The Famous Five (1978 TV series)

Production

Production began in 1977, with filming starting that summer. The series was a co-production between Southern Television and a German company for ZDF. Episodes were recorded on location and on film rather than videotape, making it the most expensive children's television series produced up to that point. Each story adapted one of the original novels and featured the same main characters: George, Julian, Dick, Anne, and Timmy the dog.

Don Leaver produced the first series; Sidney Hayers produced the second. James Gatward served as executive producer. Several writers and directors adapted the stories, and guest appearances included Patrick Troughton, Cyril Luckham, Brenda Cowling, Geoffrey Bayldon, Brian Glover, Ronald Fraser, and an early appearance by Rupert Graves. Scripts were updated to a 1970s setting, with actors wearing contemporary fashions such as jeans, polo shirts, and Speedos.

Three of the 21 novels were not adapted: Five on a Treasure Island and Five Have a Mystery to Solve because the Children's Film Foundation held the rights, and Five Have Plenty of Fun due to scheduling. Southern Television wanted another season, but the Enid Blyton estate forbade original stories. Many night-time scenes were shot in daylight with a heavy filter, making them difficult to see. Filming took place mostly in the New Forest and Christchurch, with indoor scenes at Exbury House.

The title song was composed by Rob Andrews and Les Spurr; incidental music came from library music and Brian Bennett's Drama Montage volumes.

Broadcast

The Famous Five first aired on ITV on Monday 3 July 1978 at 4:45 pm, a year after filming and during production of the second series. The first episode broadcast was Five Go to Kirren Island, though it was not the first filmed. The first series was popular, and the first six episodes of the second series, filmed in summer 1978, aired on Sundays in November and December. The remaining seven episodes of the second series aired on Wednesdays from June to August 1979.

The series was sold to Ireland, Canada, Australia, and dubbed into German, French, Italian, and Spanish. In Australia, it debuted on ABC on Tuesday 22 May 1979 at 5:30 pm, with the first series completed by early June. The second series premiered on ABC on Tuesday 4 March 1980 at 5:00 pm, with weekly episodes. Both series were repeated in afternoon slots into the early-to-mid-1980s, then moved to mornings, and were still repeated as late as 1989.

Merchandise included jigsaws and annuals; Look-in magazine ran a picture-strip story for nearly two years. The theme music, sung by the Corona Stage Academy choir, was released as a single in 1978 but did not chart. Scriptwriters for the first series were Richard Sparks, Gail Renard, Richard Carpenter, and Gloria Tors.

Aftermath

No further episodes were made because the Blyton estate vetoed new stories, though a new set of novels was published in France in 1981, widely dismissed by fans of the original books. The four starring actors met in 1980 for a newspaper story on their careers; only Gary Russell was still acting, and he soon gave it up. This was their last meeting, though Russell, Marcus Harris, and Jenny Thanisch have met for interviews since. Jenny Thanisch, born 24 April 1964, became a mother and works as a school teacher in southern England.

Gary Russell, born 18 September 1963, left acting in the mid-1980s to write and edit magazines; he was script editor on the 2005 Doctor Who revival. Marcus Harris, born 19 April 1964, pursued business ventures and became a town councillor; he had a cameo in a 2012 German film based on the series, titled Famous Five (Fünf Freunde). Michele Galagher, born 4 April 1964, who played George Kirrin, disappeared from public view after the series ended and died by suicide on 30 January 2001.

In 2006, rumours of her death circulated on the Enid Blyton Society website; Marcus Harris confirmed her death in a 2012 interview with Bild-Zeitung, giving no specific circumstances or exact date. Toddy Woodgate the dog died shortly after filming. Michael Hinz, who played Uncle Quentin, returned to Germany and acted until his death on 6 November 2008 at age 68. Sue Best, who played Aunt Fanny, last appeared on television in Rosemary and Thyme in 2004.

In 1996, HTV and Tyne Tees Television revived the books for a new British adaptation set in the 1950s. A French animated version by Marathon later featured the children of the Famous Five.