Bread (TV Series) - Characters

Characters

• Joey (Peter Howitt until series 5; Graham Bickley up to series 7) was the eldest of the offspring, dressed in head-to-toe smart leather clothing, using the earliest mobile phone and drove a classic Jaguar. He was the most enigmatic of the Boswells, not revealing his suspicious night-time job for which he was often seen donning a tuxedo, and often the most sensible and calm of the Boswell siblings, with the catchphrase "Greetings!". He contributed large sums to the family kitty and was often his mother's favourite son and spokesman. Despite his slightly flirtatious behaviour towards Martina, the DHSS Clerk (see 'Shifty Boswell' below) in the earlier seasons and sometimes in the later series, in series 3 he began an on/off relationship with a woman and past girlfriend named Roxy (Joanna Phillips-Lane) of whom his mother disapproved because Roxy had a child and had broken Joey's heart in the past. When Howitt left the role and Bickley took it, the character didn't retain its popularity, with fans disappointed at the change. In the later seasons, with Bickley playing the part, Joey's character gradually changed; he became a vegetarian and animal rights activist, and gave up his mysterious work for growing and selling organic produce, though his earlier character would have preferred different work and cheating the DHSS. At the end of the show, it shows Joey having a go at Nellie about him and Roxy as man and wife, determining he had got married in Scotland, just like Adrian and Irenee.

• Jack (Victor McGuire) had no aspirations to have a glamorous job but just wanted to make a reasonable living. Mainly, he dealt in anything that would fit into the battered van he drove. He left the family home to visit the USA in series 4 (McGuire took a break from the show) and came back wiser but still not rich. He had little luck with women until the older Leonora Campbell (Deborah Grant) moved in further down Kelsall Street and the two had a relationship; his mother disapproved of due to the age gap. At the end of the show, Jack is taking a shower, when Leonora walks in and tells him she's pregnant.

• Adrian (Jonathon Morris) was baptised James and called Jimmy as a child but decided the name was too common and changed it. He was the artistic, idealistic one of the family and continually pointed out that he was the only one with a proper, honest job (in an estate agency) until he was made redundant. He became a published poet and artist and also worked as a model, but his successes were tempered by his extraordinary inferiority complex, especially around women. He had a relationship with a nymphomaniac called Carmen who broke his heart. He frequently emphasised his panicky outlook on life with the phrase "Hanging by a thread!". Eventually, he found happiness with a woman called Irenee (Sharon Byatt), whom he married in Scotland just like Joey.

• Aveline (Gilly Coman until series 4; Melanie Hill up to series 7) was the only daughter and was therefore overprotected by her mother and brothers, who vetted all her boyfriends and made her wear a whistle around her neck at all times in case of attack. She had aspired to be a model and had a bit of success, but she temporarily gave up her ambitions when she married Oswald (Giles Watling). Oswald was a local Protestant vicar, which stirred up his new mother-in-law's religious prejudices, but his new brothers-in-law liked him. After the birth of their first daughter, Tracy Ursula, Aveline became pregnant again and had problems in the late stages of the pregnancy, but didn't lose the baby.

• Billy (Nick Conway) was the youngest and daftest of the quintet. He had a variety of jobs, including running his own sandwich-delivery business. Despite his youth and immaturity, he was the first Boswell to marry, leave home, and reproduce, thanks to a fiery on/off relationship with the astute and cynical Julie (Caroline Milmoe until series 2; Hilary Crowson thereafter up to series 5:) (who lived across the road during the first five series). Billy moved in with Julie and they had daughter Francesca, but the proximity to his mother's home made it tough for him to escape her apron strings; Julie regularly kicked him out. Billy drove a Volkswagen Beetle which frequently emitted loud bangs from the exhaust system as he drove across the road to visit his wife and daughter.

• Nellie and her children all took turns visiting and delivering meals to Grandad (Kenneth Waller) who lived next door in a house that used to belong to the Boswells. Grandad and the Boswells swapped houses so each could charge the other rent and then claim it back from the DHSS. He was Nellie’s father (Series 1, episode 5, when Joey comes to tell him that Freddie’s brother Cyril has died: “I know you never cared much about Dad’s side of the family”); however even Nellie and Freddie called him Grandad. He was referred to by non-family members as Mr Boswell, therefore it could be assumed he was Freddie's father. However, in an episode from series 3, Grandad's name is revealed as William Thomas Duvall. Nellie once refers to Freddie as Grandad's only son-in-law, which would mean that Grandad was in fact her father and, in the companion book to the series, Mrs Boswell's Slice of Bread, her maiden name is confirmed as Duvall and she refers to Grandad as 'my father.' He was a cantankerous and obnoxious man at times, never appearing grateful for the way the family kept him, but they all doted on him and he was always willing to hand out serious advice. His wife, referred to by everyone as Granny, had long since died and Grandad mourned her although he had always reserved love for another woman (the dead but once seen in a dream- Edie Mathieson). He did not speak with a 'Scouse' accent, indicating that he was probably from elsewhere in the north of England - possibly Yorkshire.
• Freddie's girlfriend, Lilo Lill (Eileen Pollock), was an Irish woman of a similar age to the Boswell parents, but with a more flamboyant sense of style and a self-confessed desire for passion in her relationships, which she claimed in her frequent confrontations with Nellie (who called her a "tart" to her face, and to others) was the main reason Freddie preferred her. That said, Freddy often tried to return to his wife before finding Lilo Lill too tempting. She was often heard to scream publicly: "I love you, Freddie Boswell!"

• Derek (Peter Byrne) was a widower who befriended Nellie when he met her in a park and tried, unsuccessfully, to forge a relationship with her. Nellie was tempted by him but couldn't bring herself to have another relationship while she was still technically married. If he phoned her home while she had visitors (she told no one of his existence), she would say "Thank you!" in a comedically high-pitched voice and hang up.
• Two local businessmen and small-time thugs and crooks were the monosyllabic Yizzel (Charles Lawson) and his partner who, despite being the brains and voice of the duo, was never named in dialogue and was therefore always credited as 'Yizzel's mate' (Simon Rouse). They ran a limousine company called Occasion Cars and were acquaintances of Joey.

• Father Dooley (J. G. Devlin) was the local Catholic priest to whom Nellie—and, less regularly, other family members—-would go to confess or to seek advice.
• Mongy was the family dog (short for "Mongrel"). He was usually seen in outdoor scenes shot on location, seldom in studio scenes (most notably series 2, episode 6, when he was recovering from an operation). He met his end when a storyline required him to be run over and killed, reuniting the Boswells in grief.

• In series 4, Cousin Shifty (Bryan Murray) turned up after leaving prison and moved into Grandad's house while occupying Jack's seat at mealtimes. Initially this was to compensate for Jack's absence, but the character was retained after Jack's return. He was apparently Grandad's favourite grandchild (although he was referred to several times as Shifty Boswell, which would have made them unrelated), despite being a career criminal (hence the nickname). He combined dead-end jobs and failed business interests (including running a mobile green-grocery from the back of a hearse) with more petty crime. His ex-girlfriend Celia (Rita Tushingham) turned up briefly, before he began a relationship with Boswell nemesis/DHSS clerk Martina (Pamela Power), who had spent the previous series fending off attempts by various Boswell members to get more financial aid from the Government. This relationship with Shifty allowed Martina, a popular character, to be seen beyond her working environment. However, Shifty used Martina and was only after her body and her devotion to him. He was going to move into her apartment but Joey, knowing that he was going to use her, persuaded him not to, telling him that Martina was a "Good one". Shifty then lied to Martina and told her that he couldn't move into her apartment because Granddad had been injured. When a distraught Martina asked Joey on one of his frequent visits to the DHSS, he told her that his Granddad was fine, unbeknown to Shifty's lie. He could see that Martina was upset, and then slightly comforted her and opened up to her, telling her about Roxy and revealing more than he had previously revealed to anyone else. His silly, irrational claims slightly cheered Martina after that and it was clear that she may not have hated the Boswells as much as she let on. After that, she became strong again and rejected Shifty, returning the brooch he gave to symbolise their love and treating him indifferently to- if not worse than- any other client in the DHSS.