Characters
- Trevor Chaplin - James Bolam Chaplin is a laid back, slightly eccentric woodwork teacher, based on Mr Keaton from Get Lost! Chaplin is in a relationship with Jill Swinburne.
- Jill Swinburne - Barbara Flynn Swinburne is a committed environmentalist and social campaigner, and also an English teacher. Unlike her other half, she is educated and well spoken. The name Swinburne was inherited from her ex-husband. Swinburne was inspired by the character, Mrs Threadgold from Get Lost!, but had her own character - being somewhat better humoured then Threadgold.
- Big Al - Terence Rigby Big Al is a somewhat neurotic and particularly eccentric wheeler-dealer, made recently unemployed from the building industry. He is the dominant half of his family run enterprise.
- Little Norm - Danny Schiller Little Norm is the submissive partner in the family run business with his brother Big Al.
- Janey - Sue Jenkins Simply known to Trevor as that 'dazzlingly beautiful platinum blonde', Janey sells him some records in aid of the Cubs football team, an event which leads to the unfolding events.
- Sgt Hobson - Dominic Jephcott Sgt Hobson is a young enthusiastic graduate police officer. Despite being well spoken and knowledgeable about police procedure, he is completely incompetent at his job, and spends most of his hours investigating hypothetical crimes, using his notes for his next thesis.
- Chief Superintendent Forrest - Colin Blakely Forrest is a plain speaking and effective police superintendent. Forrest is jaded by the job and is utterly corrupt. Forrest was based on a character from Get Lost!, who like Forrest was disparaging towards his counterpart, however unlike Forrest he was neurotic and somewhat detached from reality.
- Mr Carter - Dudley Sutton Mr Carter is a jaded history teacher, who is an ally of Jill and Trevor.
- Mr Wheeler - Keith Smith Mr Wheeler is the school headteacher, who is a petty, neurotic jobsworth. Loathed by the pupils and staff alike, Wheeler is usually oblivious to the contempt in which he is held.
- Harry - Keith Marsh Harry is a retired bookie's runner and would-be supergrass. He is apparently a harmless pensioner seen walking around with his dog Jason.
- Helen McAllister (Helen of Tadcaster) - Alison Skilbeck Helen is the somewhat needy ex-fiancée of Trevor Chaplin. Helen's father is a successful local businessman, involved in corruption with the local council and police. He uses Helen to get to know Trevor, whose friends he sees as acting in a manner which is counterproductive to the equilibrium he sees necessary to balance his business.
- Mr McAllister - James Grout Helen's father, an affluent and less than legitimate businessman.
- Reverend Booth - Ian Bleasdale The Reverend Booth is the local Vicar. Booth is laid back, jaded with his occupation and somewhat lax in the application of Church policy. He provides a cellar for Big Al to conduct his business from.
- Mr Pitt (Pitt the Planner) - Robert Longdon Mr Pitt is the head of the local town planning department. He is a meek jobsworth but he becomes concerned about the corruption in the local area. It is revealed later in the series that he is a jazz fan.
Read more about this topic: The Beiderbecke Affair
Famous quotes containing the word characters:
“There are as many characters in men
As there are shapes in nature.”
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)
“Hemingway was a prisoner of his style. No one can talk like the characters in Hemingway except the characters in Hemingway. His style in the wildest sense finally killed him.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)
“His leanings were strictly lyrical, descriptions of nature and emotions came to him with surprising facility, but on the other hand he had a lot of trouble with routine items, such as, for instance, the opening and closing of doors, or shaking hands when there were numerous characters in a room, and one person or two persons saluted many people.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)