G.B.H. (1000) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language

1000 · 567 mins · English

Directed by

Robert Young

Starring

Julie Walters, Michael Palin, John Henshaw, William Franklyn, Anna Friel, Lindsay Duncan

A seven‑part Channel 4 drama written by Alan Bleasdale and aired in summer 1991, GBH follows Michael Murray, a Militant‑tendency Labour leader of a northern city council, and Jim Nelson, headmaster of a school for disturbed children. The series sparked controversy by portraying Murray as a thinly veiled version of former Liverpool deputy leader Derek Hatton. Bleasdale later recalled an accidental meeting with Hatton, who joked that he’d mind only if the actor was “handsome”. Though GBH usually denotes grievous bodily harm, the initials were intended to suggest “Great British Holiday”.