The second episode of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, broadcast in November 1983, attracted 14 million viewers, capturing the national mood in Thatcher's Britain as unemployment passed 3 million. The series turned its seven stars into household names: Tim Healy, Kevin Whately, Jimmy Nail, Timothy Spall, Christopher Fairbank, Pat Roach and Gary Holton, dubbed The Magnificent Seven.
A new book, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet: The Official Celebration, by Toby Benjamin and Martin Keady, with contributions from the show's writers and stars, tells the real behind-the-scenes story.
From Düsseldorf building site to national treasure
On screen from 1983 to 1986, before a revival from 2002 to 2004, the first series followed seven British construction workers to a building site in Düsseldorf, West Germany, where they were working because of unemployment at home. Written mainly by legendary TV writers Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement, with additional writers including Stan Hey, the show was film director Franc Roddam's brainwave.
Roddam was inspired after going to the pub to find his mates had left to seek work in Germany because of the British dole queues. Birmingham's Central Television loved it, commissioning 13 episodes without any scripts or cast.
La Frenais, mastermind of The Likely Lads, Porridge and Lovejoy, said: "Franc told us the idea over lunch in Hollywood. By the time we asked for the bill, we knew we had to write this. A few months later we were scouting building sites in Düsseldorf and marvelling at the outstanding cast that had been assembled."
Cast and the hut that nearly burned down
Actor Tim Healy played tough-talking Geordie site foreman Dennis Patterson, but admitted to trepidation on hearing Jimmy Nail was favourite to play hard-drinking Newcastle rogue Leonard "Oz" Osbourne. He said: "He was a bit of a hooligan back then. When I saw him, I thought, 'what's he doing here? I'm sure that's Jimmy Nail'. I read with him, and he was superb. He was just Oz."
The remaining castings were Timothy Spall as Brummie carpenter Barry Taylor; Kevin Whately as homesick brickie Neville Hope; Christopher Fairbank as Scouse plasterer Moxey; Pat Roach as Bristol bricklayer Bomber; and Gary Holton as ladies' man Wayne Norris.
Shooting in a hut on the Elstree film lot, which doubled as their German building site digs, Tim said: "On camera you've got seven of us, but you've also got the lighting guys, electricians, make-up, the sound and stage management. There's probably 40 of us all in there."
The noise of light aircraft taking off from the nearby aerodrome, and even of rain, meant constant cries of 'cut.' Tim admitted: "It was always difficult. After a year in there, we all said, 'we're gonna burn this b****** down when we're finished shooting'."
Tragedy and a lucky escape
Central Television commissioned a second series, with the lads reuniting to refurbish a derelict stately home under the directions of Geordie businessman Ally Fraser, played by Bill Patterson. They also went to Marbella, but tragedy struck when Gary Holton died from an accidental drugs overdose in October 1985, aged 33.
Tim, 74, remembered: "Gary was just a joy - a lovely guy. Sadly, I don't think Gary could handle the fame. It was madness when the show came out. We literally couldn't walk down the street then, because there were only four channels on the TV and we were getting 16 million viewers, and 17 million one night. We didn't expect him to die. We were heartbroken when he left us."
The new book reveals how Tim cheated death on set filming the second series, following a head-on collision with a Volvo driven by the show's production designer, Mike Perry. He said: "Pat [Roach] had bought a Porsche. We normally got a minibus in the morning, but Pat said, 'why not get a lift in my Porsche?' Normally at that time there was nothing on the roads, but we met the designer straight on.
"I didn't have a belt on. We went over this little hill and Pat had nowhere to go. Next thing I knew, everything went black. I woke up with pains in my chest. I'd hit the dashboard that hard I'd moved it five inches out of line and my head went through the windscreen. I was unconscious for a minute and Pat dragged me out. I ended up in hospital. We had about four days off, and we were back to work, but I was very lucky, actually."
In dark moments, he said Timothy Spall's humour pulled them through. Tim said: "We used to call him The King. He's one of the funniest men I've ever met. One day, we were sat in the hut, waiting for the rain to stop. All we'd do is sit and tell gags. I said to Jimmy Nail, 'what do you call a bloke with a seagull on his head?' He answers, 'Cliff.' But then Tim says, 'Errr... Albert Ross?' and we all just wet ourselves laughing. How he came up with that I have no idea."
Revival and legacy
After the second series ended in May 1986, fans had to wait 16 years for the BBC reboot. In the new show, the lads reunited to dismantle the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge and ship it to Arizona, to be reconstructed by a native American tribe. The revival won a National Television Award for Best Drama and a British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Drama.
Kevin Whately was impressed by its international appeal, saying: "When we first arrived at Grand Canyon for the first scene, the Navaho artists did a welcome song and danced in all their finery - it made my hair stand on end. Suddenly you were working in America, it was like being a film star. We all loved it."
A fourth series in 2004 saw them sent to Cuba to work for the British Embassy, before the series ended later that year with two Christmas specials called Au Revoir. Sadly, Pat Roach died from cancer that year and didn't appear in the goodbye shows. Kevin remembered: "When he couldn't do the last show in Thailand, and we were out in the jungle one night around the campfire and were told that he'd died, we were all in tears - everyone was weeping."
Hugely proud of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Kevin added: "The show worked because it hit the zeitgeist." Creator Franc Roddam said of the show: "It's entered the lexicon and is still one of the most memorable TV series of all time."
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet: The Official Celebration is published by Rocket 88 Books priced £25.
