Coppers End (Bill Owen, Richard Wattis, Josephine Tewson) - 1971

The policemen based in an isolated country police station do their best to avoid having any involvement with crime and spend their days indulging in dodgy money-making schemes. Their plans to do a little as possible are foiled by the arrival of WPS Penny Pringle, who tries to persuade her colleagues to devote their energies to proper police work.
Features a star role for Bill Owen, a year before he first played the part of Compo in "Last of the Summer Wine".
Broadcast February 17th 1971

[@TheTmny876able]

wow i thought i knew all sitcoms but missed this one, 2 years before Bill starred in the worlds longest running comedy series !

[@dorothyjohnson6743]

Still watch it, good, but I miss compo (Bill). Aunt Wainwright is so good., well most all were.

[@sgrannie9938]

Josephine Tewson + Ronnie Barker = Clarence (❤)

[@davidscott3820]

Great to see great comedy again and a good show, compared to what's on tv now.

[@Justin-es6fs]

Lovely to see the beautiful Josephine Tewson.

[@sirbasilflapjack671]

British coppers who can't be arsed to do their jobs? Fantasy!

[@divaden47]

Yes, perish the thought!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@fernanditaluiz2591]

I enjoyed this, thank you for posting..

[@shanemcnamara5224]

Jo Tewson is very beautiful here

[@roddixon368]

Happy to see Bill Owen at work.

[@chriswaring5565]

DON'T LET NORA BATTY SEE YOU GRABBING THE YOUNG LADY

[@telebob5983]

A real treat to witness Josephine Tewson here, having only seen her as Elizabeth ("...a beaker please, Hyacinth!") from Keeping Up Appearances.

[@christineparsons2384]

She was also in last of the summer wine.

[@whufciironworkes]

I was lucky enough to meet her lovely lady

[@telebob5983]

@@whufciironworkes Good fortune there, absolutely! I managed to meet Richard Griffiths after a performance during his run on Broadway in Equus and got him to sign my Playbill which now, sadly has gone missing.

[@hippybuddhist]

Also In Shelley; Clarence; Rude Health; Copper's End and Innumberable guest star spots on British TV.

[@catherinefitzpatrick5579]

I like it try and remember it's free to watch

[@lordeden2732]

Damn its a Norfolk Constabury documentry

[@joeburinskas8672]

Weird seeing Josephine so young. RIP

[@robertsmith-qb2ke]

Some of these series have just disappeared off the radar. I remember one in a hospital ward with Wilfrid Brambell called 'Never Say Die' (4 of 6 extant, according to Wiki), and Tessie O'Shea had her series 'As Good Cooks Go', which I think was wiped. Of course one was younger then, and perhaps didn't know any better, but at least there were welcome faces in the cast...

[@mikeauld7971]

This was recorded in black and white because of industrial action. The ITV colour strike lasted from Nov 1970 to February 1971.

[@robertsmith-qb2ke]

I recall seeing this series on first showing - will be interested to revisit. Shame it's only in b/w, although that's how most British viewers (including me) would have watched it - at £250 a pop, colour TV was pretty pricey then...

[@Springamatul]

I remember that colour tv was so expensive. We all wished we had one though.

[@bazza945]

There was always the HP, if you let the kids starve, I suppose.

[@robertsmith-qb2ke]

@@Springamatul Around that time, Our Mum was getting perhaps £7pw as a library assistant. My first week's wages (in 1973) would have been £12pw...

[@2001JamesTV]

It would almost certainly have been in black & white to begin with, the infamous ITV colour strike only ended just over a week before this was broadcast, so it was likely made when said strike was still ongoing.

[@amyduboise3683]

Nice show!

[@paullacey748]

I was born in 1951, I do not remember this program

[@imwelshjesus]

I missed an awful of 70s TV whilst serving overseas - thank goodness!

[@ysthafellgynghori8423]

Why did you watch this then? Do you enjoy complaining?

[@joeoconnor5400]

Other unsuccessful ATV situation comedies included My Good Woman, A Little Bit of Wisdom, Nobody's Like Norman and Lollipop Loves Mr Mole. Mind you, Charlie Drake in The Worker was funny. Many of ATV's shows used a giggle machine.

[@davidsugden3913]

My Good Woman ran successfully for five series.

[@nicholascecic1270]

Never thought I’d see this turn up! I wrote an article about the series a few months back, any chance of any more episodes?

[@kathywright6853]

Never heard of this but when I saw Josephine tewson,I thought I would give it a try,liked her as Hyacinths neighbor

[@screenclips9105]

To think Josephine Tewson was actually 40 when she did this! She doesn't look it! And Leonard Rossiter chose to chase Miss Jones instead - what a mug!

[@bluegtturbo]

Ey up! It's Compo the Copper.. 😂

[@bletheringfool]

This was in colour I believe but they must have wiped the original tapes. This is 16mm film telecine. Josephine Tewson is so cute here

[@2001JamesTV]

Looks like videotape to me, too clean to be a telerecording, but it was probably made in black and white to begin with- almost certainly recorded during the infamous ITV Colour strike of 1970-71, which only ended a week or so before this episode was broadcast.

[@bletheringfool]

@@2001JamesTV no it was colour I promise

[@thedogschannel.4769]

Are there anymore of this brilliant comedy out there?

[@joeoconnor5400]

An ATV production made at Elstree Studios in 1971. Only one series was made and you can understand why.

[@angelsone-five7912]

Yes, it`s pretty dire.

[@lordeden2732]

Why?

[@angelsone-five7912]

@@lordeden2732 Anyone with any intelligence will find this crude to say the least.

[@mikemartin2957]

Most of their programmes seem to be made at Elstree. Did they ever make anything apart from Crossroads & Bullseye at their Birmingham studios?

[@davidscott3820]

Thanks!😂

[@ianmax69]

OMG Sergeant Simmonite !!! He's even got his own Nora down at headquarters Its Heartbeat meets On The Buses.... I wonder why they cast Richard Wattis ? Possibly as they might have had Derrick Gyler's Corky Turnbull in mind,,, from Sykes and what you took his Neighbour

[@davewhiteside6698]

I'd sooner have an early night!

[@annmozdzer1258]

The days when you could phone police stations and get an answer from a police person, instead of a poxy machine and report something without being ignored.....

[@greatlambrini8722]

Surprisingly I have never heard of this one. It may not be very good, but it still kicks modern so called comedies(especially awful American trash) into a cocked hat!

[@DDandrums]

Come off it.

[@dorothyjohnson6743]

​@@DDandrumsit's true.

[@londondaze]

there's no sound ?

[@GaryMccoy-x5x]

How many episodes is there in this show

[@GlynThomas-g6y]

13,

[@user-op6eu3tt9j]

The script is a little bit like a Will Hay plot 😊

[@thedogschannel.4769]

And what’s wrong with that? Will Hay comedies were well scripted and brilliantly acted.

[@63mckenzie]

How did Bill Owen pass the minimum height requirement? lol.

[@LawnMowersThingsThatMakeNoise]

i cant hear anything from the right 😞

[@garybrockwell2031]

🧐😁🎬💯🆘🇬🇧🎥💪

[@StephenLyons-tl8ie]

Good God.....dreadful.

[@joeoconnor5400]

The only funny situation comedy ever made by ATV was The Squirrels, especially the episodes written by Eric Chappell. Other lousy ATV situation comedies made by ATV were Up the Workers and Spooners Patch. Carry on Laughing also made by ATV was awful.

[@robertsmith-qb2ke]

Think I only saw Carry on Laughing on cable TV or something. And yes, looked like these was 20p left after paying the stars...

[@joeoconnor5400]

​@@robertsmith-qb2ke Do you remember The Paul Squire Show? ATV took a gamble in giving what was then a relatively unknown comedian his own prime time variety show. It was a disaster and Squire was never seen on TV again as far as I can remember. Not even Bobby Knutt could save it.

[@robertsmith-qb2ke]

@@joeoconnor5400 I don't, although a quick check would suggest that I was at college at the time, and TV viewing was not a No. 1 priority, especially as the TV rooms were communal, so that one might have been outvoted... An IMDb check gives two further series, then nothing until 2010...

[@patdoyle3686]

This series wasn't a fair cop it was a poor show 😢

[@fahrbloosky]

😂

[@swanvictor887]

wow...never seen this one! God, Josephine was so young! 1971 and still in Black and White? wow. I'm guessing it died a death?

[@IThinkYouLookLarvely]

The ITV camera operators were on strike over pay between November 1970 and February 1971. As opposed to not working at all, they refused to work with colour equipment. I can imagine bringing home a new colour telly and being annoyed all new ITV shows were like this!

[@swanvictor887]

@@IThinkYouLookLarvely lol, my parents bought their first Colour TV in summer 1972 (my father somehow, got a tax rebate from the Inland Revenue!) and I remember that afternoon we gathered around to watch something in colour for the first time: GOLF!! Lol. ITV had yet to start its afternoon service and like BBC1, closed own in the afternoon! BBC2 was the only channel broadcasting...live Golf! Soooo....plenty of Blue Sky and Green Grass lol But that was all!

[@user-ft5ud6ry8u]

shame the actors had to struggle with the script in this comedy. Not one of the great comedies.

[@robertsmith-qb2ke]

The ending seemed rather shambolic, to say the least, and the situations went back to 1939 with Will Hay in 'Ask a Policeman', and probably earlier... At 24m, not too much of a chore...

[@colintidy7803]

Interesting to see but not a laugh in it! I see Ted Willis, creator of Dixon of Dock Green, was responsible for this comedy & the episode was written by Michael Pertwee, Jon's brother! Strong comic actors present but you can see why no one remembers it!

[@alansmith1989]

This one was a total flop. I thought that Bill Owen was utterly miscast in it. A a comedic `disaster` only matched by `If it Moves, File it` (1970) and `From a Birds Eye View` also 1970/71.

[@martinholmes-ue9ko]

Not very good. A waste of the actor's talents.