Harpers West One

{{Short description|British television series (1961–1963)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} [[File:Harpers West One.jpg|thumb|''Harpers West One'' titles]] '''''Harpers West One''''' was an [[Associated Television|ATV]] television drama series about a fictional department store, Harpers, in the West 1 district of London.<ref>Halliwell, Leslie & Philip Purser. (1986) ''Halliwell's Television Companion''. 3rd ed. London: Grafton. p. 345. {{ISBN|0-246-12838-0}}</ref>

The show was created by [[John Whitney (broadcaster)|John Whitney]] and Geoffrey Bellman<ref name="McGinlay">{{cite book|author=McGinlay, Richard, Alan Hayes & Alys Hayes.|title=Two Against the Underworld – the Collected Unauthorised Guide to the Avengers Series 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N2FUCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA145|edition=2nd|year=2017|publisher=Hidden Tiger|isbn=978-1-326-46626-8|page=145}}</ref> and ran in one-hour episodes from 1961 to 1963.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0161152/fullcredits Harpers West One]. [[IMDb]]. Retrieved 9 January 2018.</ref> It was introduced by ATV while ''[[Probation Officer]]'', was being rested but became an immediate success.<ref>''Contrast: The Television Quarterly'', 1961, pp. 131-132.</ref> Press releases described it as "shopping with the lid off".<ref>Richard, Wendy, & Lizzie Wiggins. (2001) ''Wendy Richard no 's': My life story''. London: Simon & Schuster. p. 43. {{ISBN|978-0743218702}}</ref><ref>[http://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1960s/harpers-west-one/ Harpers West One]. Nostalgia Central. Retrieved 9 January 2018.</ref> A combination of drama and soap opera, it has also been described as presaging corporate dramas such as ''[[The Brothers (1972 TV series)|The Brothers]]'' for its depiction of power struggles at board level.<ref name=mem>[https://www.memorabletv.com/tv/harpers-west-one-atv-1961/ Harpers West One]. memorabletv.com Retrieved 9 January 2018.</ref>

Principal writers included [[Derrick De Marney]]. The show sometimes featured popular singers in the "music department" such as [[John Leyton]] who played the role of Johnny St Cyr and sang the song "[[Johnny Remember Me]]". The publicity helped him to establish his career.<ref>Betts, Graham. (2006) ''Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2006''. London: Collins. p. 481. {{ISBN|9780007200771}}</ref>

==Selected cast== * [[Norman Bowler]] – Roger Pike * [[Graham Crowden]] – Edward Cruickshank * [[Arthur Hewlett]] – Aubrey Harper * [[Jan Holden]] – Harriet Carr * [[Philip Latham]] – Oliver Backhouse * [[Vivian Pickles]] – Julie Wheeler * [[Wendy Richard]] – Susan Sullivan

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXRo69jODPA ''Harpers West One'' episode] featuring John Leyton.

[[Category:1961 British television series debuts]] [[Category:1963 British television series endings]] [[Category:1960s British drama television series]] [[Category:1961 in London]]