Enemy at the Door (1978-80)

London Weekend Television series set in the Channel Islands during WWII, starring Alfred Burke, Bernard Horsfall, Emily Richard, Simon Cadell, Simon Lack, Helen Schingler, John Malcolm, Richard Heffer, and Antonia Pemberton. It followed the fortunes of the Martel family under German Occupation and some of the German officers, with Alfred Burke and Bernard Horsfall playing the lead characters Dieter Richter and Dr Philip Martel respectively.

It was cancelled after two series, consisting of 26 fifty-minute episodes, ending prematurely around summer 1943.

Main Characters (German)

 * Dieter Richter
 * Klaus Reinicke
 * Otto Kluge


 * Ernst Freidel
 * Generalmajor Muller

Main Characters (Islanders)

 * Philip Martel
 * Clare Martel
 * Olive Martel
 * Peter Porteous
 * Helen Porteous

Recurring/Significant Guest Characters

 * John Ambrose
 * Cecily Brown
 * Teddy Lupus
 * Clive Martel
 * Betty Ridge
 * Generalmajor von Wittke

Cast (Regulars & Semi-Regulars)

 * Alfred Burke
 * Simon Cadell
 * Richard Heffer
 * Bernard Horsfall
 * Richard Hurndall
 * Simon Lack
 * John Malcolm
 * Antonia Pemberton
 * Emily Richard
 * Helen Shingler
 * Norma Streader
 * Gary Waldhorn
 * David Waller

Notable Guest Cast

 * Joss Ackland
 * Alun Armstrong
 * Stephanie Cole
 * Clive Francis
 * Terence Hardiman
 * Anthony Head
 * Martin Jarvis
 * James Maxwell
 * John Nettles
 * Edward Woodward

Production

 * Michael Chapman (Producer/story editor)
 * Jonathan Alwyn (Producer/director)
 * Tony Wharmby (Executive Producer)
 * Wilfred Josephs (Composer)

Behind the Scenes
Michael Chapman, producer & script editor, who seems to have been the leading creative force behind the series told the TV Times that the show worked because they tried 'to look at ordinary human beings in an extraordinary situation. "If, for example, the British, had occupied a German island in the North Sea, I think they would have behaved in much the same way."

Links & Resources

 * Enemy at the Door on Wikipedia
 * Enemy at the Door at the IMDB
 * Enemy at the Door at the BFI
 * Enemy at the Door - Zeta Minor (Detailed episode guides for both S1 and S2)