The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs
| The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Written by | Bernard McKenna Richard Laing |
| Directed by | Bryan Izzard Bruce Gowers |
| Starring | David Jason Noel Coleman Michael Stainton |
| Theme music composer | Sam Fonteyn |
| Opening theme | "Defective Detective" |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Humphrey Barclay |
| Production company | London Weekend |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 15 September – 20 December 1974 |
The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs is a 1974 British television comedy series created by Bernard McKenna and Richard Laing and produced by Humphrey Barclay for LWT.[1] It was directed by Brian Izzard/Bruce Gowers and starred David Jason as the inept Edgar Briggs, personal assistant to the Commander of the British Secret Intelligence Service[2] who, in spite of his cluelessness, manages to solve case after case. It ran for one series of 13 25-minute episodes on the ITV network.
In 2026 the series was shown on the British TV channel Rewind TV.[3]
Cast
- David Jason as Edgar Briggs
- Noel Coleman as The Commander
- Michael Stainton as Buxton
- Mark Eden as Spencer
- Barbara Angell as Jennifer Briggs
- Elizabeth Counsell as Cathy
Episodes
| Episode # | Episode title |
|---|---|
| 1-01 | The Assassin |
| 1-02 | The Defector |
| 1-03 | The Leak |
| 1-04 | The Escape Route |
| 1-05 | The Abduction |
| 1-06 | The Exchange |
| 1-07 | The Courier |
| 1-08 | The KGB |
| 1-09 | The Traitor |
| 1-10 | The Drawing |
| 1-11 | The President |
| 1-12 | The Appointment |
| 1-13 | The Contact |
Reception
According to David Jason's biographers, Edgar Briggs was not a ratings success in Britain but proved popular in overseas markets. Nevertheless, Jason reportedly vetoed repeat screenings of the series for many years on the grounds that he "[knew] how raw he looked in those days" and was "not at all anxious to share that with his public."[4]
DVD release
The complete series was released on DVD in March 2015.[5]
References
- ^ "The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
- ^ Dave Rogers, The ITV Encyclopedia of Adventure, page 564, ISBN 9781852832179, pub 1988 by Boxtree Ltd for TV Times Publications, somewhere in the UK.
- ^ "The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs". tv-guide-listings.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
- ^ Hildred, Stafford; Ewbank, Tim (2012). Sir David Jason - A Life of Laughter. John Blake Publishing. pp. 95–96. ISBN 9781782190721.
- ^ "The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs: The Complete Series". Amazon.co.uk. 2 March 2015.