FOX: THE COMPLETE SERIES

Fox is writer Trevor Preston’s magnum opus about a South London family who have lived in the Clapham area for generations. A microcosm of London and the way it has changed, the series follows the ups and downs and conflicts within the family. A patriarch who rules his family with a mixture of benevolence and despotism, “King” Billy (Peter Vaughan) is a retired Covent Garden porter, and his family consists of his second wife, Connie, and five sons: Vin (Bernard Hill), Ray (Derrick O ‘Connor), Joey (Larry Lamb), Kenny (Ray Winstone) and Phil (Eammon Boland). Written and directed on a scale which is seldom attempted on television nowadays, each of the thirteen episodes brings a depth and richness to both the characters and situation – from Billy’s 70th birthday to Kenny’s horror at accidentally killing his boxing opponent, from Vin trying to cope with a deaf son to Ray’s brushes with the law. The script, direction and acting are pitch-perfect, and this is arguably the best, most involving series that Euston Films produced throughout its twenty years.