Home to Roost is a British television

British television

Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...

 sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television

Yorkshire Television

Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...

 in the 1980s. Written by Eric Chappell

Eric Chappell

Eric Chappell is an English comedy writer who wrote and co-wrote a number of the UK's biggest sitcom hits during the 1970s, '80s, and '90s...

, it starred John Thaw

John Thaw

John Edward Thaw, CBE was an English actor, who appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being police and legal dramas such as Redcap, The Sweeney, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC.-Early life:Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Gorton,...

 as Henry Willows and Reece Dinsdale

Reece Dinsdale

Reece Dinsdale is an English actor of stage, screen and television.-Acting career:He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1977 until 1980...

 as his 18-year-old son Matthew.

The premise is that Henry Willows is forty-something, who has been divorced from his wife for seven years and is perfectly happy living alone. That is, until his eldest child, Matthew arrives to live with him, after being thrown out by his mother. The plots generally revolved around Henry's annoyance at having his solitude disturbed, and the age gap clash. Henry employed two cleaners throughout the show's life; first Enid Thompson, and, in the third season, Fiona Fennell.

The show's theme tune was Lionel Bart

Lionel Bart

Lionel Bart was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!-Early life:...

's "Consider Yourself

Consider Yourself

"Consider Yourself" is a song from the 1960s original West End and Broadway musical Oliver! and the 1968 film of the same name. In the 1968 Oliver! film, it is performed in the market.-In popular culture:...

" ("at home, Consider yourself one of the family...") from Oliver!

Oliver!

Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....

It was arranged in a jazz style by Peter Knight.

The series was later repeated on Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

, and ITV3

ITV3

ITV3 is an entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom that is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. The channel was launched on 1 November 2004. ITV3 is the second largest UK multi-channel, second only to ITV2.-History:...

. All 29 episodes have now been released on DVD by Network DVD

Network DVD

Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...

.

Main cast

• Henry Willows - (John Thaw) Henry is a middle aged divorced man who lives by himself, however when his son, Matthew, turns up on his door step, expecting to be waited on hand and foot, his life is turned around for ever.

• Matthew Willows - (Reece Dinsdale) Matthew is a sixteen-year-old who always gets himself into trouble, he is obsessed with girls and money.

• Enid Thompson - (Elizabeth Bennett
  Elizabeth Bennett (actress)
  Elizabeth Bennett is a British actress.Bennett has appeared in several British TV series, including The Sandbaggers, The Bill, The Lakes, Chef!, The Duchess of Duke Street and Heartbeat. She played "Enid Thompson" in the British situation comedy Home to Roost, and played "Enid Tompkins" in the US...
  
  ) Enid is Henry's first cleaner. She is nosey and appears to be attracted to Henry.

• Fiona Fennell - (Joan Blackham) Fiona is Henry's second cleaner.

• Julie Willows - (Rebecca Lacey
  Rebecca Lacey
  Rebecca Lacey is a British actress, born in Watford, United Kingdom. She is the daughter of actor Ronald Lacey and actress Mela White. She is not the sister of actress Ingrid Lacey as is often reported....
  
  ) Julie is Henry's daughter and Matthew's sister. Despite living with her mother after her parent's divorce she appears to be a daddy's girl.

Series 1

First transmitted: 19 April - 31 May 1985

• A New Life

Henry is a middle aged man who lives alone until his bachelor lifestyle is over by the arrival of his son

• Bad Apples

Henry must find a school for Matthew

• All You Need is Love

Matthews first girlfriend leaves a trail of suspicions in her wake

• Suspect

Henry is far from happy when the return of his next door neighbor turns into a competition to win Matthews affection

• Dating Henry

Henrys acting very strange and Matthew sets out to find out why

• Small Change

Matthew is desperate for money but Henry won't give him any so he is forced to get a job

• The Way We Were

Its Henrys wedding anniversy so he goes to the club to drown his sorrows. An old face arrives at The Willows

Series 2

First transmitted: 5 September - 17 October 1986

• Protest

Henry and Matthew's relationship is strained when Matthew becomes an animal rights activist

• Open House

Matthew throws a party whilst Henry is away but then Henry suddenly returns

• Plastic Dreamworld

Matthew inherits a large sum of money but struggles to keep it

• Acting Out

Matthew becomes an actor much to the anger of Henry

• The Test

Henry reluctantly teaches Matthew how to drive

• Any Questions?

Hnery is standing for councillor

• Julie

Henrys daughter comes to stay but Henry and Matthew discover three is a crowd

Series 3

First transmitted: 24 October - 5 December 1987

• Human Interest

Henry and Matthew search for a new cleaning lady

• Success Story

Henrys brother comes to stay and Henry finds himself no longer wanted

• High Spirits

Matthew becomes obsessed with ghosts

• The Real Thing

Henry and Matthew go on the pull together with disastrous results

• Crimewatch

Henry becomes paranoid about security and joins the neighborhood watch

• Getting on

A visit to the hospital urges Matthew to adopt a homeless old man

• Paper Chase

Matthew sits his exams, but can he resist his friend's offer of cheating.

Special

First transmitted: 27 December 1987

• Family Ties

Henry's hopes of a quiet Christmas are dashed when his kids turn up

Series 4

First transmitted: 1 December 1989 - 19 January 1990

• Bridge of Sighs

A blast from the past sets Henry thinking of romance

• Front Runner

Harry suggests Matthew gets a job in order to pay for his college fees

• The Boyfriend

Henry quickly takes a dislike to Julie's new boyfriend

• Thought for the Day

Henry takes in a lodger which turns into a disaster for Matthew

• Return to Clagthorpe

Henry and Matthew go to Clagthorpe for a holiday.

• High Noon

Matthew finds himself in a boxing championship

• Leaving

Matthew is leaving for college. Will Henrys life ever be the same again

Foreign versions

• The US version, You Again?
  You Again?
  You Again? is an American situation comedy that was broadcast by NBC from February 27, 1986 to March 30, 1987 for two seasons.-Plot:You Again? stars Jack Klugman as Henry Willows, a man still embittered from his divorce ten years earlier, who had made no effort to see his son Matt during that time...
  
  , was less successful and lasted two seasons.
• The Dutch version, Ha die Pa, ran from 1990 to 1993 and was broadcast by NCRV. The main characters, Norbert and Matthijs Hogendijk, were played by Luc and Joris Lutz. Keeping it in the family, Pieter Lutz (the last-surviving of the three acting Lutz brothers) guested as the homeless old man in the adaptation of the 'Getting on'-episode. Matthijs' sister Freddie was played by Bettina Berger.