Auf Wiedersehen, Pet

- Season 1

(1983)

Geordies Dennis,Oz and Neville travel to Dusseldorf for brick-laying work,meeting along the way Barry,a motor-bike riding electrician from Wolverhampton. They refuse to give cheeky carpenter Wayne a lift in Oz's car but it breaks down on the autobahn and Wayne goes whizzing past them,having hitched a ride in a lorry. On the site they meet West country man Bomber but there is only work for two brickies so Neville claims to be a carpenter. However he has an accident with the saw and decides to return to England. A night on the tiles soon changes his mind when he wakes ...

Neville is about to be sacked for his lying but becomes a hero when he raises the alarm after seeing an unexploded bomb,unearthed by the diggers. He befriends Helmut Fischer,a German co-worker,and meets his family,the father having fought against Neville's father in the war. Oz's tactless remarks about the British winning the war land him in trouble and he is dismissed but the Germans actually go on strike in order for him to be reinstated. Liverpudlian Moxey joins the work-force and is welcomed with open arms because he is the only one of them who owns a darts board.

Oz's wife Marjorie learns of her husband's whereabouts from Dennis's wife and writes to ask for money. Oz,unhappy that she tracked him down,returns the letter as Not Known at This Address. When the wages belatedly arrive Dennis and Oz go to watch Sunderland F.C. play a football match and Oz gets drunk,ending up on the plane back to Newcastle with the Sunderland fans. On hearing this the others send his wages to Newcastle. He is not amused because he has returned to Germany and he and the money have passed each other on the way.

Everyone in the hut comes under suspicion when Neville has some cash stolen and Oz's watch is also stolen. Meanwhile, Nev receives a gift from a new friend, which comes to quite a surprise for Wayne.

Bomber hears from his wife that their teen-aged daughter Tracy has run away from home so he returns to Bristol to look for her, though in the mean time she turns up in Dusseldorf and the lads hide her in their hut whilst they alert Bomber to return. She tries it on with Wayne but,after he has turned her down,admits she does it for the attention. Later Neville is discovered moon-lighting at the local Indian restaurant.

Neville is arrested and charged with assault after a woman he walked home from a club is beaten up but the British and German workmen all join in to raise the money for his bail before his wife Brenda flies out to see why he did not phone her. Dennis remembers that the girl had a big row with her boyfriend and he and Helmut track down the real culprit,proving Neville's innocence - though he is still at pains to keep his tattoo from Brenda.

Dennis finds it difficult keeping his relationship with the site receptionist, Dagmar, a secret from the rest of the lads. Meanwhile, Wayne attempts to teach Barry the art of pulling women.

On their way to a fishing trip some of the workers pick up a young lad called Colin who is hitch-hiking. He tells them that he is a student,sleeping rough so they persuade him to come back to the site and ask for a job. He is,however,very secretive and eventually they discover why. He is an army deserter wanted by the military police for going AWOL. Eventually he is arrested,as is Barry because he has been trying to grow a beard and his appearance makes the police think he is a tramp.

The lads reluctantly bail out Magowan,a violent Irish worker jailed for fighting and reluctantly allow him to move in with them after he has been thrown out of his hostel. They are forming a darts team but do not want him to join though they are too scared to tell him,especially after he has assaulted Neville for asking for his bail money back. However,when Neville sees the boss,Herr Grunwald,at a porn cinema,the lads coerce him into sacking Magowan and getting rid of him for good.

Oz has developed a side line in selling pornographic videos. When a friend of Dennis's, Hedley Irwin, dies, Oz plans to smuggle the videos in Hedley's coffin as it is returned to England. However it transpires that Hedley was kicked out of the army for selling supplies to the Russians and his family do not want to accept his remains. As a result the coffin is cremated in Germany - with Oz's videos inside it.

Oz finds love with a tasty German girl by the name of Uli after Wayne makes him out as being a rich tycoon's son. But it turns out he isn't the only one being dishonest. Meanwhile Barry comes up with an idea to make the hut more homely.

Dennis's wife announces that she is coming over to Germany - what will it mean for his divorce, and his relationship with Dagmar? Oz wonders about the power of reincarnation, and Wayne falls in love with a woman, not just into her bed.

Work on the site ends with a bang as Barry's bike explodes, demolishing the hut and destroying most of the lads' possessions. As the smoke subsides, the crew decides who will stay on in Germany and who will head for home