British Comedy Guide
Colin's Sandwich. Colin Watkins (Mel Smith). Copyright: BBC
Colin's Sandwich

Colin's Sandwich

  • TV sitcom
  • BBC Two
  • 1988 - 1990
  • 12 episodes (2 series)

The story follows the life of an amateur writer and his attempts to get his work published. Stars Mel Smith, Louisa Rix, Mike Grady, Tony Haase, Lee Cornes and more.

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Episode menu

Series 1, Episode 4 - Pussyfoot

Colin gets a commission to write a story for John Langley. However he gets writers block to the extent he throws his typewriter out of the window.
Jen books a secluded cottage to help Colin get through his block. He is foiled by a dead cat that upsets Colin. He contacts the owner who he then upsets by revealling that her cat was thrown in a bottle bank.
This breaks his writers block as he gets inspiration from the fate of the cat.

Further details

Colin returns to work after being on the sick. There he gets the news that Jen has sent one of his stories to John Langley who publishes the Langley Book of Horror and he wants to see him in his office at one o'clock. He criticises Colin's story but on the strength that Colin shows potential he commissions him to write a story for the book.

Colin then struggles to write anything which is not helped by his mate Des who decides to clean Colin's windows when he's writing. Des falls off the ladder though Colin doesn't notice. He is so frustrated by his writer's block that he throws his typewriter out of the window.

Jen arranges for Colin to go to a secluded cottage to focus his writing. However he gets distracted when he finds a dead cat and phones the owner to tell her of the cat's fate. Not satisfied with just telling her, he invites her to his flat to explain the whole story. At the flat he tells Jen that he's not in the mood for writing and she storms out annoyed. He tells the cat's owner about the dead cat but in an attempt to diplomatically reveal to her that workmen had actually thrown the cat in a bottle bank upsets her by adopting an overly aggressive attitude.

In bed, Colin wakes up and is inspired by the fate of the cat and writes all night about being trapped inside a bottle bank.

Broadcast details

Date
Monday 7th November 1988
Time
9pm
Channel
BBC Two
Length
30 minutes

Cast & crew

Cast
Mel Smith Colin Watkins
Louisa Rix Jenny Anderson
Mike Grady Des
Tony Haase Trevor
Lee Cornes Graham
Andrew Robertson Travers
Kim Clifford Mandy
Michael Medwin John Langley
Guest cast
Gwen Taylor Mrs D'Arcy
Roy Heather Workman
Writing team
Terry Kyan Writer
Paul Smith Writer
Production team
Jamie Rix Director
John Kilby Producer
Jamie Rix Producer
Phil Southby Editor
Jo Day Production Designer
Andrew Mackenzie Costume Designer
Vicky Pocock Make-up Designer
Bert Postlethwaite Lighting Designer
Christine Büttner Graphics
John Barclay Vision Mixer
Nicholas Barrett (as Nicolas Barrett) Properties
Jim Cadman Sound Designer
Sarah Cobbe Production Assistant
Alec Curtis Camera
Michael Spencer Sound Designer
Paul Kay Camera
Peter Laskie Production Manager
Christine Mellor Production Assistant
Kerry Waddell Floor Manager
Mike Jarrett Technical Co-ordinator
Richard Wilson Technical Co-ordinator

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