About this season
The Brittas Empire is a British sitcom created and originally written by Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen. Chris Barrie plays Gordon Brittas, the well-meaning but incompetent manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre. The show ran for seven series and 53 episodes — including two Christmas specials — from 1991 to 1997 on BBC1. Norriss and Fegen wrote the first five series, after which they left the show. The Brittas Empire enjoyed a long and successful run throughout the 1990s, and gained itself large mainstream audiences. In 2004 the show came 47th on the BBC's Britain's Best Sitcom poll, and all series have been released on DVD. The creators Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen often combine farce with either surreal or dramatic elements in episodes. For example in the first series, the leisure centre prepares for a royal visit, only for the doors to seal, the boiler room to flood and a visitor to become electrocuted. Unlike the traditional sitcom, deaths were quite common in The Brittas Empire.
Episodes (7)
1. Back with a Bang
Aired 27 February 1996 • 30 min
After being crushed to death Gordon has been returned to Earth by St. Peter and rebuilt at a Swiss clinic - with a few side-effects. He returns a day early and misses the red carpet welcome prepared by the staff. Colin suddenly remembers the unexploded bomb, but will he get to tell in time?
2. Body Language
Aired 12 March 1996 • 30 min
Gordon tries to explain benefits of matching and mirroring body language. Colin suspects alien invasion when a green block of ice crashes through the roof, and Helen mistakenly sells the house to a member of the U.S. military
3. At the Double
Aired 26 March 1996 • 30 min
Gordon invites members of the Ruthenian State Circus to perform at the center. A group of US evangelists want to baptize Gordon in the pool after reading of his coming back from the dead. (
4. A Walk on the Wild Side
Aired 2 April 1996 • 30 min
Brittas proves he's not always a walking disaster when his new campaign becomes a European Directive
5. We All Fall Down
Aired 9 April 1996 • 30 min
Whitbury is celebrating World Peace and Hunger Day, Helen plans revenge on a nappy co that didn't use her children in a TV commercial and Tim discovers the rest of the staff earn more than him...
6. Mr. Brittas Falls in Love
Aired 16 April 1996 • 30 min
Tonight Mr. Brittas falls in love. He believes that swimming with a dolphin at the leisure center will bring peace, relaxation and happiness to all the inhabitants
7. Snap Happy
Aired 23 April 1996 • 30 min
When Brittas tries to organize a simple staff photograph, what can possibly go wrong? Last in present series.