‘Gissa job!’ How Bernard Hill created one of TV’s most tragic and unforgettable characters

Playing unhinged head-butting Yosser Hughes in Boys from the Blackstuff made Hill a legend. But, from Titanic to The Lord of the Rings, his entire 50-year career was outstanding

Some time in 1980, on the first sheet of a script that would eventually run to 221 pages, Alan Bleasdale typed the line: We see Yosser with his three children. He is leaning forward.

When the jobcentre clerk explains he is “afraid” he can’t do anything, the pale-faced, dark-moustached man snaps: “Afraid? Y’ll be terrified in a minute. [Leans in.] Now sort me soddin’ Giro check out before I knock y’into the disability department.”