Left to right: Gwyneth Turner (Gillian Gale), Mary Tennison (Patricia Mort), Jane Starr (Deirdre Day), Joseph Starr (William Sherwood), Jim Turner (Philip Ray) and Tom Turner (Brian McDermott).
Since the demise of The Grove Family, the BBC had lacked a twice-weekly serial.
Envious of the ratings success of ITV’s Emergency – Ward 10, they unleashed Starr and Company on 31 March 1958. The series was transmitted live on Mondays and Thursdays.
Stories revolved around the titular small-town family-owned engineering firm, which made navigational buoys (original, if nothing else!) in the fictional town of Sullbridge, 50 miles south of London.
Joseph Starr (William Sherwood) employed skilled artisan Jim Turner (Philip Ray). Jim and his family – his Welsh wife Megs (Nancy Nevinson), eldest son Tom (Brian McDermott), who worked in the design office at Starr’s, happy-go-lucky 19-year-old Hughie (Barry MacGregor), and 15-year-old daughter Gwyneth (Gillian Gale) – also served as the background for much of the serial.
Other key characters included Joseph’s wife, Edith (Barbara Cavan); their son, Robin (Mike Murray) – the firm’s deputy manager; his blonde wife, Jane (Deidre Day) – who at the opening of the serial was expecting a baby; Joe and Edith’s 24-year-old daughter, Julia (Pat Ann Key), who had turned her back on the company to take a job on the public relations side of a large advertising agency in London, and Mary Tennison (Patricia Mort), a nurse at the factory.
Although the series featured a largely unknown cast, future familiar faces such as Arnold Ridley (Dad’s Army), Graham Crowden (Waiting for God), Warren Mitchell (Till Death Us Do Part), and Stratford Johns (Z Cars) appeared in occasional episodes.
Unfortunately, the series didn’t stay buoyant for long. The final episode aired on 22 December 1958.
Jim Turner
Philip Ray Robin Starr
Mike Murray Tom Turner
Brian McDermott Megs Turner
Nancy Nevinson Hughie Turner
Barry MacGregor Joseph Starr
William Sherwood Edith Starr
Barbara Cavan Jane Starr
Deidre Day Gwyneth Turner
Gillian Gale Julia Starr
Pat Ann Key Mary Tennison
Patricia Mort Len Forbes
Glenn Williams Bromly
Martin Sterndale Simpson
Maurice Durant Steve Lacey
Harry Littlewood Hazel
Anne Pichon Mrs Childs
Betty Cooper Doris
Jose Read Harry Crane
Arnold Ridley
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Stories revolved around the titular small-town family-owned engineering firm, which made navigational buoys (original, if nothing else!) in the fictional town of Sullbridge, 50 miles south of London.
