Count Arthur Strong. Count Arthur Strong (Steve Delaney). Copyright: Retort
Count Arthur Strong

Count Arthur Strong

  • TV sitcom
  • BBC One / BBC Two
  • 2013 - 2017
  • 20 episodes (3 series)

TV sitcom following elderly, befuddled showbusiness character Count Arthur Strong and his friends. Stars Steve Delaney, Rory Kinnear, Zahra Ahmadi, Chris Ryman, Andy Linden and more.

Count Arthur Strong. Image shows from L to R: Eggy (Dave Plimmer), Birdie (Bronagh Gallagher), John The Watch (Andy Linden), Bulent (Chris Ryman), Count Arthur Strong (Steve Delaney), Michael Baker (Rory Kinnear), Sinem (Zahra Ahmadi). Copyright: Retort

Key details

Genre
Sitcom
Broadcast
2013 - 2017
Channels
BBC One, BBC Two
Episodes
20 (3 series)
Stars
Steve Delaney, Rory Kinnear, Zahra Ahmadi, Chris Ryman, Andy Linden, Dave Plimmer, Bronagh Gallagher and Ruth Posner
Writers
Steve Delaney and Graham Linehan
Directors
Graham Linehan and Richard Boden
Producers
Richard Boden, Richard Daws, Jon Rolph, Gregor Sharp and Kate Daughton
Companies

Count Arthur Strong is a fictional comedy character who has appeared in various live shows, and starred in many series of Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! on BBC Radio 4... now the character comes to TV.

Arthur is a faded star from the golden days of variety, prone to delusions of grandeur, selective memory loss and the blurting out of malapropisms. He was never as famous as he thinks he was... or still thinks he is. Believing that another great entertainment triumph is only a phone call away, Arthur spends his day making the most of any opportunity that comes along - gaining a free lunch or selling a dodgy foot-spa he doesn't want - creating chaos and confusion wherever he goes, blissfully unaware that he has done so.

The series begins with the recent death of Max Baker - Count Arthur's old partner from the early days in variety. Max pushed Arthur aside and went on to be a 'national treasure'. Max's son is Michael. He is a quiet, scholarly type, rather stuck in a rut writing history books. Having been asked to write a biography of his famous father from the neglected son's point of view and sets off to find his father's old variety partner - Count Arthur Strong. Thinking that the 'research' will only take a couple of days, Michael arrives London, tracks down Arthur and very quickly enters the chaos that is Arthur's world...

Additional details

Production
Studio
Camera set-up
Multi-camera
Picture
Colour

Website links

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Monday 8th July 2013 at 8:30pm on BBC Two
Most recent repeats

Recording details

  • Pinewood Studios - Studio scenes
  • Wimbledon Studios - Some locations