Drop the Dead Donkey is a British television sitcom that was first shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998. It is set in the offices of "GlobeLink News", a fictional TV news company. Recorded close to transmission, it made use of contemporary news events to give the programme a greater sense of realism. It was created by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. The series had an ensemble cast, making stars of Haydn Gwynne, Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson.
The show was awarded the Best Comedy (Programme or Series) Award at the 1994 BAFTA Awards. At the British Comedy Awards the show won Best New TV Comedy in 1990, Best Channel 4 Comedy in 1991, and Best Channel 4 Sitcom in 1994.
In 2000, the show was ranked 94 on the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, a list compiled by the British Film Institute.
Development
The series' story began with the acquisition of GlobeLink by media mogul Sir Roysten Merchant, an allusion to either Robert Maxwell or Rupert Murdoch. Indeed, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin note on their DVDs that it was fortunate for their libel lawyers that the two men shared the same initials. The series is mostly based on the ongoing battle between the staff of GlobeLink, led by editor George Dent, as they try to maintain the company as a serious news organisation, and Sir Roysten's right-hand man Gus Hedges, trying to make the show more sensationalist and suppress stories that might harm Sir Roysten's business empire.
One of the original working titles was Dead Belgians Don't Count. Dead Kuwaitis Don't Count was also considered for a short time but was ultimately replaced by Drop the Dead Donkey:
Characters
Major characters Gus Hedges (Robert Duncan) – Series One to Six – The unctuous Chief Executive of the company, yes-man to Sir Roysten Merchant and an unwavering supporter of then Conservative Prime Minister John Major is a management stereotype, complete with clichés. He transforms GlobeLink from a serious news network to a ratings-chasing tabloid channel. He is notable for management jargon, such as, "Are we cooking with napalm? You bet!" In light of what he refers to as his "hands-off" role, he frequently prefaces his interference in editorial matters with the opening, "Now, as you all know, I’m not here..." He is disliked and distrusted by the staff, who treat him with contempt. Outside the office, Gus is lonely. He has no real friends, and his occasional attempts to make friends at work fail, largely because of his insistence on behaving like an "executive management module". George appears to be the closest thing Gus has to a friend, but while Gus heavily leans on George for emotional support he shows no interest in reciprocating and frequently over-rides George's opinions and concerns. He once openly lamented that what others did to advance their careers, he had to do to maintain his current position. Some of these personality traits stem from his childhood; his older brother was his parents’ favourite and Gus has terrible feelings of inadequacy. He is sexually inexperienced and fears advances from women. He is afraid of illness, and thoughts of his own mortality terrify him. Despite his executive position, he fears that he has not really achieved anything and will be quickly forgotten. Gus is alleged to have been based on Channel 4's controller at the time, Michael Grade, although the original idea was first pitched to the BBC, with Channel Four only picking up the series after the BBC refused to broadcast it. In series 6, terrified by the news of Globelink's upcoming closure, Gus comes up with unlikely schemes to keep the company afloat and becomes increasingly comically desperate in his attempts to get reassurance from Sir Roysten, who ignores all his phone calls. George Dent (Jeff Rawle) – Series One to Six – The station's editor. George is a nervous wreck and hypochondriac who frequently finds himself in conflict with Gus over editorial decisions, but he is usually too afraid to argue with the Chief Executive. George is generally a moral man, who has a good sense of what a news company should really be doing and what stories are important, but he is frequently bullied by Gus and distracted by his staff. He has a number of anxiety disorders and apparently psychosomatic symptoms, which he will often relate apprehensively to his colleagues. George once remarked that his doctor had suggested that he stop visiting the surgery and simply fax his new symptoms in every day. In earlier series, George comes across as broadly competent if a bit weak willed before troubles in his personal life take their toll and the job becomes out of his depth with Henry remarking in Series 3 'George seems particularly out of it these days'. George also has appalling bad luck, such as when he buys Henry's car, whose gearbox almost immediately fails; Damien has the car stolen so George can claim it on insurance, but George has already spent £2,000 on a new gearbox, and before Damien can get the car back it rolls off a cliff. George does become noticeably more confident and extroverted when drunk, although this rarely happens. On the rare occasions when George develops some confidence without alcohol such as after a paintballing weekend away where he got to take out some of his frustrations on Gus, he finds himself able to competently handle his job and manage his hypochondria. However, this is short-lived and he is quickly confronted with another insecurity. Earlier scripts followed the deterioration of George's marriage to his somewhat exploitative and vindictive wife, Margaret, and following their divorce, George's problems at home generally revolved around the antisocial and increasingly criminal behaviour of his daughter Deborah. He meets a woman from Poland called Anna (played by his real-life wife, Nina Marc) who wants to marry him but he believes it is out of love when all she wants is a passport. In spite of the general view that George is useless and inept he is commonly sought out by the other members of Globelink for advice on their personal problems. George appears particularly close to Dave despite their vast differences, George has loaned Dave significant sums of money and tries to advise and help Dave through his troubles despite his advice often making things worse. Alex Pates (Haydn Gwynne) – Series One and Two – Assistant editor and George's second-in-command. The token "normal" person, Alex is determined, skilled and professional, if very cynical. She has a fierce temper, and can be violent when provoked. Married and divorced before the series begins, her ex-husband – now a slum landlord – reappears on one occasion to use Alex to thwart the broadcasting of a news story about his unlawful business practices. In response to this, Alex breaks his nose. Alex's mother (known only as "Mummy" or "Mrs. Pates" and until the final episode of series 2 an unseen character) repeatedly interrupts important meetings with frivolous and bizarre telephone enquiries, such as whether she should stockpile petrol in the bath in response to rising fuel prices or whether signing up to the Social Chapter would mean having to use a squat toilet. At the end of Series 2, the final series in which Alex appears, Ms. Pates suffers an excruciating moment while trying to humiliate Dave with whom she had a one-night stand in the Emmy Award winning Christmas episode. Between Series 2 and 3, Alex leaves GlobeLink for the BBC. Helen Cooper (Ingrid Lacey) – Series Three to Six – Replacing Alex as Assistant Editor from the beginning of Series 3, Helen is extremely efficient and organised, and is frequently annoyed and frustrated by the general inefficiency of GlobeLink. At home, she is the single mother of a daughter called Chloe (Jocelyn Barker), and is a lesbian – a fact she has been keeping secret from her daughter and her parents despite a powerful sense that she really ought to tell them. When George admits that he has fallen in love with her and asks her out, she discloses her sexuality to him in an attempt to let him down gently. George assumes she is lying to spare his feelings – a suspicion reinforced when Helen has a drunken one-night stand with Dave while the staff are on a team-building weekend. Dedicated to the service of "proper" news, Helen often clashes with Gus, but is usually supported, if ineffectually, by George. Helen quickly earns the nickname of Stalin from other staff due to her obsession with organisation. She does join in with some of the zanier antics of the office and has been seen to be the only source of support for Joy and Sally despite the latter's vindictive behaviour. In the final series, Helen finally comes to grips with the idea of coming out to her parents, and has to contemplate a less-than-glamorous job offer from her girlfriend. Henry Davenport (David Swift) – Series One to Six – One of the station's news anchors. Apparently a dignified veteran reporter, he is deeply contemptuous of Sir Roysten, Gus, and everything about the "modern" news industry. He is in constant conflict with his newsreading counterpart Sally, the two of them taking any opportunity to make jokes and jibes at the other's expense. However, very infrequently, particularly in later episodes, the viewer gets the impression that Henry and Sally have become rather fond of each other – although neither would admit it. They also on one occasion work together to prevent an up-and-coming presenter from potentially replacing either of them by getting her to badmouth Sir Roysten, unaware she is in earshot of a newspaper journalist. Henry frequently derides younger presenters on other stations as "androids" and "holograms", and bemoans the loss of what he considers to be the more interesting personalities of the past. In contrast to his stately on-screen persona, he spends much of his spare time drinking, gambling and womanising, often in cahoots with Dave. The tabloids occasionally report these activities, but Henry's image seems oddly untarnished by these articles. Married and divorced several times, with two daughters, Henry is constantly struggling with alimony repayments and the demands of his ex-wives. Henry also believed for a short time that he had an illegitimate son, although the "son" later proved to be a fraud who was out for Henry's money. His extramarital affairs in the past have included wives of so-called friends in the industry. Henry may have been based, at least in part, on Reginald Bosanquet, and indeed at one point he owned a yacht named Bosanquet. Although Henry has made some remarkable contributions to TV news, and met many of the great leaders of the modern world, it often transpires that his achievements were intertwined with or as a result of his drink- or sex-related excesses. After GlobeLink closed at the end of series six in 1998, Henry found a new role well suited to his outspoken nature – as a late-night radio host on the fictional Radio Gab.