Chickens (TV series)

This article uses a non-standard episode table. Please convert it to use {{Episode table}}.

|

2013 British TV series or programme

Chickens

Genre| Sitcom
Created by|

* Simon Bird
* Jonny Sweet
* Joe Thomas

Written by|

* Simon Bird
* Jonny Sweet
* Joe Thomas

Directed by| Ben Palmer
Starring|

* Simon Bird
* Jonny Sweet
* Joe Thomas
* Sarah Daykin
* Emerald Fennell
* Louise Ford
* Amy Dawson
* Vicki Pepperdine
* Eileen Davies
* Emma Fryer
* Barry Humphries

Opening theme| "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens"
Country of origin| United Kingdom
Original language| English
No. of series| 1
No. of episodes| 6
Production
Executive producers| Kenton Allen
Caroline Leddy
Producer| John Rushton
Running time| 30 mins (inc. adverts)
Production company| Big Talk Productions
Original release
Network| Sky 1
Release| 22 August (2013-08-22) –
26 September 2013 (2013-09-26)

Chickens is a British sitcom that was first broadcast on Channel 4 as a television pilot on 2 September 2011, as part of the channel's Comedy Showcase season of comedy pilots. It was then followed by a six-episode series that was commissioned on Sky 1 and broadcast between 22 August and 26 September 2013. The show is about three men who don't go off to fight in the First World War and consequently become social outcasts in their village. It was nominated for Best Comedy Programme at the 2014 Broadcast Awards.

## Cast and characters

[edit]

* Simon Bird as Cecil: A young man who was rejected from the war due to his flat feet.
* Jonny Sweet as Bert: the dimwitted man of the trio of Chickens. Bert does tend to forget that the war is actually going on.
* Joe Thomas as George: a young man who refuses to participate in the war and in violence altogether.
* Sarah Daykin as Winky: George's fiancée
* Emerald Fennell as Agnes, Cecil's sister
* Louise Ford as Gracie
* Amy Dawson as Dot
* Vicki Pepperdine as Hesta
* Eileen Davies as Gladys
* Emma Fryer as Nellie
* Barry Humphries as Mr. Armstrong, the local headmaster
* Ellie Kendrick as Constance (episode 4)

## Pilot

[edit]

The pilot episode was filmed partly on location in the village of Finchingfield in Essex, shooting exterior scenes in the square, the school and the church yard.[1]

## Episodes

[edit]

No.  | Title  | Directed by  | Written by  | Ratings[2] | Original air date

|
|
|
|
|

1| "Episode One"| Ben Palmer| Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, Jonny Sweet| 642,000| 22 August 2013 (2013-08-22)

Three chaps who have stayed behind in a sleepy English village during the First World War earn themselves the reputation of being cowards among the local women. George is keen to avoid the conflict, Cecil is unable to fight for medical reasons - and Bert is simply too stupid to understand what's going on.

2| "Episode Two"| Ben Palmer| Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, Jonny Sweet| 381,000| 29 August 2013 (2013-08-29)

News arrives that the first Rittle man has died in battle, so Bert - ever the opportunist - decides to make a move on his widow. Meanwhile, George faces a moral dilemma at work and finds himself engaging in a tense one-on-one with the Headmaster, and Cecil struggles to find a plumber to fix the cottage's brown water problem.

3| "Episode Three"| Ben Palmer| Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, Jonny Sweet| Under 397,000| 5 September 2013 (2013-09-05)

A pretty girl called Penny asks Cecil to be her boyfriend, but the boys suspect she has an ulterior motive. Bert finds himself in need of alternative living arrangements after being thrown out of the cottage by George - but he appears to land on his feet when he settles into an extravagant abode that belongs to a serving soldier.

4| "Episode Four"| Ben Palmer| Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, Jonny Sweet| Under 414,000| 12 September 2013 (2013-09-12)

Cecil confides in Constance about his fallen foot arches, but feels he is being systematically emasculated by a lack of male company, and sets out to assert his manhood. Meanwhile, George goes on strike over the decision to remove German from the school curriculum, so Headmaster decides to replace him with Bert, whose unorthodox style proves a hit with the pupils and Winky.

5| "Episode Five"| Ben Palmer| Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, Jonny Sweet| Under 349,000| 19 September 2013 (2013-09-19)

Cecil is dismayed when George decides to throw a dinner party and invites a local woman rumoured to have leprosy. When she fails to turn up for the occasion he has a change of heart and becomes determined to befriend her.

6| "Episode Six"| Ben Palmer| Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, Jonny Sweet| Under 350,000| 26 September 2013 (2013-09-26)

The trio finally have more men to talk to when the soldiers return to Rittle-on-Sea on leave. Cecil is having trouble reconnecting with his old chums, Bert's sticky-fingered antics come back to bite him and George regrets giving advice to a private who wants to become a conscientious objector

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kent Film Office (31 August 2011). "Kent Film Office Chickens Film Focus".
2. ^ "Weekly Top 10 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 31 August 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Chickens at IMDb
* Chickens at British Comedy Guide

* v
* t
* e

Sky One, Sky Comedy and Sky Max original programming

| 1980s debuts|

* The DJ Kat Show
* Fun Factory
* The New Price Is Right
* Sale of the Century

|

1990s debuts|

* Blockbusters
* CI5: The New Professionals
* Diana: Her True Story
* Dream Team
* Games World
* Guilty!
* Jeopardy!
* Police Stop!
* Prickly Heat
* Space Island One
* Space Precinct
* Spellbound
* Springhill
* Through the Keyhole
* Uncovered
* The Villa
* The Wanderer

2000s debuts|

* All-Star Cup
* Angela and Friends
* Are You Smarter than a 10 Year Old?
* Baddiel's Syndrome
* Badger or Bust
* Big Ron Manager
* The Bombmaker
* Brainiac: History Abuse
* Brainiac: Science Abuse
* Brainiac's Test Tube Baby
* Britain's Hardest
* Cirque de Celebrité
* Dirty Money
* Don't Forget the Lyrics!
* Ed vs. Spencer
* Entertainment Tonight UK
* Fear Factor
* Fight School
* Football Icon
* Gamezville
* Gladiators
* Grease: The School Musical
* Guinness World Records Smashed
* Hairspray: The School Musical
* Harry Enfield's Brand Spanking New Show
* Hex
* Is Harry on the Boat?
* Kirsty's Home Videos
* Little Monsters
* The Match
* Mile High
* Noel's Christmas Presents
* Noel's HQ
* Nothing but the Truth
* Oops TV
* The Pop Years
* Porno Valley
* Project Catwalk
* The Race
* Road Raja
* Road Wars
* Ross Kemp: Behind the Story
* Ross Kemp in Afghanistan
* Ross Kemp in Search of Pirates
* Ross Kemp on Gangs
* Sell Me the Answer
* Shock Treatment
* Skellig
* The Strangerers
* Street Wars
* The Stretch
* The Sun Military Awards
* The Take
* Taste
* Terry Pratchett's Hogfather
* Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic
* There's Something About Miriam
* Time Gentleman, Please!
* UK Border Force
* Vroom! Vroom!
* Wayne Rooney's Street Striker

2010s debuts|

* After Hours
* Agatha Raisin
* Ashley Banjo's Secret Street Crew
* The Angel
* The Big Spell
* Bill Bailey's Birdwatching Bonanza
* Bliss
* Bounty Hunters
* Brassic
* Bring the Noise
* Bulletproof
* The Café
* Carters Get Rich
* Chickens
* Chris & Wes: Let's Do This
* Cop Squad
* Critical
* Curfew
* David Attenborough's Conquest of the Skies 3D
* Delicious
* A Discovery of Witches
* Don't Stop Me Now!
* Duck Quacks Don't Echo
* Emergency with Angela Griffin
* Fat Families
* Football's Next Star
* The Five
* Frayed
* Gadget Geeks
* Got to Dance
* Harrow: A Very British School
* The Heist
* Hooten & the Lady
* An Idiot Abroad
* Inside Gatwick
* In the Long Run
* Jamestown
* King of the Nerds
* The Kumars
* A League of Their Own
* Little Crackers
* Living the Dream
* Liza & Huey's Pet Nation
* Louie Spence's Showbusiness
* Mad Dogs
* The Moaning of Life
* Moominvalley
* Moonfleet
* Moone Boy
* Mount Pleasant
* Must Be the Music
* Obese: A Year to Save My Life
* One Hundred and Eighty
* Parents
* Pineapple Dance Studios
* Prison: First & Last 24 Hours
* The Reluctant Landlord
* Rob & Romesh Vs
* Ross Kemp: Battle for the Amazon
* Ross Kemp: Extreme World
* Rovers
* The Runaway
* The Russell Howard Hour
* Safebreakers
* Showboaters
* Sick of It
* Sick Note
* Sinbad
* Sing: Ultimate A Cappella
* The Smoke
* Spy
* Stan Lee's Lucky Man
* Starlings
* Stella
* Stop Search Seize
* Strike Back
* Temple
* Terry Pratchett's Going Postal
* Thorne
* A Touch of Cloth
* Treasure Island
* The Trip
* Trollied
* Wall of Fame
* Wild Things
* Yonderland
* You, Me and the Apocalypse

2020s debuts|

* Avenue 5
* Bloods
* Breeders
* COBRA
* Code 404
* Fantasy Football League
* Funny Woman
* Intelligence
* Intergalactic
* The Lazarus Project
* The Midwich Cuckoos
* Mr. Bigstuff
* Never Mind the Buzzcocks
* The Rising
* Romantic Getaway
* Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything
* Small Town, Big Story
* Smothered
* Then You Run
* A Town Called Malice
* Two Weeks to Live
* Upright
* Wolfe

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template