The ITV entertainment series set in a fictional working men’s club is back on screens…
The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club is back on telly screens with episodes to be rerun on Talking Pictures TV.
“We know how many of you love variety and star-studded entertainment, and if you’ve never seen this, you are in for a real treat! It’s set in a fictional working men’s club in the North of England, starring lots of your favourite stars of the 1960s and 1970s, and hosted by the brilliant comedian Colin Crompton as the club’s chairman.” – Talking Pictures TV
Produced by Granada Television in Manchester it ran from 1974 to 1977 with the now controversial comedian Bernard Manning as the compare of proceedings across the six series and nearly 50 episodes. The format brought star names to the stage of the club, named after railway workers. With the set and layout of the ‘venue’ styled like a real northern workingmen’s club – which were popular in industrial towns and cities at the time – the programme also carried on the narrative within the presentation with host comedian Colin Crompton introducing acts as the chairman of the club which also included ‘messages from the committee’ about certain situations within the establishment.
In the first episode, airing on December 1st, Freddie Garrity sings Try a Little Tenderness and Good Morning Starshine, Barbara Law performs Happy Heart, and Tessie O’Shea sings three numbers.
The series in recent years was released on DVD, however it’s been many years since the programme has been repeated on television with its last repeat run on the now defunct Granada Plus channel.
The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club premieres on Sunday 1st December at 10:05pm on Talking Pictures TV.
