Public House Trivia Quiz

Answer: Coronation Street

"Coronation Street" is a long running British soap opera which first aired on the 9th December 1960. It follows the lives of the people who live in and around Coronation Street, a cobbled road lined with terraced houses, situated in the fictional district of Weatherfield in the city of Salford near Manchester. The Rovers Return public house is based on the corner of the street and is the main meeting place for the show's characters. The show was the brainchild of scriptwriter Tony Warren. It is a mixture of drama and humour and has covered many controversial subjects over the years including domestic abuse, teenage pregnancy and murder.

Several famous people have appeared in the show including Davy Jones from the band "The Monkees", actress Joanna Lumley and the actors Ian McKellan and Pete Postlethwaite.

In 2020 the show passed its 10,000th episode and later in the same year celebrated its sixtieth anniversary.

Answer: Eastenders

"Eastenders" is a British soap opera set in the fictional district of Walford in the East End of London. It was conceived by screen writer Tony Holland and producer Julie Smith. It first aired on 19th February 1985 and has consistently been among the top watched programmes on British television.

The show is mainly centred on fictional Victorian Albert Square and follows the lives of the families who live on and around the square. The Queen Victoria pub is found on Albert Square and is a central meeting place for the characters.

The show is noted for its gritty and realistic storylines including murder, prostitution, drug addition and domestic violence. It is also known for its portrayal of strong women characters.

Answer: Doctors

"Doctors" is a daytime medical soap opera set in the fictional town of Letherbridge which is based in the West Midlands. The show follows the lives of the staff at The Mill Health Centre, an NHS doctor's surgery, and a surgery based at the local university campus as well as the lives of their friends and families. The show was first broadcast on 26th March 2000 and is produced by BBC Birmingham.

The Icon bar is a favourite haunt of the characters in the show and they often go for a bite to eat at lunch time or a pint after work.

The show often covers controversial issues such as mental health, paedophilia and homelessness. The storylines have often won praise from medical professionals for their accurate portrayal of situations.

The show is off the air for its annual breaks at Easter, during the Summer and at Christmas.

Answer: All Creatures Great and Small

"All Creatures Great and Small" was a BBC television programme based on the books of James Herriot (the pen name of veterinary surgeon Alf Wight) which ran for seven series from 1979 to 1990. It was set in the Yorkshire Dales and followed the lives of the Skeldale House Veterinary Surgery run by vets Siegfried Farnon, his brother Tristan and James Herriot. The show was set in the 1930s and ran for 90 episodes.

The show was based on the real life experiences of Herriot (played by Christopher Timothy) when he joins the practice run by Siegfried Farnon (Robert Hardy) and his brother Tristan (Peter Davison) in the fictional village of Darrowby.

The exterior shots for the programme were filmed in the North Yorkshire village of Askrigg and the local public house there, the Kings Arms Hotel, doubled for the Drovers Arms in the show.

In 2020 a new series was commissioned for Channel 5 with the role of James Herriot being taken by Nicholas Ralph. The Devonshire Inn in the North Yorkshire village of Grassington became the Drovers Arms.

Answer: The Royle Family

"The Royle Family" was a British sitcom which aired on the BBC from 1998 to 2000 with specials from 2006 to 2012. It was co-written by Caroline Ahern and Craig Cash who both appeared in the show. The show was originally aired on BBC2 but became so popular it was moved to BBC1 for the second series.

It centred on the Manchester based Royle family which consisted of father, Jim Royle, (played by Ricky Tomlinson), his long-suffering wife Barbara (Sue Johnson), their daughter Denise (Ahern), her fiance Dave (Cash) and younger son Antony (Ralph Little).

Almost every episode took place in the Royle's living room in their council house, in an unspecified area in Manchester, where the family sat watching the television and Denise and Barbara chain-smoked. Most of the humour involved the conversation between the family members. The Feathers public house was their local which they would visit from time to time.

The last Christmas special was aired on the 25th December 2012. There were plans for more but unfortunately Ahern died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 52 and no more episodes were made.

Answer: Emmerdale

"Emmerdale" (known as "Emmerdale Farm" until 1989) is a rural British soap opera set in a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. It first aired on the 16th October 1972 and was only intended to last a duration of three months as an afternoon show. However it continued until 1978 when it was moved to a prime time evening slot.

The Woolpack is the main pub in the series and is situated on Main Street in the fictional village of Emmerdale. It is main meeting place for the villagers and members of the surrounding community. It has had several landlords and landladies over the years the longest serving being Amos Brearly who ran the pub with his business partner Henry Wilks from 1948 to 1991.

Scenes for The Woolpack was originally filmed in The Eagle pub in the village of Arnecliffe in the Yorkshire Dales but in 1976 it was moved to Commercial in Esholt.

Answer: Only Fools and Horses

"Only Fools and Horses" was a British sitcom that aired between 1981 to 2003. The first episode "Big Brother" was broadcast on the 8th September 1981. The plot followed the lives of Derek "Del Boy" Trotter and his younger brother Rodney "Rodders" Trotter who live in a council flat in Peckham, Southeast London. Their constant search for get rich quick schemes was the main comedy theme throughout the series.

The Nag's Head was the local pub in the series where the main characters met up regularly. These included used car salesman Boycie, lorry driver Denzil and road sweeper Trigger. Del Boy's signature drink in the pub was a "Caribbean Stallion" which consisted of Tequila, Malibu, Creme de la Menthe, Campari, Angostura Bitters, grapefruit juice, slice of orange, wedge of lemon, seasonal fruit decorated with two plastic umbrellas and translucent straws.

Answer: Hollyoaks

"Hollyoaks" is a British soap opera set in Chester, Cheshire which began on 23rd October 1995. It was the brainchild of Phil Redmond who also created the Liverpool based soap "Brookside". It was originally aimed at a younger audience but over the years attracted a broader age range.

The Dog in the Pond is a gastropub in the "Hollyoaks" village located on Stockton Lane and has been a major feature in the show since it began.

Answer: Men Behaving Badly

"Men Behaving Badly" was a British sitcom that ran from 1992 to 1998. It was first broadcast on ITV before moving to the BBC in 1994. It followed the lives of two flatmates Gary Strang (played by Martin Clunes) and Tony Smart (played by Neil Morrissey). In the first series Gary's flatmate was Dermot Povey who was played by Harry Enfield.

Gary and Tony drink in their local, The Crown, which is run by Les whose lack of personal hygiene means the pub has an unkempt and dirty atmosphere.

Answer: Shameless

"Shameless" was a British comedy drama series first broadcast on January 14th 2004 running until 28th May 2013. It focussed on the dysfunctional Gallagher family who lived on the fictional Chatsworth council estate based somewhere in the city of Manchester.

The Jockey was the pub on the estate where Frank (the alcoholic patriarch of the Gallagher family) spends most of his time and his money. The pub was a major venue for much of the shows story lines. The pub that was used for the show was The Wellington Inn on Clowes Street in West Gorton, Manchester which closed its doors permanently in 2010.