I'm the king of the castle,
You’re the dirty rascal.
I'm the king of the castle,
Get down, you dirty rascal!

- Popular children's nursery rhyme

Schoolboy Roland Wright is fed up with his day-to-day life: picked on by the teachers at his choir, forced to move into a tiny flat at the top of a high-rise tower block with his father and stepmother, and bullied by the gang of kids who roam its corridors – he retreats into a fantasy world of his own creation. But when Roland inadvertently steps into a faulty lift and plummets down, down, down, he finds himself trapped in ‘The Castle’ – a nightmare version of the tower block populated with twisted versions of his peers. Will Roland ever get home again…?

‘King of the Castle’ is another highly entertaining production from prolific children’s television creator Patrick Dromgoole, whose extensive credits include ‘Children of the Stones’, ‘Robin of Sherwood’, ‘Catweazle’, ‘Sky, ‘Into the Labyrinth’ and many more. Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, creator’s of ‘Doctor Who’s robotic companion, K-9, ‘King of the Castle’ is also an astonishingly strange slice of children’s television, set in a bizarre world filled with peculiar characters and scenarios; it was originally to have been shown in a weekday slot, but ITV’s Network Planning Committee deemed it too scary, and held it back four months until it could be shown at Sunday teatime – although I’m sure it must still have given its viewers a nightmare or two when it was transmitted!

Child actor Philip DaCosta gives an admirable performance, while old favourites Fulton Mackay, David Trevena, Talfryn Thomas et al take great delight in playing the straight and surreal versions of their characters; these portrayals coupled with well designed sets and costumes, some truly strange optical effects, and three of the industry’s best directors, makes ‘King of the Castle’ a classic – one that’ll make children think twice about using lifts in high-rise blocks of flats…


King of the Castle - Eps 1-7

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Legal Bit: 'King of the Castle' is a registered trademark of Carlton International Media Ltd. The 'King of the Castle' logo and all images from the television series are copyright Carlton International Media Ltd. unless otherwise stated; music is copyright the original composers and producers; no copyright infringement is intended. All specially created images and text are copyright © Clive Banks; please do not use these without my permission. All rights reserved. No profit is made from this website, and any revenue made from using the banner-links featured goes straight back into the costs of maintaining it, which comes out of my own pocket in the first place. No profit advertising is accepted. This website was created purely to entertain and amuse, and any references to persons living, dead, comatose, in suspended animation, under psychic control, not born yet, or a figment of someone's imagination is purely coincidental. All opinions expressed are my own, so there...

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