"Bread" (1986) TV series 1986-1991

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Creator:

Carla Lane

Seasons:

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

Release Date:

1 May 1986 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Liverpool

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Jean Boht	...	Nellie Boswell (74 episodes, 1986-1991)
Nick Conway	...	Billy Boswell (74 episodes, 1986-1991)
Jonathon Morris	...	Adrian Boswell (74 episodes, 1986-1991)
Kenneth Waller	...	Grandad (74 episodes, 1986-1991)
Victor McGuire	...	Jack Boswell (61 episodes, 1986-1991)
Bryan Murray	...	Shifty Boswell (49 episodes, 1988-1991)
Giles Watling	...	Oswald (49 episodes, 1988-1991)
Hilary Crowson	...	Julie (41 episodes, 1987-1989)
Peter Howitt	...	Joey Boswell (39 episodes, 1986-1988)
Gilly Coman	...	Aveline Boswell (39 episodes, 1986-1988)
Ronald Forfar	...	Freddie Boswell (37 episodes, 1986-1990)
Graham Bickley	...	Joey Boswell (35 episodes, 1989-1991)
Melanie Hill	...	Aveline Boswell (35 episodes, 1989-1991)

Runtime:

30 min (71 episodes) | 50 min (2 episodes) | 70 min (1 episode)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Elswick Street, Dingle, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Lilo Lil's real name is Lillian Whittaker.

Quotes:

Julie: You're about as organised as tossed salad.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Night of Comic Relief 2 (1989) (TV)

Why was this so popular?

In its time, "Bread" was a bit of a cult show. Now it's being shown again on UK Gold (a UK 'classics' channel) I wonder what the source of its popularity was. The mother is domineering and has a nasty tongue in her head, her family are obsessed with 'the family' to the exclusion of normal social interaction with anyone else, the humour (such as it is) is laboured at best, and the dialogue is stilted and poorly-delivered.

This certainly hsn't stood the test of time.