Much like Roy Clarke, Shearer's comic voice is gentle. His characters speak in badinage and whimsy. Take Steve's description of his love life: Wes added of the ultimate challenge: “It’s not the distance I’m worried about, being out in the open sea, fingers crossed it will all be okay.” Steven Handley, Commissioning Editor for Entertainment at Channel 4 said: “Sink or Swim promises to be one of the most perilous Stand Up To Cancer Celebrity Challenges we have ever attempted. No, I’m not talking about Only Fools and Horses. That series arrived on the BBC in September 1981. Instead, I’m talking about a sitcom that beat John Sullivan’s much-loved classic by almost a year, running for three series between 1980 and 1982. I’m talking about Sink or Swim, written by Alex Shearer of The Two of Us fame (which ironically starred Only Fools‘ Nicholas Lyndhust) and starring a pre- Doctor Who Peter Davison and, in his television debut, Robert Glenister, as the brothers Brian and Steve and Sara Corper as Brian’s girlfriend, Sonia. All three series of Sink or Swim were released as one DVD set by Network in 2016. Like Only Fools and Horses, Sink or Swim was filmed in Bristol doubling for London. Shearer later wrote the Nicholas Lyndhurst sitcom The Two of Us for LWT. Production of the sitcom overlapped the first two years of Davison also starring as the Fifth Doctor in Doctor Who, which imposed constraints on the recording schedules. [1] Cast [ edit ]

Holding The Fort and Sink Or Swim both started in 1980, and for the last two series of the latter he was filming concurrently with his opening series of Doctor Who. Like many BBC sitcoms from this golden era, Sink or Swim is blessed with a theme tune and score by the illustrious composer, Ronnie Hazlehurst– the man behind the themes for Are You Being Served? Last of the Summer Wine, Just Good Friends, Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Yes Minister, Sorry! and, yes, even the first series of Only Fools and Horses. Like his memorable theme tune for Carla Lane’s Butterflies (an arrangement of the Dolly Parton 1974 hit, Love is Like a Butterfly) Sink or Swim was not an original composition. Instead, for this show about the fractious, chalk and cheese relationship of siblings, Hazlehurst was asked to arrange an instrumental version of He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother –a 1969 hit for The Hollies. Twofour Group is a family of award-winning companies producing and delivering world-class international TV. Working for broadcasters around the world, the Twofour Group spans drama, comedy, factual and entertainment. Twofour Group is proud to be part of ITV Studios

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The ultimate goal for the group is a relay swim across the channel between England and France in the final episode. Sink or Swim celebrities In many ways, Sink Or Swim was a victim of circumstance. In 1981, the year after the show premiered, Only Fools And Horses launched on the BBC. Although it took time to build the huge audience figures it would go on to receive, the similarity in concept - two brothers sharing a flat in London - meant that Sink Or Swim fell by the wayside as Only Fools And Horses's popularity grew. Gareth Gwenlan, the producer of Sink Or Swim, went on to produce Only Fools And Horses in 1988, and further mixing the two worlds, Nicholas Lyndhurst starred in Alex Shearer's next sitcom, The Two Of Us.

Brian Webber (Peter Davison) lives in a grotty bedsit at the least-fashionable end of Portobello Road and is trying hard to make his way in the world – so far with limited success. The show also boasts a theme tune from sitcom veteran Ronnie Hazlehurst, the man behind the iconic opening tunes to the likes of Last Of The Summer Wine, Yes Minister and Sorry!. For Sink Or Swim, he opted not to compose an original tune, but instead arranged an instrumental version of The Hollies' 1969 hit He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother. They’ll team up with a group of leading figures and professionals from the world of swimming who will offer vital training and support to transform them into strong swimmers, capable of taking on a series of challenges. Sink or Swim (4 x 60’) attempts to erase the stigma of being a non-swimmer and follows the progress of our cast some complete non-swimmers, some who just need to polish up their skills as well as those with a fear of open water or those who have been taught to swim as children but now struggle to do so for health reasons – as they are pushed to their absolute limits.In a nutshell, Sink or Swim is, like Seinfeld would become years later, a show about nothing. It threatens to pursue a plot at various stages throughout all three series… but on the whole this is a series which gets by on the charm of its three leads and Alex Shearer’s gently comic writing. And the key players really are charming, with a good mix of chemistry that is a delight to watch on screen.” Meanwhile, the experts helping them out include Olympic silver medallist Keri-anne Payne and adventurer Ross Edgley (best known for being the first person in history to swim around Great Britain), with support from Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds. Sink or Swim air date Joining the previously announced Olympic gold medallist Linford Christie and Coronation Street star Sair Khan will be The Last Leg’s Alex Brooker, TOWIE stars James ‘Arg’ Argent and Georgia Kousoulou, Blue singer Simon Webbe, Love Island’s Wes Nelson, Hollyoaks actress Rachel Adedeji, television presenter Diane Louise Jordan and Linford Christie’s fellow Olympic gold medallists , Tessa Sanderson and Greg Rutherford. Completing the line up are television presenter Diane Louise Jordan and Linford Christie’s fellow Olympic gold medallists, Tessa Sanderson and Greg Rutherford.

The most enjoyable thing about Sink Or Swim is the chemistry between Davison and Glenister. In his autobiography, Davison writes about how they got on famously and would frequently be unable to get through scenes due to uncontrollable laughter, citing one particular sequence in the Christmas special. Steven Handley, Commissioning Editor for Entertainment at Channel 4 says: “ Sink or Swim promises to be one of the most perilous Stand Up To Cancer Celebrity Challenges we have ever attempted. It will push the boundaries of what Celebrities will endure and overcome to raise money and awareness for charity and we are delighted to be working with TwoFour on this ambitious project. I’m thrilled to announce such an incredible and diverse cast for the series. They all have truly captivating stories behind why they find swimming terrifying and I cannot wait to see them embark upon this epic challenge.” In the lead role, Peter Davison is at his well-meaning, slightly wet best as Brain Webber, a bespectacled prototype of the ’80s ‘New Man’ who is mostly wholly enamoured by the beliefs of his girlfriend Sonia, but whose more pragmatic Northern roots occasionally rise to the surface thanks, in the main, to Steve’s influence. In Steve, Robert Glenister delivers a fine comic performance which ought to be congratulated far more, given that this was his first TV role.

Sink or Swim is a BBC TV sitcom created and written by Alex Shearer. It ran for three series between 4 December 1980 and 14 October 1982 and stars Peter Davison as Brian Webber and Robert Glenister as his brother Steve. Contents The brothers buy a leaky and decidedly un-canal-worthy narrowboat and struggle to make it habitable. On paper, the character could be deeply irritating and it’s fair to say that there are some “it was acceptable in the ’80s” levels of unreconstructed, non-PC, alpha-male attitudes that Glenister is saddled with uttering which are, sadly, not always appropriately challenged; notably in some alarmingly homophobic dialogue that equates gay people to somehow being subnormal in Steve’s eyes and some casually racist language. But Glenister plays against the stereotypical ignorant Northerner trope and mines instead a vulnerability to his performance that stems from just how childish the character of Steve actually is. Sara Corper continued her career in TV comedy, reuniting with Jim Davidson for Up the Elephant and Round ther Castle (OK, with Davidson, I’m using the term comedy in its loosest terms obviously) and taking regular roles in 1985 sitcom Mann’s Best Friends (also released by Network DVD) and Red Dwarf star Norman Lovett’s shortlived but fondly remembered sitcom I, Lovett, as well as a semi-regular role as snobbish sister-in-law Phoebe in Rab C. Nesbitt; her 1993 appearance in which is her last credit on IMDB. Sink Or Swim ( BBC One) followed the misadventures of brothers Brian and Steve, as played by Davison and Robert Glenister. The show was Glenister's television debut in a leading role.