Hot Metal
| Hot Metal | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Written by |
Andrew Marshall David Renwick |
| Directed by | David Askey Nic Phillips |
| Starring |
Robert Hardy Richard Kane Caroline Milmoe Geoffrey Palmer |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 2 + Charity special |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Humphrey Barclay |
| Production company(s) | Humphrey Barclay Productions London Weekend Television |
| Distributor | ITV Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 16 February 1986 – 10 March 1989 |
Hot Metal (1986–88) is a London Weekend Television sitcom about the British Newspaper industry.
In the show, The Daily Crucible, the dullest newspaper in Fleet Street, is suddenly taken over by media magnate Terence "Twiggy" Rathbone (Robert Hardy). Its editor Harry Stringer (Geoffrey Palmer) is 'promoted' to managing editor, and is replaced in his old job by Russell Spam (also played by Hardy). Spam then takes the paper shooting downmarket and turns the Crucible into a sensation seeking scandal rag, very much in the style of the British tabloids of the 1980s. He is helped along by his ace gutter journalist, Greg Kettle (Richard Kane), who intimidates his tabloid victims by claiming to be "a representative of Her Majesty's press" and produces stories such as accusing a vicar of being a werewolf. Throughout the first series, a running plot involved cub reporter Bill Tytla (John Gordon Sinclair) gradually uncovering an actual newsworthy story that went to the very heart of government. (Tytla appears to be named after animator Vladimir "Bill" Tytla.)
Written by David Renwick and Andrew Marshall, it is very much a continuation in style from their previous sitcom Whoops Apocalypse!. It was produced by Humphrey Barclay.
In total, twelve episodes were made and broadcast. A Comic Relief special episode was also broadcast.
In the second series, Harry Stringer had left, vanished in a "mysterious aircraft accident", to be replaced as Managing Editor by former daytime chat show host Richard Lipton (Richard Wilson). The cub reporter investigating the running plot this time was Maggie Troon (Caroline Milmoe).
In 1989 the show was briefly revived for a 13-minute Comic Relief special "The Satellite Years" (AKA "The Rat Sat on the Cat"), with Hardy and Palmer reviving his role from the first series (though the second series set was used).
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Wikipedia