Sam TV Series

Sam

1973 - United Kingdom

Gritty drama set in Yorkshire which, over three series, followed the fortunes of Sam Wilson from boy to man. 

After his father set sail to Canada with another woman 10 year old Sam and his mother, Dora (Barbara Ewing), were forced to settle in the small mining community of Skellerton. There young Sam's life revolved around his close relatives, grandfather, aunts and uncles all of whom faced various hardships such as unemployment or poverty. By the age of 14 Sam was forced to earn a living by working down the mines, but eventually he rebelled against his expected fate and ran away to sea. He eventually returned, took a job in an engineering factory, married Sarah Corby and settled down in the town of Golwick, although he never forgot his roots or the hardships he faced through the 1930s and 1940s. 

The young Sam Wilson was played by Kevin Moreton in series one whilst the grown-up Sam was played by future Taggart star Mark McManus.

Below is the original TV Times article that introduced the series in June 1973:

Sam TV Times article - 1973
Sam TV Times article - 1973
Sam TV Times article - 1973

Published on September 2nd, 2019. Written by Noel Onely for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

Kojak TV series

Lt. Kojak was a tough cop with a smart mouth and wits even sharper than his top flight dress sense.

Also released in 1973

Happy Holidays

Comedy serial written by Peter Ling (co-creator of Compact and Crossroads) made by the BBC Children's Television department and broadcast throughout the school holidays of 1954.

Also tagged Childrens Drama

Knights of God

Set in the year 2020, Great Britain has been devastated by civil war after years of political unrest, the government has been overthrown and the Royal Family executed.

Also tagged Childrens Drama

City Beneath the Sea

Scientists are being kidnapped and taken to an undersea world.

Also tagged Childrens Drama

Billy Liar

Adapted from the highly successful novel/play/film by successful writing team Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, this version of Billy Liar was updated by them to make it more relevant to the early 1970s.

Also released in 1973

The Tomorrow People review

With the ability to read minds, levitate objects, and teleport themselves, the Tomorrow People are the next stage in human evolution.

Also released in 1973

Danger Island

A 12-year old boy overhears two sinister men plotting to assassinate their country's ruler.

Also tagged Childrens Drama

Flight of the Heron

Epic period drama made by Scottish Television and based on D.K. Broster's 1925 novel centred round fictional events at the time of the non-fictional Jacobite Rebellion of 1746 and leading up to the battle of Culloden.

Also tagged Childrens Drama

Bulman

After retiring from the force, the eccentric and irascible George Kitchener Bulman turns private eye, plunging into London’s murky underworld and tangled espionage, where every clue leads deeper into danger and deception

Also starring Mark Mcmanus