Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Series 2

Dennis:
Hello, Nev. [Neville puts a mug down on Dennis's desk] Did you have a good time?

Neville:
Aye, not bad. Nice dinner with your Norma today.

Dennis:
Oh, aye? She all right? [Pours some brandy into the mug.]

Neville:
Well... no, she's not all right.

Dennis:
Why? What's the matter?

Neville:
She's worried. About you and Ally Fraser.

Dennis:
Well, I'm hardly having an affair with Ally Fraser, if that's what she thinks...

Neville:
No, but you're more than just an employee, aren't ya?

Dennis:
What are you getting at, Nev?

Neville:
You owing him money.

Dennis:
[Getting defensive] Has Audie Charlies been jangling it again, has she? Look, there's nothing in it, Neville, man!

Neville:
Isn't there not? It would explain a lot of things, Dennis.

Dennis:
Like what?

Neville:
You bodging this conversion, for a start. It's not like you to put up with shoddy work, Den. No, unless that's what Fraser wants from you.

Dennis:
Neville, in case you hadn't noticed, the construction industry in this country's knackered. We can't be too choosy about the work we do anymore because it might be the last we're ganna get! Look, if I can keep my head about water and feed my kids by skimping on a conversion for Ally Fraser, I'm ganna do that, man. So would you!

Neville:
You must owe him an awful lot of money to talk like that, Dennis. [Dennis realises his secret is out.] How much?

Dennis:
[Quietly] £6,000. At the last count. And that's not including interest, like.

Neville:
Which, knowing Ally Fraser, will be about 50%! Why, Den? For God's sake...

Dennis:
You wouldn't understand, Neville, man! Look, you've got a happy marriage. And I've never had one. I mean, yer kna what it was like for me when I came back from Germany, what with Dagmar and... [Sighs] For a while I tried to make things better by throwing money about. I was wrong, wasn't I? By the time I realised I was wrong, it was too late. I'm in a hole now, with Ally Fraser looking down at me.

Neville:
Well, why didn't you tell us? We're your mates!

Dennis:
It doesn't concern you, Neville, not directly, anyway!

Neville:
It does! If we're having to compromise ourselves as well, it does!

Dennis:
Neville, man, it's just a piddling little four-week job. If I bring it in on time, into Fraser's meagre budget, I'm in the clear. And if I don't... well... I might just end up in the Tyne with my pockets full of bricks.