GIZZA JOB

Actor's breakout role as Yosser ignited 50-film

- PAUL BYRNE

HIS despairing cry as hapless dad Yosser Hughes in Boys from the Blackstuff became a national catchphrase and catapulted him to fame.

Bernard Hill, who has died at 79, was unforgettable as a man on the edge in Thatcher's high unemployment Britain, begging everyone to "Gizza job".

The BBC drama series, by Alan Bleasdale, was broadcast in 1982 when more than three million people were on the dole in Great Britain.

It followed the lives of a group of out-of-work Liverpudlians but Yosser with his penchant for headbutting adversaries - was the standout character.

In another memorable scene he went eyeball to eyeball with Scots football legend Graeme Souness, who agreed to a cameo, telling the moustachioed Liverpool player: "You look like me... Magnum as well."