Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
GenreSitcom
Created bySusan Nickson
Written bySusan Nickson
Directed byGareth Carrivick
Becky Martin
Nick Wood
Geoff Posner
StarringSheridan Smith
Kathryn Drysdale
Ralf Little
Will Mellor
Natalie Casey
Luke Gell
Beverley Callard
Opening theme"Two Pints of Lager Theme" by Christian Henson
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series9
No. of episodes80 (list of episodes)
Production
Production locationRuncorn, Cheshire
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companyBBC Television
Original release
NetworkBBC Two (2001)
BBC Choice (2002)
BBC Three (2003–2011)
Release26 February 2001 (2001-02-26) –
24 May 2011 (2011-05-24)

Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps is a British television sitcom that ran from 26 February 2001 to 24 May 2011.[1] First broadcast on BBC Two, it starred Sheridan Smith, Will Mellor, Natalie Casey, Ralf Little, Kathryn Drysdale, Beverley Callard and, later on in series 7, Luke Gell. The show was created and written by Susan Nickson and set in her hometown of Runcorn, Cheshire, it originally revolved around the lives of five twentysomethings. Little departed after the sixth series, and Smith and Drysdale left after the eighth series. The ninth and final series had major changes with new main cast members and new writers.

The core cast was augmented by various recurring characters throughout the series, portrayed by Beverley Callard, Lee Oakes, Hayley Bishop, Thomas Nelstrop, Freddie Hogan and Georgia Henshaw. The title was inspired by the 1980 song "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please" by punk rock band Splodgenessabounds.[2] On 23 July 2011, it was confirmed that the series would not return due to the BBC making room for new comedies and feeling that the series had come to a natural end after the departures of most of the main cast members.[3]

Production

BBC Two announced the first series as one of the highlights of their Autumn 2000 schedule, although the premiere was eventually held back to 2001.[4] The first six series with the original cast including Ralf Little ran until 2006, with Jonny killed off-screen during the first episode of the seventh series.

An eighth series was confirmed by Mellor in an interview in the Metro on 21 April 2008, in which he said that they would be filming the series from November 2008 to January 2009.[5] In January 2009, the BBC announced recording dates for the next series at BBC Television Centre from 1 February to 3 April. Natalie Casey, Kathryn Drysdale, Luke Gell, Will Mellor and Sheridan Smith all returned and the new character of Wesley was played by Thomas Nelstrop.[6]

The outcome of the final episode of series 8 was decided by the public, who were asked to vote on whether Gaz should be with Donna or Janet. Following the finale of series 8, which was broadcast on 10 May 2009,[7] the audience chose Donna with 76.9% of the vote. The final episode concluded with Donna at Gaz's bedside.

Two special episodes of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps were filmed in 2009.[8] The first was set a few minutes after the ending of the previous episode, its cast being limited to Janet, Wesley and Tim, and was recorded on 13 August 2009 at BBC TV Centre. It was a musical extravaganza set entirely inside the Archer and was broadcast on 15 December 2009. The second, "Sliding Gaz", was recorded on 18 August 2009 and shown on 22 December 2009.[9] The cast consists of Donna and Gaz only and shows Donna in a "sliding doors" technique, imagining Gaz being healthy and also paralysed.

In April 2010, it was revealed that the show was to return, albeit 'refreshed' by the BBC, after the departure of the creator of the show, Susan Nickson.[10] Original cast members Sheridan Smith and Kathryn Drysdale were written out of the series after deciding not to return for series 9, and their departures were mentioned in the first episode of series 9. On 25 July 2011 the BBC decided that the show would not return for a tenth series.[11]

Episodes

Series Episodes Premier Finale
1 6 26 February 2001 2 April 2001
2 6 15 April 2002 2 May 2002
3 10 23 February 2003 27 April 2003
4 8 15 February 2004 4 April 2004
5 14 2 January 2005 4 March 2005
6 10 26 February 2006 30 April 2006
7 8 13 January 2008 9 March 2008
8 8 15 March 2009 10 May 2009
9 6 26 April 2011 24 May 2011

Cast

Main

ActorCharacterDurationEpisodes
Will Mellor Gaz Wilkinson 2001–2011 79
Natalie Casey Donna Wilkinson née Henshaw 2001–2011 78
Sheridan Smith Janet Keogh née Smith 2001–2009 73
Kathryn Drysdale Louise Brooks 2001–2009 70
Ralf Little Jonny Keogh 2001–2006 56
Luke Gell Tim Claypole 2008–2011 23

Supporting

ActorCharacterDurationEpisodes
Beverley CallardFlo Henshaw2001–200319
Jonathon DuttonDavid Fish2003–200412
Lee Oakes Munch Wilkinson 2003–2005,
2008		 24
Alison MacKate20046
Hayley BishopKelly Crabtree2004–200626
Thomas Nelstrop Wesley Presley 2009 7
Freddie Hogan Billy McCormack 2011 6
Georgia Henshaw Cassie Claypole 2011 6

Home releases

SeasonDate released# of episodes# of discsSpecial features
The Complete First and Second Series18 August 2003122
The Complete Third and Fourth Series6 September 20041842003 Musical special
The Complete Fifth Series5 September 2005143
The Complete Series 1–424 October 2005305
The Complete Sixth Series4 September 2006102Behind the scenes
The Complete Series 1–616 October 20065410
The Complete Seventh Series21 April 200882Behind the scenes
The Complete Eighth Series14 September 200992Comic Relief Special
The Complete Ninth Series13 June 2011622009 specials

References

  1. ↑ "Will Mellor confirms Two Pints of Lager reunion with Ralf Little". 25 January 2020.
  2. ↑ Mark Lewisohn. "Guide to Comedy: Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps". BBC. Archived from the original on 21 August 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
  3. ↑ "BBC axes Two Pints of Lager show". BBC News. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  4. ↑ "BBC2 UNVEILS NEW AUTUMN HIGHLIGHTS - UK Broadcast News | 24/08/2000". www.4rfv.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "Television – News – Mellor confirms 'Two Pints' return". Digital Spy. 21 April 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  6. ↑ "Press Office – Network TV Programme Information BBC Week 11 Sunday 15 March 2009". BBC. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  7. ↑ "TV – News – 'Two Pints' audience to choose finale". Digital Spy. 7 April 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  8. ↑ Archived 17 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "The BBC lights up Christmas with a selection of new seasonal delights". BBC News. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  10. ↑ "BBC set to refresh Two Pints Of Lager – News – British Comedy Guide". Comedy.co.uk. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  11. ↑ "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps is axed". BBC News. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
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