#5.5 Second Hand Pose

When Arthur mistakenly leaves Terry locked in a freezer and subsequently forgets to collect him from the hospital, Terry wants nothing more to do with Arthur and starts work with second-hand furniture dealer Charlie Pope. After estate agent John Rawlings' dizzy receptionist Mary accidentally gives Charlie the wrong key to a flat that requires emptying after its owner has passed away (flat '9' instead of flat '6'), Charlie decides to steal its contents using Terry as a stooge to help him shift it. Terry is unaware of what has happened as Charlie had asked him to collect the removal trolley at the time he illegally entered the wrong flat. Charlie returns to the estate agent and as Mary is worried about the consequences of handing out the wrong key, Charlie and Mary agree not to mention the matter again. Charlie's luck is also in as Mary is about to go off on holiday for 2 weeks. In the meantime, estate agent John Rawlings himself returns and gives the correct key to Charlie, allowing Charlie the opportunity to completely cover his tracks. When the owner of the flat returns to find it empty she immediately reports the crime to Rycott and Melish.

Meanwhile, Arthur has been asked by local nightclub owner Roly-Poly Peter for Terry's services to stop a protection racket. While at Charlie's shop looking for Terry, Arthur purchases four of the stolen chairs from Charlie, the last of the stolen furniture which Charlie has now managed to offload. Arthur proceeds to sell the stolen chairs to Roger Collins, who has just purchased a second hand MG Metro from Arthur for his wife Abigail. While Charlie & Terry are out on another job, Charlie spots Rycott and decides to come clean with Terry. With Arthur also involved after selling the stolen chairs to Collins, Dave tells them all the only way out of the mess is to quietly return the stolen furniture. Terry and Charlie agree and eventually Arthur reluctantly does so as well. With no options left, the trio are forced to hire two conmen (Bill & Ben) to get the chairs back from Collins. Rycott seems intent on nicking Arthur as he is sure of his involvement.

Cast: Glynn Edwards as Dave, Billy Murray as Charlie Pope, Stacy Dorning as Abigail Collins, David Warbeck as Roger Collins, Peter Childs as Rycott, Michael Troughton as DC Melish, Ann Morrish as Miss Turner, Andrew Lodge as John Rawlings, Tilly Vosburgh as Mary Tate, Johnny Shannon as Roly-Poly Peter, Roy Boyd as Bill, Tim Pearce as Ben, Eileen Nicholas as Jane, Roger Nott as Ambulance Attendant, Philip Shelley as Policeman

Facts: There is some great use of rhyming slang in this episode - firstly after driving to the Winchester after he has collected Terry, Charlie Pope refers to his former partner Keith who is currently in prison, as being "Well elephant's at the time" - this comes from the cockney rhyming slang "Elephant's trunk" which means "drunk". Also, Terry asks Charlie if he thinks he is "Radio Rental" (mental) at the thought of him actually carrying-out his crazy idea to retrieve the stolen chairs back from Mrs Collins. In this episode we also hear the term "shovel" (shovel and pick = nick) used as a term for prison. This is the second appearance in the series by Michael Troughton, who plays Rycott's sidekick Tom Melish. This episode features a more up-to-date 'handshake scene' across the bonnet of Arthur's Daimler between Arthur and Terry at the end of the episode, as Terry sarcastically mocks Arthur for losing two thousand pounds on the sale of the MG Metro to Collins. There was a one week gap before the first transmission of this episode as ITV showed the final part of 'The Glory Boys' special in what would have been Minder's Wednesday 9PM slot, a drama starring Rod Steiger and Anthony Perkins.

Double Take: Billy Murray also appears as a different character in #7.5 Fiddler On The Hoof and is probably more recognisable to British viewers as corrupt D.S. Don Beech in the long running police drama series 'The Bill'. This is the second of three appearances in the show by Johnny Shannon, who also appears in #1.4 A Tethered Goat and later in #7.2 Days of Fines and Closures.

Bloopers: Watch carefully around 11 minutes as Charlie enters the flat for the first time (while Terry is downstairs). As Charlie passes the dining table there is a fruit bowl, place mats and a salt & pepper set on the table as he goes into a back room. When Charlie reappears from the back room in the next scene the table is now empty!

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