Early Doors – Nostalgia Central

2 0 0 3 – 2 0 0 4 (UK)
12 x 30 minute episodes

Set entirely in The Grapes, a big old-fashioned pub in Manchester, this BBC comedy series was co-written by Craig Cash and Phil Mealey, who also appeared in the series as a couple of Jack-the-lads in the pub named Joe and Duffy.

Affable landlord Ken Dixon (John Henshaw) had been left by his wife (who ran off with his best friend) and now faced life with his imposing mother Jean (Rita May), a manipulative gossip, and his loving adopted stepdaughter Melanie (Christine Bottomley), a college girl who helps out behind the bar and harbours a desire to track down her biological father.

Other regulars in the pub included Eddie (Mark Benton) and Joan (Lorraine Cheshire), a well-meaning but incredibly dull couple who suffer from verbal diarrhoea; old Tommy (Rodney Litchfield), a depressing gloom merchant constantly lamenting his lot; unmarried mother Janice (Maxine Peake), whose baby boy, Calvin, could be the product of “a knee-tremble in Ladbrokes doorway” with the married Duffy; sometime barmaid Tanya (Susan Cookson); and Liam (James McAvoy), Melanie’s boyfriend, a pleasant lad but easy prey to the waggish Joe and Duffy, who tried to lead him astray.

Inept and slightly crooked local police officers, Phil (James Quinn) and Nige (Peter Wight), would often sneak into the pub kitchen for a (free) drink while on duty.

A romance loomed for Ken and Tanya in the second series, and Liam had been replaced in Melanie’s affections by the similar Dean (Lee Ingleby).

Phil and Nige had taken to smoking confiscated hashish in the kitchen, though still on duty, and Duffy was deep down in the dumps after his wife left him for a high-earner.

Though it only ran for 12 episodes across two series, Early Doors developed a massive cult following.

In 2018, the series was adapted into a highly successful live stage show that toured the UK and reunited much of the original cast.

Ken Dixon
John Henshaw
Joe
Craig Cash
Duffy
Phil Mealey
Jean
Rita May
Melanie
Christine Bottomley
Eddie
Mark Benton
Joan
Lorraine Cheshire
Tommy
Rodney Litchfield
Janice
Maxine Peake
Tanya
Susan Cookson
Liam
James McAvoy
Nige
Peter Wight
Phil
James Quinn
Dean
Lee Ingleby