Wolfie Smith: a rebel with applause
The Tooting Popular Front called it a day 40 years ago as comedy hit Citizen Smith came to an end
IT DID not matter to idealistic revolutionary Wolfie Smith that his Tooting Popular Front only had six members, no cash and hardly anyone knew their name. The unemployed dreamer was planning for the future and would proudly declare to his fellow revolutionaries: “I’ve got battles to fight and rights to right.”
The self-proclaimed urban guerilla was the first creation of comedy writer John Sullivan. He found a job working as a scene shifter at BBC Television Centre so that he could pitch his idea and comedy producer Dennis Main Wilson saw the potential of Citizen Smith and gave John his shot.
The sitcom began as a pilot on Comedy Playhouse in 1977 and the first series was running by the end of the year. John had seen Robert Lindsay in National Service comedy Get Some In and recommended him for the role of Wolfie Smith. His cry of “Power to the people” started each episode of the series as he emerged from Tooting Broadway tube station wearing a beret and carrying a guitar. His passionate cry from atop a statue frequently startled passers-by and set babies crying.
Robert’s then wife Cheryl Hall played Wolfie’s girlfriend Shirley with Game of Thrones actor Peter Vaughan as her disapproving dad who regularly referred to Wolfie as “Trotsky” or “flaming yeti” because of his long hair.
Hilda Braid, who played Shirley’s absent-minded mum, simply called him Foxy by mistake throughout the entire run of the sitcom. It was not revealed until the penultimate episode that Wolfie’s real name was actually Walter Henry Smith – WH Smith.
John Challis, who later found fame as wheeler dealer Boycie in Only Fools And Horses, popped up in Citizen Smith as Chief Inspector Humphreys and one of the season three episodes was titled Only Fools and Horses. It featured a guest appearance by Steptoe and Son star Wilfrid Brambell as a lift operator.
The sitcom came to an end with a Christmas special called Buon Natale which saw Wolfie and his fellow revolutionary Ken travelling to Italy to see if Wolfie could reignite his old relationship with Shirley.
However, things started to go wrong with the grand romantic gesture when Wolfie and Ken were mistaken for drug smugglers by the local police.