The Double Deckers ( TV Series 1970 - 1971 )



 

Here Come the Double Deckers was a 17-part British children's TV series from 1970-71 revolving around the adventures of seven children whose den was an old red double-decker London bus in an unused works (junk) yard.

Each week saw the gang in a separate adventure including episodes based around a runaway home made hovercraft, a chocolate factory and invading 'Martians' with guns that shot out chocolate candy, a disastrous camping holiday, collecting tin foil for a guide dog, becoming pop moguls with their protégé 'The Cool Cavalier' and a haunted stately home.

 

The cast were unknowns apart from Melvyn Hayes, an established adult actor, and Gillian Bailey, fairly experienced for a child actor. Bailey is now head of the drama department at Royal Holloway University. Peter Firth has gone on to a prominent acting career, appearing in Equus, The Hunt for Red October, Tess, Pearl Harbor and Spooks. Co-star Brinsley Forde later became the lead singer in Aswad.

The series was originally scheduled for 26 episodes, but production ceased after the 17th.

 

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Cast



Children

 

Michael Audreson - Brains, a classic early TV portrayal of the geek type.
Gillian Bailey - Billie, the tomboyish mother of the group.
Bruce Clark - Sticks (the only American in this group)
Peter Firth - Scooper, the leader
Brinsley Forde - Spring, the only black member of the gang.
Debbie Russ - Tiger (who also had a stuffed tiger called "Tiger")
Douglas Simmonds - Doughnut, not the brightest member and constantly eating.

Guest Stars

 

Melvyn Hayes - Albert (All except episodes 4, 9, 12, 13 and 15 to 17).
Ivor Salter was in many of the episodes, usually as a policeman (PC Williams?).
Julian Orchard, Jack Haig, Roy Evans in episode 2.
Norman Vaughan in episode 3.
David Lodge, Bob Todd, Liz Fraser in episode 4.
Clive Dunn, Pat Coombs in episode 5.
Betty Marsden, Hugh Paddick, George Woodbridge in episode 6.
Anthony May in episode 7.
Jane Seymour, Bunny May, Tim Barrett, George Benson, Ruth Kettlewell in episode 8.
Frank Thornton, Michael Sharvell-Martin in episode 9.
David Hutcheson, Jimmy Gardner, Robin Askwith in episode 10.
Graham Stark, Nora Nicholson, Nicholas Phipps, Jennifer Daniel in episode 11.
Sam Kydd, Dervis Ward, John Horsley, Michael Brennan in episode 12.
Julian Chagrin in episode 13.
Pat Coombs, Derek Royle, Jack Haig, Bob Todd in episode 15.
Timothy Bateson, Ann Lancaster in episode 16.
Georgina Simpson, Brian Hayes, Damaris Hayman, John Clive, Lucy Griffiths, Bryan Hunt in episode 17.



Episode Guide



 

1.Tiger Takes Off (Tiger accidentally goes for a trip on a hovercraft Brains created.)
2.The Case of the Missing Doughnut (Doughnut eats an invisibility formula Brains invented.)
3.Get a Movie On (The gang make a film to enter a contest.)
4.Starstruck (The gang are chased by security around Elstree Studios, as they look for a movie star's runaway dog.)
5.Happy Haunting (Albert takes the gang to a stately home for a day out.)
6.Summer Camp (The gang camp in a field with a middle aged couple who get the worst of it.)
7.The Pop Singer (The group try to launch The Cool Cavalier's pop career with a disco.)
8.Scooper Strikes Out (Scooper is knocked out by a baseball and dreams he is with Alice in Wonderland.)
9.Robbie the Robot (Brains invents a robot which is sent to rescue Tiger's tiger from a neighbour's garden, and later becomes the hit of the television show Inventors' Club.)
10.The Go-Karters (A biker sabotages the gang's go-kart, as a result of which Spring ends up in court after a high speed police chase.)
11.A Helping Hound (The gang unsuccessfully try to help a woman threatened with eviction to decorate her house, but help comes when Tiger receives a large cash reward for finding a lost dog.)
12.Invaders from Space (Men in spacesuits are advertising a new sweet called Planet 7, but the gang think it is an alien invasion.)
13.Barney (The gang befriend Barney, a one-man band who keeps getting moved on by the police.)
14.Man's Best Friend (The gang put on a show with aluminium foil as an entry fee to buy a guide dog for the blind.)
15.United We Stand (The owner of the yard that the gang use wants to turn it into a car park, but the kids sabotage his meeting with the Mayor.)
16.Up to Scratch (Billie has to look after a dog named Scratch which runs off after a man with a flea circus turns up.)
17.A Hit for a Miss (The boys fall for substitute teacher Miss Petit, which makes Billie jealous, and help her put on a show for an old folks home.)