Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998)

Political satire about a TV news company.

Creators:

Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin

Stars:

Neil Pearson, Jeff Rawle, David Swift

9 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Neil Pearson	...	Dave Charnley (66 episodes, 1990-1998)
Jeff Rawle	...	George Dent (66 episodes, 1990-1998)
David Swift	...	Henry Davenport (66 episodes, 1990-1998)
Stephen Tompkinson	...	Damien Day (66 episodes, 1990-1998)
Victoria Wicks	...	Sally Smedley (65 episodes, 1990-1998)
Robert Duncan	...	Gus Hedges (64 episodes, 1990-1998)
Susannah Doyle	...	Joy Merryweather (55 episodes, 1991-1998)
Ingrid Lacey	...	Helen Cooper (42 episodes, 1993-1998)
Haydn Gwynne	...	Alex Pates (24 episodes, 1990-1991)

Storyline

Political satire about a TV news company.

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Plot Keywords:

imperative in title | animal in title | television news

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 August 1990 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Waterloo Station, Waterloo, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hat Trick Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The series was originally to be called "Dead Belgians Don't Count", inspired by a deadly train accident in Belgium which received no attention in the British news. This title was deemed too offensive by Channel 4, and they renamed it "Drop the Dead Donkey". A fortuitous decision, as it turned out, since one of the first international stations to buy this series was the VRT, the Flemish public radio and television.

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Quotes

Gus Hedges: Yes, well, publicity-wise this is a rather regrettable gonads-in-the-guillotine situation.

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Crazy Credits

For the first four series, the end credits invariably featured two characters discussing a recent news item in voiceover. This was changed to a more conventional final scene each week for the last two series due the pressure of filming so close to broadcast.

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Connections

Referenced in Just a Minute: Episode #2.3 (1994)

User Reviews

I enjoyed it...!

Never having traveled abroad, I have no idea what the references to British media were about. Nonetheless, the episodes that ran on Comedy Central were still terrific! Perhaps it was a matter of which episodes out of the six year run were aired over here, but what I saw was an excellent ensemble cast with pithy writing that any "homegrown" sitcom would rightfully give an arm and leg to have.

I wish episodes were available in NTSC DVD form, 'cuz I'd like to see more...! :)