Compact 62 years old
Compact was a British television soap opera shown by the BBC between 1962 and 1965. The series was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling, who together went on to devise Crossroads. In contrast to the kitchen sink realism of Coronation Street, Compact was a distinctly middle-class serial, set in the more "sophisticated" arena of magazine publishing. An early "avarice" soap, it took the viewer into the business workplace, and aligned the professional lives of the characters with more personal storylines. The show was scheduled for broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, thus avoiding a clash with ITV's Coronation Street on Mondays and Wednesdays. When Compact began, the editor was a woman, Joanne Minster, yet it was not long before she was replaced by Ian Harmon, the son of the magazine's owner. Despite being largely criticised by reviewers, Compact was popular with the general public, and in 1964 a regular omnibus edition was introduced, broadcast on Sundays. Morris Barry, a some-time actor and BBC director – he directed several Doctor Who stories in the 1960s – took over as producer and was given a brief to spice the series up in view of the criticism it had received from the national press. But the BBC, never comfortable with the concept of soap opera, quietly dropped the series in 1965.
Credits
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Patrick Troughton He was 41 , 67 years old when he died | |
| Shane Rimmer He was 32 , 89 years old when he died | |
| Mandy Miller She was 17 , now 79 years old | |
| Donald Hewlett He was 41 , 90 years old when he died | |
| Vincent Ball He was 38 , now 100 years old | |
| Bill Kerr He was 39 , now 101 years old | |
| Robert Flemyng He was 49 , 83 years old when he died | |
| Sandra Payne She was 17 , now 79 years old | |
| Bernard Kay He was 33 , 86 years old when he died | |
| Tony Wright He was 13 , 38 years old when he died | |
| Moray Watson He was 33 , 88 years old when he died | |
| Clinton Greyn He was 28 , 85 years old when he died | |
| Lionel Murton He was 46 , 91 years old when he died | |
| Eric Barker He was 49 , 78 years old when he died | |
| David Langton He was 49 , 82 years old when he died |
Crew
| Name | Job title |
|---|---|
| Alan Tilvern Directing He was 43 , 85 years old when he died | Director |
| Waris Hussein Directing He was 23 , now 85 years old | Director |
Compact (62 years)
Ended
- First Air Date: 1962-01-02
- Runtime: [30] minutes
- Number of Episodes: 370