Auf Wiedersehen, Pet

Did You Know?

• The Dennis and Oz characters were reunited for a one-off educational sketch for Tyne Tees in 1986, made at the height of the AIDS epidemic, in which they discuss HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention.
• Some of the cast appeared on Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2003, finding a suitcase full of money in a Miami hotel room that they assume belongs to a drug dealer but actually belongs to U2.
• Sketches written for the Sunday for Sammy charity concerts inspired Clement and La Frenais to revive the series for BBC One in 2002.

Series 1: 1983–1984

The first series, co-produced by Witzend Productions and Central Television for ITV in 1983, follows seven out-of-work construction workers from various parts of England who seek employment in West Germany due to the recession and high unemployment of the early 1980s. The story initially focuses on three bricklayers from Newcastle upon Tyne making the journey, with the others introduced along the way. The title refers to their farewells to wives and girlfriends, combining the German word for farewell with a North-East English term of endearment. The men find work on a Düsseldorf building site but, despite promises of hostel accommodation, are forced to live in a small hut reminiscent of a World War II POW camp. The series is driven by interactions and growing friendships among the characters: Barry, a spark from the Black Country who is an obsessive bore; Neville, a Geordie brickie and insecure young newlywed; Oz, another Geordie bricklayer who is aggressive and jingoistic; Wayne, a London chippy and womaniser; Dennis, an older, more mature Geordie bricklayer who becomes the de facto leader; Bomber, a Bristolian brickie and wrestler who is the calmest and voice of reason; and Moxey, a Scouse ex-con plasterer and jittery recidivist arsonist. Over 13 episodes the group enjoy comic, dramatic, and romantic adventures until a change in German tax laws forces them home. The building site set was created on the backlot of the former ATV Elstree Studios at Borehamwood, and producers imported thousands of slightly larger bricks from West Germany for authenticity.

Series 2: 1986

The second series of 13 episodes in 1986 reunites the boys, initially to help Barry complete extensive building work on his new home in Wolverhampton. Dennis is working for a crooked businessman, Ally Fraser, to whom he owes money, and encourages the gang to renovate a country manor house owned by Fraser, Thornely Manor, where they fall foul of the locals. Fraser then invites the boys to Spain to complete his swimming pool at his Spanish villa, where they are mistaken for criminals and end up fleeing the Spanish police in a motor yacht with Barry's new wife, who had only expected a wedding at sea. The series faced on-set problems after actor Gary Holton died before some final indoor scenes were filmed; scripts were reworked to explain Wayne's absence, with characters saying he was chatting up a girl or had gone away for the day, and a double was used in other scenes. The final episode, Quo Vadis Pet, featured an introduction by Tim Healy dedicating the episode to Holton. Jimmy Nail later said he was glad filming ended, not only because of Holton's death but because he felt the second series lacked the gritty edge of the first. Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais agreed, with Clement saying the series was more contrived in keeping the gang together and La Frenais noting the gang were not trapped together enough as in Germany; he felt the Spanish episodes were too luxurious, with the gang relaxing in summer clothes and occasionally having female partners tagging along, reducing the series' impact.

Au Revoir: The two-part special

Two one-hour episodes were shot in Bangkok and Chiang Mai in July–August 2004 and broadcast on BBC One on 27 and 28 December. The episodes had no on-screen titles but were listed as Au Revoir on the official BBC episode guide. Shooting in Bangkok took place partly in the red-light district Soi Cowboy. Pat Roach, suffering from cancer, had hoped to appear but was not well enough and died in July; instead, Dennis reads a letter from Bomber to the group while they dine in a restaurant, explaining his absence, and the group drink a toast: To Bomber!. The story sees the remaining six working in a British Embassy in central Africa about to be overrun by rioters; most escape uninjured except Oz, who sustains a painful injury to the rectum while protecting a female staff member during sex from a bomb. The boys move on to Laos and later Thailand, where Barry's Russian ex-wife Tatiana announces she is carrying his child after a brief reconciliation. After working for the Australian embassy, Neville accompanies Barry and Tatiana on the Eastern & Oriental Express, where they meet Tarquin Pearce by coincidence. During a stopover, Barry is kidnapped by guerrillas and held in a jungle village; when the others follow they are also captured and imprisoned in a bamboo hut but treated kindly. Dennis, inspired by The Bridge on the River Kwai, suggests building a washhouse for the villagers. Neville uses the guerrilla leader's satellite phone while he sleeps to call Brenda for help, leading the army and Australian embassy to locate them. The kidnapper was Neville's corrupt handler Tarquin Pearce, and the guerrillas take him hostage instead.

Characters

Dennis Longridge Patterson, played by Tim Healy, is the reluctant co-opted leader of the Magnificent Seven. Introduced while divorcing his wife Vera, he later has an affair with German on-site secretary Dagmar. In series two he works for Newcastle gangster Ally Fraser to repay a debt. Dennis has two children, can be short-tempered, but is thoughtful with high moral standards and good people skills. By the third series he drives a mini-cab and supplements his income as a drug-dealer's driver. Neville Hope, played by Kevin Whately, is often under the thumb of his wife Brenda. Honest and hard-working, he constantly worries about his wife and three children; by the third series he suffers a mid-life crisis, and in series four he works secretly for British Intelligence in Cuba. Leonard Jeffrey Oz Osborne, played by Jimmy Nail, is initially a loud, belligerent, heavy-drinking Geordie lout unfaithful to his wife and unconcerned for his son, with xenophobic attitudes and passions for drinking and Newcastle United. After winning the Spanish lottery at the end of series two, he squanders the money by series three, where he reunites his friends at his own phoney funeral. By then the character has unrealistically reformed, becoming more mature, intelligent and thoughtful, with business acumen to lead his friends on new adventures. His son Rod, now grown up and a gay singer, initially horrifies Oz, but Oz's maturity wins through after attending his performances.