Common As Muck is an English comedy drama serial made by the BBC about the lives of a crew of binmen. It ran for two series between 7 September 1994 and 12 February 1997. Both were nominated for a BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series.
Characters Actor Role Edward Woodward Nev Smith Neil Dudgeon Ken AndrewsRichard Ridings Bernard Green Tim Healy Foxy Stephen Lord Jonno Fox Roy Hudd John Parry June Whitfield Irene Watson Kathy Burke Sharon Terence Rigby Dougie Houd Saeed Jaffrey Nat Prabhakar Lesley Sharp Christine Stranks Freda Dowie Dulcie Green George Raistrick Mister Arnold Paul Shane Mike Roberts Tony Melody Nev's Friend William Ivory Vinny Simon Ashley Stan Anthony Barclay Sunil Prabhakar Michelle Holmes Marie Nimmy March Denice Andrews
Series One (1994) The first series concentrated on the trials and tribulations of a team of bin men through a number of politically motivated moves by the local council to privatise the refuse collection of the fictional town in which the series is set. The main characters are pitched against the corrupt council leaders and are seen to be taken over by a contractor and ultimately triumphing over an increasingly corrupt management. The first series featured Tim Healy, whose character died in the penultimate episode and therefore did not appear in the second series.
Episode One 7 September 1994 Episode Two 14 September 1994 Episode Three 21 September 1994 Episode Four 28 September 1994 Episode Five 5 October 1994 Episode Six 12 October 1994
According to the Broadcasting Standards Council, the first episode was the second most complained about British television production of 1994, behind two violent adverts for Tango. 16 people complained about the episode's use of strong language and sex. The complaints were not upheld by the council.
Series Two (1997) The focus of the second series shifted away from the refuse disposal theme, with the opening episode showing the main characters being made redundant; subsequent episodes followed the lives of the characters, showing them experimenting with a number of different jobs including window cleaners, painters and decorators and in the case of Nev Smith coping with retirement after serving 45 years on the bins. A number of new characters were introduced into the second series including those played by veteran actors Frank Finlay, Paul Shane and June Whitfield and a minor role for James Nesbitt as a parish priest. The Complete Series 2 DVD was released on 24 November 2014.
Episode One 8 January 1997 Episode Two 15 January 1997 Episode Three 22 January 1997 Episode Four 29 January 1997 Episode Five 5 February 1997 Episode Six 12 February 1997
Scheduling Owing to the long period of time between the two series, the original series was repeated on BBC One in late 1996 immediately prior to the screening of the second series the following year. It was also repeated in full on UK Gold in 1999. The two series were also re-shown on the now-defunct satellite channel Granada Plus in 2002.
Filming locations Darnhill, Heywood, Rochdale Newton Heath Miles Platting Shaw and Crompton (Series One) Oldham (Series One and Two) Blackpool (Series Two) Fleetwood (Series Two) Cleveleys (Series Two) Stalybridge (Hough Hill area used for Nev's retirement and Parade of Dustbin Trucks – Series 2 Episode 1) Whaley Bridge
Commercial release Series One and Two are available to buy on DVD. Both boxsets were released in 2014, in March and November respectively.
Awards +Award list Year Ceremony Category Result Ref. 1995 RTS Awards Best Drama Series
See also The Dustbinmen – ITV situation comedy (1969 and 1970)
References
External links
Common as Muck Official theme track