# Big Breadwinner Hog > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Big_Breadwinner_Hog > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Big_Breadwinner_Hog.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Breadwinner_Hog > Source revision: 1345980624 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Television series Big Breadwinner Hog Created by Robin Chapman Starring Peter Egan Timothy West Donald Burton Rosemary McHale Country of origin United Kingdom No. of episodes 8 Production Running time 50 minutes Production company Granada Television Original release Network ITV Release 11 April (1969-04-11) – 30 May 1969 (1969-05-30) ***Big Breadwinner Hog*** is a [British television](/source/British_television) [thriller](/source/Thriller_(genre)) [serial](/source/Serial_(radio_and_television)) devised by [Robin Chapman](/source/Robin_Chapman), produced by [Granada TV](/source/Granada_TV) and transmitted in eight parts, starting at 9.00 pm on 11 April 1969 on the [ITV](/source/ITV_(TV_network)) network. ## Overview The series focussed on the ruthless rise through the criminal underworld of the trendy young [London](/source/London) [gangster](/source/Gangster) Hogarth ([Peter Egan](/source/Peter_Egan)). He exploits the resources of a declining gangster, Ryan ([Godfrey Quigley](/source/Godfrey_Quigley)), to take over the dominant crime syndicate Scot–Yanks, controlled by the equally ruthless and manipulative Lennox ([Timothy West](/source/Timothy_West)). The key to Hogarth's success is knowledge of a murder arranged by Lennox, of which there is a crucial witness, Ackerman ([Donald Burton](/source/Donald_Burton)), a one-time private eye who has been blackmailed into working for Scot–Yanks and bitterly resents Lennox. The eight-part serial was widely condemned at the time for its amorality and violence. Its first episode featured a scene in which a jar of [hydrochloric acid](/source/Hydrochloric_acid) was thrown into a rival's face. "Barely minutes after the first episode was transmitted, the Granada TV switchboard was inundated" with viewers' complaints about the violence and the second episode was preceded by a Granada apology for the previous week's episode.[1] Granada toned down some of the more violent aspects of later episodes but despite this, viewer complaints continued and from episode 5 some ITV regions moved transmission to a later timeslot.[1] [Southern Television](/source/Southern_Television) and [Anglia Television](/source/Anglia_Television) stopped transmission of the serial. The serial was directed by [Mike Newell](/source/Mike_Newell_(director)) (later of *[Four Weddings and a Funeral](/source/Four_Weddings_and_a_Funeral)*) and [Michael Apted](/source/Michael_Apted). It gave an early role to [John Challis](/source/John_Challis), later Boycie of *[Only Fools and Horses](/source/Only_Fools_and_Horses)* and an important role for [Priscilla Morgan](/source/Priscilla_Morgan). Peter Egan is also better known these days for [sitcoms](/source/Sitcom) like *[Ever Decreasing Circles](/source/Ever_Decreasing_Circles)* (1984–1989), *Joint Account* (1989) and *[Home Again](/source/Home_Again_(TV_series))* (2006). ## Cast - Hogarth – [Peter Egan](/source/Peter_Egan) - Edge – Rosemary McHale - Ryan – [Godfrey Quigley](/source/Godfrey_Quigley) - Spicer – Barry Linehan - Singleton – [Tony Steedman](/source/Tony_Steedman) - Lennox – [Timothy West](/source/Timothy_West) - Gould – [Hamilton Dyce](/source/Hamilton_Dyce) - Moira – [Priscilla Morgan](/source/Priscilla_Morgan) - Ackerman – [Donald Burton](/source/Donald_Burton) - Greenwood – Brian McDermott - Izzard – [Alan Browning](/source/Alan_Browning) - Grange – [David Leland](/source/David_Leland) - Raymond – James Hunter - Nicholson – [Tenniel Evans](/source/Tenniel_Evans) - Walker – [Arthur Pentelow](/source/Arthur_Pentelow) - Parker – [John Horsley](/source/John_Horsley_(actor)) - Raspberry – Peter Thomas - Operative – [John Challis](/source/John_Challis) ## DVD release The series was released on Region 2 DVD in a box set with Chapman's earlier *[Spindoe](/source/Spindoe)* by Network DVD in June 2007. The series is presented on the DVD from the original videotapes, except episode one (containing the infamous acid-throwing scene) which exists only via a [telerecorded](/source/Kinescope) film copy, where the image quality is noticeably inferior to the other episodes. Disc 3 (the 3rd "Hog" disk) contains an episode of the 1972 LWT series, *Villains*, a serial as seen from the bank robbers point of view. The included episode focuses on womanising safe-cracker Charles Grindley as played by Bob Hoskins. ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Adventure_page_87_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Adventure_page_87_1-1) The ITV Encyclopaedia of Adventure, page 87, pub 1988 by Boxtree Ltd for TV Times Publications ## External links - [*Big Breadwinner Hog*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063870/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Big Breadwinner Hog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Breadwinner_Hog) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Breadwinner_Hog?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.