Fame is the Spur: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Period drama series Fame is the Spur tells the story of development of the Labour Party, through the world of three very different men, through to the Spanish Civil War. Beginning in 1877 the serial follows three friends from Manchester all determined to make something of their lives. The three, Tom Hannaway, Arnold Ryerson and John Shawcross take different paths but all make an impact. Tom ends up making his fortune in business whilst Arnold becomes a prominent trade unionist. John (or Hamer as he renames himself) moves up in politics.

Series details

• Title: Fame is the Spur
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama
• Premiere date: 1982-01-08
• Final broadcast date listed: 1982-02-26
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: BBC One
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 50 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 50961
• IMDb ID: tt0211803

Cast and credited roles

• Tim Pigott-Smith — Hamer Shawcross
• David Hayman — Arnold Ryerson
• George Costigan — Tom Hannaway
• Joanna David — Ann Artingstall
• Phyllida Law — Aunt Lizzie

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1982-01-08; final listed air date 1982-02-26; episode order: 8.

Source and licence

Adapted from Fame is the Spur on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.