''An Evening with Gary Lineker'' is a 1991 stage play and 1994 television film both written by Arthur Smith and

Chris England Chris England (born 20 January 1961) is an English writer and actor. He is best known for the comedy play '' An Evening with Gary Lineker'', which he wrote with Arthur Smith, and the book ''Balham to Bollywood''. Early life Chris England was e ...

. The action takes place against the backdrop of the 1990 Football World Cup

semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

, between

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, which is taking place in Italy while Monica and Bill are on holiday in Ibiza. Bill desperately wants to watch the match; Monica wants to talk about their relationship. The play was nominated for an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

.Trish Lee
"An evening wiv arfur"
, Newbury Today, 4 March 2014. A 90-minute television drama, adapted by Smith and England from their playscript, was produced by Andy Harries for

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

and aired on 14 June 1994 on ITV just before the start of the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

and was repeated 4 years later during

France 98 The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

. It starred

Caroline Quentin Caroline Quentin (born Caroline Jones; 11 July 1960) is an English actress, broadcaster and television presenter. Quentin became known for her television appearances: portraying Dorothy in '' Men Behaving Badly'' (1992–1998), Maddie Magellan in ...

as Monica and

Clive Owen Clive Owen (born 3 October 1964) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series ''Chancer'' from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film '' Close ...

as Bill, with the supporting cast including Quentin's then real-life husband

Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and somet ...

as Bill's wet, annoying best friend Ian, who has accompanied them on the holiday to Monica's consternation. Lizzy McInnerny plays Birgitta, a German whom Ian has met in Ibiza, and

Martin Clunes Alexander Martin Clunes OBE DL (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, comedian, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV comedy-drama series '' Doc Martin'' and Gary Strang in ''Men B ...

plays Dan, a client of Bill's publishing company who is coincidentally in Ibiza too.

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he ha ...

makes a cameo appearance and the voice of John Motson is provided by impressionist

Alistair McGowan Alistair Charles McGowan (born 24 November 1964) is an English impressionist, comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for '' The Big Impression'' (formerly ''Alistair McGowan's Big Impression''), which was, for four year ...

Cast (Television Film)

as Bill Desbackos *

as Monica Desbackos *

as Dan Hudson *

as Ian Marshall *Lizzy McInnerny as Birgitta * Arthur Smith as Taxi Driver *

as Man in toilet *

as Himself (Cameo)

References

External links

* 1991 plays British plays England at the 1990 FIFA World Cup Plays set in Spain {{1990s-play-stub

Cast (Television Film)

See also

References

External links