Give My Head Peace

Give My Head Peace is a satirical television comedy series on BBC Northern Ireland that pokes fun at political parties, paramilitary groups and the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland. The programme is written by Tim McGarry, Damon Quinn and Michael McDowell, also known as "The Hole in the Wall Gang", who also perform as the characters. Episodes are recorded in front of a live studio audience at the BBC Blackstaff Studio A in Belfast.
Background.
The concept originated on BBC Radio Ulster music programme "Across The Line" in the late 1980s, as a five-minute slot. The radio version used many of the characters and plot ideas used in the later TV series.
Pilot: "Two Ceasefires and a Wedding".
Its first television appearance was in a made-for-TV film called "Two Ceasefires and a Wedding", shown on BBC Northern Ireland (31 August 1995), poking fun at the clichéd "love across the barricades" plot that features in many dramas about Northern Ireland. In this case the lovers were Emer, the daughter of a "prominent" Sinn Féin activist, and Billy, an RUC constable. Their wedding is opposed by their respective families, and ends in farce, although Billy and Emer were happily married.
In the Pilot episode, Ma &amp; Da have a second son, Paul, who suffers anxiety from being wrongly imprisoned for one of Da's failed missions in England. He is best man at Billy &amp; Emer's wedding. He does not appear in the main series.
Main series.
A full series was then commissioned by BBC Northern Ireland. Some changes were made to the format prior to the series going ahead – with the character of Cal (Emer's brother) changing substantially, and the introduction of other recurring characters such as Big Mervyn and Red Hand Luke. A few years into the series, Nuala McKeever (Emer) left the series to pursue other interests, and a new love interest for Billy was introduced in the form of Emer's previously unseen sister, Dympna.
The series continued to run on BBC One NI until 2005, taking a hiatus as the Hole in the Wall Gang began work on a new series called "Dry Your Eyes". "Give My Head Peace" usually screened in a prime-time Friday night slot, opting out from network BBC One. In mid-2004, a selection of episodes were shown across the UK on BBC Two in a late-night slot during weekends.
The 50th episode, entitled "Secondary Colours" aired on 27 December 2002.
Cancellation.
The final "Give My Head Peace" episode was transmitted on BBC One Northern Ireland on 28 December 2007. This was supposed to be the last ever episode but during the final few seconds, a graphic stating "That's All Folks?" appeared, suggesting that the show could return in the future. According to Tim McGarry, the reason for the show's cancellation was due to a mis-sent email, received by a BBC executive in charge of the show's production. Allegedly, McGarry had hit reply rather than forward to the intended recipient.
2016 special and soft reset.
"Give My Head Peace" returned for a one-off 40-minute long episode titled "The Farce Awakens" on 28 December 2016 – exactly nine years to the day since it last aired. It was filmed in Northern Ireland in October 2016. Television presenter Christine Lampard made a cameo appearance.
With this special, they overwrite the events of the original final episode. In that episode, Billy kills Uncle Andy and Big Mervyn after learning they had lost Billy's house and money in a scam. While Billy is in custody, Cal's Protestant girlfriend Siobhan is revealed as an undercover police officer trying to get close to Da. When Siobhan tries to kill Da, Ma suspects them of having an affair. This, combined by the knowledge that Da had prevented Liam Neeson from proposing to their daughter Dympna, drives Ma to kill him. Dympna confesses to the murder to spare Ma from prison. Billy is released after being granted a pardon by Ian Paisley and Martin McGuiness. He learns of what happened to his wife Dympna and devotes himself to trying to clear her name, despite now living with two other women. The special now makes these events non-canon.
2018 return.
The series returned with an eleventh series which began broadcasting on 19 January 2018. This was followed by a Christmas Special called "Shallow Grave" which aired on Thursday 27 December 2018 on BBC One Northern Ireland. The show returned for a Christmas Special in December 2019, as part of the 12th series consisting of four episodes leading into 2020.
The show is due to return in December 2020 for a Christmas Special followed by three other specials in early 2021. Recording of the 2020 Christmas Special and 2021 episodes had to be conducted under strict health guidance due to the Covid-19 pandemic with production moved from their usual location at BBC Blackstaff Studio in the centre of Belfast to a new studio located elsewhere in Northern Ireland to ensure social distancing could be maintained. No studio audience was present for the filming of the episodes, but a virtual audience watched and reacted to the recordings online. The 2020 Christmas special aired on Sunday 27 December 2020 on BBC One Northern Ireland, and saw the cast give a proper send off to the character "Big Mervyn", as the actor who played him BJ Hogg died earlier in 2020. Three other episodes will air from mid January 2021.
Live.
In recent years, they have performed live shows at a selection of venues across Northern Ireland. The 2004 show was chiefly made up of scripts from the 2004–2005 series. In 2007 a new live show entitled "Dry Your Eyes it's Give My Head Peace" was held in Derry's Millennium Forum and the Grand Opera House to celebrate ten years of the show. This production showed material from "GMHP" and "Dry Your Eyes" and was very well received. The next live show in 2008 followed on from the final television episode, called "Give My Head Peace: Back From The Grave", and also featured the "Dry Your Eyes" characters. In 2009, the gang went on their last tour called "Give My Head Peace: The Final Farewell Tour". However, the show returned on an annual basis with "Give My Head Peace: The Annual Review" touring Northern Ireland. The performance features the show's regulars, with the notable exceptions of Mervyn and Red Hand Luke, and also features a stand-up set from Tim McGarry who plays Da.
In 1999 a video and book were released. The only DVD released to date is of series 6, in November 2009.
Characters.
The principal characters are:
Other occasional characters are:
There have been other characters that have made one-off special appearances over the series to great effect. One such example was a Christmas special entitled "The King and I" where Elvis Presley (played by impersonator Martin Fox) saved Andy from a very dangerous situation.
Home media.
VHS.
A VHS was released containing the following three episodes; Hollywood on the Falls, Red Hand Luke, The Peace Dividend.
DVD.
Only series six has been released on DVD to date. It was released in two parts, with three episodes on each, before being sold together as part of a box set. One notable edit is that the theme song has been replaced.
Digital.
The 2016 special "The Farce Awakens" (21 October 2016) and the documentary "A Beginner's Guide" (28 December 2016) that was broadcast on BBC One are both available on BBC Store.