Series synopsis
Bring Back... is a British comedy documentary television series that premiered on Channel 4 on May 10, 2005. It ended on May 9, 2009. It stars Justin Lee Collins.
Bring Back... is a British television series comprising one-off shows where Justin Lee Collins tries to locate people from music, TV or film backgrounds to reunite them for a one-off performance or get-together. The series was broadcast on Channel 4.
Premise
Bring Back... is a British television series comprising one-off shows where Justin Lee Collins tries to locate people from music, TV or film backgrounds to reunite them for a one-off performance or get-together. The series was broadcast on Channel 4.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Justin Lee Collins as Self - Host
Guest cast
- Billy Dee Williams as Self
- David Essex as Self - vocals
- Debbie Allen as Self - Lydia Grant
- Todd Carty
- Mr. T as Self - B.A. Baracus
- Leonard Nimoy as Self
- Larry Hagman as Self - J.R. Ewing
- Linda Gray as Self - Sue Ellen Ewing
- Warwick Davis as Self
- Dwight Schultz as Self - H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock
- Mmoloki Chrystie as Kevin Baylon
- Aled Jones
Episodes
This series spans 2 seasons with 18 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 9 | October 5, 2005 | September 5, 2009 |
| Season 1 | 9 | May 10, 2005 | May 9, 2009 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Grange Hill Collins looks back at the successful television series Grange Hill and particular its anti-drugs campaign in 1986 which led to the production of the pop record "Just Say No". Justin Lee Collins tries to track down the original actors in the show at the time and reunite them for a one-off performance of the song. Justin has a problem in that he has just 10 days to trace them, but many have abandoned their acting careers altogether and are reluctant to relive their brush with adolescent stardom. However, he did manage to track down and interview: * Alison Bettles - Fay Lucas * George Christopher - Ziggy Greaves * Mmoloki Chrystie - Kevin Baylon * Lee MacDonald - Zammo Maguire * Erkan Mustafa - Roland Browning Only Bettles, MacDonald, Christopher and Mustafa arrived to sing their 80s hit at the Hammersmith Palais, but they were joined on stage by other former cast members who were not interviewed, among them was Mark Savage who played 'Gripper' Stebson. Despite the title, Grange Hill was still airing at the time the show aired. On September 15, 2008 Grange Hill finally came to an end after 30 years. |
October 5, 2005 |
| 2 |
Bring Back...The Christmas Number One Justin attempts to make a Christmas-themed song to the Christmas number one single slot - a feat not accomplished since Cliff Richard's Saviour's Day in 1990, excluding the re-recorded version of the 1984 song Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid 20 in 2004. In the end, they produced the song "I'm Goin' Home", featuring the following musicians: * David Essex (vocals) * Mud's Rob Davis (guitar) * Slade's Dave Hill (guitar) * Slade's Don Powell (drums) * Jona Lewie (piano) * Dave Mount (drums) * Showaddywaddy (backing vocals) * Justin Lee Collins (backing vocals and sleigh bells) Liz Mitchell of Boney M and Aled Jones expressed interest in the project, but were ultimately unable to attend. The song was to be released so it could compete to be Christmas number 1 but the record company axed the release. However it was available for download for the Channel 4 website and where it reached number 1 in the site's download chart. |
December 10, 2005 |
| 3 |
One Hit Wonders JLC attempts to reunite former pop artists from past decades who have only had one big, well known hit, to play at a one off gig. He interviewed: * Joe Dolce * Renato Pagliari of the duo Renée and Renato * Clive Jackson of Doctor and the Medics * Carl Douglas * Mary Sandeman aka Aneka Only Pagliari, Jackson and Douglas turned up to perform their hits at the Clapham Grand, London. |
June 9, 2006 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Bring Back Grange Hill Collins looks back at the successful television series Grange Hill and particular its anti-drugs campaign in 1986 which led to the production of the pop record "Just Say No". Justin Lee Collins tries to track down the original actors in the show at the time and reunite them for a one-off performance of the song. Justin has a problem in that he has just 10 days to trace them, but many have abandoned their acting careers altogether and are reluctant to relive their brush with adolescent stardom. However, he did manage to track down and interview: * Alison Bettles - Fay Lucas * George Christopher - Ziggy Greaves * Mmoloki Chrystie - Kevin Baylon * Lee MacDonald - Zammo Maguire * Erkan Mustafa - Roland Browning Only Bettles, MacDonald, Christopher and Mustafa arrived to sing their 80s hit at the Hammersmith Palais, but they were joined on stage by other former cast members who were not interviewed, among them was Mark Savage who played 'Gripper' Stebson. Despite the title, Grange Hill was still airing at the time the show aired. On September 15, 2008 Grange Hill finally came to an end after 30 years. |
May 10, 2005 |
| 2 |
Bring Back the Christmas Number One Justin attempts to make a Christmas-themed song to the Christmas number one single slot - a feat not accomplished since Cliff Richard's Saviour's Day in 1990, excluding the re-recorded version of the 1984 song Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid 20 in 2004. In the end, they produced the song "I'm Goin' Home", featuring the following musicians: * David Essex (vocals) * Mud's Rob Davis (guitar) * Slade's Dave Hill (guitar) * Slade's Don Powell (drums) * Jona Lewie (piano) * Dave Mount (drums) * Showaddywaddy (backing vocals) * Justin Lee Collins (backing vocals and sleigh bells) Liz Mitchell of Boney M and Aled Jones expressed interest in the project, but were ultimately unable to attend. The song was to be released so it could compete to be Christmas number 1 but the record company axed the release. However it was available for download for the Channel 4 website and where it reached number 1 in the site's download chart. |
December 10, 2005 |
| 3 |
Bring Back The A Team Justin attempts to re-unite the cast of his favourite show as a child, The A-Team. Justin has to secure interviews and appearances with the stars of the show who have not spoken to each other for some time. Justin met with the below people to discuss the show and asked them to attend a reunion. All of them bar Mr. T made it to the meeting, which took place at the Friars Club of Beverly Hills. * Dirk Benedict - Templeton "Faceman" Peck * Dwight Schultz - H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock * Marla Heasley - Tawnia Baker * Jack Ging - General Harlan "Bull" Fullbright * Mr. T - B.A. Baracus * Stephen Cannell - series co-creator The below people although not being interviewed by Justin appeared at the meeting. * William Lucking - Colonel Lynch * Lance LeGault - Colonel Roderick Decker * Christian Peppard - Representing his late father George Peppard Justin often used very unorthodox methods, such as ambushing the actors in their homes, hotel rooms, or even while out shopping, without any prior warning and, for Mr. T, attempting to gatecrash his way into the Latin Grammy Awards. During every interview, Collins would inquire about the rumored tension between Peppard and Mr T. Although Peppard was an established star of Hollywood movies, Mr. T was relatively new to on-screen acting yet, in a short time, he was generally regarded as the main star of the show. It was suggested that tension did indeed exist between the two and was most probably due to Peppard's bitterness of Mr. T's status in the show. During the interview with Mr. T, the trademark gold chains worn by his character were discussed. Mr. T stated that they were symbolic of the iron chains of his African slave-ancestors but made from gold because he thinks of himself as being a 'slave' except with a higher price now. As a lighthearted joke for the show, a medium attempted to contact the deceased George Peppard via seance. The program never touched upon the fifth season of the series in any way, with no mention of Eddie Velez and Robert Vaughn's characters, and neither actor appearing at the reunion itself. Additionally, the episode in which Jack Ging's character General Fullbright is shot and killed is specifically described as the series' final episode (it was in fact, the final episode of season four). |
May 18, 2006 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | Channel 4 |
|---|---|
| First aired | May 10, 2005 |
| Last aired | May 9, 2009 |
| Runtime | 60 minutes |
| Status | Ended |