Seven of One
Encyclopedia
Seven of One was a British
comedy series
that aired on BBC2
in 1973. Starring Ronnie Barker
, 7 of One is a series of seven separate comedies that would serve as possible pilots for sitcoms. Originally it was to be called Six of One, which Barker planned to follow up with another series called Half Dozen of the Other. This was a BBC version of a similar showcase for LWT called Six Dates with Barker
created in 1971.
While the majority did not go beyond the 7 of One series, both Open All Hours and Prisoner and Escort did become much loved sitcoms. The first was the sitcom of the same name
, while the second became Porridge
, giving Ronnie Barker two of his best-known roles. Both were voted amongst the top 10 Greatest British Sitcoms
in 2004.
My Old Man also became a short-lived series for Yorkshire Television
including ITV
but with an entirely new cast led by Clive Dunn
who starred in Dad's Army
.
7 of One also featured Roy Castle
, Bill Maynard
, Sheila Brennan, Talfryn Thomas
, Prunella Scales
, Glynn Edwards
, Joan Sims
, Keith Chegwin
, Leslie Dwyer
, Robin Parkinson, Sam Kelly
, Christopher Biggins
, Richard O'Callaghan
, Yootha Joyce
and Avis Bunnage
in supporting roles. The series was released on BBC DVD in 2005.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedy series
Television comedy
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Among the earliest BBC television programmes in the 1930s was Starlight, which offered a series of guests from the music hall era — singers and comedians amongst them...
that aired on BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in 1973. Starring Ronnie Barker
Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman...
, 7 of One is a series of seven separate comedies that would serve as possible pilots for sitcoms. Originally it was to be called Six of One, which Barker planned to follow up with another series called Half Dozen of the Other. This was a BBC version of a similar showcase for LWT called Six Dates with Barker
Six Dates With Barker
Six Dates with Barker is a series of six one-off, half hour situation comedies showcasing the talents of Ronnie Barker. All were broadcast by London Weekend Television early in 1971.Writers on the series included John Cleese and Spike Milligan...
created in 1971.
Episodes
The seven programmes were individually called:- Open All Hours: Arkwright, a miserly North-country shopkeeper and his put-upon nephewNephewNephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation...
Granville (David JasonDavid JasonSir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...
). Written by Roy ClarkeRoy ClarkeRoy Clarke OBE is an English comedy writer.-Career:Clarke is best known for creating BBC Sitcoms; Last of the Summer Wine, Open All Hours and Keeping Up Appearances... - Prisoner and Escort: Norman Stanley FletcherNorman Stanley FletcherNorman Stanley "Fletch" Fletcher is the main character in the popular BBC sitcom Porridge, and the less-successful spin-off, Going Straight...
, a career criminal and his escorts — soft-hearted Mr BarrowcloughMr BarrowcloughMr Barrowclough was a character in the popular BBC sitcom Porridge. He was played by the late Brian Wilde.Henry Barrowclough is a prison warder...
(Brian WildeBrian WildeBrian George Wilde was an English actor, best known for his roles in television comedy, including Mr Barrowclough in Porridge and "Foggy" Dewhurst in Last of the Summer Wine...
) and authoritarian Mr MackayMr MackayMr. Mackay was a character in the popular BBC sitcom Porridge, played by Fulton Mackay.Mackay is a neurotic and tough prison warder whose constant obsession in life is to catch out Fletcher. The rivalry between Fletch and Mackay was a thing of comedy legend...
(Fulton MackayFulton MackayFulton Mackay OBE was a Scottish actor and playwright, best known for his role as prison officer Mr. Mackay in the 1970s sitcom Porridge.-Early life:...
) going up to prisonPrisonA prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. Written by Dick ClementDick ClementDick Clement, OBE is an English writer.Born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, Clement was educated at Bishop's Stortford College and is best known for his writing partnership with Ian La Frenais. Generally, Clement and La Frenais write comedies, or dramas with a comic tone...
& Ian Le Frenais - My Old Man: An embittered former train driver is forced to leave his condemned home, and decides to go to live with his daughter and her "posh" husband by the railway. Written by Gerald Frow
- Spanner's Eleven: The tale of ailing footballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team Ashfield Athletic and its trainer, local cabbie/hot-dog salesman/chauffeur Norman Spanner. Written by Roy ClarkeRoy ClarkeRoy Clarke OBE is an English comedy writer.-Career:Clarke is best known for creating BBC Sitcoms; Last of the Summer Wine, Open All Hours and Keeping Up Appearances... - Another Fine Mess: Ronnie BarkerRonnie BarkerRonald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman...
and Roy CastleRoy CastleRoy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...
as two Laurel and HardyLaurel and HardyLaurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
impersonators who become their characters as an evening's farcical events escalate around them. Written by Hugh LeonardHugh LeonardHugh Leonard was an Irish dramatist, television writer and essayist. In a career that spanned 50 years, Leonard wrote more than 18 plays, two volumes of essays and two autobiographies, one novel and numerous screenplays and teleplays, as well as writing a regular newspaper column.-Life and... - One Man's Meat: A man is forced to go on a starvation diet by his wife (Prunella ScalesPrunella ScalesPrunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
). Written by Jack GoetzRonnie BarkerRonald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman... - I'll Fly You For A Quid: A Welsh family, the Owens, who bet on absolutely everything and anything, discover that their grandfather backed a winner on the day he died — but where is the betting slip? This pilot was gave Ronnie BarkerRonnie BarkerRonald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman...
the idea of making The Magnificent EvansThe Magnificent EvansThe Magnificent Evans is a 1984 BBC situation comedy written by Roy Clarke and starring Ronnie Barker, Sharon Morgan and Myfanwy Talog.-Plot:...
. Written by Dick ClementDick ClementDick Clement, OBE is an English writer.Born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, Clement was educated at Bishop's Stortford College and is best known for his writing partnership with Ian La Frenais. Generally, Clement and La Frenais write comedies, or dramas with a comic tone...
& Ian Le Frenais
While the majority did not go beyond the 7 of One series, both Open All Hours and Prisoner and Escort did become much loved sitcoms. The first was the sitcom of the same name
Open All Hours
Open All Hours is a BBC sitcom written by Roy Clarke which ran for four series a first run in 1976, a second run in 1981, third in 1982 and finally with a fourth run in 1985, with a pilot episode from the Seven of One series in 1973...
, while the second became Porridge
Porridge (TV series)
Porridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two inmates at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland...
, giving Ronnie Barker two of his best-known roles. Both were voted amongst the top 10 Greatest British Sitcoms
Britain's Best Sitcom
Britain's Best Sitcom was a poll conducted in 2004 by the BBC, to identify the United Kingdom's best situation comedy. Viewers were asked to vote for their favourite by phone, text message and on the web. The top ten went forward to a final round of voting...
in 2004.
My Old Man also became a short-lived series for 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...
including ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
but with an entirely new cast led by Clive Dunn
Clive Dunn
Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn OBE is a retired English actor, comedian and author, best known for his role as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army.-Early life:...
who starred in Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
.
7 of One also featured Roy Castle
Roy Castle
Roy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...
, Bill Maynard
Bill Maynard
Walter Frederick George Williams , better known by the stage name Bill Maynard, is an English comedian and actor.-Early life and career:...
, Sheila Brennan, Talfryn Thomas
Talfryn Thomas
Talfryn Thomas was a British character actor, best known for supporting roles on British television in the 1970s.-Biography:Talfryn Thomas was born in Swansea on 31 October 1922....
, Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
, Glynn Edwards
Glynn Edwards
Glynn Edwards is a British actor.Edwards was born in Malaya and trained as an actor at Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. He is probably best known for his role as Dave 'the barman' Harris, owner of the Winchester Club in the TV show Minder...
, Joan Sims
Joan Sims
Joan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:...
, Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin is an English television presenter, former child actor and singer.-Early career:Chegwin's early roles were in works of the Children's Film Foundation, appearing as Egghead Wentworth in The Troublesome Double Egghead's Robot . He also appeared as a stowaway in Doomwatch episode...
, Leslie Dwyer
Leslie Dwyer
Leslie Dwyer was an English character actor of film and television. He was born in Catford, the son of the popular music hall comedian Johnny Dwyer and acted from the age of ten and appeared in his first film in 1921...
, Robin Parkinson, Sam Kelly
Sam Kelly
Sam Kelly is an English actor who has appeared in television, radio and theatre.-Career:He has had roles in British sitcoms such as Porridge as Bunny Warren, Allo 'Allo! as Captain Hans Geering leaving after series three, On the Up as Dennis Waterman's chauffeur and We'll Think of Something as Les...
, Christopher Biggins
Christopher Biggins
Christopher Kenneth Biggins is an English actor and media personality.-Career:Biggins was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England and brought up in Salisbury, Wiltshire, where he took elocution lessons and participated in local drama groups...
, Richard O'Callaghan
Richard O'Callaghan
Richard O'Callaghan is an English film, stage and television character actor.Born on 7 March 1940, he is the son of actors Patricia Hayes and Valentine Brooke whose stage name was Valentine Rooke. As a boy actor he was known as Richard Brooke. He has led a versatile career in film, stage and...
, Yootha Joyce
Yootha Joyce
Yootha Joyce was an English actress, best known for playing Mildred Roper in Man About the House and George and Mildred.-Early life:...
and Avis Bunnage
Avis Bunnage
Avis Bunnage was a British actress of film, stage and television.She attended Manley Park Municipal School and Chorlton Central School in Manchester. She worked as a secretary and a nursery teacher before deciding to become an actress...
in supporting roles. The series was released on BBC DVD in 2005.