''United!'' is a British

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

series which was produced by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

between 1965 and 1967, and was broadcast twice-weekly on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

. The theme tune was The Tops, a brass band march by Thomas J. Powell. The series followed the fortunes of a fictional second division

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team, Brentwich United. The football scenes were filmed on the grounds of

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

with

Jimmy Hill James William Thomas Hill, Order of the British Empire, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English football in England, footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including pla ...

acting as a technical advisor, and the efforts to achieve authenticity saw the show being criticised by the then management of

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

, who complained that the series was based on their team. ''United!'' was not a success, and was cancelled after two series. The programme was generally considered to be too soft to appeal to male viewers, and too male-oriented for the female

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

audience. As was common television practice at the time, the series' videotapes were

wiped Lost television broadcasts are television programs that were not preserved after their original airing, rendering them permanently unavailable for both public and private screening. Because of this, they are considered a form of lost media, par ...

for reuse, and it is believed that none of its 147 episodes have survived. Created by Anthony Cornish, from an idea by footballer Dudley Kernick,https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/stoke-city-bbc-brentwich-united-3654341 other writers on the programme included Gerry Davis,

Brian Hayles Brian Leonard Hayles (7 March 1931 – 30 October 1978) was an English television and film writer, most notably for the BBC science fiction series '' Doctor Who''. Doctor Who Hayles wrote six stories for '' Doctor Who'' and is best known for ...

Malcolm Hulke Malcolm Ainsworth Hulke (21 November 1924 – 6 July 1979) was a British television writer and author of the industry "bible" ''Writing for Television in the 70s''. He is remembered chiefly for his work on the science fiction series ''Doctor Wh ...

and

John Lucarotti John Vincent Lucarotti (20 May 1926 – 20 November 1994) was a British-Canadian screenwriter and author who worked on '' The Avengers'', '' The Troubleshooters'' and ''Doctor Who'' in the 1960s. Early life Born into an Army family in Ald ...

. The

directors Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

included

Innes Lloyd George Innes Llewelyn Lloyd (24 December 1925 – 23 August 1991) was a Welsh television producer and former actor. He had a long career as a producer in BBC drama, which included series such as ''Doctor Who'' and ''Talking Heads''. Early li ...

and

Derek Martinus Derek Buitenhuis (4 April 1931 – 27 March 2014Michael Billington and Toby HadokObituary: Derek Martinus ''The Guardian'', 1 April 2014), known professionally as Derek Martinus, was an English television and theatre director. Originally an actor ...

. Aside from Cornish, all of these individuals also worked on ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' concurrent with their involvement in ''United!''. Another Doctor Who connection was

Derrick Sherwin Derrick George Sherwin (16 April 1936 – 17 October 2018) was an English television producer, writer, story editor and actor. After beginning his career in the theatre, Sherwin became an actor in television before moving into writing. He becam ...

, who featured briefly as a fiery Welsh striker and went on to write and produce extensively for the sci-fi series.

Cast

* David Lodge, as Gerry Barford (manager) *

Ursula O'Leary Ursula O'Leary (Birmingham, 10 March 1926 – 17 May 1993) was an English stage, radio and television actor.Deaths, The Times, 19 May 1993 O'Leary graduated in stage management from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in 1948. Her stage ...

, as Mary Barford (his wife) *

Ben Howard Benjamin John Howard (born 24 April 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer. His self-released debut extended play (EP) ''Games in the Dark'' (2008) was followed by two more EPs, '' These Waters'' (2009) and '' Old Pine'' ...

as Curly Parker (136 episodes, 1965–1967) *

Mark Kingston Mark Kingston (18 April 1934 – 9 October 2011) was an English actor who made many television and stage appearances over his 50-year career. Biography Kingston's father was a blacksmith and he attended Greenwich Central School and train ...

as Danny South (133 episodes, 1965–1967) *

Robin Wentworth Robin Wentworth (20 July 1915 – 16 August 1997) was a British television actor, whose most prominent role was that of Ted Dawson in 116 episodes of soap-serial ''United!''. Early life A former Taunton schoolboy, he auditioned at Birmingham ...

as Ted Dawson (116 episodes, 1965–1967) * Beverley Jones as Deirdre Gosling (105 episodes, 1965–1967) *

Graham Weston Graham or Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

as Gregg Harris (89 episodes, 1965–1967) *

John Breslin John Breslin (; born 1973 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish engineer and full professor at the University of Galway. He is co-founder of the Irish websites boards.ie and adverts.ie. He co-authored the Irish bestselling book ''Old Ireland in Co ...

as Bob McIver (88 episodes, 1966–1967) *

George Layton George Layton (born George Michael William Löwy; 2 March 1942) is a British actor, director, screenwriter and author best known for three television roles – junior doctor Paul Collier in the comedy series ''Doctor in the House'' and its sequ ...

as Jimmy Stokes (85 episodes, 1965–1966) *

Marigold Sharman Marigold may refer to: * Marigold (color), a yellow-orange color It may also refer to: Plants * In the genus ''Calendula'': ** Common marigold, ''Calendula officinalis'' (also called pot marigold, ruddles, or Scotch marigold) * In the genus ' ...

as Fiona Nixon (78 episodes, 1966–1967) * Jill Meers as Amanda Holly (74 episodes, 1966–1967) * Harold Goodwin as Horace Martin (73 episodes, 1965–1966) * John Lyons as Alan Murdoch (70 episodes, 1966–1967) * Warwick Sims as Vic Clay (69 episodes, 1966–1967) *

Michael Redfern Michael Ian Redfern (30 March 1943 – 29 July 2022) was an English actor, known for his appearances on television and stage. Early years Redfern was born on 30 March 1943 in Isleworth, Middlesex, England. Career Redfern is perhaps best kno ...

as Chris Wood (59 episodes, 1965–1966) *

Tony Caunter Anthony Patrick Caunter (born 22 September 1937) is a retired English actor best known for his roles as Jack Shepherd in the Yorkshire Television sitcom '' Queenie's Castle'' (1970–72), DCI Jim Logan in the first three seasons of ''Juliet Bra ...

as Dick Mitchell (57 episodes, 1966–1967) *

Stephen Yardley Stephen Yardley (born 24 March 1942) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1963, he became known for his many roles on UK television between 1964 and 2004. Career In the mid-1960s, Yardley was a perm ...

as Kenny Craig (55 episodes, 1965–1966) * Arthur Pentelow as Dan Davis (53 episodes, 1965–1966) *

Ronald Allen Ronald John Allen (16 December 1930 – 18 June 1991) was an English actor. He is best known for playing David Hunter in the long-running ITV soap opera '' Crossroads'', a role he played from 1969 to 1985. Early life Allen was born in Reading ...

as Mark Wilson (53 episodes, 1966–1967) *

Ballard Berkeley Ballard Blascheck (6 August 1904 – 16 January 1988), known professionally as Ballard Berkeley, was an English actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for playing Major Gowen in the British television sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''. Life a ...

as Dr. Newkes (53 episodes, 1966) *

Bryan Marshall Bryan Marshall (19 May 1938 – 25 June 2019) was a British actor, with a number of major credits in film and television to his name, in both Britain and Australia. Early life Marshall was born in Battersea, south London. He was educated at th ...

as Jack Burkett *

as Bryn Morriston * Mitzi Rogers as Jean Jones * Arnold Peters as Frank Silby

References

External links

*
Action TV''Nostalgia Central'' article
{{Soap operas in the United Kingdom BBC television dramas Lost BBC episodes Lost television shows 1960s British television soap operas 1965 British television series debuts 1967 British television series endings Fictional association football television series British sports television series British television soap operas British English-language television shows Black-and-white British television shows