Life In The Fast Food Lane

Episode Overview

Terry begins dating Sarah Bates, the daughter of the millionaire tycoon Sir Ronald Bates who has made his fortune in the fast food industry. When a car phone deal with McTaggart goes wrong for Arthur, he finds himself in need of some cash and approaches Ronald Bates promising to end Terry and Sarah’s romance for £10,000. Arthur approaches Sarah and informs her that Terry is terminally ill. When Terry and Sarah seem to be staying together Arthur hires the service of a prostitute to pretend to be Terry’s girlfriend, waiting in his flat when Terry and Sarah return. Whereas Terry seems keen on a longer term relationship with Sarah, she tells Terry she would prefer a more open relationship.

Cast

Glynn Edwards as Dave, Patrick Malahide as DS Chisholm, Jan Francis as Sarah Bates, Timothy Carlton as Granger, David Daker as Sir Ronald Bates, Michael Povey as DC Jones, Peter Capaldi as Ozzie, Jake D’Arcy as McTaggart, Debbie Arnold as Julie, Benjamin Whitrow as Doctor, Annee Blott as 1st Prostitute, Cate Fowler as 2nd Prostitute, Royce Mills as Andrew, James Griffiths as Marketing Man, Melanie Hughes as Shop Assistant, James Duggan as Cedric, Howard Attfield as Private Detective, Bernard Taylor as Hotel Detective, Emma Shaw as Sir Ronald’s Secretary, Peter Brayham as Heavy

Uncredited: Peter Brayham and Terry ‘Terence’ Plummer as ‘Heavies’ – two of the three that beat up Terry in his flat

Facts

This is the second time in the series that Arthur stoops to the very low level of telling someone that Terry is ill in order to keep him away from someone – the first being in #3.8 The Son Also Rises. In this case, he tells Sarah that Terry has ‘Spotter’s Syndrome’. In this episode Arthur refers to his membership of PHATI (Personal Health and Treatment Indemnity – pronounced ‘farty’) which he had previously referred to back in episode #4.10 Get Daley where he is admitted to hospital to have an in-growing toe nail removed. This is one of the few times in the series where Terry ends up worse off as a result of a fight, when he is attacked in his own flat by Sir Ronald Bates’s heavies to try to warn him off his daughter Sarah. At around 40 minutes into this episode Arthur finds Terry in the Embassy Cafe, which had previously featured in #5.6 The Long Ride Back To Scratchwood.

Double Take

This is the second time that Royce Mills appears as Arthur’s accountant Andrew, whom Arthur meets unexpectedly while trying to organise a prostitute to pretend to be Terry’s girlfriend. Andrew was first seen in #4.4 Sorry Pal, Wrong Number. David Daker had previously appeared as Alex Brompton in #2.2 Whose Wife Is It Anyway – Debbie Arnold would later appear in #6.7 Minder On The Orient Express. Benjamin Whitrow who plays the doctor Arthur visits looking for the name of a disease that Terry might have, also appeared alongside Dennis Waterman in the final series of ‘The Sweeney’. Jan Francis would later star alongside Dennis Waterman in ‘Stay Lucky’ in 1989. Uncredited Terence Plummer also appeared in a credited role as Alan in #3.4 Looking For Micky and as an uncredited ‘heavy’ in #8.6 The Last Temptation of Daley.

Bloopers: A minor continuity blooper at 16m46s – watch carefully as Arthur tells Granger his mark-up on the phones is “very modest” – at this point he is turning left into The Avenue, W13. A split second later his car is further back on Bradley Gardens and he arrives at the end of the street and then turns left again.

Title: A pun on the phrase: ‘Life in the fast lane’.