West Side Story Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wycliffe

The television programme was based on a series of novels written by W J Burley about Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe. After an initial episode to test public reaction, five series of 'Wycliffe' were made and shown between 1994 and 1998 with a pair of Christmas specials. Wycliffe was the main detective in each case, assisted by two detective inspectors played by Jimmy Yuill and Helen Masters in the main series.

The scenery was a big selling point in the series as Cornwall is one of the most picturesque parts of the UK. with locations such as Truro, Penzance, and Newquay being used.

Answer: Poldark

The television series were adapted from the novels of Winston Graham and focus on the Poldark family and their long-running feud with the Warleggans. The original series starred Robin Ellis as Ross Poldark, the main character, and ran for two seasons from 1975 until 1977. The remake ran for five series from 2015 until 2019 with Aidan Turner taking on the main role.

Although the later series took the Poldark story further, it still did not use all the original novels - there are twelve of them - probably because the later books concentrate more on the younger generation. Another point of interest is that the later series featured the original Poldark actor with Robin Ellis playing a judge who clashes with Ross Poldark.

Answer: Fawlty Towers

If I'd mentioned 'hotel' or 'John Cleese', this would have been even easier. Written by John Cleese and his then-wife Connie Booth, 'Fawlty Towers' was set in a fictional hotel in Torquay in Devon - the neighbouring county to Cornwall. Cleese played Basil Fawlty, the proprietor of the hotel with Prunella Scales as his wife, Sybil. Connie Booth was Polly, the chambermaid, while the waiter, 'he's from Barcelona', was Manuel, portrayed by Andrew Sachs.

Only twelve episodes were made, screened initially over two seasons in the 1970s, but the programme is so well known that nearly everyone can quote a few lines from it.

Answer: Shoestring

Starring Trevor Eve as Eddie Shoestring, the series was set in the West Country although the city was never given a name. It was filmed in Bristol and featured Eve as a private detective who is hired to present a radio show as a 'private ear'. Listeners could ring in to tell him of problems they have, with the show then depicting how he solves the various mysteries.

There were two series, before Eve decided to take on other challenges. The programmes aired from September 1979 until December 1980. The radio station featured was called 'Radio West' and a real-life independent station adopted the name when it began broadcasting from Bristol in 1981. It lasted only until 1985.

Answer: Casualty

This medical drama is set in a fictional city named Holby in the county of Wyvern, which also doesn't exist but is sometimes used by areas in the west of England such as Wiltshire and Herefordshire, whose radio station is called Radio Wyvern. The name is that of a dragon. 'Casualty' is based in the emergency department of a large hospital and follows the lives of the staff and the patients who come into the area.

The series was originally filmed in Bristol and this is the general area in which it was set, although filming moved to Cardiff in 2011. It has spawned other shows including 'Holby City', set in the main hospital, and 'Casualty 1906' which was set in the East End of London.

Answer: Cadfael

One of the more unusual television detectives, Brother Cadfael was a Benedictine monk who helped solve murders. The character was created by author Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter in real life) who gave him a back story of having been a sea captain and herbalist who became a monk much later in life than most. Cadfael consequently had skills that few monks would possess.

The programmes were set in the twelfth century and Derek Jacobi lent his considerable talents to portraying Cadfael. Four series were made, originally shown from 1994 until 1998 and the setting was a monastery in Shrewsbury, an English city close to the Welsh border.

Answer: Hollyoaks

Phil Redmond created this series, which began airing in 1995. He was also responsible for the schools set series 'Grange Hill' and the soap opera 'Brookside', which used Liverpool as its setting. 'Hollyoaks' is meant to be a part of Chester, although much of the filming was carried out in Liverpool.

When the show began, the focus was very much on the younger members of the community, although there were some older characters. Over the years, the storylines have expanded and the show has tackled difficult and sometimes controversial topics including rape and conversion therapy for homosexuality.

Answer: Z-Cars

This is a British show, so it's called 'zed cars'. The town in which the police worked was called Newtown which was actually Kirkby, a region of Knowsley in Merseyside. The series began in 1962 and ran until 1978 for twelve series.

Created by Troy Kennedy Martin, the setting was unusual for the 1960s and the stories were rather more gritty than those of a predecessor - 'Dixon of Dock Green'. The police were shown working in partnership often in the cars of the title with actors such as James Ellis, Collin Welland, and Brian Blessed portraying the police constables at the bottom of the ladder. Higher up were Stratford Johns as a DCI named Charlie Barlow and DS John Watt, played by Frank Windsor. The latter two were given their own show in 1965, called 'Softly, Softly'.

Answer: Bread

This sitcom was written by Carla Lane, who brought us 'The Liver Birds', also set in Liverpool, and 'Butterflies', which was more of a middle-class comedy series. The title 'Bread' refers to the family's constant need for money and the earlier series derived the comedy from the various schemes cooked up by the family.

The show ran from 1986 until 1991 for seven series and starred Jean Boht as the Catholic mother of the family, Nellie. Husband Freddie was depicted as having a mistress, who Nellie knew about and was referred to by various impolite names, and the adult children of the family all had very different personalities and interests. The shows were set in Dingle, a real area of the city.

Answer: Porridge

Cumberland is as far north as you can go in England - any further and you're into Scotland. It is the area in which the fictional prison Slade was located and where the programme called 'Porridge' was set. The main character was Norman Stanley Fletcher, played by the much-missed Ronnie Barker, who portrayed a habitual criminal. Nearly all the action took place inside the prison, so Cumberland itself didn't get much of a look in.

Three series of the show were made, between 1974 and 1977 after a pilot episode in 1973. The follow-up series, called 'Going Straight', only lasted one series, aired in 1978, and was brought to an end when Barker's co-star, Richard Beckinsale, died suddenly in 1979 at the age of only thirty-one. Beckinsale had played Fletcher's cell mate in 'Porridge' and married his daughter in 'Going Straight'.