A cross-dressing sailor named 'Cock' Roach thrives in a nuclear tin can. Chaos.
Play by Tom McClenaghan, about a routine patrol in the submarine HMS Superior. Strange, near-farcical take on tensions, eccentricities and sexuality among the crew of a Polaris submarine, on a six-week tour of duty off the coast of Faslane in Scotland. Among their number, Neil Pearson is the wily, mascara-wearing, cross-dressing messhand AB Seaman ‘Cock’ Roach, using his Bilko-esque charm to scale the naval pecking order and positively thrive in this tiny, cloistered world
Acting
Neil Pearson's magnetic, slippery Cock Roach
Direction
Bird's cramped, sweaty submarine tension
Director
Antonia Bird
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Antonia Bird was one of few women directing British TV drama in the early '80s; this was her debut, made for BBC's 'Play on One' strand.
Neil Pearson later became better known as 'Drop the Dead Donkey's' Dave Charnley—Cock Roach remains his most unhinged, glitter-flecked hour.
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