The Brittas Empire

1991

Seasons & Episodes

  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
7.1| NA| en| More Info
Released: 03 January 1991 Ended
Producted By:
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/thebrittasempire/
Info

The Brittas Empire is a British sitcom created and originally written by Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen. Chris Barrie plays Gordon Brittas, the well-meaning but incompetent manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre. The show ran for seven series and 53 episodes — including two Christmas specials — from 1991 to 1997 on BBC1. Norriss and Fegen wrote the first five series, after which they left the show. The Brittas Empire enjoyed a long and successful run throughout the 1990s, and gained itself large mainstream audiences. In 2004 the show came 47th on the BBC's Britain's Best Sitcom poll, and all series have been released on DVD. The creators Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen often combine farce with either surreal or dramatic elements in episodes. For example in the first series, the leisure centre prepares for a royal visit, only for the doors to seal, the boiler room to flood and a visitor to become electrocuted. Unlike the traditional sitcom, deaths were quite common in The Brittas Empire.

Genre

Comedy

Watch Online

The Brittas Empire (1991) is now streaming with subscription on Britbox

Director

Production Companies

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.
Watch Now
The Brittas Empire Videos and Images

The Brittas Empire Audience Reviews

Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie
Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
kclambeth The Brittas Empire is great, and everything you could want from a comedy.the story lines are mad and the characters madder but that's the appeal, escapism, to be lost in the madness of Whitbury new town leisure centre.The premise is the leisure centre run by the amazing Gordon Brittas, a picky, annoying, fussy, squeaky voiced man who constantly causes havoc, whilst annoying the public and organizing too many staff meetings and team bonding sessions. the staff are all too familiar with his ways and they add to the fun.There's the fantastic caretaker Colin, disgusting, huge boil on his cheek. couldn't care less secretary Julie, Carol the receptionist whose son lives in the cupboard, Gavin and Tim (Are they gay?) Brittas would be horrified. Linda and Laura, pretty normal, but good, Laura knows how to get round Brittas and Linda is quite feisty and then there's Gordon's long suffering wife Helen, a bit flaky, shop-lifter, obsessive and quite often pregnant, all of them are great actors and very funny.Every week something bonkers occurs, anything you can imagine happening at a leisure centre seems to happen; murders, explosions, and mainly customers wanting to kill Gordon.Well written and Chris Barrie (Brittas) is just great to watch, his mannerisms make me laugh so much and the way he doesn't listen to any of his staff reminds me of so many managers.Even when Gordon Brittas was on a sponsored silence he was annoying! Watch this for a bit of fun and an escape from real life, definitely the best of the 90's.
jamesmoule The first episode of this series had me rolling on the floor. The situation of promoting someone to get rid of him rang so true. In my profession, I saw the same CV hype and management disasters that were in the program. I was surprised that some people found it deeply confronting and hated it with a passion. Perhaps they were Brittas types themselves! The supporting cast also mirrored reality, loyally supporting a boss who didn't deserve their support and being blamed for all the problems that the boss created. Of course, the people who appointed Brittas were not going to admit to having made a mistake. He had, after all, impressed them at interview. Had he not had a wide range of positions, demonstrating a depth of experience? They, like other interview committees, did not not investigate Brittas' record in these positions and see the trail of destruction that he had left.
darth_vessera I've only recently discovered this gem on PBS. This has got to be one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. I haven't laughed so hard in quite awhile. I've never seen anyone as clueless as Brittas. I didn't start until the epi where they believe he's dead. I hope that this wonderful show continues on American TV.
naxash Mr Gordon Brittas is chief of Whitbury Newtown Leisure center. He thinks he's brilliant, but in fact everything he does turns into a disaster. The only person in his staff who thinks he's brilliant too, Colin, who's cleaning toilets all the time, is an absolute failure. Brittas's wife is depressed all the time - guess why. No one's coming to the leisure center - guess why. Gordon Brittas has a dream, but it never quite turns out the way he planned it. THE BRITTAS EMPIRE does have its surrealist moments (Carol "Whitbury Newtown Leisure Center how may I help you?" is keeping her children in drawers), it has its "thrilling" moments (like when Santa Claus tries to kill the whole staff during a survival course)... but everything is always funny, like Gordon Brittas when he tells his own dad "don't you SON me" -- or when he tells his wife about a "magical moment" he spent with her but she doesn't know what he's talking about....or the Christian fundamentalists from the U.S. who pronounce Brittas's name as "bright-ass" and want to re-baptize him... THE BRITTAS EMPIRE is, as the man himself, Gordon Brittas, would say, "eeeeeexcellent"....