The series were broadcast on ITV in β and In , series 1, set in Germany, was ranked number 46 on the Greatest British Television Programmes in a list compiled by the British Film Institute. The show was the subject of the first episode of the BBC documentary series Drama Connections in The first series, co-produced by Witzend Productions and Central Television for ITV in , is the story of seven out-of-work construction workers from various parts of England who are forced to look for work in West Germany as a result of the recession and high unemployment of the early s, although its initial emphasis is on three bricklayers from Newcastle upon Tyne making the journey to Germany, with the others being introduced along the way.
The title refers to their farewells to their wives and girlfriends β "Auf Wiedersehen" being German for "Farewell" or "Goodbye", or more literally "See you later", and "Pet" being a North-East English term of endearment.
The rest of the series is driven by the interactions and growing friendships between the various characters. Barry Timothy Spall , a " spark " from the Black Country , is an obsessive bore; Neville Kevin Whately , one of the Geordie " brickies ", is an insecure young newlywed; fellow Geordie Oz Jimmy Nail , another bricklayer, is aggressive and jingoistic ; and London " chippy " Wayne Gary Holton is a womaniser.
Dennis Tim Healy is another Geordie bricklayer who, being older, more experienced and generally more mature than the others, becomes the de facto leader of the group. Bristolian "brickie" and wrestler Bomber Pat Roach being the oldest is usually the calmest and sense of reason in the group; Scouse ex-con plasterer Moxey Fairbank is a jittery, recidivist arsonist. Over the course of 13 episodes the "Magnificent Seven" enjoy comic, dramatic, and romantic adventures, until a change in German tax laws forces them to return home.
The "building site" used for most of the filming was a set created on the backlot of the former ATV Elstree Studios at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire then owned by Central.
