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The League Of Gentlemen. Image shows from L to R: Tubbs (Steve Pemberton), Edward (Reece Shearsmith). Copyright: BBC
The League Of Gentlemen

The League Of Gentlemen

  • TV sitcom / sketch show
  • BBC Two
  • 1999 - 2017
  • 22 episodes (3 series)

Royston Vasey is an isolated Northern community where dark, perverted and horrifying things happen behind closed doors. Stars Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith and Mark Gatiss.

  • JustWatch Streaming rank this week: 906

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Episode menu

Series 1, Episode 1 - Welcome To Royston Vasey

The League Of Gentlemen. Image shows from L to R: Edward (Reece Shearsmith), Tubbs (Steve Pemberton). Copyright: BBC
Outsider Benjamin arrives in town. Ben's friend Martin visits the Local Shop and meets the unfailingly strange Tubbs and Edward. Restart officer Pauline is angered that a job seeker has a job interview.

Preview clips

Further details

And what a welcome indeed. Benjamin Denton arrives to spend the night with his hygiene-obsessed relatives, Harvey and Val, and their twin daughters, twins Chloe and Radclyffe. But that's not before he encounters Barbara, the pre-op transsexual taxi driver.

Ben is due to meet his friend Martin to go hiking. At the Local Shop, Edward and Tubbs are worried that the construction of a new road will bring strangers to Royston Vasey. Martin's arrival seems to confirm their fears and they decide to take action. In a homage to The Wicker Man, a Scottish police officer comes looking for Martin, but meets with a sticky end.

We also meet Pauline Campbell Jones, the hard-nosed restart officer, whose role is to motivate jobseekers into finding employment. What she is meant to do, and what she actually does, are two different things. She spends most of her time preventing the "dole scum" from ever getting a job. Two of her jobseekers are Ross Gaines and Mickey Michaels. While Mickey cannot string a sentence together, Ross challenges Pauline at every turn.

This episode also sees the telling of the infamous Mau Mau joke. Businessmen Geoff, Mike and Brian are in the pub. Geoff insists his friends hear the joke about the Mau Mau, but is so rubbish at telling it, he eventually resorts to pulling a gun on Brian at the punchline!

Broadcast details

Date
Monday 11th January 1999
Time
9:30pm
Channel
BBC Two
Length
30 minutes

Cast & crew

Cast
Steve Pemberton Tubbs
Reece Shearsmith Edward
Steve Pemberton Pauline
Mark Gatiss Mickey
Reece Shearsmith Ross
Reece Shearsmith Benjamin
Steve Pemberton Uncle Harvey
Mark Gatiss Auntie Val
Reece Shearsmith Geoff
Steve Pemberton Mike
Mark Gatiss Brian
Mark Gatiss Mr Chinnery
Mark Gatiss Hilary Briss
Reece Shearsmith Henry
Steve Pemberton Ally
Steve Pemberton Barbara Dixon (Voice)
Guest cast
Frances Cox Annie Raines (Old Lady)
Mike Flanagan Robert (Job Seeker)
Edward McCracken Colin (Job Seeker)
Mark Gatiss Martin Lee (Benjamin's friend)
Steve Pemberton Farmer Tinsel
Mark Gatiss Bobby Woodward (Policeman)
Writing team
Mark Gatiss Writer
Reece Shearsmith Writer
Steve Pemberton Writer
Jeremy Dyson Writer
Production team
Steve Bendelack Director
Sarah Smith Producer
Jon Plowman Executive Producer
Jemma Rodgers Associate Producer
Will Yarrow Editor
Adam Windmill Editor
Janey Walklin (as Janey Walkin) Editor
Sarah Kane Production Designer
Grenville Horner Production Designer
Rob Kitzmann Director of Photography
Yves Barre Costume Designer
Joby Talbot Composer
Helen Barrett Make-up Designer

Video

We Didn't Burn Him!

Tubbs and Edward are questioned by a police officer about the disappearance of a young man.

Featuring: Reece Shearsmith (Edward), Steve Pemberton (Tubbs) & Mark Gatiss (Bobby Woodward).

Press

A walk on the weird side

What apparently originated as sketches has here been opened out and adroitly blended into the bizarre mise en scene of Royston Vasey, but as the series goes by, individual sketch episodes might be increasingly difficult to shoehorn into this overall scenario. But for now The League of Gentlemen is a big hit: Sarah Smith's production is first-rate and Joby Talbot's weirdly catchy music sets the whole thing off nicely.

Peter Bradshaw, Evening Standard, 12th January 1999

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