In this episode, we look at the classic episode Whose Wife Is It Anyway? from Series 2.

This is, as you will know if you listen to the Top Ten episodes show, my favourite all time episode of Minder. I know it is for some of you too or at the very least, an episode you like a lot. I’ve wanted to do this one for a while and have been building up titbits here and there ready to get down and look into it all at some point. As we featured location manager Dave Shanks last episode, I wanted to follow up with this one.

And so I have put together as much as I can find regarding this episode and have – pardon the expression – blown myself away in terms of what I discovered. As usual with many Minder episodes, there was much more than met the eye. What appeared to be a straightforward comedy drama was anything but.

This show is in three sections. Episode description, writing inspiration and finally we will cover the unusual material which links to the episode, including insight into the location used and why this was used, as well as lots of trivia relating to the episode.

You may be wondering why the reference to Steptoe and Son so go ahead and listen in to find out all of the writing inspirations for Tony Hoare, as long as you’ve got nothing against irons.

Censors be damned!

Without the hard work of Jonathan and other fans from minder.org I could not have gone on some of the paths I found and much of this info would have remained undiscovered. So it is thanks to his and others’ tireless work in sourcing the real locations from Minder that I could begin my research into the location connections.

Download the show here or via Spotify.

When you have listened to the show the photos below will make a little more sense.

The real life Jolly Jim! Beaudoin Mills who owned the real life antiques shop known as “Brompton” in the episode

I recommend you listen to the show first but these should also prompt you to listen if you haven’t already. Here we reveal the real life inspiration for Whose Wife Is It Anyway? as well as some stunning location photos of the Ledbury Road, Artesian Road area and shop/flat shown in the episode.

The Old Brompton Road was full of antiques shops as was Ledbury Road and Westbourne Grove
The former antiques shop is today a Scottish designer clothing store, Brora
It was up for sale before Brora came in and almost became a restaurant
Jolly Jim (and Beaudoin Mills’) real life pad was right here!
The word Brompton was prominently displayed throughout the episode and the reason was all about secrets
Even the French references were deliberate. As was the fact Jim liked to cook. Moules Marinière?
Terry has just passed the Walmer Castle pub, once owned by David Beckham and Guy Ritchie
“Fantasy, lies, it’s all part of the same thing.”
Oh I’ve got it!

This is the last episode of 2024 so I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We will be back in 2025! And remember, in the meantime, the world is your lobster my son.

What better way to end the year than with a raving iron!

1 comment

  • Johno December 3, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    A brilliant ep Paul, I love all the background behind the scenes stuff and the now obvious connections to real people in that area and that era.
    Tony Hoare was always one of my favourite writers of Minder, but most of the clever, subtle references would have gone over my head back in the day.
    I love the way you were deliberately non PC in your references and quotes, quite correctly for the period and the social circles of 1980, refreshingly rare to hear these days due to all the snowflakes and complainers.
    Walmer Castle pub is still there today, and I found it VERY expensive when I had a few pints in there a couple of years ago when visiting for my then and now pics as this location is also used in the Sweeney Trojan Bus ep and my Favourite Minder ep ‘In’ where Terry chases Brian Cox onto the bus for the big punch up, that punch up having started in the pub. Plus of course, the court yard where Terry hangs from the ‘iron’ girder.

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