As the Nick Love-directed remake of The Sweeney reaches British cinemas, Dene Kernohan looks at the history of British TV in the cinema.
The subgenre of films based on British TV series is one I have a great deal of affection for, even if critical acclaim has been limited. And it’s one which has been around almost as long as commercial television itself. The earliest example seems to be I Only Arsked!, a 1958 Hammer comedy in which Bernard Bresslaw reprised his role of Pte “Popeye” Popplewell from Granada Television’s national service sitcom The Army Game.
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