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Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (German pronunciation: [ʔaʊf ˈviːdɐˌzeːən ˈpɛt]) is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in Düsseldorf. The series was created by Franc Roddam after an idea from Mick Connell, a bricklayer from Stockton-on-Tees, and mostly written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, who also wrote The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? and Porridge. It starred Tim Healy, Kevin Whately, Jimmy Nail, Timothy Spall, Christopher Fairbank, Pat Roach and Gary Holton, with Noel Clarke replacing Holton for series three and four and the two-part finale. The series were broadcast on ITV in 1983–1984 and 1986. After a sixteen-year gap, two series and a Christmas special were shown on BBC One in 2002 and 2004. In 2000, series 1, set in Germany, was ranked number #46 on the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes in a list compiled by the British Film Institute. In 2015, the 1980s series was voted ITV's Favourite TV Programme of all Time in a Radio Times readers' poll in order to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the station. The show was the subject of the first episode of the BBC documentary series Drama Connections in 2005. Series 1: 1983–1984 The first series, co-produced by Witzend Productions and Central Television for ITV in 1983, is the story of seven out-of-work construction workers from various parts of England who are forced to look for work in West Germany as a result of the recession and high unemployment of the early 1980s, although its initial emphasis is on three bricklayers from Newcastle upon Tyne making the journey to Germany, with the others being introduced along the way. (The title refers to their farewells to their wives and girlfriends – "Auf Wiedersehen" being German for "Farewell" or "Goodbye", or more literally "See you later", and "Pet" being a North-East English term of endearment.) They find work on a German building site in Düsseldorf but, despite promises of hostel accommodation, are forced to live in a small hut that reminds them of a World War II POW camp. The rest of the series is driven by the interactions and growing friendships between the various characters. Barry (Timothy Spall), a "spark" from the Black Country, is an obsessive bore; Neville (Kevin Whately), one of the Geordie "brickies", is an insecure young newlywed; fellow Geordie Oz (Jimmy Nail), another bricklayer, is aggressive and jingoistic; and London "chippy" Wayne (Gary Holton) is a womaniser. Dennis (Tim Healy) is another Geordie bricklayer who, being older, more experienced and generally more mature than the others, becomes the de facto leader of the group. Bristolian "brickie" and wrestler Bomber (Pat Roach) being the oldest is usually the calmest and sense of reason in the group; Scouse ex-con plasterer Moxey (Fairbank) is a jittery, recidivist arsonist. Over the course of 13 episodes the "Magnificent Seven" enjoy comic, dramatic, and romantic adventures, until a change in German tax laws forces them to return home. The "building site" used for most of the filming was a set created on the backlot of the former ATV Elstree Studios at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire (then owned by Central). After its sale to the BBC in 1984, the "Albert Square" set of EastEnders was built there. Such was the attention to detail that the producers imported thousands of bricks from West Germany as these were slightly bigger than those used on English building sites. The show was one of the first to use lightweight video cameras, including the Philips LDK 14S, on location in drama production. Previously used in electronic news-gathering they were more versatile and cheaper to use than studio-based cameras. Interior scenes (such as those in the bar) were shot in studios at Borehamwood. Some location filming was conducted in Hamburg, despite the fact that the series was set in Düsseldorf. In these scenes most of the cars' registration numbers begin with HH denoting Hamburg (HH = Hansestadt Hamburg). The location sequences in Hamburg and Düsseldorf actually only lasted 10 days. The Intercontinental hotel which Dennis, Wayne and Barry visit in episode 7, titled "Private Lives", was the same hotel in which the cast and crew stayed while filming there. In the last episode of the series, "When The Boat Goes Out", the hut on the site where the gang live accidentally catches fire and burns down. The ruins shown on the end credits were the actual ruins of the hut that was used for filming. In 2000, the first series was ranked #46 on the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, in a list compiled by the British Film Institute. Series 2: 1986 The second series of 13 episodes in 1986 saw the boys reunited, initially to help Barry complete extensive building work on his new home in Wolverhampton. Dennis is working for a crooked businessman, Ally Fraser (played by Bill Paterson), to whom he owes money. Dennis encourages the rest of the gang to help renovate a country manor house owned by Fraser, Thornely Manor, but they end up falling foul of the locals. Fraser then invites the boys to Spain to refurbish his swimming pool at his Spanish villa. Once in Spain, the gang are mistaken for criminals themselves and the series ends with them fleeing the Spanish police in a motor yacht, together with Barry's new wife, who had only expected a wedding at sea. The second series had several on-set problems. Actor Gary Holton died before some of the final indoor scenes were filmed, and the scripts had to be reworked to explain Wayne's absence from these indoor scenes. Examples of this include various characters enquiring about Wayne's whereabouts, only to be told that he was chatting up a girl in the next room or that he had gone away for the day. A double was used in other scenes, such as one where Bomber manhandles Wayne away from Ally's girlfriend in a nightclub. The transmission of the final episode of Series 2 (Quo Vadis Pet) saw an introduction by Tim Healy dedicating the episode to Holton. Executive producer Allan McKeown fell out with Jimmy Nail during filming, as he felt his ego was out of control at this time and would often ask for his lines to be changed. In his autobiography, Nail said he was glad to be done with filming not just because of Holton's death but because he felt the second series lacked the gritty edge of the first series, something Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais later said they agreed with. On the audio commentary for series two, Clement said the series was much more contrived in getting and keeping the gang together, and La Frenais said he felt the gang weren't trapped together enough like they were in Germany in the hut. In particular, he felt the Spanish episodes were too luxurious for the gang: instead of sleeping rough, having arguments, and clashing with the Spanish locals, they were often s.... Discover the Wayne Winston popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Wayne Winston books.