Brush Strokes
1 9 8 6 - 1 9 9 1 (UK)
40 x 30 minute episodes
 An
Esmonde and Larbey sitcom set in south London depicting the amorous
adventures of a good-looking, wisecracking house painter,
Jacko.
He was a sort of Alfie-type on the surface: a seemingly
happy-go-lucky, uncomplicated womaniser, but part of Jacko's charm
was his sincerity and tendency to genuinely fall for the women he
pursued. He appeared to love most women, and not simply in the
sexual sense.
At work, his boss was the hard-to-please Lionel, who was
thankfully ignorant of the fact that his daughter Lesley was one of
Jacko's conquests.
When Lionel died, his wife Veronica took over the business and
our hero found his working life more pleasant. Jacko's prime romance
was with the firm's secretary Sandra, to whom he became engaged.
Brush Strokes was a serial comedy and at the end of the
second series the writers introduced a real soap-like cliff-hanger
when Jacko, about to be married to Sandra, turned to his best man
Eric, as the bride walked down the aisle, and whispered "I
think I've made a terrible mistake..." (The couple didn't
marry, but went on honeymoon regardless.)
 The
main action in Brush Strokes was split between the decorating
agency where Jacko worked, the house he shared with his sister Jean
and her husband (Jacko's friend and work colleague Eric) and - in
later episodes - Elmo's Wine Bar, a garish, gaudy, tasteless
establishment run by the equally garish, gaudy and tasteless Elmo.
As the series progressed viewers saw less of the flippant
devil-may-care side of Jacko and more of his melancholic quality as
he found himself becoming a lone single guy, his friends and
acquaintances all gradually pairing off.
Never fully losing his emotional naivety, Jacko nevertheless
matured through his experiences. The character proved very popular,
especially with women viewers, and provided a breakthrough for the
actor Karl Howman.
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