TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS

'''Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps''' (commonly shortened to '''Two Pints''') is a BBC sitcom written by Susan Nickson. It is set in the town of Runcorn in Cheshire, England and revolves around the lives of five twentysomethings.
The title was inspired by the 1980 hit "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please" by Splodgenessabounds.^[1]

Contents

Broadcast

Characters

Main Characters

Episodes

Series 7 (2008)

Distribution

DVD releases

Trivia

References

External links

Broadcast

The executive producer of the show, Stephen McCrum, began the show after seeing writer Susan Nickson's work on Channel 4's ''Lloyd's Bank Film Challenge'', entitled "Life's A Bitch", which starred Sean Hughes and Kathy Burke. Aged just fourteen, Nickson was asked by McCrum to come and work with him after a few years; consequently, Nickson began working on ''Two Pints'' when she was just eighteen.
McCrum tried to persuade the producers of the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' to get Will Mellor and Natalie Casey to work with him, when the two acted on that programme. Casey had to go through several auditions to get the part. McCrum had wanted to work with Sheridan Smith since she began performing at a very young age. Smith auditioned for the part but was turned down; however, she was later cast for the first series, and has been part of the cast ever since. Ralf Little was cast soon after completing work on another BBC sitcom ''The Royle Family'', on which he had also acted with Smith. Although initially reluctant, he agreed to audition when he realised that ''Two Pints'' would be very different to ''The Royle Family''. Kathryn Drysdale was brought in after producers saw her perform at her drama school.
The show's pilot starred Little and Mellor, though the characters of Janet, Louise and Donna were portrayed by other actresses. Smith, Casey and Drysdale were then cast to be in the first series, and have been acting in the show ever since. Both Ralf and Sheridan, and Will and Natalie play couples Jonny and Janet, and Gaz and Donna. Both couples played couples on-screen in the past. Ralf and Sheridan starred as a couple in The Royle Family, and Will and Natalie portrayed a couple in Hollyoaks. Sheridan stated how lucky she was to work with Ralf after starring together before, as playing such a close couple would have been awkward for them both. Will stated in a past interview how he sees Natalie Casey as a younger sister to him, and mentions that he feels awkward during kissing scenes because of this. Sheridan also classes Natalie as the "mummy" in the show, due to her problem solving and knowledge. Typically, episodes end with a particularly dramatic scene, such as Jonny breaking the news to Janet about her parents turning down his request for her hand in marriage.
BBC Two broadcast the first series, then the now-defunct BBC Choice screened series two. BBC Choice was rebranded as BBC Three shortly before it screened series three, and has shown the first run of each new series ever since. The channel currently broadcasts repeats of the show on an almost-nightly basis, covering all six present series. Back-to-back episodes are broadcast around 11pm, then there is sometimes a repeat broadcast of these two episodes the same night, at around 1am-2am. BBC Two also repeated the show, though only once, and used to be shown every Thursday. UKTV G2 is another channel that show repeats of the sitcom, and occasionally alongside UKTV Gold. With UKTV hardly ever broadcasting in a 16:9 format, the picture can look odd at times, sometimes disturbing viewing pleasure, especially when watching on a widescreen television. UKTV G2 started showing later episodes in 2006 after only broadcasting the first few series. To mark this, the channel displayed "NEW" underneath it's on-screen logo, leading to many people believing that the rights to show new episodes have gone to UKTV.
After series four, in which Jonny was shot by armed police, there was a text and phone vote for the viewers to determine if Jonny should die or not. Series five began with a funeral, which was then revealed to be Flo's, rather than Jonny's.
In 2007, after much speculation, a seventh series was commissioned, rumoured to be of thirteen episodes. Broadcast dates have yet to be confirmed. The speculation began after the showing of the series six finale, which led many people to believe the characters have been killed off (read below for more information). However, after many interviews and rumours, a seventh series was confirmed. In an interview, Ralf Little stated in the future he would be doing "more ''Two Pints''", and commentary on the series six DVD seemed to hint at the fact the show hasn't finished. Will Mellor hinted on television interviews, one being Loose Women, and more or less confirming it on The New Paul O'Grady Show, after saying statements like "we'll keep on making it"!

Characters

Main articles: List of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps characters

Main Characters

Name	Played by:	Date of birth:	Age: (at the beginning of series 1)
'Jonny' Keogh	Ralf Little		20[2]
'Janet' Keogh ''née Smith''	Sheridan Smith		21[3]
Gary "'Gaz'" Wilkinson	Will Mellor		22[4]
'Donna' Henshaw	Natalie Casey		22[5]
'Louise' Brooks	Kathryn Drysdale		20[6]

Episodes

Main articles: List of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps episodes

As of 30 April 2006 (the finale of series six) there have been fifty five episodes over six series since 2001.^[1]

Series 7 (2008)

There has been an official confirmation that ''Two Pints'' will be back with a seventh series, with the episodes set to air some time in 2008. All of the main five characters will return for their usual roles, but due to other commitments, recording has not begun yet.
On May 29 2007, Sheridan Smith appeared on ''The New Paul O'Grady Show'' and said that the crew is wanting to produce "the last ever series in November if they can get everyone back together". However, she says that the cast do not want it to be the last.
Series 7 has been confirmed. ^[8]

Distribution

DVD releases

All series to current date ('1' to '6') have been released on DVD.

DVD cover	Series	Episodes	Discs	DVD release date
				Region 2
	'1' & '2'	12	2	UK: August 18 2003
	All the episodes from the first and second series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
	'3' & '4'	18	4	UK: September 6, 2004
	All the episodes from the third and fourth series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
	'1' to '4'	30	5	UK: October 24, 2005
	All the episodes from the first to the fourth series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
	'5'	14	2	UK: September 5, 2005
	All the episodes from the fith series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
	'6'	10	2	UK: September 4, 2006
	All the episodes from the sixth series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
	'1' to '6'	54	10	UK: October 16, 2006
	All the episodes from the first to the sixth series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.

The four first series has been released in packs of two ('1'&'2' and '3'&'4'), then series '1' to '4' in on one single pack. After that, series '5' and '6' has been released separately, but then, BBC released all the six series in one single pack of 10 DVD discs.

Trivia

Many of the places featured on ''Two Pints'' are actual real places:

★ The Archer is a real pub. However in real life it's called The Waterloo and is only used for the exterior shots (the interior scenes are recorded in the studio at BBC Television Centre in London). The Waterloo can be found at 88 High Street in the Old Town area of Runcorn, near the canal.

★ Sayer's Bakery where Janet works is also real, being located at 30 Church Street, Runcorn Old Town.

★ Gaz's workshop (Brindley Autos) can be found on Brindley Street in the northwest of the town under one of the rail bridge's arches.

★ The Castle ruins featured in the opening title sequence are those of Halton Castle, in the east of the town.

★ The exterior of Gaz's flat is real too. It can be found opposite the indoor market near Alcock Street and the bus station in the Old Town.

★ Janet and Jonny's house can be found at 9 Clarks Terrace, in the Weston Point area of Runcorn.

References

1. Guide to Comedy: Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps
2. BBC - Comedy - Two Pints - Character Profiles:
3. BBC - Comedy - Two Pints - Character Profiles:
4. BBC - Comedy - Two Pints - Character Profiles:
5. BBC - Comedy - Two Pints - Character Profiles:
6. BBC - Comedy - Two Pints - Character Profiles:
7. Guide to Comedy: Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps
8. http://www.twopints.moonfruit.com/

External links

★ ''Two Pints...'' at bbc.co.uk

★ Comedy Guide - ''Two Pints...'' at bbc.co.uk

★ Fansite

★ British Sitcom Guide

★ ''Two Pints'' at British TV Resources

★ Unofficial Website

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