Stay Lucky

*Stay Lucky*
Stay Lucky
	DVD cover.
Genre	Drama
Created by	Geoff McQueen
Written by	Steven Moffat; Alan Whiting
Directed by	Graeme Harper; David Reynolds
Starring	Leslie Ash; Jan Francis; Susan George; Ian McNeice; Willie Ross; Niall Toibin; Dennis Waterman; Emma Wray
Composer	John Powell
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	27 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	David Reynolds
Producer	Andrew Benson
Production locations	Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Running time	60 minutes; (including adverts)
Production company	Yorkshire Television
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	8 December 1989 –; 6 August 1993

Stay Lucky is a British television comedy-drama series ran from 8 December 1989 to 6 August 1993. Made by Yorkshire Television and screened on the ITV network, it starred Jan Francis and Dennis Waterman.

Plot

Drama about a small-time gangster Thomas Gynn (Dennis Waterman) from London who discovers a new life up north in Yorkshire.

Helping widowed, self-sufficient businesswoman Sally Hardcastle (Jan Francis) when her car breaks down on the motorway, Thomas reluctantly accepts an offer of a lift to Leeds.

Over the coming months, the two become involved in a series of misadventures that soon find them being drawn closer together.

The fourth series finished with several ongoing plot threads not fully resolved, with it not expected to be the end of the series. The planned fifth series would have seen Thomas, after being forced to be a last minute stand for an unwell pub singer, trying would break into the music business, with Sally acting as his promoter from her boat. However the fifth series was cancelled before filming began, part of ITV dropping several series in the face of overall dropping ratings on the channel.

Dennis Waterman several times called for ITV to commission a Christmas special, to continue or conclude the series, but to no avail.

Cast

Leslie Ash as Jo Blake
Jan Francis as Sally Hardcastle
Susan George as Samantha Mansfield
Ian McNeice as Franklyn Bysouth
Willie Ross as Barney Potter
Niall Toibin as John Lively
Dennis Waterman as Thomas Gynn
Emma Wray as Pippa

Others include Chris Jury, Belinda Lang, Rula Lenska, Amanda Noar and Dougray Scott.

Episode list

Series 1

A1 Rain Dancer (8 December 1989)
The Howling (15 December 1989)
Fool's Gold (22 December 1989)

Series 2

Burning Your Boats (29 September 1990)
Bring Back My Barney to Me! (6 October 1990)
A Woman's Lot (13 October 1990)
The Devil Wept in Leeds (20 October 1990)
Trial by Marriage (27 October 1990)
Hotrod Horace (3 November 1990)
Bigamy Blues (10 November 1990)

Series 3

Poetic Justice (12 October 1991)
The Food of Love (19 October 1991)
Hard Times, Hard Men (26 October 1991)
An Unsavoury Business (2 November 1991)
The Sisters of Achill (9 November 1991)
A Roman Empire (16 November 1991)
Shingle Beach (23 November 1991)

Series 4

Flameproof and Free! (4 June 1993)
The Driving Instructor (11 June 1993)
A Quick Killing (18 June 1993)
Down to Earth (25 June 1993)
The Long Road... There! (2 July 1993)
The Long Road... Back! (9 July 1993)
Gilding the Lily (16 July 1993)
Blowing Bubbles (23 July 1993)
Sand Dancer (30 July 1993)
One Jump Ahead (6 August 1993)

Locations

Clarence Dock, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK (Series 1 — Sally's boatyard)
Canal Basin, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, England, UK (Series 2 and 3 — Sally's boatyard)
Armley Mills Industrial Museum, Armley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK (Series 4 — The Yorkshire Industrial Museum)

External links