Top Secret Life Of Edgar Briggs, The

1 9 7 4 (UK)
13 x 30 minute episodes

David Jason starred as the hapless and equally hopeless (but fiercely patriotic) MI5 agent Edgar Briggs in this LWT comedy.

Briggs was transferred to the Secret Intelligence Service – as assistant to the Commander (Noel Coleman) no less – as the result of an administrative error. With a lot of luck and the love of his wife, Jennifer (Barbara Angell), Briggs managed to bumble his way through 13 episodes.

The first episode set the tone for the series perfectly, with Briggs falling over furniture and getting soaked whilst fully clothed in a Turkish bath. Jason insisted on doing many of the stunts himself – including taking a dive to the ground from several storeys up.

The series was specially written for David Jason by Bernard McKenna (one of the writers on Hark at Barker) and Richard Laing (who had recently worked on Doctor at Sea at the behest of producer Humphrey Barclay, who ‘discovered’ Jason performing in a theatre on Bournemouth pier and introduced him to the British public via Do Not Adjust Your Set.

David’s supporting cast included Australian actress Barbara Angell as Briggs’ ever-understanding wife Jennifer, as well as Mark Eden (later to play Coronation Street nemesis Alan Bradley), Elizabeth Counsell (Brush Strokes) and Gary Waldhorn (The Vicar of Dibley) among his confused colleagues.

Edgar Briggs
David Jason
Commander
Noel Coleman
Jennifer Briggs
Barbara Angell
Greville
Gary Waldhorn
Zameet
Ricardo Montez
Buxton
Michael Stainton
Cathy
Elizabeth Counsell
Spencer
Mark Eden
Dawson
Percy Herbert
Johansson
Dave Prowse

Episodes

The Assassin | The Defector | The Leak | The Escape Route | The Abduction | The Exchange | The Courier | The Traitor | The KGB | The Drawing | The President | The Appointment | The Contact