Victor Meldrew
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Victor Meldrew was the main character in the BBC 1 sitcom One Foot In The Grave, created by David Renwick and played by Richard Wilson.
The pensioner is most famous for his catch phrase, "I don't believe it!", an expression of discontent which was actually used fairly infrequently. According to Wilson this is because the show's producer wanted to avoid the catch phrase becoming over used.
Victor usually found himself constantly battling against all that life threw at him. Renwick once pointed out in an interview that the name Victor is ironic, since he almost always ends up as the loser. From being buried alive, to being legally prosecuted for attacking a feisty pit bull terrier with a collection of coconut meringues, Victor tries to adjust to life after his infamous replacement by a ‘box’ at his place of employment, alas to no avail.
The series was so successful that in the UK the term a Victor Meldrew has become shorthand for a bitter and complaining elderly man. This is a little unfair to the character, as the bizarre misfortunes that befell Meldrew would be enough to exasperate anyone.
Victor is a tragic comedy character, however, and many people found themselves sympathising with him, rather than laughing at him as he became embroiled in complex misunderstandings, bureaucratic vanity and, at times, sheer bad luck. The audience sees a philosophical ebb to his character, however, along with a degree of optimism on his behalf; yet after a while his polite façade is torn down when mounting shenanigans get the better of him, allowing for a full verbal onslaught to be delivered with the aptly famous "I don't believe it!".
His long suffering wife Margaret points out in one episode (when she hears someone accuse Victor of being insensitive) that he is in fact the most sensitive man she's ever met, if he weren't so sensitive he wouldn't get so upset by things, and that's why she chose him.
Ultimately, many felt that the things that he railed against, e.g. yobbish behaviour, lack of consideration for others, shoddy service, bureaucratic indifference, were things that he had every right to get angry about; in fact, if anything, most admired him for having the guts to stand up and be counted.
In the final episode, Meldrew was killed off after being hit by a car. This eliminated any potential rumour of a seventh series being made. Despite the incident being fictional, passers-by left bouquets of flowers at the railway bridge in Shawford, a small village in Hampshire, England, the location where it had been filmed. [1]
