It has now been more than 40 years since Boys from the Blackstuff aired on BBC for the first time
A scene from the first episode of Boys From The Blackstuff – Jobs For The Boys – with, left to right: Bernard Hill (Yosser Hughes), Michael Angelis (Chrissie Todd), Tom Georgeson (Dixie Dean) and, with his back to the camera, Alan Igbon (Loggo Lomond)
One of Liverpool’s most loved TV shows first came to our screens over 40 years ago. Alan Bleasdale’s series Boys From The Blackstuff, which was a sequel to the play The Black Stuff, followed five unemployed tarmac workers struggling to find work. The series received critical acclaim for its powerful portrayal of life in 1980s Liverpool.
It was such a huge hit with audiences that it was repeated on BBC1 just weeks later, going on to win a BAFTA award for best drama series of 1982. The series was said to have reflected writer Alan’s own experiences of growing up in Liverpool and each episode focused on a different character and showed the struggles of unemployment, from the emotions experienced to the lack of social support, the ECHO previously reported.
Boys From The Blackstuff starred the late Bernard Hill as Yosser Hughes, Julie Walters as Angie, Alan Igbon as Loggo Logmond, Michael Angelis as Chrissie Todd and Peter Kerrigan as George Malone. Scenes were filmed across the city, immortalising places like The Green Man pub on Vauxhall Road. Below the ECHO takes a look at what happened to the cast after the show.
Bernard Hill – Yosser Hughes
BBC handout photo of Bernard Hill as Yosser Hughes in Boys From The Blackstuff
Tarmac layer Yosser Hughes, famous for his catchphrases of “Gizza job” and “I can do that”, came to define the economic struggles facing Liverpool in the 1980s. Yosser struggles to keep his family together after his wife leaves him and he faces issues with employment, social services and the police. Bernard Hill’s heartbreaking portrayal of a man who has hit rock bottom earned him a BAFTA award for best actor nomination.
Following his breakthrough role as Yosser, Bernard Hill went on to have an incredible career spanning six decades before he died aged 79 on Sunday, May 5 2024. Hill is best remembered to many as King Théoden of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He also appeared as Sergeant Putnam in the 1982 film Gandhi, Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 film Titanic and Joe Bradshaw in the 1989 film adaptation of Shirley Valentine – alongside his former Boys from the Blackstuff co-star Julie Walters.
Bernard Hill arriving for the UK Premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at the Odeon Leicester Square, London
His agent Lou Coulson Associates confirmed to the ECHO that Mr Hill died in the early hours of May 5, 2024. The news of the actor’s death came 24 hours after it was announced he was unable to attend Comic Con in Liverpool.
Michael Angelis – Chrissie Todd
Michael Angelis as Chrissie Todd in Boys from the Blackstuff
Chrissie Todd and his wife Angie experience pressures from unemployment and an investigation by benefit fraud officers. He is ultimately driven to despair and strangles his chickens and shoots his geese in an attempt to provide dinner. He also worries about his children’s rabbits.
In another moving and memorable scene, when his gas gets cut off and he finds himself being investigated by department of employment officials, he tells his wife: “Angie, this is our life – and I wish I was dead… I had a job, Angie. It wasn’t a bad job and I was good at it. I laid the roads – motorways, lay-bys, country lanes. But I lost that job.”
Despite being best known for his role as Chrissie, Michael Angelis went on to have a career in both TV and film. Angelis was the narrator of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends from 1991 until 2012. He also starred in the television drama G.B.H, written by Alan Bleasdale, as Martin Niarchos.
Michael Angelis married three times including Coronation Street actress Helen Worth in 1991. Angelis died following a heart attack at the age of 76 on May 30, 2020.
Tom Georgeson – Dixie Dean
A scene from the first episode of Boys From The Blackstuff – Jobs For The Boys – with, left to right: Bernard Hill (Yosser Hughes), Michael Angelis (Chrissie Todd), Tom Georgeson (Dixie Dean) and, with his back to the camera, Alan Igbon (Loggo Lomond)
Dixie Dean claims unemployment benefit while working on the side as a security guard on Liverpool docks. He is persuaded into taking bribes while a group of robbers steal from the ships.
Liverpool actor Tom Georgeson, who played the role of Dixie, has had a career spanning six decades in multiple TV and film roles. His most known work includes two other Alan Bleasdale dramas G.B.H and Scully where he plays Lou Barnes and Isaiah respectively. He also played the lawyer’s clerk Clamb in the BBC One drama Bleak House.
Georgeson’s film credits include A Fish Called Wanda in 1988 where his character’s name, George Thomason, was a play on his own name, and the follow-up film Fierce Creatures in 1997 as a spectator at the sea-lion centre.
Alan Igbon – Loggo Lomond
Alan Igbon played Loggo Lomond in Boys from the Blackstuff
Of Alan Igbon – Loggo Lomond – Alan Bleasdale told the ECHO in 2002: “I thought Alan Igbon’s performance was so underrated. It wasn’t an easy part to play. Here was a character who could only get through his problems by putting a brick wall around himself.
“He was hurt and he was upset. But he didn’t want to articulate it. He was going to pretend nothing had happened. He would never show his true feelings.”
Alan Igbon as Tony Stewart on Coronation Street
Alan Igbon is remembered for his role of Meakin in Alan Clarke’s 1979 film version of Scum. Like other cast members, Igbon appeared in other Alan Bleasdale including GBH and Blood on the Dole where he played Teddy and Art Gallery Attendant respectively. He played Gene in Brookside in 1985 and Tony Stewart, the dad of Jason Grimshaw, in Coronation Street in 2003.
Peter Kerrigan – George Malone
George Malone played by Peter Kerrigan
In the episode George’s Last Ride, viewers learn that an ill George once had a politically active past. As Chrissie pushes him in his wheelchair through the docks, he shares stories from his younger years. He later dies in the episode after his famous line: “I can’t believe that there’s no hope.”
George was played by actor Peter Kerrigan. Kerrigan was originally a docker originally and founded the Birkenhead Port Workers Defence Committee. He played Old Man in Scully and appeared as Arthur Clarke in Brookside in 1982. Kerrigan died in 1999.
Julie Walters – Angie Todd
Julie Walters as Angie in Boys from the Blackstuff
Angie Todd was the wife of Chrissie Todd. Viewers watched as the couple faced financial pressure brought unemployment and investigators from the Department of Employment.
Angie was played by actress Julie Walters. The actress has gone on to have a succesful career which has seen her win four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Olivier Award.
Dame Julie Walters poses after she was awarded a Damehood by Queen Elizabeth II at an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace
Her most celebrated work includes Educating Rita, which saw her receive a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Susan “Rita” White. Many will remember her for her collaborations with Victoria Wood. She also starred in the Harry Potter film series, Mamma Mia and Billy Elliot.