Stagecoach strike Sheffield: Secret Father Ted comedy message hidden at bus drivers picket line

It may be a serious issue that has moved Stagecoach bus drivers to strike in Sheffield over pay.
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But workers on the Unite union’s picket line, at the company’s depot on Rother Valley Way, showed they have a sense of humour with a secret comedy message hidden away on their strike front line!

Hidden in the background of the picture of the striking workers can be seen a sign – carrying the famous words of a comedy protest from the iconic 90s sitcom Father Ted.

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The placard at the Sheffield picket line states: “Down with this sort of thing. Careful now.”

The hidden sign at the Unite picket line at Rother Valley Way says: "Down with this sort of thing. Careful now"The hidden sign at the Unite picket line at Rother Valley Way says: "Down with this sort of thing. Careful now"
The hidden sign at the Unite picket line at Rother Valley Way says: "Down with this sort of thing. Careful now"

They are the two slogans that went into comedy legend when they were used by the Father Ted characters Ted Crilly and Dougal McGuire on their placards after being ordered by their bishop on the show to go out and protest outside their local cinema against the fictional film, The Passion of Saint Tibulus, which the bishop had decided was obscene.

Their half-hearted protest in the sitcom was one of the most famous and well loved scenes in the show, which is still repeated on television more than 20 years after it was made.

The drivers at Stagecoach’s Sheffield depots are striking over pay, with the strike originally due to run until Sunday. But Stagecoach now expects the strike to run next week as well.