Charlie and Julie (ITV Drama, Nicholas Clay, Tina Marian)

Two part ITV romantic drama serial Charlie and Julie was about a young couple, Charlie (Nicholas Clay) and Julie (Tina Marian), who fall in love.

The TV Times of 22 Jul 1978 had a short feature about star Nicholas Clay: Imagine the Earl of Southampton as a rough-and-ready demolition worker? Actor Nicholas Clay has already made the switch from ermine to dungarees for Tuesday’s two-play love story Charlie and Julie, only two weeks after he was an elite figure in Will Shakespeare. Clay becomes working-class lad Charlie, who works on a building site and falls in love with the refined Julie (Tina Marian). How they adjust is a story that continues next week.

The Aberdeen Evening Express of Tuesday 1 August 1978 carried a preview of part two: THE second and final part of the love story Charlie and Julie has Charlie trying woo Julie back after his fight with her former boyfriend Billy. In part one, the couple met accidentally when Billy was delayed and asked Charlie look after Julie until he arrived. Charlie did that and more. Before the night was out Billy had lost a girlfriend. With the excuse of returning her handbag Charlie persuades Julie to listen to his apologies and a proposal that they get engaged on her 19th birthday. But Charlie boy has another fight on his hands tonight. He has to win over both Julie’s grandmother – and her uncle Charlie. Antagonistic old uncle Charlie makes his feelings crystal clear. He doesn’t think young Charlie – a bit of a rough diamond – is good enough for Julie.

A short notice in the Coventry Evening Telegraph of Friday 4 Aug 1978 didn’t find much to like in the second half: The second part of Charlie and Julie (from Yorkshire) sank without trace in a torrent of pretentious philosophy about love and marriage.

The show made the lower reaches of the top twenty (17) in the national ratings chart by JICTAR for the week of the first episode with an impressive 9.7 million viewers. Sitcom Life Begins at Forty was at number one with 11.60 million. The second episode didn’t make the top twenty.

Cast: Nicholas Clay (Charlie), Tina Marian (Julie), Gwen Nelson (Gran), Derek Benfield (Uncle Charlie), Chris Jenkinson (Tony), Christopher Fairbank (Jock), Martin Burrows (Dave), Johanna Kirby (Marie), Renu Setna (Raj)

Writer: Charles Humphrey / Production Design: Alan Pickford / Executive Producer: Peter Willes / Producer and Director: Marc Miller

UK / ITV – Yorkshire / 2×50 minute episodes / Broadcast 25 July – 1 August 1978