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A family of Catholic scammers in Thatcher's Britain — God forgives, the DSS doesn't.
TMDB
71
IMDb
63
Google
83
Watch(GB)

Bread (1986)

working-class chaossacrilegious hustleScouse soap opera

Latest Episode

30 min

Season 7 • Episode 10

Latest

Episode 10

Nov 3, 1991

Overview

Comedy

Bread is a British television sitcom, written by Carla Lane, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC1 from 1 May 1986 to 3 November 1991. The series focused on the devoutly-Catholic and extended Boswell family of Liverpool, in the district of Dingle, led by its matriarch Nellie through a number of ups and downs as they tried to make their way through life in Thatcher's Britain with no visible means of support. The street shown at the start of each programme is Elswick Street. A family called Boswell had also featured in Lane's earlier sitcom The Liver Birds and Lane admitted in interviews that the two families were probably related. Nellie's feckless and estranged husband, Freddie, left her for another woman known as 'Lilo Lill'. Her children Joey, Jack, Adrian, Aveline and Billy continued to live in the family home in Kelsall Street and contributed money to the central family fund, largely through benefit fraud and the sale of stolen goods.

Flag of GBGB
Content warning
familysitcommotherliverpool, englandscamnorthern englandunemployment benefits
survival through deceptionreligious hypocrisyfamily loyalty vs. self-interestclass warfare by other means

Standout Aspects

Writing

Carla Lane's razor-sharp dialogue, equal parts blasphemy and pathos.

Acting

Jean Boht's Nellie — matriarch, moral compass, and master manipulator.

Best for:Solo: Nostalgia binges with tea and biscuits, feeling vaguely judged.·Family: Multigenerational chaos — your relatives will seem functional.
Carla Lane

Creator

Carla Lane

First AiredMay 1, 1986
StatusEnded

Vibe

Pacesteady
Intensitymedium
Tonemixed
Feelmedium
Seasons7·Episodes74
BBC One

Top Cast

Jean Boht

Jean Boht

Nellie Boswell

Bryan Murray

Bryan Murray

Shifty Boswell

Jonathon Morris

Jonathon Morris

Adrian Boswell

Deborah Grant

Deborah Grant

Leonora Campbell

Kenneth Waller

Kenneth Waller

Grandad

Melanie Hill

Melanie Hill

Aveline Boswell

Victor McGuire

Victor McGuire

Jack Boswell

Ask about Bread

Opens AI chat

Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Cultural

Bread was a ratings monster, regularly pulling 21 million viewers — roughly 1 in 3 Britons watched the 1988 Christmas special. Thatcher's government reportedly hated it.

Trivia

Creator Carla Lane originally wanted to call it 'The Breadwinners' — BBC execs shortened it, accidentally creating one of British TV's most iconic one-word titles. Also: that's not Dingle, it's Elswick Street standing in.

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