The Geordie blockbuster

The BBC's new comedy-drama Breeze Block sounds about as Geordie as could be. And I don't just mean the accents of the almost-exclusively North-East actors who make up the cast, or the fact that the six-part series was filmed on location in and around Byker, near Newcastle.

But, if the look and the sound are Geordie, the sentiments are universal. The heightened reality and flights of fantasy ensure that no one takes this look at dysfunctional family life for the real thing. As star Tim Healy says: "It's a spoof, a surreal look at life. If life could be this bad, this is what it would be like. That's what it says to me - but it's not trying to represent anybody.

"I hope viewers aren't going to think that we're portraying people who are like this, because there isn't anybody like them. It's like saying that all Scotsmen are like Rab C Nesbitt, which is ludicrous."

He doesn't raise the spectre of Nesbitt, the drunken Scot in the string vest who was the centre of his own BBC series, without good reason. Breeze Block is written by the same man, Glaswegian Ian Pattison.

And what, I hear you ask, is a Scot doing writing about the North-East? His qualifications are that he lived on a Newcastle council estate when he was younger, and still visits from time to time as his brother lives there.

Producer Stephen McCrum admits he was surprised receiving the idea for the series from across the border. "Obviously, you are nervous when you get a script from a Glaswegian about Geordies," he admits. "But Ian has the most extraordinary ear and lived there for many years."

The result is a family comedy, a bit like Bread crossed with Viz humour. It's an odd mix, as Healy concedes. "We haven't seen anything like this on the telly and I knew I had to do it, even though I had a lot of work on and I could have done with a bit of a break," says the actor, who'll also be seen soon in a revival of Auf Wiedersehen Pet on BBC1.

Healy stars as Ralph Breeze, a man who's not been out of the house since losing his confidence after being made redundant. Wife Iris (Su Elliott) wants a job in the supermarket but can't get the hang of the till. One son, Eric (David Nellist), is always in trouble while the other, young one Billy (Craig Heaney) gets a job as a gigolo. Daughter Carol (Alison Mac) is being pursued by her lecherous fishmonger boss Mr Shields (Mark Benton).

Some of the best lines go to entrepreneurial Uncle Tommy, played with lip-smacking relish by York's long-serving pantomime dame Berwick Kaler.

Donna Air and Ross Noble pop in from time to time as their mad neighbours ("some of our happiest moments was when we were sectioned"). Healy's real life wife Denise Welch and presenter Jayne Middlemiss are among guest stars over the six weeks.

McCrum was keen to use as many actors from the North-East as possible.

"What we don't want to do is a show with people who seem as if they're not from the area. We made a conscious decision we'd only get a cast of Geordies. That way we'd be sure they'd tell us if something was wrong with the script," he says.

Healy needed little persuading, describing the script as "the funniest thing I've ever read".

The Geordiness extended to locations in and around the Byker Wall, chosen "because it seemed such an extraordinary Newcastle thing", says McCrum.

"A lot of people working on the show were Geordies. We really tried to tune in to the area. We had a fantastic time on location because local people got really involved and were incredibly helpful."

There was some compromise over accents, although the overall sound is unmistakably Geordie. "If you have a Geordie talking to another Geordie, it can be impenetable and that's not going to work for the audience nationwide," says McCrum, whose wife comes from Newcastle.

"I think Ant and Dec have helped get people used to the accent. So have Donna Air and Jayne Middlemiss, who are both in the show. So the accent is Geordie but in a way everyone can understand."

For the moment, Breeze Block is confined to the outer limits of digital and cable channel BBC Choice, although it's a lot funnier than most of the stuff that passes for comedy on the terrestrial channels. The series will be an acquired taste. It won't be for everyone, but certainly deserves a swift transfer to BBC1 or BBC2.

"Redundancy does terrible things to a man," Ralph observes in the first episode. His first tentative steps outside the Breeze flat are not promising. The lift door opens to reveal a lion. Then an elderly couple move into the lift with their furniture, entertaining Ralph to afternoon tea.

He perseveres with the idea of leaving the flat. "I'll either go to my assertiveness group or Ikea - there's a new consignment, I'll get a sherbet dip and watch them unload," he explains.

Regular visits from Uncle Tommy provide light relief. "I've got mother's eyes," he tells Ralph, adding: "They're in my pocket, can you hear them jangling?".

There's also some wonderful surreal exchanges in which Ralph is mistaken for the budgie. Iris puts a sheet over his head to help him sleep. "It worked for Chirpy," she says when he protests.

They're anticipating a move from their flat into a council house, although relying on an outbreak of Asian flu to wipe out a few pensioners and make properties vacant isn't perhaps a wise move.

His family aren't a great help, too busy mooning on the Metro or dressing up as a shepherd while playing gigolo to a sheep-obsessed woman. "I didn't know One Man and His Dog had launched a spring collection," observes Billy's brother, seeing him wearing a shepherd's smock and carrying a crook.

Breeze Block isn't short of snappy one-liners and surreal humour. The result is often very funny indeed. As one character says: "I've not felt this good since the school nurse gave the all clear for head lice."

Breeze Block continues on BBC Choice on Monday at 10.30pm

Published: Saturday, March 9, 2002