View source for United!

{{Short description|British TV drama series (1965–1967)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox television
| runtime = 30 minutes
| creator = Anthony Cornish
| producer = 
| starring = 
| company = 
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| network = [[BBC One|BBC1]]
| first_aired = {{start date|1965|10|4|df=yes}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1967|3|2|df=yes}}
| num_series = 2
| num_episodes = 147
| list_episodes = 
}}
'''''United!''''' is a British [[television]] series which was produced by the [[BBC]] between 1965 and 1967, and was broadcast twice-weekly on [[BBC One|BBC1]]. The theme tune was The Tops, a brass band march by Thomas J. Powell.<ref>''Who knows the score?'', Charles Legge, Daily Mail, 11/15/2010</ref>

The series followed the fortunes of a fictional second division [[Association football|football]] team, Brentwich United. The football scenes were filmed on the grounds of [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] with [[Jimmy Hill]] acting as a technical advisor, and the efforts to achieve authenticity saw the show being criticised by the then management of [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]], who complained that the series was based on their team.

''United!'' was not a success, and was cancelled after two series. The programme was generally considered to be too soft to appeal to male viewers, and too male-oriented for the female [[soap opera]] audience. As was common television practice at the time, the series' videotapes were [[Wiping (magnetic tape)|wiped]] for reuse, and it is believed that none of its 147 episodes have survived.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/bbc-archives--gone-but-not-forgotten-1778128.html BBC archives – Gone but not forgotten]. 28 AUGUST 2009. The Independent.</ref><ref>
Martin Kelner. [https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/jan/13/sport.comment3 Spot the intellectual – he's the one wearijng<!--sic--> the glasses]. 13 January 2003. The Guardian.</ref>

Created by Anthony Cornish, from an idea by footballer [[Dudley Kernick]],<ref>https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/stoke-city-bbc-brentwich-united-3654341</ref> other writers on the programme included [[Gerry Davis (screenwriter)|Gerry Davis]], [[Brian Hayles]], [[Malcolm Hulke]] and [[John Lucarotti]]. The [[Television director|directors]] included [[Innes Lloyd]] and [[Derek Martinus]]. Aside from Cornish, all of these individuals also worked on ''[[Doctor Who]]'' concurrent with their involvement in ''United!''. Another Doctor Who connection was [[Derrick Sherwin]], who featured briefly as a fiery Welsh striker and went on to write and produce extensively for the sci-fi series.

==Cast==
*[[David Lodge (actor)|David Lodge]], as Gerry Barford (manager)
*[[Ursula O'Leary]], as Mary Barford (his wife)
*[[Ben Howard (actor)|Ben Howard]] as Curly Parker (136 episodes, 1965–1967)
*[[Mark Kingston]] as Danny South (133 episodes, 1965–1967)
*[[Robin Wentworth]] as Ted Dawson (116 episodes, 1965–1967)
*[[Beverley Jones (actress)|Beverley Jones]] as Deirdre Gosling (105 episodes, 1965–1967)
*[[Graham Weston]] as Gregg Harris (89 episodes, 1965–1967)
*[[John Breslin (actor)|John Breslin]] as Bob McIver (88 episodes, 1966–1967)
*[[George Layton]] as Jimmy Stokes (85 episodes, 1965–1966)
*[[Marigold Sharman]] as Fiona Nixon (78 episodes, 1966–1967)
*[[Jill Meers]] as Amanda Holly (74 episodes, 1966–1967)
*[[Harold Goodwin (English actor)|Harold Goodwin]] as Horace Martin (73 episodes, 1965–1966)
*[[John Lyons (actor)|John Lyons]] as Alan Murdoch (70 episodes, 1966–1967)
*[[Warwick Sims]] as Vic Clay (69 episodes, 1966–1967)
*[[Michael Redfern]] as Chris Wood (59 episodes, 1965–1966)
*[[Tony Caunter]] as Dick Mitchell (57 episodes, 1966–1967)
*[[Stephen Yardley]] as Kenny Craig (55 episodes, 1965–1966)
*[[Arthur Pentelow]] as Dan Davis (53 episodes, 1965–1966)
*[[Ronald Allen]] as Mark Wilson (53 episodes, 1966–1967)
*[[Ballard Berkeley]] as Dr. Newkes (53 episodes, 1966)
* [[Bryan Marshall]] as Jack Burkett
* [[Derrick Sherwin]] as Bryn Morriston
* Mitzi Rogers as Jean Jones
* Arnold Peters as Frank Silby

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|id=0164301|title=United!}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051001021132/http://action-tv.org.uk/guides/united.htm Action TV]
*[http://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1960s/united/ ''Nostalgia Central'' article]

{{Soap operas in the United Kingdom}}

[[Category:BBC television dramas]]
[[Category:Lost BBC episodes]]
[[Category:Lost television shows]]
[[Category:1960s British television soap operas]]
[[Category:1965 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1967 British television series endings]]
[[Category:Fictional association football television series]]
[[Category:British sports television series]]
[[Category:British television soap operas]]
[[Category:British English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Black-and-white British television shows]]