Private Schulz (TV series)

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Private Schulz was a BBC television comedy drama mini-series starring Michael Elphick in the title role and Ian Richardson playing various parts. Other notable actors included Tony Caunter, Billie Whitelaw, Billy Murray and Mark Wingett.

It told the story over six one-hour episodes of a German fraudster who persuades the Nazis to make counterfeit British five pound notes in the hope of destroying the British economy.

It was based on a real life though unrealised plot by the Germans, Operation Bernhard [1].

It also starred Billie Whitelaw as brothel madame of 'The Salon Kitty', where German officers were secretly recorded by the SS in the prostitutes' bedrooms. Whitelaw's character claimed to have a psychological block that prevented her sleeping with any soldier below the rank of major.

The screenplay was by Jack Pulman, who had previously adapted I, Claudius for the BBC. He died in 1979 before any filming had taken place. In 1982, he was posthumously awarded a writers award by The Royal Television Society for his work on Private Schulz.

Other notable names involved in the show include composer Carl Davis and former Doctor Who producer Philip Hinchcliffe.