Britannia Mafia

Britannia Mafia
Genre	Crime Business
Created by	James May
Starring	James May Huw Ceredig Billie Piper Gary Glitter Dawn French
Opening theme	"Take on Me" by Ah-Ha
Country of origin	UK
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC 1

Britannia Mafia is the first television series based on the very popular and feared mafia in Britain. The shows creator and lead actor is well known rebel James May. The show airs on BBC 1 as the show is deemed too mainstream for BBC 2 and to unsuitable for the immature audience of BBC 3, on which rival show CSI: Swansea airs. A second series is now being filmed.

Beginning

Dai 'The Pie' Llewelyn: Young rising star of the Britannia Mafia.

The show was originally going to be aired on Channel 4, but they decided another 'pathetic' series of Big Brother was required so this took the budget up so James May took the proposition to the BBC who decided to dump the show after the news on Friday nights before Jonathan Ross bores the nation with his anecdotes. The show attracts mainly Top Gear presenters in guest roles due to May's 'connections'. In a way to keep the budget down May was told by the BBC to only hire actors and actresses from the BBC, with a little bit of cash left over for a few guest stars from season to season.

Critics have praised the show calling it a British version of the US series Breaking Bad, but set in the 1970s and not involving meth or a bald guy.

Premise

The series begins with Johnny 'The Hook' Kenneth Higginbottom (James May) begin released from prison to a changed 1970s London. A disgraced police man, Higgenbottom was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit (or so he claims) and after numerous escape attempts and several unflattering visits to the prison showers (where he was apparently nicknamed “Long Dong Silver”!) he is finally set free in early 1971. Advised by his probation officer against rejoining the police force, Higgenbottom forms his own gang: The Britannia Mafia, recruiting several of his underworld contacts from his days as a stereotypical motorbike rebel to take on the nancy scum that are clogging up ‘70s Britain.

Throughout the series the mafia take on rival gangs, help people with problems and find any way they can to increase their profits by causing as much chaos as humanly possible while there is the underlying storyline of police corruption within the police force, which Higgenbottom often used as a way to evade prison within the show. The official BBC press release for the show describes it as “The A-Team meets Life on Mars…..With a bit of BNP thrown in….”.

Theme tune

The show has a very distinct theme tune, creator James May said of the theme tune what it represents:

“ What me and the producers wanted was a theme tune to capture the public's imagination about the show, we soon discovered "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson was too expensive so we went with "Take on Me" by Ah-Ha. ”

The shows closing theme is one sung by May and his gang in a similar way to the song that Michael Caine and his gang sing at the end of The Italian Job. The only difference between the two are that the words are completely different. For the closing theme the song is sung to the tune of "Rule Britannia" and goes along the lines of:

• Britannia Mafia!
• Britannia Mafia want to rule the waves
• They want the rest of Britain to become their slaves...etc etc.

Characters

To save money the show features actors and actresses that have appeared in many other BBC shows. As a result the cast list for Britannia Mafia is very extensive with many minor or recurring characters that only appear now and again. The main characters in the series are those that are members of the Britannia Mafia itself and the leaders and members of their rival gangs. The list below shows all of the characters that have appeared on the show to date with them being broken down into gangs or organisations as seen on the show:

Britannia Mafia

• James May as Johnny 'The Hook' Kenneth Higginbottom (1x01 - Present) - A twenty-something (cough cough!) stereotypical motorbike rebel and grand overlord of the London mafia. Higgenbottom is an ex-police officer who left after they discovered he was corrupt, and locked him away in prison as a result. He however maintains that he left because the force was becoming too PC. Johnny is known for arse-raping victims with his long, curvy hook and when trying to evade Police capture he disguises himself as a white masked tamed racing driver. James May was chosen for the role for two main reasons. The first being that he was tipped to take over the main role on rival show CSI: Swansea from Lee Evans but the bastards that produce that show decided to cast Vic Reeves instead. Secondly; everyone knows he has racist tendencies and his hatred of cockney rhyming slang so the producers decided that May's character would be based in the most multicultural city in Europe.
  

  Johnny 'The Hook' Higginbottom: Don't mess with him he doesn't like disrespect.
• Huw Ceredig as Dai 'The Pie' Llewelyn (1x01 - Present) - The only Non-English speaker of the Mafia, the producers ran out of budget at the choice for this role so they turned to Wales and got one of its best young rising actors. Dai is known to like pies to due his size. Is a pimp on the side of his mafia duties. Following Ceredig's death in August 2011 James May announced that the character will be written out of the show in the sixth series with Dai dying after eating a tainted pie.
• Dawn French as 'Some manwoman the mafia hired to do the Finances' (1x01 - Present) - Her name is never revealed throughout the show as with her/his gender. The mafia nicknamed her 'Boar the Whore' due to grotesque appearance and size. She somehow ends up with the mafia on its quests.
• Jonathan Ross as Buck 'The Duck' Buckowski (2x03 - Present) - The latest member of the mafia, he is American but not overweight, he likes the Carry On Films and EastEnders, he frequently likes to insult people on their answering machines. Has his own chat show after Britannia Mafia airs.
• Ben Clarke as Earl Hacker (1x01 - Present) - The Mafia's hacker who can hack any computer, bank vault, telephone etc. he is an ex-pickpocket who was kicked out of Sandhurst military academy after he hacked a government computer and almost caused world war three. He is now part of the team and is used whenever they need to break into something. He is in a relationship with a women called Kate and when asked something he always responds with the line "I went to Sandhurst" at which the mafia laugh at. His common weapon of choice is a bit of two-by-four, which he claims is the same size as his penis. Ben Clarke landed the role after James May saw his "brilliant performance" on the BBC show The Apprentice.
• Madison Welch as Busty Sinclair (1x01 - Present) - Higgenbottoms page three glamour model girlfriend, she is often nicknamed "Huge tits, tight arse" by the gang. She comes across as thick on many occasions, but is actually quite clever as she knows all the ins and outs of the female genital region. Her interests include flower arranging, sex and making things pretty.

The Valentino Family

• Ronnie Corbett as Antonio Valentino: Higgenbottom's close friend and mentor, he is the father of the family. He is small but sits in a really high back leather chair. He cracks stupid jokes from time to time to break up the action and has been likened by the mafia to The Godfather.
• Sue Johnston as Katrina Valentino: Antonio Valentino's wife....yeah that's about it!
• Trevor Eve as Bob "Bobby" Valentino: The eldest son of Antonio. Swears a lot and is described as a bit rough around the edges. Likes to shout and beat people up.
• Theo Paphitis as Marcus Valentino: The second eldest son of Antonio. Spent several years in prison for shoplifting a biro pen. He is to inherit his dad's empire when he dies, but he refuges to invest his children's inheritance on silly things. When he is not committing crimes he is the managing director of push-up bra company.
• Tamzin Outhwaite as Anya Valentino: Antonio's only daughter. She runs a chain of hotels that her father stole from the company Travelodge.
• Unknown as Debbie "Mrs V" Valentino: The wife of Marcus. Never been seen on screen although the viewer often hears her voice. She is referenced many times by her husband as "Mrs V". Apart from this little else is known about her. Rumour has it she spends most of her time in the kitchen.

The Telford Ten

A rival gang from Telford, which is made up of eleven members as the people from there cannot count. Each member is named after a number:

• Keith Allan as Number One: The leader of the gang.
• Julie Graham as Number Two: Female, girlfriend of Number One.
• Unknown as Number Three: A four year old kid, who is sleeping with his dad's girlfriend.
• Richard Armitage as Number Four: The fourth member of the gang.
• Adrian Lester as Number Five: Likes meals out and long walks in the country before he puts a cap in his victims ass.
• Nigel Harmen/Dennis Rickman as Number Six: Was expelled from school because he set fire to it so there was no school to go to, lives with his pet fish, his parents left before he was born.
• Lauren Crace as Number Seven: Female. Named Number Seven as she has had seven previous sexual partners.
• Claire Goose as Number Eight: Once tried to rape herself, not really that clever but somehow has a boyfriend.
• Bruce Forsyth as Number Nine: Looks like they have been hit in the chin with a brick because they have been hit in the chin with a brick.
• Unknown as Number Ten: The only gang member whose real name has been mentioned. He first name is Ben as he is Number ten because it rhymes. Ironically he is also ten years old.
• Unknown as The One That Tags Along: The one who wants to be part of the gang and makes out they are hard when they are not. This person makes up the eleventh member of the gang.

Americana Gang

Another gang from New York who are also against the Britannia Mafia. It is made up of three members. The gang will appear in series two:

• Tom Cruise as That One Guy who Stares at people with an Eye patch (2x01 - Present) He is an 'old fucking pirate' (described to that by Dai) who has sailed the seas for years and years. One day during the ages of World War Two, he was still amazingly young and still wore an eye patch (because you KNOW it looks awesome), however, his eye was cut out by Nazis when he tried to plunder a Japanese battleship by throwing his own eye at it, so he can actually say his eye was cut out and that's why he wore an eye patch instead of having to lie.
• Barry off EastEnders as Ronald Witherspoon (2x01 - Present) Pushed his scheming wife off a cliff at Yellowstone, the producers wanted an American actor but thought no let's go for that guy who used to be on EastEnders oh what's his name? William Shaunson oh forget it Barry of EastEnders.
• Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean Blackadder (2x01 - Present) The comic relief character of the show as he is a complete blithering idiot. He is the latest in the long running Blackadder family. He lost all his fortune which has resulted in him living in a crappy bedsit. He also seems to be suffering from depression and had to trade in his Audi Quattro for a lime green Mini.

Triads (recurring roles)

• Richard Hammond as Ching Chong Li (1x06, 1x10, 2x01, 2x02 and 2x06-Present) - The Triad leader, the Britannia Mafia's biggest rival. Ching Chong has a sister called Ting Tong who appears in sketch show Little Britain.
• Gordon Ramsay as Ping Ling Do (2x06-Present) - Ching Chongs main henchman only appears later on series two. Says lots of angry words at enemies in Chinese, some people say that these are swear words.

Sleeping with the Fishes

• Gary Glitter as Jeremy 'The Rod' Sweeney (1x01 - 2x02) - A former sex offender, Johnny offers him a job with his mafia as Jeremy knows how to use his gun but in the incorrect places. He like to kill his victims by using his long, thick, hard rod to tear up victims.

The Rozzers/The Neapolitan Police

• Philip Glenister as Superintendent Harry Cox - The head of the Neapolitan police who is trying to stop all the corruption etc etc. His common lines included "Drop it! You are surrounded by armed fuckers!" and "I wouldn't mind giving her a going over with the old feather duster". He drives a caprigear and wears a long trench coat with the buttons missing. He always carries 24 hipflasks on him. One for every hour of the day. Glenister was cast in the role because he lives and works in a 1970s timewarp for the BBC.
• James Nesbitt as DCI Somethingorother - Not sure on his identity, the DCI once hit is head on his kitchen worktop and he woke up thinking he was one man but he actually has a hidden side to him that can emerge at times. He comes across slightly camp at times and appears to have Bipolar Disorder which causes his personality to shift from good to evil. When he is being evil he has to keep himself away from his family and work colleagues by holding up in a run down flat.
• Ross Kemp as DI Grant "Shiny Head" Shiner - The second in command blow Philip Glenister's character. He enjoys making documentaries in his spare time. His family owns an eastend pub called The Red Lion in which he helps out either when he cannot be arsed to work or when he is not working. He is built like a brick shit and anyone who gets on the wrong side of him is blinded by his shiny head.
• Rupert Penry Jones as Detective Barry Scrotes - The detective assigned to the department that is out to catch the Britannia Mafia. Scrotes gets the mickey taken out of him because of his surname but in actuality he is very clever and is a pro at the card game Old Maid. He can down a pint using his leg and calculate the stopping distance of his police car when he is not even in it. he shares a flat with DI Shiner.
• Lee Evans as Constable Stacey Wiliams (1x01 - Present) - His partners always take the mickey out of him due to his surname being Wiliams which is the incorrect spelling. Likes to put whistles in his mouth, his favourite songs are "Flawless" and "Club Tropicana". Oh yeah he is gay by the way. Evan's decided he might like to play the role after he was sacked from rival show CSI: Swansea, the producers of Britannia Mafia agreed.
• John Prescott as Constable Ken Pavarotti (1x01 - Present) - He is Stacey's massively overweight partner he is homophobic, hates anything to do with Wham! and George Michael, and despises incorrect spellings ideally a perfect double act. Has affairs with attractive women who are self-conscious about themselves and feel equal having sex with a big fat whale huffing and puffing on top of them.

Other characters

• Keeley Hawes as Claire Swann (formally Higgenbottom) - Higgenbottom's first love and ex-wife before he was banged up. She is the mother of Higgenbottom's only child.
• John Simm as Samuel Taylor - No relation to the character below despite the surname. He is the new lover of Claire Swann. He hates Higgenbottom's style of justice and often tries to work against him.
• Billie Piper as Roseta Taylor - Higgenbottom's daughters teacher, who is rumoured to have once had an affair with Higgenbottom, although this has never been confirmed.
• Noel Clarke as Mick Jones - Roseta Taylor's girlfriend who has a giant cock.
• Melissa Suffield as Lucy Swann - Higgenbottom's daughter whom he rarely sees and should be paying benefits for but isn't.
• Zoe Tapper as Cheasty LaRoux - Will appear from series three onwards. An ongoing joke will be added to the show in that all the mafia members including Higgenbottom will say "wow I'll tap that!" in reference to actress Zoe's surname.
• Jonas Armstrong as Robin "Hoodie" Hunter - An orphan in the form of a grown man who robs from the rich and the poor. He will be taken under the wing of Higgenbottom in series three.
• David Tennant as "The Doc" - A unnamed doctor who is the tenant in one of Higgenbottom's many flats across the UK. Higgenbottom usually comments on the number of women going in and out of his flat who the "doc" calls his "companions".
• Hugh Dennis as Dennis "The Menace" Anderton - Notorious street criminal known for rummaging through bins and stealing other people's identities. He has been arrested on many occasions but his real good impressions of the monarchy have confused the police so much that they have had to let him go without charges. His most popular crime is a scam involving people paying too much for their car insurance. When Higgenbottom needs information on someone, he goes to Dennis as he always knows "the word on the street".
• Paterson Joseph as Frederick - Antonio Valentino's car driver. Is rumoured to be a police informant, but isn't.
• Richard Wilson as Victor Swann - Claire Swann's father. Clearly disapproves of Higgenbottom's former relationship with his daughter. Has a few problems of his own regarding his neighbours and whenever he hears of the crimes the mafia have committed his usual response is "I don't bloody believe it!".
• Mackenzie Crook as Gareth "The Crook" - The petty crook that Higgenbottom shared a police cell with when inside.
• Emilia Fox as Sophie Bentford - Claire Swann's best friend. Works in a Safeway supermarket on the checkout. Once got her baps out on the nightshift.
• Max Beesley as Tom Bentford - Hardman and garage mechanic. Works hard for a living but him and his wife struggle to make ends meet. Took a loan off the Triads and cannot pay it back. His family are constantly targeted as a result. Only realistic character in the whole show, can act rings around everyone else.
• Holliday Grainger as Holly Bentford - Unsure of herself. She self harms and tries to take her life in nearly every episode. She keeps claiming there is a demon inside her that she needs to get rid of as a result she recently joined a cult.
• Jeremy Clarkson as Various - As a reference to May's "friendship" and career on Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and as an ongoing in-joke on the show, Jeremy Clarkson appears at least once, sometime more, but always briefly as a different character in each episode.
• Richard Hammond as Rithie Roger St. "Hamster" Hammond - It has been announced that Richard Hammond will be joining the cast of the show from the new series in 2014 as Higginbottom's "criminal" lawyer. Hammond was seen on set dressed in a red velvet suit and was seen kicking a bikini-clad woman in the genitals and karate chopping a valet outside the Playboy mansion. Sources say he was either wearing or had grown a cheap-looking 70s porno moustache. Hammond is said to be introduced in an episode called 'Better Call Hamster' and his character will provide comic relief in such a serious show.

Episodes

Series 1 - Early 2009

The first series of the show is set during the year 1971 shortly after Higgenbottom is released from prison.

Episode Number	Episode Title	Written By	Airdate (UK)	Short Summary	Number of Viewers
1	The Co-Pilot (90 Minutes Long Plus Interval)	James May	30th January 2009	Johnny/Jonny Higginbottom is released from prison into a changed 1970s Britain. After banging his girlfriend and re-recruiting his gang: The Britannia Mafia, he sets about getting revenge on a former gang member who turned him in for a bacon bap. Luckily the man is now a co-pilot for Concorde, a make of plane the gang are also trying to put out of action. Can Higginbottom kill two birds with one stone? Nah he’s going to use a gun and a faulty wing nut! Guest Appearance of Jeremy Clarkson as the Co-Pilot	8 Million Viewers
2	The Hooded Claw	James May	6th February 2009	A hooded man is posing as Higginbottom and arse-raping people with a steel claw. Can the gang track down the man responsible to Hull and deliver some old school British justice, of course they can! Guest Appearance of Jeremy Clarkson as The Hooded Man	6.5 Million Viewers
3	Slumpdead Millionaire	James May’s wife	13th February 2009	Strapped for cash the gang head to that rich part of London where all the posh people live and murder a millionaire in an attempt to make some money however when they arrive the bloke is already dead. What will they do now?	4.5 Million Viewers
4	Taffia Caffia	James May	20th February 2009	The Taffia (Cardiff Mafia) take over the Britannia's mafia's cafe in Cardiff and they won’t stand for this so they place an import fee on the Severn Bridge of £5.10 to stop supplies getting to the cafe as this price is ridiculous. Guest Appearance of Jeremy Clarkson as Taffia Leader	8 Million Viewers
5	A Fistful Of Sandwich	James May’s best friend's boss	27th February 2009	The Britannia Mafia agree to go head-to-head with The Taffia (Cardiff Mafia) in an illegal boxing match to see who is better. Yet when Higginbottom sees who The Taffia has put in the ring, he may have to pack a few punches himself in order to win. The stakes are high and the sandwiches are cold, who will win? Guest Appearance of Jeremy Clarkson as Taffia Boxer Sammy “The Sandwich”	7.2 Million Viewers
6	Scare the Air	James May’s Iraqi equivalent	6th March 2009	The Mafia decides to expand its operations and attempt a takeover of Glasgow Airport, but things go wrong when Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda mafia take-over by driving into the terminal building. This allows Johnny to use his hooks to nipple-cripple Bin Liner (an Iraqi terrorist).	4 Million Viewers
7	François Passage	James May’s cheese eating uncle	13th March 2009	The mafia blows up the Eurostar as Johnny is sick of the influx of illegal immigrants. Guest Appearance of Bernard Manning in a coffin with the words BNP scrawled over it.	6.7 Million Viewers + The BNP but not UKIP (they like the Blacks but hate the French)
8	Round the Bend	James May	20th March 2009	Stacey and Ken discover that the unlicensed, untaxed, uninsured armoured truck in front of them is speeding so they end up chasing it around the one way system in Central London. Guest Appearance of Jeremy Clarkson as Angry Congestion Charge Payer.	9.2 Million Viewers
9	A Bird In The Flat	James May & John Leslie	27th March 2009	Higginbottom discovers a new Vietnamese girl has moved in to the flat next door to the Mafia’s Mission HQ which may compromise operations, so he decides to get inside her and investigate...	5.1 Million Viewers
10	You’d Butter Believe It	James May & Tom Jones	3rd April 2009	Jeremy complains that he is not getting full satisfaction during sex, so Higginbottom allows the mafia to break into every Safeway supermarket in the UK and steal the butter which Buck can use as lube. At the same time it will also annoy the Triad Leader who has invested a lot of money in Safeway and Butter. Guest Appearance of Richard Hammond as Ching Chong Li	3.5 Million Viewers
11	Exhausted	James May, Liz Windsor & Someone Else	10th April 2009	Higginbottom wants to get back at the Neapolitan Police after they give the Mafia’s van a parking ticket so he deliberately steals fifty cars and parks them on double yellows. Will the police see red?	7.45 Million Viewers
12	Curvy Hook, Line & Sinker	James May	17th April 2009	While making out with Busty, Higginbottom comes up with a plan to cut the towns power by severing the lines. In addition he thinks it may be a good idea to take out the cities plumbing at the same time. With a grate plan in store Higginbottom will need all his underworld connections to pull this off before the idea goes down the drain.	4.0 Million Viewers
13	Road Kill – Part One	James May dressed up as Liz Windsor	24th April 2009	Jeremy meets the boss who is annoyed with him, and Johnny disowns him after the incident next door to Mission HQ, and Jeremy walks down the street and is taken hostage by the Ching-Chong Mafia will he live or die? (You'll have to wait till the next series). Guest Appearance of Richard Hammond as Ching Chong Li.	14.8 Million Viewers (The increase of viewers was due to the media stating that Gary Glitter would die in this episode).

Series 2 - Late 2009

This second series is set within the year 1971.

Episode Number	Episode Title	Written By	Airdate (UK)	Short Summary	Number of Viewers
14	Road Kill – Part Two	James May dressed up as Liz Windsor	4th September 2009	Ching Chong Li tortures Jeremy by forcing him to watch legal age porn, which makes his cock fall off. All this while the mafia attempt to track him down. Guest Appearance of Richard Hammond as Ching Chong Li	10,000,000 Viewers
15	Road Kill – Part Three	James May dressed up as Liz Windsor	11th September 2009	Jeremy tries to escape but Ching Chong Li decides Jeremy's time is up and uses his face as a dart board. While the mafia party when the news of his death is announced. Guest Appearance of Richard Hammond as Ching Chong Li Last Appearance of Jeremy Sweeney	9,999,999 Viewers
16	Man U R Dead	Alex Ferguson held at gunpoint by James May	18th September 2009	The mafia travel to Manchester to disrupt the game between United and City so that Dai can pickpocket spectators. Guest Appearances of George Best as man at the bar and Jeremy Clarkson as Complaining City Fan. First Appearance of Buck Buckowski	4.6 Million Viewers
17	Cop Shop	James May’s only friend	25th September 2009	Ken and Stacey take Dai Llewellyn into custody due to his connection in a robbery of a Cornish Pasty in Kent but only Stacey can understand Welsh as his Welsh grandmother made him play the piano singing Welsh songs and if he got a word wrong she would hit him with a dirty stick. Will he be able to translate the interrogation? Guest Appearance of Anne Robinson as Stacey's Welsh grandmother in a frightening flashback.	4.2 Million Viewers
18	The Views A Bit Plane	James May while watching porn	2nd October 2009	The mafia take their dealings to Dublin where they attempt to destroy the airline British Airways as they lost Johnny's stamp collection which was in his luggage. Yet when the mafia get to Dublin they soon realise that BA are actually based in London! Guest Appearance of Jeremy Clarkson as a Female Flight Attendant.	88.9 Million Viewers
19	Mum's Bun's Are Yum	James May while eating a sandwich	9th October 2009	The mafia take over a bakery in Edinburgh but a problem arises when Triads come in for their weekly loaf of bread and realises that Juliet McPherson isn't serving them. Guest Appearance of Richard Hammond as Ching Chong Li and Gordon Ramsay as Ping Ling Do.	22.2.2.1 Million Viewers
20	Schiezen Hole	James May while on the toilet	16th October 2009	The mafia take revenge on a German sewer worker in Oxford after he did a dodgy job on Buck Buckowski toilet causing it to wobble when someone went to take a dump. Can the mafia fix the problem? Guest Appearance of Jeremy Clarkson as Sewer Worker	1.25 Billion Viewers
21	Something A Bit Fishy About All This	James May & James May	23rd October 2009	Higginbottom gets a phone call from the Telford Ten claiming that they have kidnapped his girlfriend Busty while she was on the regular daily condom run. He is then given a set of instructions to take out the Triads fish and chips businesses, a task he must complete or Busty will be murdered. Higginbottom complies with their demands, but he smells something fishy going on, and it’s not just Busty’s underwear! Guest Appearance of Jeremy Clarkson as Man in the line in the Chip Shop	9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1 Million Viewers
22	The Stopover	James May	30th October 2009	It’s Halloween and the mafia are attempting to get to Durham to do some trick-or-treating, but after their van breaks down they are forced to stay the night in a creepy B&B in a remote village outside Nottingham. While there they appear to be haunted by Winston Churchill’s “ghost”, scared by this the team call in an exorcist to investigate who deduces that the mafia are being targeted by the Durham Street Elite. Guest Appearance of Bruce Willis as The guy of the exorcist and Jeremy Clarkson as Winston Churchill	66.6 Million Viewers
23	Finger-ing More Thighs	Lisa Lee Dark – James May’s bit on the side	6th November 2009	Higginbottom is forced to go it alone and get away from the Rozzers who have found his fingerprints in a young woman’s vagina when it was really Brian May posing as him. Can he clear protect his name and his dignity? Guest Appearance of Ann Widdecombe as the Young Woman and Frankie Boyle as Wise-Cracking Cop	1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10 Million Viewers
24	Throw The Dynamite, Duck House And Cover	Lisa Lee Dark – James May’s bit on the side	13th November 2009	After the mafia's local MP refuses planning permission for their new germ warfare factory, they go to his house and destroy his £2500 duck house with shit loads of dynamite. Guest Appearance of Jeremy Clarkson as Local MP and Gordon Brown as the twat on the radio	88.7 Million Viewers
25	You Can’t Beat A Bit Of Bully!	James May from inside his lover	20th November 2009	The mafia has a darts showdown with the triads to see who will win Higginbottom special prize – a speedboat full of drugs. Recurring Role of Richard Hammond and Gordon Ramsey as Ching Chong Li and Ping Ling Do	1.1 Million Viewers
26	He Couldn’t Hacker This – Part One	James May again	27th November 2009	Higginbottom comes up with a plan to rob a bank on Baker Street and steal the contents of the safe-deposit boxes there, but it requires Earl Hacker to hack the vaults door. With the plan in place Hacker accidentally hacks the into the national defense gird and launches a missile against London, a crime that gets him arrested and leads to a long interrogation. Can he get himself released and warn the mafia before the missile hits? Guest Appearance of Jeremy Clarkson as Interrogator#1 and Rik Mayall as Interrogator#2.	1 (Million?) Viewer(s)
27	He Couldn't Hacker This - Part Two (2009 Christmas Special	James May	25th December 2009	The mafia's plan for the robbery has to be replanned (which takes a whole bloody long hour) after Earl Hacker is carted off by the rozzers and it all goes wrong right at the last second as Earl is released and tells the mafia that the missile he accidentally fired is heading right for them — forcing you to watch the part two in the next series. Guest Appearance of Bruce Forsyth as Arrested Pervert and Jeremy Clarkson as an Elvis impersonator.	All Those That Weren't Watching Dr. Bloody Who!

Series 3 - Early 2010

The third series of the show is set during the year 1972.

Episode Number	Episode Title	Written By	Airdate (UK)	Short Summary	Number of Viewers
28	Pump Action Pimp	James May's best friend's aunt	5th March 2010	Higginbottom and the mafia are caught in a shootout during a high-speed car chase after rescuing the Triads pimp from being pumped. Yet when the mafia breaks down on the North York Moors, the gang must pull together for survival. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as a farmer on the North York Moors	123 Million Viewers
29	Sweat N' Blood	James May's best friend's aunt	12th March 2010	A new gangster shows up on the mafia's patch opening a warehouse as a sweat shop and using kids to make his produce. Wanting their patch back and wanting to free the kids, Higginbottom comes up with a plan to create a plan to take out the warehouse. But will his plan of the plan work? Guest Appearance by The Stig as the taskmaster	We Didn't Count!
30	One Up The Bum, No Harm Done	James May's friend Chris Finch	19th March 2010	The Mafia hit the town in Manchester having successfully murdered another gang leader. Yet as the mafia get steaming Higginbottom does not notice that the other gang have taken revenge by raping and murdering his page-three model girlfriend. After he wakes up in a skip next to her dead body he vows revenge... Last Appearance of Busty Sinclair	999 Million Viewers & One Horny Husband
31	A Dish Best Served Lukewarm	James May	26th March 2010	With his girlfriend dead, Higginbottom sets out alone to get revenge on the gang that gang raped and murdered Busty. With the help of the mysterious Cheasty LaRoux he manages to infiltrate the gang and plant a bomb up the members backsides before lowering them into lukewarm kitchen water killing them all. First Appearance of Cheasty LaRoux	56 Million Viewers
32	Down By The Docs	James May's brain	2nd April 2010	Apparently the plot involves the mafia stealing a consignment of drugs from a gang who are using a doctors surgery as a front for their business. Guest Appearance by Adrian Edmondson as the drug dealer and Jeremy Clarkson as a doctor	19.5 Million Viewers
33	American Prankster	Ironically this episode is NOT written by James May	9th April 2010	The mafia have just stolen a shit load of cash from a bank and want to make a quick get-away but some pratting yank has slashed their vans tires because the mafia parked in a disabled space. Will they have to go it on foot? Not likely! They'll steal another car! Guest Appearance by Stephen Fry as the mentally retarded disabled bloke	26 Million Viewers
34	Off The Beaten Track	May James	16th April 2010	The mafia arrives in Weybridge, Surrey where they are challenged by the Brooklands Gang to build the worlds longest working Scalextric circuit. If they succeed they can go on their way if they don't then they have to spend the night in a haunted Lego House. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the failing comedian	23.8 Million Viewers
35	The Last Lego House On The Left	Lisa Lee Dark	23rd April 2010	Having failed their previous challenge from the Brooklands gang, the mafia are forced to stay the night in a haunted Lego house where they appear to be haunted by the spirit of an old Lego man. Scared to their wits end, the mafia are bricking it! Will they last the night? Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the bloke who makes dodgy puns	456 Million Viewers
36	Family Tied	James May	30th April 2010	Higginbottom and his wife are shocked to discover that their daughter was picked up by a mysterious man who along with a group of others is holding her to ransom. With no money to pay for her release Higginbottom starts his own printing operation. Guest Appearance of Piers Moron as the Daily Mail editor	0.1 Million Viewers
37	Arrested Development	James May	7th May 2010	Higgenbottom is arrested after the rozzers find cocaine in a suitcase that Earl Hacker has been carrying his tech equipment in. Fearing they have been set up by the Telford Ten, Higgenbottom forms a deal with the police: Rescue a cop who has been kidnapped by the Triads and they will let the Mafia go. But the deal will require Jonny to go undercover as a fish sandwich. Can he stomach it? Guest Appearance of Jeremy Clarkson and Rik Mayall as McDonald's workers	180 Million Viewers
38	The Skies Have Their Limit	James Cordon	14th May 2010	The mafia acquire a blimp from somewhere that is never stated on screen. They plan to use the device to drop a hydrogen bomb on the Triads base, but when Higginbottom takes to the skies in the device and it crashes there are fears that he is dead. But is he? And if he is, what now? Guest Appearances by Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson as the bloke pointing at the balloon and laughing	64 Million Viewers
39	A Nervous Wreck	Lisa Lee Dark	21st May 2010	Higgenbottom discovers that his best mate has died from taking a new drug called "Paradeathcimal". In order to get revenge on the bastard that sold it to his mate and stop other people suffering the same fate Higgenbottom puts all other mafia jobs on hold to track down the dealer. They do so and discover that he is on the ship HMS Queen Elizabeth which is docking in Hong KOng Habour. In an attempt to stop the man the mafia set fire to the boat destroying it. Guest Appearances of Jeremy Clarkson as a crazed drug nut	4 Million Viewers
40	Lock, Stock & Prison Cell - Part One	James May's dog	28th May 2010	The mafia's crimes catch up with them when they are arrested for making bombs for the IRA and aiding the Angry Brigade. Sentenced to life in prison they are carted off in a prison van, how will they get out of this one... Guest Appearance by John Prescott as the van	18 Million Viewers & One Insulted Fat Bloke

Series 4 - Late 2010

This series like the third series before it, is set in 1972.

Episode Number	Episode Title	Written By	Airdate (UK)	Short Summary	Number of Viewers
41	Lock, Stock & Prison Cell - Part Two	James May	1st October 2010	Conclusion to the series three cliffhanger. The prison van hangs over the edge of the Thames and the mafia have to get out before it sinks. Higginbottom has an idea of how to do so, but it will take an hour if they are to succeed. Can they get away before the rozzers (the police) show up? Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as bloke selling newspapers from the news stand at the side of the Thames and John Prescott as the Prison Van	28 Million Viewers
42	Born To Run With Gypsy Scum	James May	1st October 2010	The mafia go underground (not literally) for a while to the heat is off them, seeking refuge in a shitty gypsy camp. Yet when the camp attracts the attention of the locals who want their council to remove the gypsies, the Mafia fear that all the attention may blow their cover. Attempting to flee from the camp, the mafia's exit may be hampered by a cute pregnant chick that has stolen Dai 'The Pie' Llewelyn's heart and is about to give birth and the fact that the camp want the help of the mafia to stop them being moved on. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the cute pregnant chick and The Stig as one of the gypsies	28 Million Viewers
43	For Cods Sake!	Some Cock	8th October 2010	The mafia have moved on from the gypsy camp but are still in hiding on a smelly British Trawler which is fishing along with another boat, yet when a joke by the mafia about the people of Iceland is taken the wrong way the gang accidentally cause the second Cod War. At sea and sinking with only a piece of wreckage to float on the mafia have to come up with a plan to get back to dry land and put an end to the Cod War, but quite frankly they cannot be arsed with the latter. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the pissed off man from Iceland	19.26 Million Viewers
44	Immigration, Extermination	?	15th October 2010	Still in hiding in a really bad two-up, two-down town house in Blackpool, the mafia are pissed off and forced into action at the news that thousands of expelled Ugandan Asians have arrived in Britain after being expelled by Idi Amin. As a result the mafia decide to stand at every British port and airport giving the Asians the chance to leave or be exterminated. Surely they can not get away with this? Well not if they get noticed by the law! Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the racist Customs Officer	16 Million Viewers & 1 Complaint
45	Bomb Voyage	James May's imaginary friend	22nd October 2010	After their recent display against the Ugandan Asians the mafia decide they are becoming too radical and need some time off especially as they recently risked getting caught. With this in mind, Higginbottom heads to the Israeli embassy in London in an attempt to get Passports and Visas for his gang when a parcel bomb goes off killing a diplomat and injuring the mafia's leader. With Higginbottom laid up in the hospital, the rest of the mafia head out to get revenge on the person that sent the parcel, but can they do it alone? Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as a doctor at the hospital and a diplomat at the embassy and as a bloke standing in line at the embassy complaining that the line isn't moving fast enough	23.8 Million Viewers
46	The Jig Is Up?	Someone that knows James May	29th October 2010	Higginbottom has been recognised by someone he once ripped off while leaving the hospital. With this the mafia are hunted by the law they are forced to go to the one person Johnny can trust — his ex wife, but will Clare feed the police false information to allow her husband to get away? Meanwhile Robin is arrested while popping out for some milk and is pressured into wearing a wire to catch the mafia out in exchange for immunity from his crimes. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clakson as the bloke that turns to the camera and smiles	43 Million Viewers
47	Under Pressure	Lisa Lee Dark	5th November 2010	The mafia become worried that Higginbottom does not know what to do next and their lack of faith causes him to have a panic attack which puts their latest scheme – a bank robbery – in jeopardy as the law is not far behind, yet the question that's more worrying is who is tipping the police off? Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the cocky bank manager	31 Million Viewers
48	Fish & Chips & A Decent Battering	James May	12th November 2010	The Traid's leader Ching Chong Li and his henchmen have moved in on the mafia's patch due to the gang being in hiding. When Higginbottom discovers that they have taken over the chip shop that was once his, he and the mafia set out to deal some old school British justice and intercept their drug deal taking the money and the drugs for themselves, but the bad news is the police turn up and the mafia are forced to make a quick get-away on a public bus. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the unpleasant driver of the bus	10 Million Viewers
49	Off You Trot	James May's hands & brain	19th November 2010	Higginbottom comes up with a quick money-making scheme by buying a second hand horse and switching it with the winner of the 1972 Grand National: "Well To Do" so that the the mafia can keep it and enter it in the 1973 National and make a killing, yet when the Triad's find out they kill the house the mafia has bought for the switch and place its head in Johnny's bed. Not to be outdone by their biggest rivals the mafia acquire another look-a-like horse and switch it with the National winner, but just when things seem to be going well the police show up and the mafia are involved in a shootout in an attempt to escape. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson pretending to be Graham Thorner	14.99 Million Viewers
50	From The Inside	Not James May	26th November 2010	Higginbottom wakes up inside a super hot chick in a classy brothel where he has spent the night. After getting dressed Higginbottom is caught up when the police raid the building arresting everyone in order to undercover a prostitution racket. Able to escape via a back door (that's not a sexual euphemism!) Higginbottom steals his file with from the brothel with his contact details on, however the file is actually discovered to contain sexual poses of some top ranking military and police officials. After arriving back at the mafia's makeshift base they are raided and Higginbottom is arrested for connections to the brothel but his crimes are dissolved when the Neopolitan Police Force discover the pictures he has in his possession. After being released Johnny meets with Dennis "The Menace" Anderton to get the word on the street and is shocked to discover that he may have a rat in his own gang. Now its time to set the cheese down and trap that son of a bitch! Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as a bloke enjoying himself in the brothel	6.6.6 Million Viewers
51	Rat Pack	James May	3rd December 2010	Higginbottom pays a visit to his mentor Antonio Valentino in order to get some advice on what he should do about his rat problem, Tony advises him to use poison until Johnny reveals that it is a rat in his gang and not of the vermin kind. After seeking the advice Higginbottom plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with the members of his mafia setting a trap to see who has been tipping off the police. When the two eventually collide its not going to be a pretty sight, especially if a shotgun is involved! Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as a postman	91 Million Viewers
52	367 Hours Earlier	James May	10th December 2010	A flashback episode that shows how Earl Hacker became the mafia's rat prior to the reveal in the last episode. This is one of those dull episodes that saves the show some money which can be used for the series finale and to pay its high range of actors/actresses. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as flashbacks of all the characters he has played this series	24 Million Viewers
53	A Question Of Loyalty	Lisa Lee Dark	17th December 2010	Higginbottom gets the rest of the mafia to prove their loyalty to him by disposing of Earl (who is still alive at this point) in a car compactor. After they have done this he gets each and every one of them to take part in the new TV series Mastermind in order to answer sensitive questions on the mafia's operations and to test their willingness to be part of the gang. When all the members pass his test, Higginbottom announces that he has booked them on a first class holiday to the US in time for Christmas, yet as they jet off, they don't realise the trouble that awaits them. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as Magnús Magnússon	69 Million Viewers
54	Oh To Be In England (2010 Christmas Special)	James May	24th December 2010	The mafia are in the US having a nice holiday when all of a sudden they are taken away by the FBI who are investigating the Watergate break-in and have had a tip-off that they are connected to it. Believing they have been set-up by the Americana Gang the mafia set about getting themselves freed, dishing out some revenge and finally getting back to their native soil — England. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as an FBI Agent	12 Million Viewers

Series 5 - Early 2011

This series of the show is set in the year 1973.

Episode Number	Episode Title	Written By	Airdate (UK)	Short Summary	Number of Viewers
55	We Speak No Mexicarno	James May	1st April 2011	After being accused of being involved in the Watergate scandal the Britannia Mafia flee into Mexico, a decision Higgenbottom is not happy about as he hates the country because the people are all lazy and the food is like refried sick. Before long his hate has the locals ganging up on the mafia and they have to make a getaway back to the UK on a floating door with several asylum seekers. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the asylum seeker wearing a moustache on the floating door	165 Million Viewers
56	Undermining The Law	James May	8th April 2011	The mafia’s new home brew business venture is booming and with such a high demand comes a large amount of stock. To hide their stock from the law the mafia find a secure location in a mine in Lofthouse Gate in Yorkshire but disaster strikes when the mine floods and the home brew is discovered by police and rescue workers trying to save trapped miners. How will the mafia regain their losses on this one? Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as coal miner and a rescue worker and a background extra	12 Million Viewers
57	Sprung From The Pen	James May	15th April 2011	The mafia are celebrating job well done after selling several tonnes of cocaine, yet the celebrations are short-lived when they discover a package – a giant crate – has been sent to them. Inside is Higgenbottom’s former cell mate Gareth “The Crook” Keenan (Guest Star Mackenzie Crook) who has been sprung from the local prison quite literally using a giant spring manufactured in the prison workshops. With the rozzers after him, Higgenbottom devises a genius plan to help his former buddy evade capture and flee the country. But can he get the forged documents he needs? Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the man selling forged documents	16 Million Viewers
58	Dai & Higgenbottom Drink To Britain	James May	22nd April 2011	Dai and Higgenbottom go on a jolly tasting and getting twatted off some extreme British beer while attempting to work in a pub after losing a five quid bet with another street gang. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the loud-mouthed pub local drinking beer with bits of twigs floating in it	9 Million Viewers
59	Getting The Wheels In Motion	James May	29th April 2011	The Mafia is getting into the used car game by selling cars they have stolen off the streets but things don’t go according to plan when a car stolen from a local resident is discovered to a have a dead body in the boot (Guest Star Ross Kemp as the dead body). Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the bloke whose car the mafia nick with the dead body (played by Ross Kemp) in the boot	14 Million Viewers
60	A Mexican Stand Off!	James May	6th May 2011	The mafia pee off the Mexicans again with their ongoing jokes about them leading to an ultimate stand off. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as someone	123 Million Viewers
61	The Get-Away	James May	13th May 2011	Due to their high profile of getting away with crimes the Britannia Mafia are contacted by the Albanian Mafia who are looking for the best car for them to use during the criminal escapades. They give the Britannia Mafia three cars, a 1973 Chevy Nova SS Coupe, a 1973 Ford Mustang and a 1973 Dodge Challenger to perform tests on to see which one would be best for use by their mafia boss. But when the police inpound the the Mustang the Britannia Mafia are forced to replace it with an equal car: a Peugeot 404. Conducting the tests, the Britannia Mafia murder a fat man and attempt to squeeze him into the boots of the cars to see which is best to use to dispose of a body yet the Tape deck changer in the boot of the Dodge is taking up some space. After this, wearing pantyhose on their heads, the mafia rob a bank and try and head for the ferry back to the UK while being chased by the Albanian Police. The whole of the Britannia Mafia make it to the boat outrunning the police apart from Higgenbottom who is driving the slow Peugeot 404 with the police right on his arse. The rest of the Albanian Police who have been following the Britannia Mafia form a road block leading to Higgenbottom to try and drive around it only to tumble off a conveniently placed cliff to what looks to be his "death"... Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the leader of the Albanian Mafia	7.6 Million Viewers
62	Setting Them Up For A Fall	James May	20th May 2011	With ideas for crimes rapidly drying up Higgenbottom decides to let the mafias rivals, the Triads, plan their next caper by entering their fish and chips shop (the front for the their crimes) wearing a massive false moustache and a giant Mexican sombrero (which he bought as a souvenir in the series opener) with a built in tape recorder inside the hat so he can record details of potential future crimes. Getting information on a shipment of stolen colour TV’s the mafia hires a three wheel van (leading to some hilarious comedy scenes) to intercept the delivery of TV’s and sell them for themselves. Yet when it comes to taking the televisions they discover they have been set up by the Triads as the van contains police officers and not stolen televisions. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as a man in the chip shop making a racist Mexican joke about Higgenbottom's sombrero	5 Million Viewers
63	London Bridge Is Falling Down, Falling Down, Falling Down…	James May	27th May 2011	With news that the Queen is about to open the new London Bridge which has been constructed by Higgenbottom’s old arch enemy from his school days: Alan Simpson — the mafia head for the capital to cause some mayhem by blowing the bridge up causing major disruption on the transport systems. Unfortunately their train to London is running late and the miss the opening of the bridge rendering their efforts completely pointless. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as The Queen	10 Million Viewers
64	A Stones Throw Away	James May	Spring 2011	The mafia have just done a smash and grab at a jewellery store and later discover a giant diamond in their haul. The gang plan on selling the diamond on to make one hell of a profit but they soon discover it is owned by a vicious rival gang leader who will stop at nothing to get his loot back. Dai suggests throwing the stone in the river and walking away but when Buck is kidnapped and had his penis cut off the mafia are forced to deal with their most deadly rival yet. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the mafia's most deadly rival yet	20 Million Viewers
65	Over The Moon	James May	3rd June 2011	Higgenbottom and the Britannia Mafia head out to the US to steal the latest NASA moon buggy. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as a yank	3 Million Viewers
66	Higgenbottom: Home Alone	James May	10th June 2011	As the mafia wait for closure on their latest deal, they decide to take some time out and go and see a film. All of them, apart from Higgenbottom agree on the popular 1973 flick Godzilla vs. Megalon and head out to the local cinema to see it leaving Higgenbottom to try and survive at home alone for the entire episode with him providing one long rambling narrative… Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as Higgenbottom's milkman	12 Million Viewers
67	Safe As Houses? – Part One	James May	17th June 2011	“Boar The Whore”, the mafia’s financer, informs the mafia that they are low on funds after their recent escapades and need to raise bunch urgently to pay the gas bill and their rent or they will be kicked out by the landlord. Higgenbottom comes up with a plan to rob a bank on pay day and things seem to be going well until the staff raise the alarm, the police turn up at the scene and a cock-up results in the entire mafia ending up locked within the banks safe which is rapidly running out of air… Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as a police negotiator	7.8 Million Viewers

Series 6 - Late 2011

James May is currently filming the new series for broadcast later this year. This series will be set in the year 1973.

Episode Number	Episode Title	Written By	Airdate (UK)	Short Summary	Number of Viewers
68	Safe As Houses - Part Two	James May	Autumn 2011	The mafia are still trapped within the bank vault but manage to hatch an escape plan before the air runs out by sneaking out through an air vent. When they discover the air vent is too small the decide blowing up the bank is the best option of getting them out, getting them some much needed air and getting rid of the rozzers. But how can they destroy the bank with thousands of pounds, some old newspapers and the clothes on their backs? Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the bloke he played in part one	TBC
69	TBA	James May	Autumn 2011	Plot details to be revealed. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as TBA	TBC
70	Mafia Home Movies	James May	Autumn 2011	After Higgenbottom is shown a low budget local movie his daughter and friends from her school have put together to raise money fro charity he decides to make his own movie to raise money for the mafia. After stealing the equipment they need from a local TV station, the mafia offer their rivals parts in the "gangster and porn" movie they are putting together as well as a percentage of the sales after it has been sold to private collectors for big bucks, however in reality Higgenbottom and the mafia are planning on using the movie as a front to get their rivals together in one place and eliminate them — will they get away with it? Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the bloke working at the TV station who has his equipment nicked and then proceeds to complain about it	TBC
71	Separate Vocations	James May	Autumn 2011	Higgenbottom's daughter's school tell the pupils to go to work with their parents for a day leaving Higgenbottom with problems as mafia operations are in full swing. Not wanting his daughter to know what he does for a day job and not wanting to loose out on a major mafia deal, Higgenbottom comes up with an idea to solve both issues and has the mafia break into a bank and lock the staff in the vault allowing Higgenbottom to pose as the bank manager for when his daughter arrives. The mafia also call in some favours and get various other city criminals to pose as bank staff for the day. There is then much hilarity as Higgenbottom and his criminal friends pretend to be mild mannered bank staff in front of his daughter and when serving members of the public all the while they are trying to run mafia operations in the background without anyone noticing. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as one of the criminals Higgenbottom calls in to help run the bank for the day	TBC
72	Rest. Relax. Die?	James May	Autumn 2011	After apprently winning a free visit to a new health spa in a competition he did not enter, Higgenbottom takes some much needed time off leaving Dai 'The Pie' Llewelyn in charge of the mafia for the day. After arriving at the spa it soon becomes clear that Higgenbottom is the only guest and the spa itself is a front for his worst enemies who are aiming to use the opportuity to try and eliminate him... Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the hitman	TBC
73	House Of Cards	James May	Autumn 2011	After losing in a card game to one of his many enemies Higgenbottom decides to get revenge on the "winner" by hiring some demolition equipment (actually military equipment yet the mafia don't realise this) and bringing in some old friends (Guest stars Jeremy Clarkson and The Stig) to help use the machinery to "demolish" his enemies extensive list of properties. However the mafia come across many different problems including a mangled car (and its angry owner), a burst water main, a portable toilet that Higgenbottom ends up catapulting through the roofs of the properties with someone inside, a remote control mine-clearing vehicle that is out of control and some badly placed explosives all lead to problems with Higgenbottom's plan. Will the mafia be able to tear down the properties before sundown? Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as Higgenbottom's friend causing crazy havoc with the remote control mine-clearing vehicle	TBC
74	The Jury Is Out	James May	Autumn 2011	Higgenbottom is placed under house arrest after failing to turn up to jury duty for the 6th time in a row. Being watched and not allowed to leave the house the mafia are in trouble as Higgenbottom was supposed to be at an important deal that he is supposed to close. With no other way around it one of the mafia ends up dressing up as Higgenbottom to fool the cops while the real one escapes to close a major drug deal. Will the undercover cops staking out Higgentbottom's pad notice? Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the lead drug dealer	TBC
75	TBA	James May	Autumn 2011	Plot details to be revealed. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as TBA	TBC
76	The Guy Who Knew Too Much	James May	Autumn 2011	The mafia begin to panic when they learn of an eyewitness to one of their major crimes. As the rest of the mafia try and cover up their caper, Higgenbottom goes to his wife to make her give false information to the police leaving him to spend the rest of the episode chasing the eyewitness across the UK in order to murder them and save the mafia another spell in prison. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as the guy who knew too much	TBC
77	You Better, You Bet	James May	Autumn 2011	Higgenbottom forms a close bond with his daughter after he discovers that she is able to pick winning horses in the Grand National thus making the mafia shit loads of money. However after the national ends his daughter discovers that she has been used by her father for gambling purposes and she gives him an ultimatum: the money or her. Obviously Higgenbottom chooses the money! Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as TBA	TBC
78	Community Payback	James May	Autumn 2011	After writing racist graffiti on a black person's property Higgenbottom is ordered to complete 50 hours of community service which includes shifting some radioactive material that has been dumped at the roadside. Having done his payback, Higgenbottom suddenly becomes ill and visits his doctor who tells him that the radioactive materials has made him infertile. Higgenbottom then proposes to the rest of the mafia that they get payback of their own by suing the local community. To top matters off, the mafia break into a secure waste disposal facility and remove the drums of waste before dumping them in a nearby lake to get their payback for rendering their bosses genitals useless. Ironically by doing so all the members of the mafia end up infertile. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as someone else doing their community service	TBC
79	TBA	James May	Autumn 2011	Plot details to be revealed. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as TBA	TBC
80	TBA (Series Finale)	James May	Autumn 2011	Plot details to be revealed. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as TBA	TBC
81	How The Mafia Stole Christmas (2011 Christmas Special)	James May	Autumn 2011	After the mafia steal shit loads of stuff they are forced to clear out their garage in order to store their stolen gear. While doing so, Higgenbottom comes across an old Father Christmas outfit that causes him to reminisce about Christmas 1968, the year the mafia stole Christmas in Britain. Flashbacks are then intercut with present content to show what happened during Christmas 1968. Guest Appearance by Jeremy Clarkson as a foul mouthed department store Santa	TBC

Series 7 - Early 2012

It has been announced that the BBC have ordered two more series of the show after James May threatened to quit Top Gear if they didn't. The two new series will air in 2012 with one in the spring and another in the autumn. According to James May the seventh series is currently being written and will feature the mafia going on an illegal poaching trip into the country as well as Higgenbottom having to have triple bypass heart surgery. Jeremy Clarkson has been rumoured to have written two overly controversial episodes for the new series.

Series 8 - 2013

See series seven.

Series 9 - 2014

A 13 part series will air in the spring of 2014. Richard Hammond will join the main cast as Higginbottom's criminal lawyer Ritchie Richard St. "Hamster" Hammond. The episode is apparently titled 'Better Call Hamster!'

Known episodes:

• 'Better Call Hamster!' - After one of Higginbottom's contacts is arrested for peddling cocaine, the mafia are forced to hire the services of Ritchie Richard St. "Hamster" Hammond to get the dealer out of prison.

Trivia

• Both James May and Lee Evans stars in the show.
• James May's character says "Oh Cock!" at least 167 times per episode.
• The courts forced Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson to make guest appearances on the show as May best saw fit as compensation for the fact that they destroyed two of his pianos on the BBC motoring show Top Gear.
• Ironically when May's character is trying to evade capture from the police in the series he disguises himself as a white masked racing driver.
• James May is nicknamed Captain Slow.
• A lot of this trivia is probably a load of bollocks...apart from the above!
• There are rumours of a feature film called Britannia Mafia: The Two Towers the title refers to the two towers of old Wembley Stadium.

Criticism

Despite the first series doing very well indeed in the ratings the series has been critisised for a number of reasons. The BBC got numerous complaints complaining that the series was far too graphic with James May raping his victims (not literally...we think?!) as well as being overly racist. The episodes were also critisised as having far too many modern elements present, for example one man said that when the team stole a ginsters pasty in one of the episodes he saw a pack of Pringles on the shelf below the pasty and he knows for a fact that Pringles were not around in the 1970s. James May's hairstyle was also critisised one reviewer commented "Does his hair not change at all? I watched Britannia Mafia and his hair was long then I turned over to Top Gear and his hair was exactly the same. Whats the deal with that?" Some of the complaints to the BBC also accused the series of not being serious enough. One ex-policeman from the 1970s said that when he saw the violent scenes they were very mild compared to what went on in real life. This man asked the series to be more realistic in future.

The show has also been widely criticized for recycling actors and actresses from other BBC TV shows. Some dude from The New York Times even called the show a "cheap British rip-off of AMC's Breaking Bad" while the Daily Mail claimed the show relied too much on events that happened at the time to drive the show which would be rather confusing to younger viewers. Jeremy Clarkson's involvement in the show has also confused fans as they can't get a grasp of continuity as to which character Clarkson is supposed to be playing. A scene in which James Mays' character killed an enemy with an office stapler also received 20,200 complaints claiming it wasn't graphic enough while a shot of Higginbottom fingering his mistress received complaints for not being near realistic enough. When queried on the latter James May said he just wasn't in the mood.

DVD releases

• Britannia Mafia: The Complete Series One: Release Date: 16th November 2009 (Contains: all 13 episodes from the first series, A behind the scenes of the behind the scenes featurette, Oh Cock! An on-set report by James May in his changing room, Deleted scenes, Scenes that were not deleted, Trailers used as dressing rooms for the actors and actresses, TV Trailer type things, Free easter eggs (non-edible type), Free gun (real type), Free pair of novelty breasts like Busty's, Free Willy, Richard & Judy Interview, Something else, Soundtrack of the TV show)
• 'Britannia Mafia: The Complete Series Two: Release Date: 17th May 2010 (Contains: all 13 episodes from the second series plus the Christmas special and some more pointless shit)
• Britannia Mafia: The Complete Series Three: Release Date: 22nd November 2010 (Contains: all 13 episodes from the third series and some more pointless shit)
• Britannia Mafia: The Complete Series Four: Release Date: 9th May 2011 (Contains: all 13 episodes from the fourth series and some more pointless shit)

Potential film

In early 2010, James May has reported that he is in talks with a major film company (rumoured to be Tits And Ass Productions) to produce a movie version of the show. According to May there are several different scripts that pose a rough outline of what could happen in the film. The first apparently has the preliminary title of "Britannia Mafia: Back To The Future", involves the mafia stealing a time machine and as a result they are transported to 2012 where they are investigated by the Spooks team as Higgenbottom forgets to bring his fake ID Card and Dai will steal a Ginsters Pasty from a local newsagents. This plotline will also focus on the older members of the mafia attempting to adjust to life in the present day with them having to hide their racist views from the modern population of a PC country. Along the way the mafia will apparently meet their neighbour who is a paki and who owns the local corner shop where Dai is dared by the rest of the mafia to steal a Ginsters Pasty. Throughout this plotline the mafia must also avoid the New Tricks team as they seem to catch everyone despite a combine ago of 4. They must also avoid the Dennis Waterman bloke as he may try to sing the feemtoon to the movie. The major plot focus however will be on the mafia attempting to re-start the time machine and get back to the 1970s — the 'golden days' of hooliganism, violence, miners strikes, recessions, IRA attacks etc etc.

A second script outline apparently sees the mafia heading to Turin, Italy to pull off a major heist involving gold bullion and several small family hatchback cars being used as get-away vehicles. This version of the script apparently sees Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond playing the other get-away drivers as well as a cameo from Michael Caine. A third potential plot sees the mafia teaming up with their American counterparts to steal a super powerful dehydrator which they will use to wipe out the world leaders replacing them with members of the mafia in an attempt to take over the world until the rest of the world agrees to their demands and then the world leaders will be restored. This version of the plot apparently has many Mexican jokes and references. A final potential plot line is apparently called "Mafia in Malia" and will see the mafia head out to Malia for a stag weekend for Higgenbottom who is going to be getting married. Apparently things go crazy and they wake up with major hangovers, with several mafia members missing. They will then try and piece the nights events together while becoming embroiled in the conflicts of local gangs, police shootouts, drug deals etc etc. As of June 2011 no official details about a film have been released, meaning it is still in the development stages.

Released in September 2009.

Britannia Mafia: The Video Game

Britannia Mafia: The Video Game is a 2009 sandbox-style action adventure computer and video game. It was released in November 2009 for the PlayStation as well as for the Xbox 360 while a version for PC was released in early May 2010.

The game is set in the city of London and follows a nameless mafia leader who has just been released from prison after having been betrayed by his girlfriend in a major heist. The nameless character recruits his former mafia team mates and together they are required to work their way up the criminal ladder of London by performing several different types of mission before confronting the leader's former girlfriend at the end of the game.

Story

The player character (popularly referred to as The Stig) is seen in a prequel to the game to have robbed a shit load of cash from a bank with his girlfriend and another accomplice. The trio kill all the bank staff and the public in the bank and make off with the money. In an alleyway the girlfriend of the lead character kills the third accomplice and severely wounds the lead character. The main character survives but ends up being arrested, found guilty and sentenced to jail for the robbery and killing all the people. He then spends the next 6 years in prison before being released on parole as a result of the prison being over-crowded.

With the help of a fellow prisoner who is also being released (voiced by Mackenzie Crook), the player character is able to locate and recruit his former mafia members. The mafia then take on various jobs for local gangs and thugs in order to rise through the criminal ranks of the city of London as their reputation has been ruined by the imprisonment of the player character and the fact that the mafia's turf has been taken over while the player character has been locked up.

Over the course of the game, the player character and their mafia end up working for various rival gangs (most of which are variations of the rival gangs from the TV series), a corrupt police officer (voiced by Philip Glenister), a media mogul (voiced by Rupert Murdoch) and another east end mafia boss called Grant Salvatore (voiced by Ross Kemp). While working for Salvatore, the player character becomes close to his page three glamour model girlfriend, Busty Sinclair (voiced by Madison Welch) and the pair start to fall for each other which makes Salvatore suspicious and he lures the player into a death trap – involving a car crash into the Thames – but Busty saves his life and together they remain close for the rest of the game.

As the game continues the player character and his mafia go on to work for other individuals and gangs such as The Valentino Family, The Telford Ten, The Americana Gang and the Triads (based on the rival gangs from the TV show) until their crazy exploits attract the attention of the player character's former girlfriend who now has control of a massive mafia drug cartel operating from the player character's former patch. The former girlfriend kidnaps, graphically tortures and then murders Busty which gives the lead player character and his mafia the opportunity to face off with the former girlfriend once more in an all out battle over the city of London which results in a firefight and the death of the former girlfriend.

Critical reaction

Overall the game has received many average to negative reviews from critics. The most common issue raised about the game by the critics is that it has very little to do with the TV series with the bulk of the game copying the story from Grand Theft Auto 3. Many critics said that the small references of hints to the TV show that there were (such as character and gang names and the location) seemed shoe-horned into a plot based around shoot-em-up action games like the Grand Theft Auto series. One critic also pointed out that the games characters are not even modelled visually or otherwise on the characters of the TV series or even the actors that voice them and as a result they look nothing like the characters the player or viewer will be familiar with.

The game has also been critised for having far too many elements of BBC product placement within it. One critic noted that when the main character holds up in a basement he is forced to get a TV licence to view the BBC News which in turn features a character modelled on BBC newsreader Bill Turnbull while there are many other references to things from the BBC such as a male character dressed up as one of the Teletubbies (who can be killed), adverts on the side of buses and on billboards advertising BBC shows like Spooks, Top Gear and EastEnders and a blue police box which looks like Doctor Who's TARDIS (which can be found in an alley behind a nightclub). The Top Gear warehouse (where the BBC show Top Gear is filmed) also features in the games as one of the mafia's hideouts even though the warehouse is not located in London in real life, which is what has led critics to believe that this is blatant product placement.

Finally one of the other major criticisms about the game is that only some of the characters are voiced by actors from the show and most of these are minor or recurring actors from the TV show and not James May, whose likeness and voice are not used within the game, something which is highly criticized as many critics believe the games main character is supposed to be the character May plays within the series, despite the fact that it is never actually stated within the game.