Season 2 • Episode 6
LatestAfter a window is smashed by a flying tin of potatoes, Slinger has to spend the night on guard, an order from new chairman Mr Crawford.
Slinger's Day is a British sitcom created by Brian Cooke and produced by Thames Television for ITV. A continuation of Tripper's Day, which had come to a natural end due to a combination of star Leonard Rossiter's death and an overwhelmingly negative response, Bruce Forsyth plays a different character to Norman Tripper but fulfilling the same role, that of the manager of a Supafare supermarket with a team of incompetent eccentrics. Several cast members from Tripper's Day reprised their roles in the first series but departed in the second, allowing for new characters. Broadcast for two six-episode runs from 1986–87, Slinger's Day represented Forsyth's sole situation comedy acting role, and he remained more associated with stand-up and game shows.
Acting
Forsyth gamely tries acting instead of game-show hosting.
Production
The sheer audacity of recasting a dead man's role.
Creator
Brian Cooke
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Tripper's Day had starred Leonard Rossiter, who died of a heart attack during a stage performance; Slinger's Day was Thames Television's unprecedented attempt to continue the same show with a new lead actor playing a functionally identical character.
This represents perhaps the only time a major British sitcom was essentially rebooted in-place due to star death, making it a fascinating case study in television's refusal to let formats die.
GB
