I know you’re here because it’s the 30th anniversary of the city of Tiraspol briefly claiming its indepedence from the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, but that will have to wait for another time.
As I do sometimes, I had a look through the BBC TV listings for this day 30 years ago, and found it rather fascinating. Aside Bob’s Full House and The Paul Daniels Magic Show (it was a Saturday), later on I could have, and probably did, watch Midnight Caller and Dave Allen.
In between all that though was a major BBC flagship show, created by Phil Redmond, that has just fallen off the radar.
Waterfront Beat.
Noted on this day for having a character in it called PC Ronnie Barker.
That I have no memory of this show at all, given what surrounded it, and what I no doubt watched, is remarkable. As remarkable is that the show has little or no internet footprint. Just a few posts and pictures like this.
The show was clearly designed to be a rival to The Bill, and an alternative to the juggernaut of Casualty when it was off air. And yet, it seems to have vanished.
Over on BBC Two, Saturday Night Clive featured Michael Palin. I doubt anyone wants to see that though.
What we’re here for is Denis Lill.
He played Assistant Chief Constable Williams in Waterfront Beat. But you and I know him from Only Fools And Horses, Blackadder, Red Dwarf, and many others.
Waterfront Beat is of course, not to be confused with this.
