It was hailed as the Fawlty Towers of the 90s, and it's now been more than three decades since the ambitious but forever-doomed Gordon Brittas arrived on our screens. The show, which ran from 1991 to 1997 on BBC1, peaked at 10m viewers and centred around the fictional Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre.
Gordon Brittas (Chris Barrie) led the show along with his on-screen wife Helen (Pippa Haywood) and deputy managers Laura Lancing (Julia St John) and Colin Weatherby (Mike Burns).
The cast got together once again for a reunion held on Facebook in early 2021. They were keen to revive the show but said they had so far not found the right broadcaster to pick it up. Let's see what the cast of The Brittas Empire have been up to since the show ended, as reported in the Daily Star.
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Chris Barrie
Disaster-prone Brittas, whose common phrase was “I have a dream”, had to deal with everything from OAP squash-court massacres to outbreaks of deadly diseases, electrocution of children, chainsaw decapitation and the chaining up of Seb Coe.
He was even crushed to death by a water tank at the end of series five which was intended to be the last episode of the sitcom. But it was so popular it was resurrected for two further series.
The eventual ending of The Brittas Empire – which revealed all the events of the show had been a Dallas-style dream – was panned. After the sitcom was finished, Barrie starred in flop comedy A Prince Among Men, playing a former footballer turned entrepreneur.
But he is best known as pompous hologram Arnold Rimmer in Red Dwarf, a role he has played since the show started in 1988. It was revived in 2009 by the Dave TV channel with a film version in 2020.
He also played a butler in the Tomb Raider films alongside Angelina Jolie and has presented a series of documentaries about great machines. In 2014, he reprised his role as Brittas for a brief appearance in Little Mix’s Word Up! video for Sport Relief.
A fan of vintage motorbikes and fast cars, the actor, who is now 61, has been married twice and has
two sons.
Julia St John
Calm, dependable and efficient, deputy manager Laura was everything Brittas was not.
Actress St John went on to work with Harry Enfield on the comedian’s Harry Enfield and Chums show, as well as his follow-up series, Brand Spanking New Show. The 62-year-old also made regular appearances on A Touch of Frost and Casualty. But her last role was in a 2012 Bollywood movie.
Pippa Haywood
Haywood played Brittas’ long-suffering and jittery wife Helen, who coped with her irritating husband via medication and extramarital affairs. Since then, she has appeared in many top TV series including Green Wing, Jonathan Creek, Silent Witness, Mr Selfridge and Scott and Bailey.
In 2018, she was top cop Lorraine Craddock in hit drama Bodyguard and also plays the Duke of Hastings’ housekeeper, Mrs Colson, in Netflix smash Bridgerton. Mum-of-two Haywood, 59, also has a role in the 2020 dementia drama Supernova with Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci.
Harriet Thorpe
Thorpe’s neurotic receptionist Carole was best known for keeping her three children shut in drawers and cupboards in the leisure centre foyer. The actress, 64, has since appeared as dim magazine editor Fleur in smash-hit sitcom Absolutely Fabulous and its 2016 film. She also starred in the Calendar Girls movie and has played stage roles in Les Miserables, Mamma Mia and Wicked.
Thorpe is married with two children and currently hosts online chat show Wonderbirds with Sherrie Hewson.
Michael Burns
Burns’ character Colin had all manner of skin complaints and a questionable attitude to hygiene but was unwavering in his devotion to his boss. The actor went on to do odd episodes of TV favourites including Emmerdale, Heartbeat, Casualty and Hollyoaks.
Burns, 69, also had a one-off role on Doctors in 2017 when he played a drunk man in a bin.
Jill Greenacre
Enthusiastic and cheerful pool attendant Linda had a deep admiration for Mr Brittas, despite his many failings.
Actress Greenacre, 55, has mainly appeared in short and lesser-known films and on stage, but also works as a shiatsu masseuse charging £40 per treatment. She also performs shiatsu massage on horses at £50 a time.
Judy Flynn
Flynn starred as fiery northerner Julie who was Brittas’ secretary but hated him. She went on to play various roles in Heartbeat, Holby City and more recently Hollyoaks, Ackley Bridge and Call The Midwife. She provided voices on Peppa Pig from 2009 to 2017.
Flynn, 58, has also been a regular on daytime soap Doctors where she’s played six different characters in 13 years.
Russell Porter
Porter’s turn as pool attendant and chef Tim was his only foray into TV – he has since retired from the business. But he did return for a small cast reunion held on Facebook earlier in 2022.
