Minder (1979)

This classic comedy-drama series was first aired in 1979 and ran until 1994.

Trilby-wearing wheeler-dealer Arthur Daley (George Cole) is a small-time entrepreneurial conman who is paranoid about being stitched up, or worse, by other crooks in the area, so he hires ex-boxer Terry McCann (Dennis Waterman) to be his full-time "minder".

While Terry tries his hardest to satisfy his employer's demands, often by putting his own life at risk, Arthur is busy exploiting Terry for all he's worth. For, unbeknown to Terry, Arthur is ripping him off. When Arthur hires out Terry's services, the wheeler-dealer keeps much of the minder's pay for himself, telling the hard-working Terry that they were receiving less money for a job than they actually do. Along with these dodgy goings-on, Arthur must avoid the unsolicited attentions of local bobby, Detective Sergeant Albert Chisholm "Charlie" (Patrick Malahide).

The series took a while to pick up, possibly because audiences associated Waterman with his previous tough copper role in The Sweeney. But gradually viewers warmed to it, especially as the two leads settled into their roles and the writing became more comic.

At its height (mid-1980s), Minder was must-see TV, but by the seventh series (1989) it was feeling decidedly creaky. Waterman quit, and the show staggered on, introducing new character Ray Daley (Arthur's mineral-water sipping nephew, played by Gary Webster) who took over the Terry role. It was fairly hopeless, and it was a blessed relief when the series petered out in the early 1990s before any further damage could be done.

In 2009, Five launched a new version of the show, starring Shane Richie as wheeler-dealer Archie Daley (nephew of Arthur), alongside Lex Shrapnel as his minder, Jamie Cartwright.