This BBC1 sitcom featured Brittas Empire and Red Dwarf star Chris Barrie as Gary Prince, a self-centred and loud-mouthed Scouse ex-football star who was now a “captain of industry” (ie: boss of a knitwear company), after-dinner speaker, tireless charity worker – and self-publicist.
Egocentric Gary – who was “always right” – dreamed of being awarded a knighthood and was convinced that Michael Aspel was on the verge of appearing with his big red This Is Your Life book.
Gazza drove a Rolls Royce and lived in the sort of mock-something mansion all footballers buy the moment they hit the big time. He also had a mania for remote controls and everything operated at the touch of a button – the trouble was he could never remember which button to press.
This meant his German interpreter wife Lisel (Francesca Hunt) was often a prisoner in her own home and he had difficulty getting into his office. And when he summoned up a drink it was likely to end up on the carpet.
At work, he was surrounded by the usual team of nitwits you get from the JobCentre under “Situations Vacant for Sitcoms”: a personal manager who was an ex-barrow boy; a financial advisor who was an upper-class twit; and an incompetent secretary.
His unsuccessful entrepreneurial ideas included converting Ferny Heath church into a go-kart track and setting up a safari park where not only did the animals run wild but you could shoot them as well (complete with a “you kill it, we cook it” restaurant).
The lines were weak and Barrie’s Scouse accent wandered all over the Midlands and the North East, only rarely passing through the outskirts of Merseyside, but – surprisingly, given the poor ratings and critical savaging in the press – A Prince Among Men was brought back for a second series in 1998, although it was eventually shifted to a soft Sunday spot.
Barrie maintained the character of Gary Prince wasn’t based on anybody in particular but there is little doubt he owed his barnet to Kevin Keegan and got his dress sense from Terry Venables.
Gary Prince
Chris Barrie Lisel Prince
Francesca Hunt Sonia Trent
Samantha Power Beverley Baker
Susie Blake Mark Fitzherbert
Tim Bentinck Vince Hibbert
Bryan Pringle Dave Perry
Cliff Parisi
Episodes
Whose Life Is It Anyway? | Changing Revs | Where Were They Then? | Monkey Business | Family Matters | A Matter of Degree || Walk Right Back | Ghost Story | The Good Samaritan | All in the Game | Injury Time | Who’s That Girl?
