Drop the Dead Donkey

Drop the Dead Donkey was a situation comedy that ran on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1998. It was set in the offices of "Globelink News", a fictional TV news company. Recorded close to transmission, it tried to use current news events as a means of giving the programme a greater sense of realism. It was created by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. Contrary to popular belief, the title was entirely made up. The series made stars of Haydn Gwynne, Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson.

The series started with the acquisition of Globelink by media mogul Sir Royston Merchant (whose name is probably a reference to Rupert Murdoch, although Robert Maxwell was still alive when the series started). The series is mostly based on the on-going battle between the staff of Globelink, led by George Dent, trying to keep the company as a serious news organisation, and Sir Royston's right-hand man Gus Hedges, trying to make the show more sensationalist and move it away from stories that might harm Sir Royston's business empire.

Characters

Major Characters

Sir Royston Merchant - The unseen CEO of Globelink news, who buys the company in the first episode. A terrifying figure, with a large business empire. He is also in the housing, shipping and the arms trade. Many of his business ventures are dubious and are often called to the office's attention, but Sir Royston's man in the company, Gus, always stops harmful (to Sir Royston) news leaking out. He is a strong, right-wing figure, supporting both Margaret Thatcher and John Major. In private, it is known that he sees prostitutes, and that his wife, Lady Caroline, also has many affairs. He also has a daughter, Octavia, that Dave tried to have a relationship with, but he broke it off for worrying of making Sir Royston angry. It turned out that dumping her made Sir Royston even more angry. He also has several pet rottweilers.

Gus Hedges (Robert Duncan) - The unctuous chief executive, and yes man to Sir Royston Merchant. A management stereotype, complete with clichés and clumsy metaphors, he transformed GlobeLink from a serious news network to a ratings-chasing tabloid channel. He always talks in management jargon saying things such as, "Are we cooking with napalm? You bet!" He precedes most of his comments with phrases like "Now, I'm not here..." or "I'd never interfere with editorial policy, but...". He is disliked by the staff who are unafraid to treat him with contempt. He is alleged to have been based on Channel 4's controller at the time, Michael Grade although the original idea was first pitched to the BBC, with Channel Four only picking up the series after the BBC refused to broadcast it.

George Dent (Jeff Rawle) - The chief editor. A nervous wreck and hypochondriac who is never able to argue with Gus, even when he knows he's in the right. If he tries to do the right thing, he will always cave in because he is worried about Sir Royston firing him, or being arrested. He suffers from a number of anxiety disorders, but doesn't like to complain about it. Earlier scripts made much of his denial that his wife, Margaret, was having an affair, and following their divorce, the focus of his references to his homelife switched to his daughter, Deborah.

Alex Pates (Haydn Gwynne) - Assistant editor and George's second-in-command. The token normal person (albeit with a messy private life). Married and divorced before the series, her ex-husband used her to thwart a story on his unlawful business practices. She broke his nose. Her mother repeatedly interrupted important meetings with frivolous telephone enquiries, after escapades such as dumping a bath-full of petrol into her garden pond. She left to join the BBC.

Helen Cooper (Ingrid Lacey) - Replaced Alex as assistant editor from the third series onwards. A single mother, she was briefly an object of desire for George until she explained she was a lesbian, though this didn't stop her having a drunken one-night stand with Dave. Dedicated to bringing people proper news, she often clashes with Gus, while George offers moral support from the outer office. She often takes charge in the office if George is feeling too delicate to do so himself. Nicknamed by the office staff as Stalin due to her obsession with organisation.

Henry Davenport (David Swift) - One of the news anchors. A veteran reporter and wig-wearer, he is deeply contemptuous of Gus, Sally and everything about, "Modern news values," and spends his spare time drinking and womanising, often in cahoots with Dave. Married and divorced several times, with two daughters. Also believed for a time that he had an illegitimate son (who proved to be a fraud). He is supposed to have been based on Reginald Bosanquet.

Sally Smedley (Victoria Wicks) - The other news anchor, handpicked by Sir Royston and noted for her snobbishness and vapidity. She always has a problem with at least one member of the staff, although she always claims that "I'm not one to complain…" She is disliked by everyone else, due to her having no knowledge of important news items, though Helen occasionally tries to sympathise with her. It is often put around the office that she is attracted to lorry drivers. At one point in series two, she became a Christian and started being nice to people, but she returned to normal after an evangelist forced his intentions on her.

Damien Day (Stephen Tompkinson) - The field reporter who tries to make his stories as sensational as possible, often by using untruths or stunts, thus making him popular and impossible for George to fire him. When filming a firing-squad execution in a South American dictatorship, asked the officer for a retake so it would look better. When filming in a war torn country he punched a small boy in the face to make sure he had a crying child in shot, and deliberately threw a hand-grenade over a wall to create panic before delivering a piece to camera. He is open-minded about other cultures, expressing interest in Tarot cards and the predictions of Nostradamus. He likes to keep himself fit, does not drink or smoke, drives a Porsche and is considered to be sociopathic.

Dave Charnley (Neil Pearson) - The deputy sub-editor and general dogsbody. As a compulsive womaniser and gambler, he gets on very well with Henry, owing to these shared interests, and Damien, owing to his willingness to bet on outrageously tasteless things. After seducing a drunken Helen, he finds his feelings for her and takes time to recover when she tells him their fling just helped her confirm her homosexuality further.

Joy Merryweather (Susannah Doyle) - Joy is in no way joyful or merry. From Series 2 onwards, she is the terrifyingly outspoken PA who is utterly cynical, completely unafraid and prone to threatening violence. She gets away with this owing to being very good at her job, and the fact that even Gus is afraid of her. Her main role in the series is to offer sarcastic commentary on anything anyone does, and predict disaster, usually accurately. During the first series only, the PA was played as a flighty blonde, by Sara Stewart.

Minor Characters

Gerry - Damien's (unseen) cameraman, occasionally voiced by Andy Hamilton. Damien's reports would usually end with something unpleasant happening to Gerry, while Damien yelled at him to keep filming. He appears in one episode, at the station's Christmas party, but is covered in bandages.

Deborah Dent Louisa Millwood-Haigh - George's daughter, and one of the main problems at home. A juvenile delinquent, Deborah has been known to run away from home, steal cars (in one case six on a transporter), sell drugs (George's pills), burn supply teachers and attack her school classmates with a pickaxe handle.

Lynn Yeats Elizabeth Downes - Damien's biggest rival. Lynn always seems to get bigger and better news stories, due to having a bigger budget according to Damien. Some may say that she is even more amoral than Damien, if such a thing was possible.

Scripting

Unusually for a sitcom, the show was topical, and was usually written and filmed in the week before broadcast. Typically the last scene, or a voiceover for the ending credits was filmed either the day before or sometimes on the day of broadcast. The most frantic rewrite occurred when, on the day of filming, British media mogul Robert Maxwell drowned. (As the writers said in a later episode, "We don't want to go overboard with the story".) A number of politicians including Neil Kinnock and Ken Livingstone made guest appearances.

The humour, like that in a real newsroom, was often very black, as the writers did not shy away from sensitive subjects. A typical line (from Henry): "The 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland. What a bloody stupid phrase. Do they think these people are dying of stress?"

The series ended with GlobeLink being closed down. This contradicted the already thoroughly contradicted novel Drop The Dead Donkey 2000 by Hamilton and Alistair Beaton (1994) ISBN 0316912360, which had predicted its destruction at the turn of the millennium.

Repeats

Reruns of the programme often appear on Paramount Comedy 2. Before the show starts, there is always have a short review of what news events happened during the week of each episode's filming.

The voice-overs were done by Geoffrey McGivern, who also appeared in the first series. McGivern is most noted for playing Ford Prefect in the radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and it is possible that George Dent might be named after the character Arthur Dent.

External links

Official Hat Trick Productions Website
Travails with a Donkey - London Evening Standard article from 6th December 1991, looking behind-the-scenes at the making of an episode.