Black Books. Image shows from L to R: Bernard Black (Dylan Moran), Manny Bianco (Bill Bailey), Fran Katzenjammer (Tamsin Greig). Copyright: Assembly Film And Television
Black Books

Black Books

  • TV sitcom
  • Channel 4
  • 2000 - 2004
  • 18 episodes (3 series)

Sitcom focusing on a foul tempered bookshop owner, his trusty assistant and the girl next door. Stars Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey and Tamsin Greig.

  • JustWatch Streaming rank this week: 750

Episode menu

Series 1, Episode 3 - Grapes Of Wrath

Black Books. Cleaner (Kevin Eldon). Copyright: Assembly Film And Television
Bernard and Manny have the cleaners in and are forced to house-sit for a friend with expensive taste in wine. Fran has an unusual date.

Further details

Disgusted at having to eat egg with a comb from a shoe (amongst other things), Manny puts his (shoeless) foot down and hires a fastidious cleaner to deal with Bernard's pit of squalor.

The combination of an impossible task and a somewhat flirtatious cleaner forces the pair to stay elsewhere - always a recipe for disaster. Particularly since Bernard's friend, Freddie, a keen wine buff who owns an extensive collection of matured wine, simultaneously needs a house-sitter. Fran has a date with a tight dress and attractive divorcee Ben, but this time it's not her true colours that ruin the evening.

Broadcast details

Date
Friday 13th October 2000
Time
9:30pm
Channel
Channel 4
Length
30 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Friday 1st January 2010 9:35pm More4
Wednesday 24th February 2010 9:40pm Dave
Sunday 28th February 2010 11:45pm More4
Sunday 4th July 2010 11:35pm More4
Sunday 7th November 2010 11:45pm More4
Monday 28th February 2011 10:40pm Gold
Saturday 9th April 2011 11:00pm Gold
Saturday 23rd April 2011 10:20pm Dave
Monday 13th June 2011 12:10am More4
Thursday 6th October 2011 12:40am Gold
Thursday 20th October 2011 12:00am Dave
Monday 14th November 2011 12:50am More4
Sunday 26th August 2012 10:50pm C4
Saturday 1st September 2012 12:35am 4seven
Friday 6th June 2014 9:00pm London Live
Saturday 7th June 2014 12:00am London Live
Thursday 12th June 2014 10:00pm London Live
Saturday 25th October 2014 12:00am London Live
Friday 31st October 2014 9:30pm London Live
Sunday 4th January 2015 12:00am London Live
Sunday 4th January 2015 9:00pm London Live
Wednesday 11th February 2015 12:45am London Live
Saturday 14th February 2015 1:00am London Live
Sunday 12th April 2015 3:05am London Live
Monday 13th April 2015 12:30am London Live
Wednesday 15th April 2015 11:00pm London Live
Friday 15th May 2015 2:00am London Live
Saturday 16th May 2015 2:00am London Live
Tuesday 19th May 2015 2:00am London Live
Thursday 9th July 2015 9:00pm London Live
Saturday 2nd January 2016 9:30pm London Live
Wednesday 10th February 2016 9:00pm London Live
Monday 18th July 2016 1:30am London Live
Wednesday 20th July 2016 8:00pm London Live
Wednesday 12th October 2016 1:10am London Live
Sunday 16th October 2016 2:45am London Live
Tuesday 18th October 2016 1:20am London Live
Friday 25th November 2016 8:00pm London Live
Saturday 26th November 2016 1:40am London Live
Friday 2nd December 2016 2:50am London Live
Thursday 8th December 2016 1:15am London Live
Wednesday 4th January 2017 2:00am London Live
Saturday 7th January 2017 1:25am London Live
Sunday 5th February 2017 3:00am London Live
Saturday 29th April 2017 11:00pm Gold
Sunday 2nd July 2017 12:30am Gold
Sunday 28th January 2018 11:20pm Gold
Wednesday 10th April 2019 12:35am Gold
Wednesday 10th April 2019 11:00pm Gold
Thursday 29th August 2019 1:20am Gold
Monday 10th February 2020 1:00am Gold
Sunday 22nd March 2020 1:10am Gold
Thursday 26th March 2020 12:10am Gold
Friday 27th March 2020 2:25am Gold
Saturday 16th May 2020 12:05am C4
Friday 9th December 2022 11:55pm C4

Cast & crew

Cast
Dylan Moran Bernard Black
Bill Bailey Manny Bianco
Tamsin Greig Fran Katzenjammer
Guest cast
Mark Aiken Ben (Fran's Date)
Kevin Eldon Cleaner
Daisy Campbell Julie Williams
Chris Larner Freddie
Ben Homewood Actor
Paul Beech Actor
Writing team
Dylan Moran Writer
Graham Linehan Writer
Production team
Nick Wood Director
Graham Linehan Director
Julian Meers Producer
Nira Park Producer
William Burdett-Coutts Executive Producer
Karen Beever Line Producer
Nick Ames Editor
Dennis De Groot Production Designer
Jane Davies Casting Director
John Connor Casting Director
Annie Hardinge Costume Designer
Claire Wilson Costume Designer
John Rosenberg Director of Photography
Jane Walker Make-up Designer
Jayne Buxton (as Jane Buxton) Make-up Designer
Rob Kitzmann Lighting Designer
Jonathan Whitehead Composer

Share this page