Norman Beaton is Desmond in the popular TV series Desmonds

Desmonds

Desmonds, 1989

Something from Channel 4 that perhaps doesn’t get the credit it deserves.  Desmond’s was a Channel 4 sitcom, featuring a predominantly Black British Guyanese cast, that ran for 6 series between 1989 and 1994.  Clocking up 71 episodes during it’s run it became, to date, Channel 4’s longest running sitcom.

Whilst the cast were predominantly Black, Desmond’s was not the first sitcom to feature such a cast, that honour fell to The Fosters in 1976.  However where The Fosters was a family setting, Desmond’s was the first sitcom with a predominently Black cast to be set in the workplace.

Summary

Set in Peckham, South-East London, Desmond Ambrose is a Barber.  His Barber’s shop is a gathering place for an assortment of local characters.

It is the comings and goings in the shop along with the aspirations of the central characters that provide the comedy.

Clips

 

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Cast

Norman Beaton – Desmond Ambrose
Carmen Munroe – Shirley Ambrose
Ram John Holder – Augustus ‘Porkpie’ Grant
Gyearbuor Asante – Matthew
Kim Walker – Gloria Ambrose
Geff Francis – Michael Ambrose
Justin Pickett – Sean Ambrose

Details

Channel: Channel 4
Created By: Trix Worrell
Original Transmission Dates: 5th January 1989 – 19th December 1994

Where To Watch

Desmond’s can be found on streaming service Brit Box UK .

It’s also among the titles that are repeated on digital channel GOLD