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This is a list of all episodes complete with synopses and airdates of the British sitcom The Brittas Empire. The show first aired between 1991 to 1997, on BBC 1. More information about the programme can be found at The Brittas Empire.
The show was created by Richard Fergan and Andrew Norris, who together co-wrote the first five series. A total of seven series and 53 episodes were created, including two Christmas specials and one children-in-need short. Most of the main characters are in all episodes, however character "Laura" is only in the first five series. Helen Brittas is in all but two episodes in series four; Linda does not appear in two episodes of the first series. Angie is only in series one, and her replacement is “Julie”, played by Judy Flynn, who is in all episodes series two and onwards, except the 1997 Christmas special.
The cast appeared in character for the Royal Variety Performance of 1996, and the show's success has resulted in it being brought out on VHS and DVD, by 2 Entertain, BBC Warner, and Eureka Video throughout the 1990s and 2000ths. An audio feature starring Gordon Brittas was also produced.
[edit] Series 1 (1991)
| # |
Title |
Original airdate |
| 1 |
"Laying the Foundations" |
3 January 1991 |
| Gordon Brittas arrives to find a very enthusiastic staff, and a depressed Carole. Within minutes of arrival he upsets the staff, causes the construction workers to go on strike and brings along some very complicated rotas. Counsellor Dappin soon realises that appointing Gordon Brittas manager of the new leisure centre was a tragic mistake. |
| 2 |
"Opening Day" |
10 January 1991 |
| The Duchess of Kent is coming to tour the centre on its first day open to the public. Brittas is determined for the day to run like clockwork, however he creates a rift in Gavin and Tim's relationship, upsets the builders causing them to leave a leaking pool, the boiler man thinks he is on a ship and Helen tries to warn Laura that there will almost certainly be a disaster where Gordon is concerned. Soon the heaters are on overdrive and the faulty electronic doors will not open. |
| 3 |
"Bye Bye Baby" |
17 January 1991 |
| Carole is hoping to make amends to her relationship with her cheating husband who is coming home from Spain. Unfortunately Brittas causes a baby mix up leading to her husband believing her wife has been cheating on him. |
| 4 |
"Underwater Wedding" |
24 January 1991 |
| An underwater wedding is being held at the leisure centre and the best man is stuck at the bottom of the pool. There is also a drunk physically disabled man on the loose. Colin shoots Gavin with a harpoon gun, Tim gets hysterical and threatens Brittas with a screwdriver while chlorine gas is released throughout the centre; an ordinary day at Whitbury Leisure Centre. |
| 5 |
"Stop Thief!" |
7 February 1991 |
| Brittas is convinced there is a thief in the centre, thus he employs a series of methods to find out who the culprit is; everyone is a suspect. Meanwhile Helen wants some more pills for her depression but the doctor insists he meets the cause of it: Brittas. |
| 6 |
"Assassin" |
14 February 1991 |
| Someone is out to kill Brittas, injuring Helen by accident, and wants Gavin to help him do the deed. |
[edit] Series 2 (1992)
| # |
Title |
Original airdate |
| 1 |
"Back From The Dead" |
3 January 1992 |
| The leisure centre is quiet until word gets out that Gordon Brittas is away in Bulgaria, whereupon it gets very busy. Helen arrives and informs the staff that Gordon is dead, however as the staff, centre, and Helen prepare for an easier life without Brittas, they are all horrified when he walks through the leisure centre doors. |
| 2 |
"Temple Of The Body" |
10 January 1992 |
| Brittas is horrified to discover women's underwear in his office, and is convinced that the staff are using the facilities for 'worshipping in each other's temples'. He segregates the sexes and the evidence he gathers leads him to Gavin. Simultaneously, Julie is being hounded by reporters for rescuing a dog from the river in the nude. |
| 3 |
"An Inspector Calls" |
16 January 1992 |
| Brittas fears for his job when the Southern Area Inspector visits, fully a aware nobody ever comes to the centre. Colin accidentally causes a pigeon to roost in the gymnasium, whilst Helen is insulted by a badly chosen birthday present, a moped with a yellow helmet reading "hi I'm Helen". |
| 4 |
"Set In Concrete" |
23 January 1992 |
| An extreme argument with the Rotary Club has caused Brittas's feet to be set in concrete, who after frequent fights breaking out, considers if the centre has Sick Building Syndrome; a Specialist arrives. However Laura tries to explain to Brittas that it is he who is the root of the centres problems. |
| 5 |
"Mums and Dads" |
30 January 1992 |
| The centre is preparing for a concert by Vladimir Petrov, a visiting pianist from the Leningrad Conservatory. Brittas’s father arrives with an old piano, which after being dropped knocks the pianist unconscious. As a result, Gordon decides to perform the concert himself. |
| 6 |
"Safety First" |
13 February 1992 |
| Brittas closes the centre for a series of fire drill exercises while trying to convince Councillor Dapping to install a new fire escape. Meanwhile Helen prepares a special lunch in Brittas’s office to help save their marriage; she even intends to give up the pills needed to cope with her husband. |
| 6 |
"New Generations" |
20 February 1992 |
| A cow is loose in the centre which eats Colin's "herbs", accidentally sending it into labour. Carol has also eaten the leaves, and her babies end up being delivered by a vet with a knotted-rope. |
[edit] Series 3 (1993)
| # |
Title |
Original airdate |
| 1 |
"The Trial" |
7 January 1993 |
| One of Brittas's enemies is coating random items with glue, and shady characters keep appearing in the centre. This leads to a bloody massacre in the squash courts, the felling of several OAPs and Brittas facing trial for multiple murder and drug-running. |
| 2 |
"That Creeping Feeling" |
10 January 1993 |
| Offended by Brittas's "individual figure and fitness targets", the staff are refusing to speak to him. Brittas's diplomatic response is to bring in a psychiatrist to check staff anxiety levels. Meanwhile, a deadly tropical spider is roaming the centre and it is only a matter of time before it attacks. |
| 3 |
"Laura's Leaving" |
21 January 1993 |
| While Brittas prepares to welcome Sebastian Coe to the "Expansion in the Leisure Market" Conference, Laura is off to a job interview. Helen is terrified that without Laura, the centre will not be able to cope. Carole has moved her children back into the reception draws and a concussed Colin is sent to adjust the heating in the pool, leading to shocking consequences. |
| 4 |
"Two Little Boys" |
28 January 1993 |
| The centre enjoys anniversary celebrations, Gordon's brother - the Reverend Horatio Brittas - is visiting and thirty six staff from a leisure centre in Guildford are visiting for their annual staff outing. As always things do not run smoothly: the centre's oil tank begins leaking, oil that is later put into the store room where fireworks are being kept. |
| 5 |
"Sex, Lies and Red Tape" |
4 February 1993 |
| Laura's estranged Husband, Michael T. Farrell, has arrived at the centre desperate for an heir to secure his fortune. Brittas is not happy and endeavours to get rid of him, despite being on a sponsored silence and finding out that Helen is about to be charged with shoplifting. The staff are also hooked on the drafts of a novel that Carole has written. |
| 6 |
"The Stuff of Dreams" |
11 February 1993 |
| Troubled by dreams about his own mortality and the future of "The Dream", Brittas is pushing age awareness and resorts to disguising himself as an elderly man as an experiment. The result is a fight in Reception during which Brittas breaks a pensioner's glasses. However events are considered trivial when Helen goes into labour early and needs to be dashed to the hospital. To her horror Brittas drives her there, thus Helen giving birth in the high street. |
[edit] Series 4 (1994)
| # |
Title |
Original airdate |
| 1 |
"Not A Good Day" |
10 January 1994 |
| It is life cycle week at Whitbury Newtown Leisure Centre, but unfortunately the sponsored cyclist has a heart-attack, Carol’s son Ben escapes out of his cupboard and the centre is under attack by Romans. Sebastian Coe also arrives to cut the ribbon celebrating the opening of a new room of the centre: a toilet. |
| 2 |
"The Christening" |
17 January 1994 |
| A Christening is in preparation for Brittas’s children, however Helen has left them on a bus. Brittas’s brother Horatio (a Vicar), arrives to christen the children, with an unpleasant girlfriend who enjoys speaking her mind. Helen nor Brittas get along with the women, the former flushing her head down the toilet. |
| 3 |
"Biggles Tells A Lie" |
24 January 1994 |
| In an attempt to impress his visiting daughter, Colin pretends to be manager of the leisure centre while Brittas takes the day off. All is well until Brittas turns up unexpectedly. Meanwhile a "magazine" is found with an explicit picture of Helen inside it. Carole is keeping a kitten behind reception. |
| 4 |
"Mr Brittas Changes Trains" |
31 January 1994 |
| After a staff visit to a hypnosis show, some of the staff are behaving oddly. Linda is barking, Patrick needs the toilet every time he hears a bell and Colin can not stop telling people he loves them. When the hypnotist arrives to solve the problem, Brittas is accidentally hypnotised himself. Thus, Laura is tempted to leave Brittas as he is to make life easier for everyone. |
| 5 |
"Playing With Fire" |
7 February 1994 |
| Helen booked the family holiday to Cornwall on the wrong week, resulting in herself and the kids going without Gordon, a mistake she made the year before. Gavin’s girlfriend Jenny visits the centre, which causes a rift in Gavin and Tim’s relationship. However they soon realise that Jenny has escaped from a mental home, along with a case full of explosives. |
| 6 |
"Shall We Dance?" |
14 February 1994 |
| As the staff prepare for a dance, Carole attempts to find her long-lost Love. Linda brings along a retired head master from her old school and Colin brings the milk-woman, who is a transvestite. |
| 6 |
"The Chop" |
28 February 1994 |
| Councillor Drugget arrives in another attempt to sack Brittas as manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre, and this time he succeeds. Thus a devastated Brittas packs his equipment, while Carole too has been sacked. Meanwhile Helen buys a dog that roams the centre freely and uses the swimming pool as a toilet. Helen is then reported missing. |
| 6 |
"High Noon" |
7 March 1994 |
| Gordon Brittas still manages to cause chaos at Whitbury Leisure Centre, despite being a mere visitor. He is particularly displeased with the new manager; the apathetic and untidy "Allen". Still, with Brittas gone business at the centre is booming. Meanwhile Carole now lives in Helen’s Garage, while a gas leak has fatal consequences. |
[edit] Series 5 (1994)
| # |
Title |
Original airdate |
| 1 |
"The Old, Old Story" |
31 October 1994 |
| TV religious series “songs of praise” visits the newly re-built Whitbury Leisure Centre for a live recording. Helen’s on some new pills, Carole’s children move back into their draws and with Gordon Brittas back managing the centre, now crowned local hero after his heroic rescue of three children from the previously burning centre, chaos soon resumes as normal; a live ostrich is loose roaming the centre. |
| 2 |
"Blind Devotion" |
7 November 1994 |
| Despite being temporally blinded, Colin still turns up to work on pool duty, inevitably causing disasters. Brittas is keen on sacking Colin, but due to the fact his great aunt has died and that he has lost all of his money, Gordon is forced to reconsider. Meanwhile the toilets are leaking human excrement. |
| 3 |
"Brussels Calling" |
14 November 1994 |
| Gordon Brittas visits Brussels in relation to a job he has been offered. Things are therefore expected to run smoothly at the leisure centre; but even all those many miles away Brittas still manages to cause a chain of problems, involving rats and explosions. |
| 4 |
"The Lies Have It" |
21 November 1994 |
| In an attempt to cover up Helen’s affair, Laura’s husband Michael uses Carole’s birthday, in order to create a web of lies. However as the day progresses, the web gets more complicated and contradictory, making Brittas suspicious. Meanwhile Tim’s angry to find books on management and a tie in Gavin’s locker. |
| 5 |
"The Boss" |
28 November 1994 |
| Gavin’s in charge for the day as Brittas creates a series of extreme catastrophes to challenge his managerial skills. Meanwhile Helen tries to hide an "explicit" tattoo printed on her leg, and Carole's wealthy but old boyfriend arrives with a toy car for Ben (Carole's son). |
| 6 |
"Pregnant!" |
5 December 1994 |
| Confusion plagues the centre when Brittas claims "scientific records" prove over half the staff are pregnant, including Tim. According to Brittas, Colin is the father of Carole’s next child, so plans are made for the pair to be married. It is later revealed, the only staff member pregnant is Julie, who is unusually being nice to her boss. |
| 6 |
"UXB" |
12 December 1994 |
| Brittas prepares to leave for his job in Brussels, while Colin finds an unexploded World War Two bomb that is liable to explode. Carol prepares to leave to go and live with her newly found hope of happiness, while a rather complicated queuing system is put in order by Gavin. |
| 6 |
"The Last Day" |
19 December 1994 |
| As Brittas finishes clearing his office ready to leave and let Gavin take charge, a newly installed water tank is filled too much, thus it begins falling through the floors of the leisure centre. Meanwhile Carole is stuck in Ben’s car in reception, which is the tank's final destination, and also Brittas's. |
[edit] Series 6 (1996)
| # |
Title |
Original airdate |
| 1 |
"Back With A Bang" |
[[]] 1996 |
| Gordon Brittas returns to Whitbury Leisure Centre, now newly re-built after getting crushed by a water tank at the end of the last series. Elsewhere Carole is back behind reception after her hopes of happiness being dashed. Penny, an attractive new staff member makes Tim jealous, due to Gavin paying her particular attention. Helen Brittas has escaped from hospital. |
| 2 |
"Body Language" |
12 March 1996 |
| Helen has accidentally sold her and Gordon's house and has moved her homely goods into the centre. Carole’s son Ben has a birthday party in his cupboard and Colin believes aliens are taking over the centre. Elsewhere, a large block of ice has crashed through the roof. |
| 3 |
"At The Double" |
26 March 1996 |
| A circus group arrive at the centre, with one member a duplicate of Brittas, inevitably leading to confusion. |
| 4 |
"A Walk On The Wildside" |
2 April 1996 |
| Brittas believes there is a public right of way going through the centre, Helen realises she has two husbands and outbreak of lethal diseases creates chaos. |
| 5 |
"We All Fall Down" |
9 April 1996 |
| It's "peace and hunger" week at the centre, but the children are in for a shock. Tim is outraged upon discovering he gets paid less than everyone else, thus he keeps the staff hostage in the rest room until Brittas meets his demands. |
| 6 |
"Mr Brittas Falls in Love" |
16 April 1996 |
| Brittas organises a "dolphin day" at the centre, but a mix up results in a live shark being delivered to the centre instead. A teenage girl experiences the wackiness of Whitbury when arriving for two weeks of work experience at the leisure centre. |
| 6 |
"The Chop" |
28 February 1994 |
| Councillor Drugget arrives in another attempt to sack Brittas as manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre, and this time he succeeds. Thus a devastated Brittas packs his equipment, while Carole too has been sacked. Meanwhile Helen buys a dog that roams the centre freely and uses the swimming pool as a toilet. Helen is then reported missing. |
| 6 |
"Snap Happy" |
23 April 1994 |
| The staff prepare for a photograph, however a chain or trivialities delays the event. Meanwhile apart from Gordon Brittas, Helen also hates heights, thus she participates in a bungee jump which goes horribly wrong. |
[edit] Series 7 (1997)
| # |
Title |
Original airdate |
| 1 |
"The Elephant's Child" |
6 January 1997 |
| Julie goes into labour, Colin has a large amount of manure delivered to the centre, and a bungee jump is prepared. Gavin and Tim are both scared of heights, but even more scared of each other knowing this. |
| 2 |
"Reviewing The Situation" |
13 January 1997 |
| Despite being temporally blinded, Colin still turns up to work on pool duty, inevitably causing disasters. Brittas is keen on sacking Colin, but due to the fact his great aunt has died and that he has lost all of his money, Gordon is forced to reconsider. Meanwhile the toilets are leaking human excrement. |
| 3 |
"http://etc(NB:this isn't a link, the title is "http://etc")" |
20 January 1997 |
| Everything in the Centre is computerised, and the staff now feel the computer has taken over their jobs. In an attempt to convince Brittas to scrap the system they attempt to sabotage it, but things soon get out of control. |
| 4 |
"Wake Up The Lion Within" |
27 January 1997 |
| Carole uses Brittas's "Waking up the lion within yourself by roaring" technique to spawn an alter ego, which commands her to take control of the centre using any means necessary. This leads to the once tearful receptionist taking Brittas's job. |
| 5 |
"The Disappearing Act" |
[[]] 1997 |
| Julie’s niece goes missing after Colin supposidly making her disappear; this after he performed a magic trick for the little girl's birthday. Meanwhile Helen hosts a dreams' workshop. |
| 6 |
"Gavin Featherly RIP" |
10 February 1997 |
| After a staff holiday trip, evidence mounts up to suggest a troubled Gavin has committed suicide. Funeral preparations are made back at the centre, but Tim is shocked to receive a call from Gavin, who claims he has been abducted by pirates. |
| 6 |
"Exposed" |
17 February 1997 |
| Gordon Brittas prepares for a TV documentary recording at the leisure centre, hiring a model to stand in for Colin. However a lethal disease breaks out, causing chaos. |
| 6 |
"Curse of the Tiger Women" |
24 February 1997 |
| The staff celebrate Whitbury New Town Leisure centre's anniversary, with a cake that Brittas made himself. However due to a gypsy curse, everyone who has a piece ends up dead. Julie contemplates marriage, there is a build-up of marsh gas in the centre and Carole makes a devastating discovery. After being pecked unconscious by a bird, Brittas has a dream, or finishes one. |
[edit] Christmas Specials
| # |
Title |
Original airdate |
| 1 |
"In The Beginning" |
19 December 1994 |
| Set in the future when the old staff of Whitbury Leisure Centre prepare to reunite again for new year's eve celebrations, the audience get taken back to the early weeks of the centre’s opening, when the staff get snowed in. As a result they spend Christmas and New year in the centre with a limited food supply. |
| 4 |
"Surviving Christmas" |
24 December 1996 |
| The staff unwillingly go on a survival and fittness trip. Meanwhile a furious Helen believes Gordon is having an affair with Carole. |
| 5 |
"Children In Need Special" |
22 November 1996 |
| N/A |
[edit] References
General
- Specific
