G.B.H. - Season 1 - Eps 1: It Couldn't Happen Here
Firebrand Labour leader Michael Murray is swept into office on a tide of rhetoric. His first act is to "reform education", but it looks suspiciously like a personal vendetta against Mr. Weller, the headmaster who had once sent him, as a boy, to a special school for disturbed children. When Murray is summoned by the renowned political theorist, Mervyn Sloan, he is told that great things are expected of him. But Sloan also firmly insists that a general strike be called in Murray's city to challenge the Conservative Government. When one of Murray's council members, who has a weakness for the bottle, fails to ensure pickets are sent to one particular school, a disastrous conflict ensues between Murray and Jim Nelson, who is unfortunately headmaster of a school for special needs children.
About G.B.H.
Title: G.B.H.
First Air Date: 1991-06-06
Last Air Date: 1991-07-18
Status: Ended
Rating: 6.188/10 (from 16 votes)
Language: EN
Seasons: 2
Total Episodes: 7
Network: Channel 4
Genres: Drama
Production Companies: GBH Films Ltd., Channel 4 Television
Synopsis
GBH was a seven-part British television drama written by Alan Bleasdale shown in the summer of 1991 on Channel 4. The protagonists were Michael Murray, the Militant tendency-supporting Labour leader of a city council in the North of England and Jim Nelson, the headmaster of a school for disturbed children. The series was controversial partly because Murray appeared to be based on Derek Hatton, former Deputy Leader of Liverpool City Council — in an interview in the G.B.H. DVD Bleasdale recounts an accidental meeting with Hatton before the series, who indicates that he has caught wind of Bleasdale's intentions but does not mind as long as the actor playing him is "handsome". In normal parlance, the initials "GBH" refer to the criminal charge of grievous bodily harm - however, the actual intent of the letters is that it is supposed to stand for Great British Holiday.
Cast
Michael Palin
Jim Nelson
Robert Lindsay
Michael Murray
Lindsay Duncan
Barbara Douglas
Julie Walters
Mrs. Murray
Dearbhla Molloy
Laura Nelson
Tom Georgeson
Lou Barnes
Andrew Schofield
Peter Grenville
Alan Igbon
Teddy
Michael Angelis
Martin Niarchos
David Ross
Mr Weller