"Bergerac" (1981)TV series 1981-1991

Creator:

Robert Banks Stewart

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Release Date:

18 October 1981 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Alcohol | Jersey | Police | Detective | Murder

Awards:

1 win

Cast

John Nettles	...	Det. Sgt. Jim Bergerac / ... (79 episodes, 1981-1991)
Terence Alexander	...	Charlie Hungerford (59 episodes, 1981-1991)
Sean Arnold	...	Chief Insp. Barney Crozier / ... (54 episodes, 1981-1990)
Mela White	...	Diamante Lil (37 episodes, 1981-1987)
John Telfer	...	DC Willy Pettit (36 episodes, 1988-1991)
David Kershaw	...	DC Ben Lomas (36 episodes, 1988-1991)
Louise Jameson	...	Susan Young (35 episodes, 1985-1990)

Runtime:

50 min (87 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-11 (DVD) (2007)

Filming Locations:

Beach, St Brelade's Bay, Jersey, Channel Islands

Company:

7 Network

Trivia:

The car that Jim Bergerac drove was a 1947 Triumph Roadster. It was very temperamental and caused immense problems during filming when it refused to start -- or to stop if the brakes failed! The engine sounded so rough that the sound of a Jaguar was dubbed over the top. John Nettles loathed it because he kept scraping his knuckles or banging his knees on the dashboard. After filming on Bergerac had finished, by which time the car was in very poor condition due to its extensive usage, it was auctioned for £34,000 as part of the Children in Need appeal; the new owner later wrote an angry letter to John Nettles complaining about the state of the car.

Quotes:

Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac: Jersey is an island. It's nine miles by five. And if you drive *very* slowly, you can take a whole hour to go right round it. But when you get back, there's still the same old restaurants and bars, discos and boutiques. Same sad faces waiting to be faced. Jersey is some kind of prison.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Cult of...: Bergerac (#2.7)" (2008)

Certainly John Nettles' finest hour

Bergerac established John Nettles as one of the most famous television actors in the 1980s, something that he has continued to this day, although more recently in the considerably more pedestrian Midsomer Murders.

Bergarac certainly benefited from some excellent input from a remarkably broad range of quality TV figures like Robert Banks Stewart, Robert Holmes, Tristan DeVere Cole, Chris Boucher, Dennis Spooner, Tony Dow, Matthew Robinson, Bob Baker and Geoffrey Sax etc, and location filming on Jersey was regarded as rather exotic at the time.

I think I ought to correct Scooby-57's comment that this show made Louise Jameson famous. She was already very famous from her regular role in Doctor Who when the show regularly attracted about 13 million viewers and also her role in Tenko.