| Four Fathers | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Bill Gallagher |
| Directed by | Dermot Boyd |
| Starring | Tony Doyle Tom Bell Neil Dudgeon Stuart McQuarrie Ruth Gemmell Eva Pope Jacquetta May Kate Lonergan Emma Williams |
| Composer | Alan Clark |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Sally Head |
| Producers | Martyn Auty Carol Wilks |
| Production locations | Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK |
| Cinematography | Kevin Rowley |
| Editor | Richard Milward |
| Running time | 50 minutes (eps. 1–2) 100 minutes (ep. 3) |
| Production company | Sally Head Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 9 December (1999-12-09) – 21 December 1999 (1999-12-21) |
Four Fathers is a British television drama miniseries, comprising two fifty-minute episodes and one one-hundred minute episode, that first broadcast on ITV between 9 and 21 December 1999. The drama serial focused on a quartet of four very different fathers living in a northern town who all have life changing experiences in store.1 First two episodes were broadcast each week during Thursdays and third and final feature length episode was broadcast on Tuesday.
Cast
- Tony Doyle as Harry Clancy
- Tom Bell as Frank Yallop
- Neil Dudgeon as Vince Yallop
- Stuart McQuarrie as Spud Starkie
- Ruth Gemmell as Nicola Yallop
- Eva Pope as Kathy Starkie
- Jacquetta May as Linda Clancy
- Kate Lonergan as Dawn Starkie
- Emma Williams as Justine Clancy
- Lorraine Pilkington as Christy Bannan
- Peter Ryalls as Colin Yallop
- Amy Dempsey as Danielle Yallop
- Barbara Young as Janice Yallop
- Andrew Tiernan as Johnny Starkie
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | British air date | UK viewers (million)2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | Dermot Boyd | Bill Gallagher | 9 December 1999 (1999-12-09) | 6.88 | |
|
Father-to-be Spud Starkie struggles to keep his nephew on the rails, while Harry Clancy is knocked for six by the arrival of a face from the past, and tensions mount in the household of divorced couple Vince and Nicola Yallop.3 | ||||||
| 2 | "Episode 2" | Dermot Boyd | Bill Gallagher | 16 December 1999 (1999-12-16) | 6.31 | |
|
Dawn is devastated by the revelation that Spud is the father of Kathy's unborn child.4 | ||||||
| 3 | "Episode 3" | Dermot Boyd | Bill Gallagher | 21 December 1999 (1999-12-21) | 6.33 | |
|
Spud is furious when he discovers the identity of Kathy's unborn child; as Harry's daughters meet for the first time, he makes a shocking discovery.5 | ||||||
Reception
Critical reception
Accolades
Tony Doyle was won for Best Drama Actor and Phelps for Best Actor at the 2000 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards sharing with BBC TV series Ballykissangel.6
References
References
- "Four Fathers (ITV 1999, Tony Doyle, Tom Bell)". Memorable TV. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
- "Weekly top 30 programmes – BARB". Barb.co.uk. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
- "Episode 1". BFI. 9 December 1999. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- "Episode 2". BFI. 16 December 1999. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- "Episode 3". BFI. 21 December 1999. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- "BPG TV & Radio Awards 2000". broadcastingpressguild.org. 31 December 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2025.