The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club (1974)

Genre

variety show

Country

United Kingdom

Length

6 seasons, 45 episodes

Rating

6.0 of 10 from 4 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A variety show set in a fictional working men's club in northern England. It features a host and a chairman who introduce performers and trade jokes while the studio audience sits at tables, drinks beer, and joins in singalongs.

nostalgiclivelyhumorousinformalwarmcheekyold-fashionedcommunal

What happens

The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club was a British television variety show created and produced by Johnnie Hamp for Granada Television. It ran for seven series from 1974 to 1977, with the final series retitled At The Wheeltappers. It was set in a fictional working men's club in the North of England and was hosted by comedian Colin Crompton as the club's chairman. The show's compere was usually Bernard Manning, who as well as telling jokes and introducing acts often started and finished the show with a song. Crompton was frequently the butt of his jokes, acting as Manning's stooge. The set was arranged like a club, so that, rather than being arranged in terraced seating the studio audience would be seated around tables and be served beer and snacks, join in a singalong and otherwise engage in audience participation. Crompton, as chairman of the club, would sit at a small table in the corner watching proceedings with apparent lack of interest. He had a large manual fire bell which he would wind and sound purportedly to attract the audience's attention after an act, announcing various notices from "the Committee" (that is, the officials of the social club of which he was chairman), usually misdemeanours by the club's members or the committee itself. For example: "On behalf of the Committee, I should like to tell you we made a mistake in offering the raffle prize of a diving suit. It is in fact a divan suite." Special episodes were broadcast on New Year's Eve 1974 and 1975. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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