Name: Floating Off
Director: Nicholas Renton
Genre: Comedy, Drama, TV Movie
Released: 1983-08-24
Duration: 67 min
Cast: Peter Woodthorpe, Graham Crowden, Brenda Blethyn, Hugh Dickson, Roger Davidson

A 67-minute British TV movie so obscure it has ZERO ratings. Perfect disaster or hidden gem?

forgotten BBC curiooffice farce energyThatcher-era anxiety

Overview

Comedy Drama TV Movie

Businessman Jack Humpage and his secretary Janice try to make an unconventional deal with a merchant bank before Humpage's son finds out.

Content warning

corporate moral decayclass performancethe paper trail of lies

Standout Aspects

Acting

Brenda Blethyn before she was Brenda BLETHYN — watch the origins.

Production

Peak 1983 BBC drabness: beige walls, bad coffee, worse decisions.

Best for:Solo·Background

Director

Nicholas Renton

ReleasedAug 24, 1983

Runtime1h 7m

StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacefast

Intensitymedium

Tonemixed

Feellight

Top Cast

Peter Woodthorpe

Jack Humpage

Graham Crowden

French

Brenda Blethyn

Janice

Isabelle Amyes

Vera

Pip Donaghy

Eddie

Patsy Byrne

Lady on train

Linzi Drew

Dancer

Danny Schiller

Tailor

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Nicholas Renton directed this between episodes of 'The Professionals' — you can feel the TV budget suffocating the ambition.

Cultural

This is essentially a fossil of pre-Big Bang British banking culture: mahogany desks, handshake deals, and the creeping sense that everyone was already underwater.