‘Def-i-nitely Back’: Subversion of Kailyard and Clydeside inCharles Endell Esquire

Abstract

This article examines a significant, but neglected, Glasgow-set STV drama serial from 1979, Charles Endell Esquire. The article examines the way in which Charles Endell Esquire exploits and subverts classic tropes of Scottish identity in order to construct a liminal narrative and generic space between comedy and drama, subverting the stereotypical models of Kailyard and Clydesideism. Using the idea of 'place-myth', the article examines the ways in which the series' use of location filming sets up a structuring paradigm between tradition and modernity within the city of Glasgow, and between gritty urban Glasgow Clydesideism and the rural Kailyard of the Scottish countryside.