In 1961 between the final Hancock’s Half Hour series and his final series for the BBC entitled Hancock, the lad from East Cheam swapped the mean streets of London for the bright lights of Paris in his first film outing The Rebel.
Now some 55 years later the title is to be used again (same title different comedy). This time Simon Callow is to take the lead in a brand new original sitcom The Rebel, produced for the UKTV channel: GOLD.
The series has been created by Private Eye cartoonist, Andrew Birch who has adapted it from his own cartoon strip series The Rebel. In Henry Palmer Birch has created an anarchic, anti-establishment pensioner on steroids just right for the 21st Century.
We’ve seen a preview and think GOLD have a hit on their hands. It’s the kind of sitcom that’s sadly been missing from the schedules for too long.
Premiering tonight on GOLD at 10pm episode one sees Henry visits his GP, Dr. McGill, but only at the insistence of his daughter Cath and under protest. He doesn’t want to be there; he feels as fit as a fiddle, even though everyone keeps reminding him he’s 70. In true rebel style our hero hits back against the system with some great comic consequences.
Initially the series runs for three episodes, but we expect to see more in the future.
Summary
Meet Henry Palmer, a near 70-year-old who looks every bit the respectable, fine, upstanding Brighton resident. However appearences can be deceptive.
For 50 years he’s been putting his youthful past behind him; or perhaps more accurately, brushing it under the floral patterned carpet. In the Sixties he was a Mod, a regular visitor to Brighton on his mirrored up Vespa scooter, dressed in a Parka with a bulls-eye on the back, ready for a rumble with the Rockers on their motorbikes.
Recently bereaved by the loss of his long-suffering wife, Henry shares this adjustment with his slightly impossible daughter, Cath and her utterly ineffectual husband, Jeremy. The Rebel in Henry never really went away. It was just brewing…
Clips
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Cast
Simon Callow – Henry Palmer
Bill Paterson – Charles
Anita Dobson – Margaret
Anna Crilly – Cath
Amit Shah – Jeremy
Details
Channel: GOLD
Created and Written By: Andrew Birch
Executive Producers: Simon Lupton and Jon Rolph
Produced and Directed By: Vadim Jean
Original Transmission Dates: 20th July 2016 – 3rd August 2016