First broadcast: 1997 (pilot), series one began in 1999
Stars: Amanda Holden, Brian Conley, James Bradshaw, Nigel Planer and Noddy Holder
Writers: Fiona McCormick, Jed Mercurio and John Stevenson
The lowdown: Consistently funny comedy about unrequited love set in Dudley near Birmingham during the troubled 1970s. Naive schoolboy Gordon Grimley (James Bradshaw) falls in love with Miss Gerladine Titley (Amanda Holden) when she starts work at his comprehensive. Trouble is, she has a boyfriend called Doug Digby (Brian Conley). He is an oafish sadist who loves making the boys scale ropes, do press-ups and generally flog themselves to death. The times are perfectly realised with great wardrobes and sets, and Holden’s Brummie accent is perfect.
Memorable moment: Gordon first catches sight of Geraldine when she takes a room in the Grimley household before finding a place of her own. Watch out for Slade frontman Noddy Holder as Neville Holder, the soft-centred teacher, and also for Doug Digby’s bizarre demise.
Trivia: Samantha Janus was cast as Geraldine in the pilot and Jack Dee was Doug.
