The Newcomers was a late 1960s BBC soap opera which dealt with the subject of a London family, the Coopers, who moved to a housing estate in the fictional country town of Angleton. It was broadcast in bi-weekly half-hour episodes from October 1965 until November 1969. It was initially produced by Verity Lambert.
Series outline
A fictional light industrial manufacturing company called Eden Brothers decides to relocate to the rural location. There are conflicts with the older members of the existing community, as well as some lighter moments as urbanites encounter "country characters". Many of the relocated workers have trouble living outside the city. As the series progresses, problems on the factory floor spill over into the community. Throughout this the Coopers strive to raise their daughter and two sons, who are having their own issues. The Cooper and Harker families were the initial focus of the series. The on-screen sudden death of the character of Ellis Cooper led to a gradual shift away from the Coopers, who by the end of the serial barely featured.
A change of the managing director of Eden Bros to Andrew Kerr heralded the arrival of his daughter Kirsty, played by Jenny Agutter, but only during her school holidays.
Only five complete editions are known to have survived:
Episode 51 – Original transmission 29 March 1966. Episode 59 – Original transmission 26 April 1966. Episode 166 - Original transmission 5 May 1967. Episode 172 – Original transmission 26 May 1967. Episode 222 – Original transmission 7 December 1967.
Cast
Alan Browning as Ellis Cooper
Maggie Fitzgibbon as Vivienne Cooper
Jeremy Bulloch as Phillip Cooper
Judy Geeson as Maria Cooper
Raymond Hunt as Lance Cooper
Gladys Henson as Grandma Hamilton
Robert Brown as Bert Harker
June Bland as Vera Harker
David Janson as Jimmy Harker
Wendy Richard as Joyce Harker
Robin Bailey as Andrew Kerr
Heather Chasen as Caroline Kerr
Jenny Agutter as Kirsty Kerr
Jack Watling as Hugh Robertson
Mary Kenton as Olivia Robertson
Deborah Watling as Julie Robertson
Paul Bartlett as Adrian Robertson
Robert Bartlett as Michael Robertson
Vanda Godsell as Katie Heenan
Tony Steedman as Arthur Huntley
Naomi Chance as Amelia Huntley
Sally Lahee as Eunice Huntley
Patrick Connor as Peter Connelly
Michael Collins as Jeff Langley
Sandra Payne as Janet Langley
Joan Newell as Mrs Langley
Glynn Edwards as George Harbottle
Hilda Braid as Mrs Harbottle
Stephen Grives as Tim Harbottle
Margaret Nolan as Mercedes
Michael Standing as Tom Lloyd
Helen Cotterill as Betty Lloyd
Keith Smith as Dick Alderbeach
Naomi Chance as Amelia Claythorne
Anthony Verner as Sydney Huxley
Mark Eden as Jeremy Crowe
Patsy Smart as Mary Grange
Megs Jenkins as Mrs Penrose
Eileen Helsby as Prudence Penrose
Victor Platt as Charles Penrose
Production
The show was recorded principally in the BBC's West London studios, mainly Riverside 1, and also at BBC Birmingham Studios, with external scenes filmed in Haverhill, a town in South-west Suffolk, which itself expanded rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s through residents moving from London. The opening sequences of the first episode showed the Cooper family driving to their new home, this was actually Thaxted in Essex. The cast included several actors who later achieved wider fame, including Alan Browning (later seen in Coronation Street), Maggie Fitzgibbon, Judy Geeson, Jenny Agutter and Wendy Richard. In two episodes the group Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions were featured and appeared at the pub. (They were billed as "the New Dimensions"). They performed their new Decca 45 'I Just Can't Get Over You'.