Triangle is a BBC Television soap opera broadcast in the early 1980s, set aboard a North Sea ferry that sailed from Felixstowe to Gothenburg and Gothenburg to Amsterdam. A third imaginary leg existed between Amsterdam and Felixstowe to justify the programme's title, but this was not operated by the ferry company. The show ran for three series before being cancelled, but is still generally remembered as "some of the most mockable British television ever produced". The scripts involved clichéd relationships and stilted dialogue, making the show the butt of several jokes—particularly on Terry Wogan's morning Radio 2 programme—which caused some embarrassment to the BBC. (BBC Classic sitcom Are You Being Served? in Season 8, Episode 1 "Is It Catching?", hinted at the show being nausea-inducing for more reasons than just its setting. Even the anarchic BBC sitcom The Young Ones poked fun at the series, when one character says, "Even Triangle has better furniture than this!")

In 1992, the BBC screened TV Hell, an evening of programming devoted to the worst that television had to offer, and the first episode of Triangle was broadcast as part of the line-up.

The ferry used in the first series was the Tor Line's . This was replaced in the second and third series by the DFDS vessel Dana Anglia (DFDS having acquired Tor Line by this time), probably because she had a less intensive schedule, and the longer time she spent in port made on-board filming easier. Rough seas also induced seasickness in many of the production crew, making shooting an uncomfortable experience.

Broadcasts

The programme was broadcast every Monday and Wednesday.

  • Series 1: 5 January – 1 April 1981: 26 episodes.
  • Series 2: 26 April – 20 July 1982: 26 episodes.
  • Series 3: 5 April – 6 July 1983: 26 episodes

Cast

Michael Craig and Larry Lamb were the only cast members to appear in all 78 episodes of Triangle. Kate O'Mara left at the beginning of the second series.

Starring

  • Michael Craig – Captain John Anderson
  • Larry Lamb – Matt Taylor
  • Kate O'Mara – Katherine Laker
  • Paul Jerricho – Charles Woodhouse

Recurring cast listed alphabetically:

  • Dawn Addams – Mrs. Landers
  • Tony Anholt – Nick Stevens
  • David Arlen – Joe Francis
  • Peter Arne – Kevin Warrender
  • George Baker – David West
  • Helena Breck – Sandy McCormick
  • Dennis Burgess – George Terson
  • Julia Chambers – Barbara Carter
  • Diana Coupland – Marion Terson
  • Sandra Dickinson – Penny Warrender
  • Scott Fredericks – Tom Kelly
  • Joan Greenwood – Judith Harper
  • Philip Hatton – Tony Grant
  • Penelope Horner – Sarah Hallam
  • Elizabeth Larner – Jo Bailey
  • Nicolette McKenzie – Maya Anderson
  • Wanda Moore – Susan Porter
  • Jonathan Newth – Roger Powell
  • Cindy O'Callaghan – Linda Kennedy
  • Jonathan Owen – Peter Nuttall
  • Marion Owen Smith – Lisa Watkins
  • Sandra Payne – Christine Harris
  • Jamie Roberts – Bill Ryan
  • Christopher Saul – Douglas Evans
  • Jonathan Scott-Taylor – Ted Anderson
  • Doug Sheldon – Arthur Parker
  • Nigel Stock – Wally James

References

  • Triangle at BBC Online