Made by the BBC for BBC1, All Night Long starred Keith Barron in a sitcom about the night staff in an all-night North East London bakery. It lasted one series of six episodes in July and August 1994.

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Barron stars as Bill Chivers, a reformed armed robber who learned baking as a trade whilst in prison, although he never actually completed the bakery course as he was let out of prison early for good behaviour! Now he's the proprietor of his own 24-hour bakery and Bill takes on a number of night owls to work in his bakery and he works the important night shift himself, when the main orders have to be prepared for hotels and restaurants for delivery in the morning. His motley crew of social outcasts enjoy working the twilight hours as they can be themselves. His night staff includes his assistant, Transylvanian psychic Vanda (Maureen Beattie), elderly Scottish Tom (Angus Lennie) a former British Railwayman who sweeps up in exchange for some tea and buns whilst going on about being the shortest man who ever worked for British Rail, and Courtney (Robert McKewley), who gets the job after breaking into the bakery in the first episode. Regular night time customers calling in every night include Clare (73 year old Dinah Sheridan), a wheelchair-bound disabled crime writer who stops by every night as she finds inspiration in the odd characters and the smell of freshly baked bread, night shift taxi driver Wally (Paul Grunert), exotic dancer Terry (Jacqueline Reddin) who calls in between kissogram and dancing engagements, and local night beat coppers PC Digby (John Phythian) and WPC Hannah Jackson (Janis Winters but billed as Jan Winters for this series) who keep popping in for sticky buns. Digby is a bit of an idiot and unhappily married Hannah fancies Bill.

 

The series was written by Dick Fiddy and Mark Wallington, who'd been writing comedy sketches together since 1979 when they submitted sketches to Not the 9 O'clock News and Dave Allen At Large. Following this series of their own they went their separate ways. Wallington focused on writing books, some of which were adapted into two-part television productions, such as The Missing Postman with James Bolam in 1997. Dick Fiddy these days is better known to archive telly fans as a consultant for the BFI; preserving, curating and promoting archive television. It was produced and directed by Harold Snoad.

 

The BBC saw the series as filling the gap from the then recently finished hit US sitcom Cheers which had finished in May 1993 after 11 seasons, about a large group of eccentric oddball characters pouring out their various problems to the staff. Only here it was a bakery rather than a bar and Keith Barron didn't have Ted Danson's sex appeal. Barron reported to the press at the time that he felt the series had a very American feel to it.

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39 year old Jacqueline Reddin, wife of Starlight Express star Maynard Williams (son of Bill Maynard) and a mother of two, was worried about playing a stripper in skimpy outfits as she'd put on weight after giving birth so joined Weight Watchers and lost a stone and a half before recording started. She also visited Soho strip clubs to learn the tricks of the trade. As stripper Terry she's usually seen in various costumes from her gigs from showgirl to French Maid to air hostess to a bus conductress complete with ticket machine! Although she does stockings, suspenders and short skirts she agreed with Harold Snoad that there'd be no actual stripping, although as it was pre-wstershed at 20:30 of an evening there was no risk of that anyway.

 

Maureen Beattie has just finished a notable role as nurse Sasra Nicholl in Casually. Angus Lennie was best remembered as chef Shughie McFee in Crossroads from 1974 till 1981. Robert McKewley was also appearing in Channel 4 sitcom Desmond's as Spider Webb.

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The series ran on BBC1 as follows (no episode titles);

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Pilot

In the Dark - Untransmitted

Story unknown.

 

Series 1

1.1 11/07/1994

Bill interviews a new assistant, Courtney, who fleas from the odd assortment of staff and customers. PC's Digby and Jackson question Bill about a series of local break-ins that are similar to his past experience as a crook, especially when the latest one left evidence from the bakery. Courtney comes back after they close breaking in to steal more donuts and Bill realises he is the active crook, but covers fior him when the police return and takes him in as assistant for a year as 'community service"' to keep him out of unpleasant prison ("You won't be put in some cosy little cell with Ronnie Barker you know!")

 

1.2 18/07/1994

Local big boss crook Sid Peters comes in and orders Bill to bake a chocolate birthday cake for his mum. Bill only does bread cakes as he was let out of prison early for good behaviour before he got to cakes. Vanda won't do a chocolate gateau for him on principal against gateaus so Bill gets WPC Hannah Jackson to bake the cake without telling her it's for a major crook but she wants out when she finds out from Courtney. Meanwhile, cabby Wally sells Terry a snake for her exotic dance act and it ends up with the cake sent to Sid Peters' mum who has a heart attack from shock.

 

1.3 25/07/1994

Bill's biggest customer Roy Morris cancels his order to go with a new supplier so Bill begs him to come round to see how modern and efficient they are, giving them three hours to prepare to impress as without him they'd close down. Everything goes wrong but when Terry pops in Bill gets to keep the contract as Roy is a regular customer of her club.

 

1.4 01/08/1994

Sweeper Tom hasn't turned up for work for the first time in 5 years and Bill becomes worried about him. He remembers when he first met Tom that he was suicidal on a railway bridge over something that happened and everyone is sent looking for him. When Tom returns they hypnotise him to find out what happened all those years ago that haunts him.

 

1.5 15/08/1994

The staff are expecting a visit from the immigration department due to Romanian Vanda being here illegally without a work permit. Bill can't afford to keep the bakery going without her so they need to arrange a marriage of convenience for Vanda. The problem is who can they persuade to marry her? Nobody is interested until there's £500 in it then Wally and Courtney are both suddenly keen. In the end she accepts Tom. Before the wedding goes ahead immigration finally turn up and reveal that Vanda is now legal and the marriage isn't required.

 

1.6 22/08/1994

Bill has been phoning and taking part in a midnight radio quiz called Prize Line all week and the fifth and final night is tonight. Through a team effort they win a weekend break for two in Paris. Bill hopes to take WPC Hannah Jackson but everyone wants to go as all contributed answers so it comes down to drawing names. In the end Bill wins from the men and Vanda wins from the ladies. Not wanting to go with Bill, Vanda secretly gives her ticket to Hannah but not knowing this and not wanting to go with Vanda, Bill gives his ticket to PC Digby.

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The fifth episode skipped the week of 8th August due to the broadcast of European Champion Athletics highlights that night and returned the following week.

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The contemporary reviews were mostly negative. A couple of reviewers after the first episode were really positive and thought it a hit, but most others hated it. One of the negatives said it was as pathetic as Channel 4's Nightingales (Robert Lindsay sitcom about night security guards in an office block) but I love Nightingales and I don't usually like odd offbeat comedy. Personally, as I have the whole broadcast series I think it's pretty enjoyable stuff. It's certainly far from the classic that Cheers was, but was an enjoyable enough diversion. That said Nightingales is much better. Sadly the negative reviews and low audience numbers which was partly down to the BBC choosing to air it in Summer evenings when less people are watching telly sealed its fate and it wasn't recommissioned for a second series and has never been repeated nor released commercially on VHS or DVD but all 7 episodes, including the unbroadcast pilot, survive in the archives.

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