The Royal Bodyguard

The Royal Bodyguard

Title Card
Genre Sitcom
Written by Mark Bussell
Justin Sbresni
Starring
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 6
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Hat Trick Studios
Busby Productions
Release
Original network BBC One
Original release 26 December 2011 (2011-12-26) – 30 January 2012

The Royal Bodyguard is a British television sitcom, written by Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni, and starring David Jason, Geoffrey Whitehead, Tim Downie and Timothy Bentinck. A series of six episodes began on 26 December 2011, concluding on 30 January 2012. The first episode picked up more than 8 million viewers but the series soon declined in ratings. The series was heavily criticised by viewers and critics. At 71 Jason was widely felt to be too old for the lead role.

Background

The series was written by Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni following the success of their BBC sitcom The Worst Week of My Life. The pair came up with the idea of a Johnny English-type character who had to defend the royal family, but ended up doing so in a comic fashion. The pair immediately decided to make the programme family-orientated: at this stage, they did not envision Jason as the lead character. BBC comedy commissioner Cheryl Taylor lured Jason to the role, after initially offering him the job of executive producer. The series became the first for several years in which Jason had performed his own stunts. Filming on the series began in June 2011, and concluded in November. The first episode of the series was broadcast on 26 December 2011.[1]

Critical reception

Just hours after its broadcast, the first episode was heavily criticised by fans of Jason and viewers alike. Jim Shelley wrote "The Royal Bodyguard was, the BBC trumpeted, Sir David Jason’s first Beeb comedy since Only Fools & Horses finished in 2002 - that was nine years ago. This fact alone should have alerted all involved to the fatal flaw at the heart of this debacle – namely that it was relying on the viewer’s fondness for Del Boy. It was a classic example of blind faith in the production’s star name. The prospect of seeing the 71-year-old star playing a former guardsman who had seen action in Northern Ireland and had now been appointed to the presumably prestigious position of royal bodyguard after saving the Queen’s life stretched this fondness to breaking point. After about two minutes. Never mind that the plot’s entire premise was stupid – that he was the incompetent former head of security at Buckingham Palace car park. The standard of the comedy was excruciating. It was blatantly designed to cash in on the appeal of characters like Inspector Clouseau and Johnny English. But the idea that Jason could play a clown as well as Peter Sellers or Rowan Atkinson was the only funny thing about it."[2] Several of Jason's fans also took to Twitter to comment on the show: one claimed it to be "a very poor imitation of Johnny English".[3]

Characters

Episodes

No. Title Written by Directed By Original air date UK viewers
(million)[4]
1"The Limping Assassin"Mark Bussell & Justin SbresniMark Bussell & Justin Sbresni26 December 2011 (2011-12-26)8.35 million
Hubble is appointed to oversee the Commonwealth conference in Scotland, but he is soon alerted to a planned attempt to assassinate the Queen. While attempting to find information as to who her killer might be, he finds himself in league with Katya, a charming woman whom Hubble believes to be nothing more than an excited hotel guest. His actions soon lead to him being thrown off the case, but after upsetting foreign ambassadors, colleagues, hotel guests and even the hotel pianist, Hubble believes he knows exactly who is set to kill the Queen. He sets out to stop them in his usual haphazard fashion.
2"The Siege of Blenheim Square"Mark Bussell & Justin SbresniMark Bussell & Justin Sbresni2 January 2012 (2012-01-02)5.23 million
Hubble is assigned by Whittington to accompany the Prince on a shopping trip to a jeweller's store. A mix-up between Hubble, a member of the Prince's protection team and a mysteriously-parked white van lead to the Prince becoming a hostage in a robbery. With the armed police stuck in traffic, Hubble takes it upon himself to rescue the Prince from a group of armed gunmen but his disguise as a pizza delivery man is soon uncovered by lead robber Jason (Adam Deacon), forcing him to devise an even more sneaky plan in order to save the Prince.
3"Bullets Over Broad Street"Mark Bussell & Justin SbresniMark Bussell & Justin Sbresni9 January 2012 (2012-01-09)2.9 million
Whittington sends Hubble on leave for seven days in order to avoid havoc at the Queen's Birthday celebrations. Hubble decides to visit a health spa, but upon his arrival he comes face-to-face with an old enemy, and soon finds himself being used as a bargaining tool between kidnappers and the government. His only hope of escape ends in disaster, but he is soon freed by an unsuspecting Yates, who gets a sprained neck for his trouble. Hubble is soon assigned to oversee the Queen's visit to Oxford: his old enemies are not far behind him and a shoot-out amongst priceless valuables ensues. His sniffer dog Winston comes to the rescue.
4"The Royal Art of Blackmail"Mark Bussell & Justin SbresniMark Bussell & Justin Sbresni16 January 2012 (2012-01-16)2.6 million
A burglar steals some paintings from the Queen's collection and Hubble is immediately enlisted to find the culprit. Unknowing to him, he has already assisted the thieves, whom he believed to be removal men. Hubble is ordered to keep watch, and immediately suspects Sir Ambrose (David Walliams) of being the culprit: Whittington disproves his theory. Hubble then creates a set-up situation in order to flush the burglars out, but ends up being kidnapped and soon discovers that his theory was right. A little incident with an ice cream truck threatens to end his career.
5"The Perils of Attraction"Mark Bussell & Justin SbresniMark Bussell & Justin Sbresni23 January 2012 (2012-01-23)2.1 million
The security service fakes Hubble's death, in order to place him inside Number 10 as an undercover operative to seek out a mole who is leaking state secrets to the North Koreans. Hubble - disguised as operations administrator Sandra Mellor - soon has two suspects. Unknown to him, a major player in foreign affairs at Number 10, who invites 'Sandra' for dinner, has more than a few secrets to tell. 'Sandra' also gets Whittington in trouble with his wife, after visiting his home and calling him at 3:00 am.
6"A Watery Grave"Mark Bussell & Justin SbresniMark Bussell & Justin Sbresni30 January 2012 (2012-01-30)2.8 million
Hubble is assigned to looking after the Princess during a hen party held by one of her best friends. He soon manages to lose sight of her, and comes under attack from a gaggle of hen-night party goers. Realising that the events of the evening are similar to those of an operation held in Northern Ireland in the 1980s, Hubble soon fears for his life after a mysterious attack with a stone gargoyle on his house. Ending up with his own personal bodyguard, Whittington has no choice but to believe Hubble's theory, but after detaining a suspect, strange things continue to happen.

DVD Release

"The Royal Bodyguard" was released on DVD on 12 November 2012.

References

  1. ↑ Writers, Producer and Star Interview - The Royal Bodyguard - British Comedy Guide
  2. ↑ David Jason's The Royal Bodyguard slammed by fans - Mirror Online
  3. ↑ McCormack, Kirsty (28 December 2011). "'As funny as a bad case of the Trotters': Sir David Jason's comedy The Royal Bodyguard slammed by disappointed fans". Daily Mail (London).
  4. ↑ "Weekly Viewing Summary (see relevant week)". BARB.

External links

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