# The Brittas Empire (1991)

> A pompous, well-meaning leisure centre manager turns every routine task into a calamity for his long-suffering staff.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/227

## Facts

- Seasons: 7
- Episodes: 50
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Andrew Norriss
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Chris Barrie, Michael Burns, Julia St. John, Pippa Haywood, Tim Marriott, Harriet Thorpe, Russell Porter, Judy Flynn
- TMDB rating: 7.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101054/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: farcical, zany, affectionate, slapstick, absurd

## Synopsis

The Brittas Empire (1991-1997) is a British sitcom created by Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen for BBC One. Chris Barrie plays Gordon Brittas, the self-important but well-meaning manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre, whose ambitious schemes keep collapsing around him. Michael Burns plays Colin, Julia St. John plays Laura, and Pippa Haywood plays Helen Brittas, the staff members and family who must endure his plans. Each episode follows a workplace comedy engine: a visit, an inspection or a publicity event goes wrong through a chain of mishaps, from flooding and jammed doors to slapstick accidents in the pool and changing rooms. The show runs seven series across roughly fifty episodes, with the first five written by its creators before they departed. Its tone is broad, farcical and affectionate, with occasional surreal or darker turns that give the disasters an unexpected edge. Built on the traditions of British sitcom farce, it sits comfortably beside classics like Fawlty Towers and Keeping Up Appearances. Fans of The Office, Fawlty Towers and Keeping Up Appearances will find the same mix of blundering authority and escalating chaos.

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