An absolutely classic show from the late 70's, all the way through to the early 90's.

The Stars

Minder had a number of regular characters in each episode, but the two main characters had to be George Cole, who played Arthur Daley, and Dennis Waterman, who played Terry McCann.

The Main Characters

Arthur Daley

A slightly crooked and flash character is Arthur, always looking at new and interesting ways in which to earn a crust, he has a various number of on-going scams and could be seen by many as Del Boys more successful uncle, as many of his schemes make him money. Always in trouble with the police but always seems to find a way out, his hair brained schemes operate on the very edge of the law, things like his garage for example, all the cars have something bent about them, but he always finds a way to make money and avoid getting caught. Arthur can be found spending his leisure time in a club called 'The Winchester', a home for a number of the local low lives on the manor. He has a wife that you will never ever see who is refered to as 'er indoors'.

Arthur likes his motors and therefore drives the cream of criminal type motors for the time, early episodes show him with two different series II Jaguar XJ6's, one brown and one silver one, later episodes show him with the later 3.4 series III XJ6 and some of the last episodes will show him driving a Series IV XJ6 or XJ40 as they are known. Personally I want a series III 4.2 Sovereign to complete my Arthur Daley style image!

Terry McCann

Refered to as Arthurs minder, Terry has to look after Arthur and get him out of trouble whenever he is needed, he is the muscle of the operation. Terry has spent some time at Her Majesties pleasure and Arthur was one of the only people who would give him a job. A womaniser and a bouncer for many local clubs Terry leads an action packed life, never an episode goes by where he doesn't have a lady on the go. Arthur does not have any children of his own and it is obvious from the start that Arthur thinks of Terry as the son that he never had, Terry knows this as well as Arthur but both of them will never admit it, they seem to lead a very love/hate relationship, but at the end of the day they both make a good pairing.

Terry has the traditional boy racer vehicle of the time, the early minders show him with a Mk2 Capri, a car now very famous and recently restored by a reader of Practical Classics. SLE71R has become a registration everyone will recognise. Later episodes saw him driving a V reg Mk3 and a W reg Mk3 1.6S. A car that suited his character very well.

The Intro and ending sequence

Everyone cannot mistake the theme for minder, that very late 70's and early 80's jingle, modern shows just don't have it, a full video clip of the intro sequence is coming soon. We see Arthur and Terry agreeing the price on the most famous Capri (bar the professionals) on TV. Ever wondered what those lyrics say at the end? follow this link. http://www.roundel.demon.co.uk/Clapperboard/minder_lyrics.html

The Regulars

Inspector Arthur Chisholm - nicknamed 'Cheerful Charlie'

Always hell bent on getting Arthur Daley for some trivial crime we see Chisholm desperately trying to get Arthur somehow. Chisholm is a very amusing character, constantly trying to play the bad cop and failing each time, it never fails to amuse me. He appeared in many of the early episodes and has helped Arthur out on a number of occasions, as without Arthur, his life would be very boring. Never manages to catch him for anything.

Inspector Jones

Chisholms side kick, we see him and Chisholm constantly trying to get Arthur for something. Welsh in origin, Jones has a very 70's haircut and big 70's style glasses. The pair of them are almost seen as a comedy duo and as such you can never take them seriously.

Video files are coming soon, but for an episode guide, I have found a corker at the address listed. http://www.roundel.demon.co.uk/Clapperboard/index_MI.html