Auf Wiedersehen Pet 30th Anniversary
Geordie Pride is building as Newcastle gets set to celebrate 30 years of one of the region’s best loved TV exports.
Tyneside will be back with the boys again as many of the cast, writers and producers join fans in in a unique celebration of the iconic TV show, Auf Wiedersehen Pet.
Over four series and a Christmas special, the show followed the exploits and adventures of a group of migrant construction workers around the globe including Germany, Cuba, USA and Spain. The series also spawned the careers and made household names of the lead characters Tim Healy, Kevin Whately, Jimmy Nail, Gary Holton, Christopher Fairbank, Pat Roach and Timothy Spall.
Fans David Gardner from Hetton-Le-Hole and Lee Barratt from Blackburn who together run the official website, contacted ex -Lindisfarne drummer, Ray Laidlaw with the idea of organising a charity fund raising fan convention on Tyneside to celebrate the milestone anniversary.
To ensure the success of the convention, Ray who administers The Sunday for Sammy Trust recruited the help of his Tyne Idols business partner, Paul Irwin who also has a wealth of knowledge about the North East’s entertainment culture.
The Auf Wiedersehen Pet weekend will begin on Friday 20th September with a themed Treasure Hunt around NewcastleGateshead’s pubs and clubs as a taster for the weekend and to give people from outside the area a flavour of Tyneside.
On Saturday 21st, there will be two ticketed events. The first will be in the afternoon at the Tyneside Cinema where the results of a fan’s poll will reveal their all time favourite episode together with a special screening. There will also be a rare opportunity to pose questions with writers Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement and the show’s creator Franc Roddam.
A “Brickies Banquet” will take place on the Saturday evening at the Hilton NewcastleGateshead Hotel where fans can dine and mingle with members of the cast, the writers and producers. The evening will have a ‘construction theme’ and will feature a potted ‘history of the series’ with live and filmed anecdotes from the cast and famous fans of the show.
The weekend convention ends with a Tyne Idols guided bus tour of TV and film locations around NewcastleGateshead including places used in Auf Wiedersehen Pet, The Likely Lads, Spender, Our Friends In the North and many more. All profits from the convention will be donated to The Sunday for Sammy Trust.
The event already has three confirmed construction related sponsors, HM Plant, Hill Engineering and Bell Truck and Van.
Main sponsors, HM Plant from Monkton Business Park in Hebburn were delighted to help with the event. Chairman, John Jones explained why.
“Like HM Plant, Auf Wiedersehen Pet has been established for more than 30 years and the subject of the show; building and construction, is very close to our heart. It’s great to be associated with such an iconic TV show and we’re all looking forward to the convention.”
Actor Tim Healy who played Dennis Patterson, one of the famous Geordie Mafia in the series is also looking forward to the convention.
“ It will be great to be back with the boys again,” he said. “ We’ve all come a long way since the series started but it’s a show that will always be in my heart and soul.”
Tickets for the events are available from www.tyneidols.com
More information can be found on the website http://www.auf-pet.com/convention.html
