWT's newly constructed

South Bank Television Centre The London Studios (also known as The South Bank Studios, The London Television Centre, ITV Tower, Kent House and LWT Tower) in Lambeth, Central London was a television studio complex owned by ITV plc and originally built for London Weekend ...

(also known as Kent House).

Episodes

Sequel

'' Bowler'' (1973) was a 13-episode spin-off series following ''The Fenn Street Gang'' crime boss Stanley Bowler, played by George Baker.

DVD releases

All three series of ''The Fenn Street Gang'' have been released on DVD.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fenn Street Gang, The 1971 British television series debuts 1973 British television series endings 1970s British sitcoms English-language television shows ITV sitcoms British television spin-offs London Weekend Television shows