Churchill’s People was, without doubt, the turkey of 1975, although those who wish to be charitable might say that Gerard Savory’s eight-years-in-the-making 26-part series based on Churchill’s History of the English-Speaking Peoples was dogged with bad luck.
An industrial dispute caused a postponement, which meant the series missed the 1974 Churchill centenary year.
It began (as did the critical slings and arrows) on New Year’s Eve with the first part, life in AD 43, which included the Roman invasion – by an army of two people!
But by then BBC bosses had already surrendered. They’d barely trailed anything of the £1¼ million series and refused to show previews to critics (a sure sign they knew the series was a flop). They scheduled it after the nine o’clock news and opposite ITV’s ratings-topper Public Eye.
Still, on and on, down the centuries Churchill’s People battled, the 800 leading actors, 1,000 extras and 20 directors bravely ignoring the audience’s non-Churchillian V-sign and dismissing claims that their efforts resembled a Women’s Institute pageant in a slightly tatty town hall.
The series was bogged down by cheap sets, confused performances and a dismal over-reliance on expository dialogue.
When BBC1’s new controller Brian Cowgill slotted Kojakin front of it some British viewers stayed tuned, perhaps gaining a little history with a giggle, but American viewers couldn’t switch off fast enough.
Dennis Waterman, who played the part of King Harold, fought a personal setback when he really did get something smack in the eye in a field near Hastings. It was nothing to do with the longbow, it was the lace of his cloak.
Dennis – who needed to survive the Norman Conquest in good nick to start thumping thugs again in The Sweeneythe following week – required medical treatment, rest and new makeup, all of which delayed the recording of the battle.
Still, the episode ended on the eve of the King’s clash with William The Conqueror, so at least he didn’t have to keep an eye out for anything else.
King James I
Alfred Lynch Oliver Cromwell
Bernard Hepton Ealdred, Archbishop of York
Geoffrey Matthews King Charles I
Daniel Brian Philip
Geoffrey Beevers Lucius
Jeremy Kemp Donald MacAmnay
Patrick Allen Leo Hennessey
Ray Barrett Bob Pott
Rodney Bewes Jahn
Colin Blakely Tom Mackenzie
Tom Conti William Wallace
Brian Cox Aaron Graham
Edward Fox Thomas Partridge
Derek Francis King Henry III
Derek Godfrey William Davenant
Ian Hendry King Alfred
Alan Howard Henry, Bishop of Norwich
Michael Jayston Claudius
Richard Johnson Margaret Paston
Gemma Jones William Brewster
Robert Keegan John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
Michael Kitchen George Campsie
Sam Kydd William the Ewerer
Dinsdale Landen Hugh Goodrest
Robert Lang James Ings
Bryan Marshall King Penda
Leo McKern Sir Walter Raleigh
John Turner Edward the Confessor
John Wood Lord Sidmouth
Roland Culver John Loxley
Clive Francis Duke of Portland
Charles Gray King John
Kenneth Griffith Anna Partridge
Elvi Hale King Oswy
Robert Hardy George Loveless
Barry Jackson Epillicus, the Barber
Arthur Lowe Alice Campsie
Sheila Manahan Queen Ealhswith
Anna Massey Simon de Montfort
Daniel Massey King Edward I
Stephen Murray King Charles II
Denis Quilley Mrs Trundle
Rita Webb Caradoc
Frederick Jaeger Samuel Jenks
Geoffrey Bayldon Guthrum
Brian Blessed Anne, Lady Rochester
Isabel Dean Titania
Polly James Bishop Wishart
Fulton Mackay Jack Plaster
Arthur Mullard Ranulf
Richard O’Callaghan Samuel Partridge
Geoffrey Palmer Laurence Kemys
Gareth Thomas Hainault
Patrick Troughton King Harold II
Dennis Waterman Colonel John Hewson
John Woodvine Elizabeth Rush
Annette Crosbie Samuel Ross
Jeremy Irons John Church
Tony Selby Colonel Michelburn
George Sewell Boudicca
Claire Davenport Wulfric
Patrick Stewart Richard Lionheart
Clinton Greyn
Episodes
Pritan | The Lost Island | The Coming of the Cross | King Alfred | The Saxon Dusk | The Conquerors | A Sprig of Broom | Silver Giant, Wooden Dwarf | On the Anvil | The Wallace | Shouts and Murmurs | A Wilderness of Roses | The Whip of Heaven | A Rich and Beautiful Empire | America! America! | March On, Boys! | The Agreement of the People | A Bill of Mortality | The Derry Boys | The Fine Art of Bubble-Blowing | O Canada | Liberty Tree | Mother India | Mutiny | True Patriots All | Death of Liberty
An industrial dispute caused a postponement, which meant the series missed the 1974 Churchill centenary year.
