Maggie episode 1 (BBC2 early 80s)

This used to be on BBC2 about 6pm in 1981. Kirsty Miller is Maggie, and Michael Sheard (Mr. Bronson) is her dad. Based on books by Joan Lingard. Sorry, I don't have any more episodes.

[@BHCMax]

I worked in an electrical shop, Wm McWhirter &Sons, just around the corner from BBC. We used to supply stuff for various shows. One time they needed a bell wired up for the Maggie show. I did the wiring , it made a nice ring noise , anyhow come the program , Maggies Grannie is in bed, no well. my family is all round the telly waiting on her pressing the bell that I wired up. Instead of the loud ring ring, it went ding dong , lol. They must’ve changed it or put in a sound effect. Gutted I was lol

[@vooveks]

Touching 'claim to fame' pathos there, sir 🙃

[@annadamsoneadie]

I kept telling people about this series as we all watched it as a family...no-one else could remember it. We all loved it. I am beyond happy at finding this and like everyone else would love to see more

[@nathantimpano637]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKqQlmd-f51lkK8

[@Sol-Cutta]

Do u rem the boy who won the pools ??

[@damienbaker3955]

all episodes are here kzbin.info/www/bejne/gp-Zf5t-rpitedE

[@anthonymusgrave569]

I hadn’t thought about this series in many years. I’d pretty much forgotten it existed. As soon as I saw the screen grab though, that fantastic theme song started playing in my mind, finding its way to the surface of my thoughts again after DECADES!

[@Tokinjester]

Yeah, BA Robertson certainly packed a lot of lyrics into a 50 second song there! 👍

[@lingolarker9318]

Can’t believe I’ve found this. This is the last vestige of childhood TV which I’d been trying to retrieve. Sooo evocative! I remember this being on in 1981. I was 8/9. It’s funny how you don’t fully remember the theme tune. I don’t remember ‘Maggie’ looking quite as young either😆.

[@joannedavies4958]

Oh my word! This just popped in my feed. I used love this show as a kid. Landed to see it again. It’s one of those shows no one ever talks about or seems to remember.

[@oyotundookubegwa520]

Random American here. I had been searching for a different "Maggie" but ended up here. Makes me wish I were alive in 1981 Glasgow. No, it doesn't. But it does. But it doesn't. Great intro and theme. Thanks!

[@Tokinjester]

7:57 The flat in the left foreground is where I grew up 👍 it was a brutalist concrete jungle for sure and as much as the adults hated it, the kids loved it. I had quads like iron cables from running up and down 23 flights of stairs all day, every day 😅 I left there shortly after this was filmed, in 1981

[@themistermillson]

This episode aired on Tuesday 17th February 1981 on BBC2 at 6.15pm.

[@pussycats456]

I lived in the notorious RedRoad flats when I was attending Springburn College. It was quite an experience! Both the flats and the college are gone now!

[@andrewbrammer5119]

So pleased to see this, happy memories of watching it as a teenager. Had searched for it for years and actually given up on ever seeing it again. Like going back in time, and just as I remembered it.

[@simonesewitt1040]

Never seen something more Scottish in my life and I'm all here for it.

[@mollybrown465]

That man - Maggie’s dad has the welshest Scottish accent I’ve ever heard

[@SluttChops]

That's Michael Sheard. He's from Aberdeen. Although, in the series, I think he's supposed to be from Inverness-shire.

[@runforthehills707]

Wow I remember this and I can still sing all the words as if it was yesterday.....fantastic!

[@Cjbx11]

Can’t believe I’ve found this. I remember this being on when I was a kid but it’s a show that nobody seems to remember and I started to wonder if it was just figure of my imagination.

[@jeffreykenny988]

Or even a figment of your imagination.

[@billymcl63]

Loved ‘Maggie’ , so good to see it again. I’d forgotten that ‘Mr Bronson ‘ from Grange Hill was her dad !

[@johnmc3862]

Great spot!

[@SpookyElectric319]

I forgot about that and with a great Glaswegian accent. Pure braw, so it is!

[@mjclark641]

​@@SpookyElectric319it's not a Glaswegian accent! Maggie says he came from Inverness, the Highlands.

[@SpookyElectric319]

@@mjclark641 that’s a Glaswegian accent. I’m Glaswegian, Glasgow born and bred. Maggie is from Glasgow, it’s set in Glasgow. Her grandmother (also Maggie) is from Inverness and speaks with what we Scots call a ‘Tuechtars’ accent.

[@mjclark641]

@@SpookyElectric319 I don't think you read my reply properly! I was referring to the father.

[@Stiffd1]

Glasgow. Prime 80s caught in a capsule of time! JL always does write along topical themes. Also recall her northern Ireland novels.

[@shoutingstone]

I had a vague childhood memory of this show but never knew where it came from before now. That memory being Maggie climbing arse first down a playground ladder in the intro! :D

[@bigmart8851]

I have lost count of how many years I have searched for this, even if it is only the one episode - thankyou so much

[@sisigpapi]

Episode 18 is apparently now up, in case you haven't seen it as well

[@annadamsoneadie]

Me too 😊

[@stephenconnelly1645]

Wow, this is a great find. Thank you for sharing, record of the heart being torn out of Glasgow, in story form.

[@claremccann4969]

Waited 39 years to seethis

[@GarethColquhoun]

Me too. Had to make do with the theme untill now lol

[@kegalormoon]

Can anybody remember letty another show the girl in the wheelchair?

[@alcamus1973]

Never a favourite of mine, same stock actors in every Scottish tv production. Good to see again though, if only for the outside shots 🙂

[@Standing_on_the_word]

Me too lol 😆

[@FrankJCarver]

I used to see Kirsty Miller (Maggie) in the 1990s, when she used to 'sign-on' at Anniesland job centre.

[@candjim]

I really enjoyed watching this back then. A real gem from the past.

[@Highland_Moo]

I’m 45 and I didn’t know this existed. I’m from the highlands and we read The Clearances in first year in high school when we were doing history about the Highland Clearances. Awesome book.

[@redbeki]

Thanks so much for putting this up. I remember it, but mainly the theme tune. I didn't realise it dealt with the clearances and high rise. One of the most atrocious things to happen to the working class communities of Britain, in living memory.

[@zetametallic]

I remember the titles to this. I was 5 when it was transmitted but the next door neighbour who was in her early teens would come to visit me, we'd watch this. X

[@psla6595]

Watched this when I was about 11 and me and my mate would always discuss it at school next day, sadly he died many years ago but this brings back happy memories. I've sung the theme tune for years. Thanks for putting this on KZbin.

[@barrypoupard7009]

Oh my goodness does this take me back to another time and place. This is the 1st time hearing BA Robertson's theme song since watching the series on TV so very long ago .... me in another world and only 21 years old fancying Kirsty Miller like mad ....

[@alastairross6227]

It’s great to see this again. I watched all the episodes, in the early 80’s and also bought the 4 ‘Maggie’ paperback books back then too. I’ve never seen the series repeated again and don’t think it’s available to buy on DVD etc. either? It would be brilliant to see some other episodes on KZbin. Thanks for posting.

[@stephenmorrison7037]

Been trying to find this show Maggie for years..always remember watching this as a kid. BBC 2 tea time viewing.

[@Dougiesclubie]

I watched this when I was 13 or so but I couldn't recall Maggie being scottish & its set in Glasgow I thought she was English but the signiture tune i do remember. I loved this & Maggie at the time. X

[@Dougiesclubie]

Wasn't the dad not wiggy in Grange Hill ? At about the same time

[@dessysmith2514]

Fabulous, it was a refreshing change back then having something purely Scottish... I'm English and I loved it.❤❤❤❤

[@julieadams8560]

I have literally been desperate to find this tv series! I just remember the theme tune! I was 9 at the time lol

[@DubCHEQ]

I remember this! It’s strange what hangs in our memories

[@jerworth]

Wonderful to see this again after over 40 years. Huge thanks for uploading...I've been hoping for years that someone would post an episode. Some top-drawer acting here, just as I remember.

[@thursoberwick1948]

Really? I can practically see them reading the lines off a script.

[@secondchance6603]

@@thursoberwick1948 Sure you can lol.

[@danielmoran9902]

40 odd years later and nothing much has changed. I had actually forgotten that this existed.

[@gplunk]

Seems very true to life of that time and place; the accents alone are worth the admission....

[@suzannemccabe2209]

My father in law voice was in this programme reading the football scores on the Radio.

[@Colin32269]

Am finally headed BACK to Scotlandn June..havent bin home since 1986

[@yvonnescholey8972]

Great theme tune by BA Robertson good positive vibes😁

[@melaniebrignell]

THIS IS A GEM OF A FIND 👍🇬🇧

[@MarkGenner-xz4zu]

United Kingdom 🇬🇧

[@davidmckirdy4063]

Haven't seen this in 40 years and I'm now 47

[@DizzyDooDar]

2:03 - "Do you want your bloody head smashed in?" Sounds like a night out in Glasgow, lol

[@lingolarker9318]

I didn’t put two and two together when it came to the cast at 8 years old. Maggie’s dad was clearly Michael Sheard of Grange Hill fame😆

[@stuartryan610]

He was also in auf wiedersehen pet series 1.

[@stuartryan610]

I think he also appeared in secret army.

[@iangrice329]

OMG I used to watch this religiously, loved it.

[@alunjones685]

Lovely to see this again, watched the whole lot back in the day, memorable theme tune by Ba Robertson. Bit worried about Maggie's mum being stuck in the lift there, oh for episode 2...

[@nathantimpano637]

All episodes kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKqQlmd-f51lkK8

[@malcolmmclindon4388]

I remember this. On BBC2 in the Evening.Great to see again.

[@p1ranesi]

You're a star! I've been looking for this series since search engines were new.

[@junkjournalgeek]

I loved this show! Thanks for sharing - nobody ever knows what I’m talking bout when I mention it 😂

[@U2QuoZepplin]

Within the first four minutes of this you can see the tone and quality of the writing and production of shows like this from way back when. This is why "nostalgia tv is such a significant phenonenon," now. Much higher quality story telling costuming and script. There's nothing worth watching on telly now. Nothing of this quality.

[@user-jg7jo4gp8w]

I agree this is high quality but I wouldn't be too dismissive of modern TV. We are going through quite a golden age of quality TV

[@paulbrown9802]

I caught a brief mention for this show on a BBC2 continuity clip, it caught my eye and I thought ‘I seem to remember that…’ (even though I was only 9 at the time!) and OMG I really do, right down to the BA Robertson theme!! And even though it was only a mention I searched and found this episode, and it’s absolutely brilliant! A very early appearance of Herr Grunwald/Mr Branson too, what’s not to love? Oh I do hope more episodes surface 💙

[@lllucky13]

wow.. my dad was the bulldozer driver in this episode.. i remember him going to film it and he said he was gonna be a movie star haha

[@misseryman177]

what area of glasgow was bulldozed?

[@ryokan9120]

I remember watching this in the early 80s on BBC 2 at 6pm. I seem to recall it was shown one day a week and on another day in the same week at 6pm BBC2 they would show episodes of "Monkey".

[@0282Film]

Ace is this. Have never seen it before so thanks for posting. Bit young for it at the time (ala Johnny Jarvis, One Summer, Scully, Tucker's Luck), but it was all so relevant. Nice one 🙂.

[@Stiffd1]

Yeh has that similar style and one for Scotland!

[@londonroulette]

This looks quite interesting, looking back in the 80s, great!

[@TheRuthParsons]

I loved this - I identified massively with Maggie.

[@stereofidelic67]

Made about the same time as that French photographer went around deprived areas of Glasgow taking pictures.

[@Ziegler-boothBlogspot]

Brilliant! It made me feel quite homesick!

[@kirkstmoritz5587]

Totally forgot about that but recognised the theme tune straight away. BA Robertson.

[@belfastgypsy1]

Totally remember the tune- my babysitter watched it!

[@SpookyElectric319]

God I remember this! The sights of Glasgow, living through the clearances. Thanks for finding this.

[@garymcatear822]

I was 12 when this aired apparantly, i remember just about none of it apart from the theme song which i seem to remember all the words to....weird.

[@victoriarogers9869]

Brilliant never seen Maggie before Any more 👍 🫶🏻🌟🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@dicksonia2874]

This is like a social time capsule - amazing! Are mroe eps available, please?

[@dobbiessock1050]

Oh wow! I remember watching this at about age 16, really enjoyed it.

[@robertanderson6786]

This brings back memories...hahaha...used to really like this programme when it was first tele-cast. Thank you for sharing friend.

[@dollyrawlins5470]

This is great, wish it was released on dvd.

[@hughzarie1860]

That’s Joe Mullaney aka Ronnie from Restless Natives from the joke shop. One of my fave films.

[@teesman61]

My god, where's all that time gone. Remember this being on bbc2 around 6pm.

[@Chris_34]

The opening theme song basically describes this girls entire life😆

[@vooveks]

Yeah, the lyrics are a bit on-the-nose. Not exactly Bob Dylan, but hey. 😁

[@RaciePSB]

Thanks for posting! Hopefully someone out there will have other episodes. Love it! :-)

[@decemberband1985]

Thanks sooo much . Huge fans and thought it was lost forever.

[@supersimon22]

Thanks v much for uploading. I too recall it well and enjoyed it, though the issues raised went over my 11 year old head.....

[@shimmygirllinda9457]

id forgotten about this

[@colinmacdonald5732]

I've no recollection of this and I'm a child of the 80's. But the opening scene, a sandstone tenement falling down, you know what you're getting! Compared with a lot of the garbage of that era it's aged surprisingly well.

[@sjames672]

I'm so happy to see this, thank you for posting. I absolutely loved this series. Has anyone got links to the rest of it?

[@ziriyab]

Me too....I was only 6 when it was on telly but the theme tune had stuck in my memory until today. Never thought I'd see it again!

[@paulmiles9102]

ive been after this for many years so pleased its on here would love to see the rest of the episodes its not even on dvd. i see the uploader dont have no more episodes but its just great to see the 1st episode it goes to show there are uploaders who do have them somewhere which is a bonus great job here.

[@richardnorton8791]

I was about 8 or 9 when this came out. Great series and a great theme song. This must have been about 1981.

[@DarkStar-wu9nq]

This is amazing I forgot this but I remember being in love with Maggie for years Thank you so much for this

[@stephenmcconnell1000]

I vaguely remember this, but was only five in 1981. The theme tune doesn't trigger memories, but I remember the programme because my sister who was two years older watched it. I remember a few years later; around 1985/86, there was another programme similar to this called 'Stookie' where the protagonist was male, but I don't believe it was repeated as I've never seen it since. I remember the theme tune though; 'Stookie- always ready to take a chance, Stookie- always the victim of circumstance...'

[@THE_MAQ355]

It was a good wee show used to watch it every week never missed an episode..

[@wailinsnorty3859]

ah....great to see this again. Had been looking for a while. Thanks for uploading.

[@Tcoldsteel]

I fancied Maggie, I was 10, but couldn’t understand most of what she said.

[@kithale316]

Joan Lingaard books are great

[@redjones8010]

Vaguely remember this. Certainly the theme tune. I didn't initially understand the programme because I didn't really watch it. I was waiting for the cartoons to come on.

[@alanknotts1844]

I loved those old Corpy buses👍

[@Jade_holloway]

same!

[@pootle5096]

So Dad's from Inverness and Maggie had a letter from James Fraser in Edinburgh. I have images of James Fraser from "Outlander" in my head!

[@GriefTourist]

Don't remember this at all. Mind you in those days I left the house at least once a day.

[@leejohnson3209]

Could you imagine any TV channel producing a show like this nower days? The chinless wonders that get into TV these days are all from the same background, the same circles. Non of them would know poverty or the modern day plight of the working classes.

[@MartyMart134]

Don't make kids tv like this, I must have been 10 watching this, but remembered every word of the theme song , looking at it now, this is deeper and socially aware than most adult TV nowadays ...Man, I miss the early 80's! The saddest thing is a smart working class kid has even less options than they did back then...And it was the early 80's when the rot began with the dismantling of the communties by the Tories....

[@pussycats456]

And social media ruined society!

[@agfagaevart]

@@pussycats456 No. The Tories did that.

[@marcusoscottish4562]

Omg I've been searching for this for yrs sisters and brothers argued this never existed lol now I can prove them wrong

[@flight101]

I was in a few uk shows too.. carried on acting here. I love it. You could contact the BBC ask if they have any way of helping you, don’t forget the royalties! ❤

[@hetty72]

Loved this as a child

[@Goldi3loxrox]

weird i was just thinking about this series a few days ago. Recommendations must be by telepathy now lol

[@radiotowers1159]

And of course most of the new high rise are now flattened as well, used to hold my breath going up the lift !

[@steveb1972]

I remember the theme tune very well.

[@martynwilliams3765]

Forgot about this, loved it at the time.

[@drewsimpson5967]

Gem! Seems actually pretty well written. I recall my sister having the same blue saerk and hairdoo as Maureen Beattie has in this episode. I think Michael Sheard should have played the faither as an Aberdonian

[@thursoberwick1948]

It sounds more like a Galloway accent. Stranraer? Occasionally more Argyll.

[@thursoberwick1948]

A couple of times he strayed into Lewis/Stornoway as well.

[@johnmc3862]

Wow, even though it’s 80’s it looks like 70’s esp the decor.

[@Rebelconformist82]

Early 80,s

[@SluttChops]

First series was filmed in 1980, aired in 1981.

[@user-jg7jo4gp8w]

Look out Maggie, yer da's Mr Bronson!

[@stuartryan610]

Grange hill is being brought back next year.

[@bryanboggiani]

Those were the fastest cooking sausages in history 😂😂😂

[@Cool2BCeltic]

Yes, that's Michael Sheard of later Mr Bronson fame as Maggie's father. It's not generally known he was one of us Scots, from Aberdeen.

[@alliemaria532]

My dad knew him

[@sferris31]

My brother and I were in this show, lost all evidence do you have any more episodes?? I was Alistair Scott.

[@closethedoornow7538]

No the episodes with your brother and you were deemed to be not fit for public viewing and destroyed.

[@andrewdaley5480]

What episode were you in I've found a channel showing more episodes. ❓

[@BlookbugIV]

@@closethedoornow7538 the directive came straight from MI6

[@SpookyElectric319]

Oh fantastic!

[@user-jg7jo4gp8w]

@closethedoornow7538 can confirm, I smashed the tapes up whilst shouting "shitty Alistair Scott"

[@dougmorgan11]

Have been searching for this for years Thanks, anymore episodes please?

[@janettetazare2281]

Watching this now hooked would like to watch the whole lot not dated at all well written