1 9 7 7 – 1 9 7 8 (UK)
14 x 30 minute episodes
This ATV drama series for teenagers followed the progress and pitfalls of a group of fifth-formers at (the fictional) Oxford Lane Comprehensive School.
Pupil Chris Taylor (Jamie Foreman) is accused of something he didn’t do and, in exasperation, writes about the incident for the official school magazine.
When games master Mr Buck (Chris Sanders) refuses to print the article, Chris and some of the other fifth-formers decide to pool their journalistic talents and put together their own magazine – a punchier alternative called A Bunch of Fives.
Every bit as hard-hitting and humorous as its BBC contemporary Grange Hill (which debuted in-between series one and two of A Bunch of Fives) the series was devised by John Sichel with Colin Rogers and mostly written by BAFTA-winning writer Paula Milne.
External scenes were filmed at Ravenscroft Comprehensive in Barnet.
Chris Taylor
Jamie Foreman
Helen Wyatt
Lesley Manville
Dave Jenner
Richard Willis
Sally Morris
Julia Gale
Ken McCall
Andrew Rindus
Phillippa Stokes
Lindsay-Jane Bartlett
Mrs Carol Walsh
Julia Carey
Mr Buck
Chris Sanders
Miss Begg
Jennifer Hill
Mr Oakley
Richard Mayes
Episodes
Do It Yourself | The Critic | The Gig | A Cry For Help | The Chip Shop Mafia | Proof | The Sell-Out || Influuneces | A Star is Born | Playback | The Mock | The Letter | Making Deals | Celebration