Made by Thames for ITV, Rule Britannia was a manifestation of the corny old jokes about "the Englishman, the Scotsman, the Welshman and the Irishman" with each being a stereotypical representation of each nation down to their very stereotypical names. George Bradshaw (Tony Melody) is the typical staid boring lower middle-class Englishman, the very definition of average, who's never likely to do anything exciting as he's too repressed. Taffy Evans (Richard Davies) is the stereotypical randy Welshman, a window cleaner always chasing after women. Jock McGregor (Russell Hunter) is a sterotypically tight Scots pickpocket, a slightly cleaner version of his character Lonely from the series Callan. Paddy O'Brien (Joe Lynch) is the stereotypical hard drinking Irishman.

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The series starts with Englishman George, bored of his dull uneventful existence married to wife Lil (Jo Warne), remembering that he's due to keep a promise he made 25 years ago in 1950 when he left the Royal Navy. He'd served aboard HMS Andrew and forged a friendship with Welshman Taffy, Scot Jock and Irishman Paddy and before going their separate ways they'd promised to meet up again 25 years later and that day is tomorrow. George is excited to catch up with old friends when he invites them round for tea but his cynical wife Lil thinks they won't even turn up. It was a long time ago and they'd all have got on with their lives. But they do all turn up. Unfortunately, they find they now have very little in common. George is the only one in regular gainful employment, running his own small business, and in the cold light of day fails to see what he ever saw in the drunk Irishman, randy Welshman and tight Scotsman. They for their part are quickly bored by George within minutes and all slope off for a drink without George. But later in the pub George meets them again and joins them for a drink and they get drunk and bring out the typical insults that each nation is prone to use on the others as they're all fiercely nationalist for their own countries and derogatory of the others (the series is written by Vince Powell of Love Thy Neighbour and after this Mind Your Language fame so you can judge the level of wit around race and nationalism here without seeing it! A lot of 60s and 70s sitcoms focused on race and nationalism and this was one of many).

 

Despite their lack of commonality once they get drunk together the old Service camaraderie kicks in and the friendship is renewed. Although intended to be a one-off reunion the other three stick around and make their drinking sessions with George a regular thing, which George's wife hates but George likes the little bit of freedom and mirthful mayhem injected in to his otherwise boring life. The four can regularly be found down the local pub pointing out how their countries are the best and their neighbours' inferior with banter but through all the insults they are bonded by their service experiences together.

 

The series ran on ITV as follows;

 

1.1 Once A Friend, Always A Friend - 08/10/1975

Englishman George remembers his promise of a reunion with his Royal Navy friends from his HMS Andrew days 25 years earlier. On catching up with the Scot, Welshman and Irishman they have little in common but getting drunk they relive their old days and insult each other as only friends can.

 

1.2 Sunday Best - 15/10/1975

After last weeks' drinking session Lil decides that George is no longer quite the man she married and is determined that her mothers' weekly visiting day is not going to be ruined by the boys going to the local pub.

 

1.3 Sauce for the Goose - 22/10/1975

George devises a plan to prove to the others that he's still attractive to women.

 

1.4 You Can't Take It With You - 29/10/1975

Jock's single Premium Bond comes up with a big win and the boys go out to celebrate.

 

1.5 All My Sins Remembered - 05/11/1975

Many years ago aboard HMS Andrew, George hit a Chief Petty Officer to teach him a lesson for making the four friends' lives a misery. Now, 25 years later, that former CPO turns up as a police officer and the friends are worried that he'll use the law to get even with them, especially tea leaf Jock. To unnerve them further, young French woman Colette (Francois Pascal, later the French student in Mind Your Language) turns up indicating one of them may be her father and with their records it's not unlikely.

 

1.6 The Lost Weekend - 12/11/1975

When his mother-in-law moves in for the weekend George moves out, going on a pub outing to Blackpool with his old Navy friends. Paddy tries to win the jackpot in a talent contest, first prize £75, to get enough money to return to Ireland for his mothers' birthday. To increase his chances of a win he also enters George, Taffy and Jock. Paddy sings a French song, off key, George attempts a dramatic monologue, Jock tries a comic routine and Taffy breaks into some Welsh rhymes.

 

All seven episodes survive in the archives but it has never been repeated nor commercially released on VHS or DVD.

 

The series was largely ignored by critics and the public alike. Barely any reviews at all and those that there were weren't exactly glowing. Sheer indifference seems to have been the order of the day! There was certainly no order for a second series nor a repeat. Ironically, Vince Powell had another sitcom running at the same time, My Son Reuben, about a Jewish mother and her middle-aged son (despite Vince Powell being Irish Catholic) and that was similarly ignored and forgotten after one series. Earlier that same year, 1975, he also had the single series sitcom The Wackers, starring Ken Jones that didn't catch on (that one is out on DVD though) so 1975 wasn't a great year for Vince Powell, although he also had ongoing hits Love Thy Neighbour and Spring & Autumn still on the go so he was at least prolific at that time and after they finished he'd hit popular gold again with Mind Your Language in 1977. You win some you lose some!

 

Sadly, I've not seen Rule Britannia! and don't have any of the episodes in my extensive collection but I do have the below 3 original press publicity photos for the series. I wouldn't mind seeing it as it has a good cast and whilst the joke may be old and stale the leads are no doubt worth a watch, even if only once here.