Airport Chaplain – Nostalgia Central

1 9 8 0 (UK)
6 x 30 minute episodes

This short-lived television series from Scottish Television starred Ronald Forfar as the Reverend Bill Duncan, who had recently been appointed the Airport Chaplain at Glenning Airport in Scotland.

His role involved counselling passengers and staff, reassuring nervous loved ones, and generally lending a sympathetic ear.

Over six self-contained episodes, he counselled a Catholic priest who had lost his faith, arranged a delicate meeting between an estranged father and daughter, advised on airport security matters, and became embroiled in an airport strike where he had a debate about Christianity vs. Communism with a Marxist shop steward.

Guest roles were played by Russell Hunter, Bryan Marshall, Tammi Ustinov, Billy McColl, Joe Brady, Michael Aldridge and Mary Riggans. The religious adviser was the Rev. Dr Nelson Gray.

The half-hour episodes aired at lunchtime on Tuesdays across the ITV network, except on STV, where they were broadcast on Sunday evenings at 5.00 pm.

The stories – described by the Evening Times as “a sort of holy Crossroads” – were tedious, and the characters were stereotyped. The Glasgow Herald noted, “What bothers me about all this isn’t just that it is nonsense but that it’s nonsense with an inimitably Scottish accent. It typifies that persistent Scottish tradition of parochialising reality”.

A second series was not forthcoming.

Reverend Bill Duncan
Ronald Forfar
Andy Blair
Paul Young

Episodes

The Eye of Faith | Arrivals and Departures | To Thine Own Self Be True | Love Delights in Truth | Neither Swords Nor Pistols | No Hero