To the Manor Born
Encyclopedia
To the Manor Born is a British sitcom that first aired on BBC1
from 1979 to 1981. A special edition appeared in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith
and Peter Bowles
, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by Peter Spence
, the creator, while the 1981 finale was written by Christopher Bond, the script associate. The title is a deliberate pun on the phrase "to the manner born," from Shakespeare
's Hamlet
("Though I am a native here and to the manner born, it is a custom more honored in the breach than the observance.")
In To the Manor Born Penelope Keith, who had become famous for playing Margo Leadbetter in the suburb
an sitcom The Good Life, plays Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, an upper-class woman who, upon the death of her husband, has to move out of her beloved manor house. The manor is then bought by Richard DeVere, played by Peter Bowles, a nouveau riche
millionaire supermarket owner originally from Czechoslovakia. DeVere and fforbes-Hamilton have a love–hate relationship which is eventually resolved in the 1981 finale, in which they marry. In the 2007 special they celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
From the first series, the programme proved popular and it received high audience figures for many of its episodes, with one episode being the most watched British television programme, excluding live events, of the 1970s. In 2004, To the Manor Born came 21st in Britain's Best Sitcom
, a public poll to find Britain's favourite situation comedy.
as a gag writer
. One of the programmes that Spence wrote for featured a Cockney
comedian, who had recently bought a manor house in an English country village. When holding a housewarming party
, the comedian invited the previous occupant, a widow who could not afford to keep the house up and had moved to a smaller house in the village. The comedian's account of the lady, and the conversation he had with her, Spence later described as a "perfect description" of Audrey.
A few years later, following the success of The Good Life, Spence was asked by BBC Radio
to come up with an idea for a programme to feature Keith. Thinking of Keith's character in The Good Life, Spence had the idea of an upper-class version of Margo Leadbetter, and from the account from the comedian, came up with Audrey fforbes-Hamilton. Instead of a Cockney comedian as the new owner of the manor, Spence decided on an American who sees the manor while in England looking for his roots. The American later discovers he is descended from the fforbes-Hamiltons. This was made into a radio pilot
in 1976 with Bernard Braden
as the American, but was never broadcast because of the interest to make it into a TV series.
When writing the TV series, Christopher Bond was brought in as the script associate
and helped to adapt the series from radio to television. The American character was changed, and the idea of a character who appeared to be an English gentleman but turns out not to be, was thought of. It was then decided that this character needed someone who could reveal his real background, and his mother was created, although it was not until Spence had nearly finished the first series that she was written in from the beginning. The characters of Brabinger and Margery followed soon after. The first episode aired on 30 September 1979, a year after Keith had played Margo Leadbetter for the last time in The Good Life.
, Somerset
, and in a studio. The Manor, Cricket House, was at the time of the original series owned by the father-in-law of Peter Spence, the show's creator and writer. Some interior scenes were also filmed inside Cricket House. The Old Lodge, which on screen was at the end of the Manor's drive, is in fact about one mile away and called West Lodge. A false gatepost was installed to help the illusion that the two are close together. The 2007 special was, like the original series, filmed on location in Cricket St Thomas in Somerset. This filming took place for about a week starting on 28 October 2007. The studio footage was filmed in front of a live audience at Pinewood Studios
in Buckinghamshire
on 25 November 2007.
All the episodes were directed
by Gareth Gwenlan
, who also produced
the original series. The 2007 Special was co-produced by Gwenlan and Justin Davies.
(playing Audrey's old friend Marjory), Daphne Heard
(Richard's mother, Mrs. Polouvicka), John Rudling
(Brabinger the butler), Michael Bilton
(Ned, the odd-job man) and Gerald Sim
(the Rector). Rudling was absent in the 1979 Christmas special and for much of the second series, being temporarily replaced as butler by Ned. The off-screen reason for this absence was Rudling's ill health. He died in 1983. Angela Thorne had worked with Keith before when she had played Lady "George" Truscott in a 1977 episode of The Good Life. Gerald Sim, who appears as the Rector in To the Manor Born, also played vicars in many other sitcoms including Keeping Up Appearances
, Love Hurts
and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
. Michael Bilton played Basil Makepeace, a main character in the first four series of the sitcom Waiting for God
in the 1990s before his death in 1993.
Peter Bowles had been asked some years earlier to play Jerry Leadbetter, the husband of Keith's Margo, in The Good Life. Owing to prior commitments, Bowles turned down the role, but had he played Jerry, it is unlikely he would have been offered the part of Richard; as Bowles later said, "there's no way I could have played Penelope Keith's screen husband in two separate sitcoms". However, in 1987 Bowles replaced Geoffrey Palmer
as Keith's screen husband in the ITV
sitcom Executive Stress
.
Aside from the main cast, the original series features many recurring character
s, who are either estate workers or members of Audrey's social circle. Celia Imrie
, who makes two appearances as Polly, later became famous for her work with Victoria Wood
, including a lead role in dinnerladies
, as well as lead roles in Kingdom
and After You've Gone.
The 2007 Christmas Special features four of the original cast members: Penelope Keith, Peter Bowles, Angela Thorne, and Gerald Sim. New characters include Alexander Armstrong
as Adam fforbes-Hamilton, Audrey's nephew-by-marriage and godson
; Alan David
as Emmeridge, Audrey and Richard's outspoken butler; and Michael Cochrane
as Archie Pennington-Booth, a neighbouring landowner. While the Rector makes only a brief appearance, the other three original characters are main characters throughout and are credited in the opening credits.
, but fails. The new Lord of the Manor is Richard DeVere, a recently-widowed self-made millionaire who started his career on an East End
fruit barrow and founded the "Cavendish Foods" supermarket
chain, but who to Audrey is simply a "grocer
". DeVere brings his domineering mother, who is soon nicknamed Mrs. Poo for her unpronouceable surname, her full name being Maria Jaroslava Vladimira Martinka Polouvicka. She reveals to a horrified Audrey that she and her son came to Britain in 1939 from Czechoslovakia
and Richard, whose real name is Bedrich Polouvicki, is half-Polish
and half-Czechoslovakia
n, with Mrs. Poo being Czechoslovakian and her late husband Lazlo Polish. Mrs. Poo tries hard to fit into country life, but her accent often leads to many mispronunciations and she frequently comes out with sayings from her "old Czechoslovakia" (even though Czechoslovakia is not so old for her; she was 15 years old when the country was created in 1919). From early on in the series she encourages her son to propose to Audrey.
After leaving the Manor, Audrey moves into the "Old Lodge", at the end of the drive, where she can see most of what goes on at the Manor. Living with her is her elderly and loyal butler
, Brabinger, who has worked for the fforbes-Hamiltons his whole life, and her Beagle
Bertie. Audrey's supportive best friend, and a frequent visitor, is the well-meaning Marjory Frobisher, who quickly develops a crush on DeVere. Marjory, who was at school with Audrey, is still a schoolgirl at heart and a committed countryside campaigner. Marjory has no organisational ability, which leads to her being nicknamed "Muddlesome Marj" by some. Despite Marjory's encouragement, Audrey refuses to get a job, saying her only job could be running the Grantleigh estate and doing other public service, which includes her being a magistrate
. This means that money is a constant problem. During the second series, Brabinger is away ill and Ned, whose tied cottage is being renovated by Richard, takes over as butler to Audrey. Ned, a gardener and "outside man", has worked on the estate all his life and finds working indoors difficult to get used to. Other estate staff include the estate foreman Mr. Miller, the estate manager Mr. Spalding and the cook Mrs. Beecham. Another character Polly originally works at the local "Cavendish Foods" store and then at the doctors' surgery, while Linda Cartwright works in the stable
s and as a domestic
. The postman, Mr. Purvis, appears in two episodes.
Other characters include the local Rector, who is very happy when Audrey loses the Manor, and wishes she would leave the area so he could have a bigger say on the running of the Church. The Rector favours Richard, who is frequently generous when it comes to donations to church funds. The village shop is run by Mrs. Patterson, the local gossip who again favours Richard and does not get on with Audrey. The typically English Brigadier Lemington, of the Somerset Rifles, is another local landowner and friend of Audrey's and the Master of Foxhounds
and, like Audrey and Marjory, has an interest in nature conservation
. Arnold Plunkett and his wife Dorothy are friends of Audrey, while Arnold is also the family solicitor. Grantleigh's local estate agent
is J.J. Anderson, of "Anderson and Fish", who appears at Manor parties.
During the course of the three series, Audrey and Richard grow closer. Hostile to each other at the start, they grew to understand and accept each other, as both try to adapt to each other's way. The last two 1981 episodes show Richard having problems at Cavendish. With his board of directors refusing to let Richard buy a refrigerated plant in Argentina, he seriously considers selling the manor to raise the money to buy the plant himself. Audrey, suddenly taking an interest in all matters financial, follows the debacle through the newspapers, to see "how much my one share of Cavendish is worth". Trying to help Richard, she asks her uncle, a well-respected and connected member of the financial community, to lend Richard a hand. Thanks to him, things begin to go Richard's way. Unfortunately, Audrey's uncle dies before the deals are signed and Richard is back to square one. Resisted on every side, Richard has had enough. He decides to sell the manor to pay for the refrigerated plant. By a twist of fate, Audrey inherits her uncle's fortune and buys the manor back. Now back home, and on her own turf, Audrey asks Richard to marry her. Taken aback, Richard says yes and they are married in the final episode, broadcast on 15 October.
Based on facts presented in the series, the characters of Audrey fforbes-Hamilton and her first husband Marton fforbes-Hamilton appear to have been distant relations who married each other. Grantleigh Manor has belonged to the fforbes-Hamilton’s for “400 years” (Series One, episode one, and repeated references in numerous other episodes), and Audrey makes repeated references to having grown up on the manor (series two, episode five, among others). Audrey fforbes-Hamilton and Marton fforbes-Hamilton were apparently relatives, very likely cousins of some sort, just as Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were fifth cousins once removed.
, with both planning a surprise party for the other, Richard confesses to Audrey that he owns "Farmer Tom", a company that has been putting the neighbouring estates out of business. Audrey leaves him, staying with Marjory. Richard tries to think of a way to get Audrey back, going to the grave of his mother, who died in 1988, for help. He gets the idea of allowing a rock concert
to be held on the estate. When the licence application is up before the Magistrates' Court, Richard changes his mind, in front of a furious Audrey, and says that he does not want the concert held there. However, Audrey still does not forgive him, until the following day, her anniversary, when Marjory leads her to a surprise party organised by Richard.
New characters in the 2007 Christmas Special include Emmeridge, the Manor's outspoken butler, as Brabinger died some years before, having worked until he died at aged 91. Other characters include Adam fforbes-Hamilton, the nephew of Audrey's first husband Marton and Audrey's godson, who has recently moved to Grantleigh to be trained on how to run an estate; and Archie Pennington-Booth, a neighbouring landowner who is close to bankruptcy
due to Richard's company, "Farmer Tom". Meanwhile, Marjory is now living in the Lodge, where Audrey used to live, and she develops a crush on Adam. Bertie, Audrey's dog, has long since died and has not been replaced, but a small nod was placed into the special with a picture of Brabinger and a small beagle statuette appearing on a side table in one of the opening scenes.
. A one-off Christmas Special, announced on 24 October 2007, aired at 9.30pm on BBC One on 25 December 2007.
Several episodes received extremely high audience figures. In 1979, the last episode of the first series received 23.95 million viewers, the fourth-highest figures for any programme in the UK in the 1970s, and the highest for a non-live event. The following year, 21.55 million people watched the series two finale, the fifth-highest viewing figure for the 1980s. The 1981 finale, when Audrey and Richard marry, received 17.80 million viewers. The 2007 Christmas Special garnered 10.25 million viewers and ranked as the 6th most watched programme in the UK for that week.
The theme tune for To the Manor Born was composed by Ronnie Hazlehurst
, the BBC's Light Entertainment Music Director who composed the theme tunes for many sitcoms around this time.
on 30 December 2007, Marshall Julius described the 2007 Christmas Special as "so cosy and old-fashioned that I could easily have dismissed it with a cynical wave". However, he says he found himself enjoying it "about halfway through" and said "it was a real pleasure to see Peter Bowles and Penelope Keith, for both of whom I feel great affection, once again sparring on the small screen". Julius finished his review by commenting "Not that I'm saying I'd like a whole series of it but as a one-off event it was surprisingly welcome".
The British Comedy Guide
was more critical saying that "whilst it gained great viewing figures it really wasn't a patch on the original episodes." This opinion was reflected in the voting for The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2007, in which the show picked up the title "The Worst British TV Sitcom Special 2007".
, is entitled To the Manor Born and is based on the first series episodes 1, 2,4, 6 and 7. In this book, Brabinger's first name, which is never mentioned in the TV series, is revealed as Bertram and Ned's surname revealed as Peaslake. The second book, titled To the Manor Born Book 2, was published by the same publisher in 1980. This is a novelisation of the 1979 Christmas Special and episodes 5, 4, 3, 2 and 6 from the second series, plus an original story.
from 25 January to 29 March 1997, were written by Peter Spence, six adapted from TV episodes and four new episodes. Keith and Thorne returned as Audrey and Marjory, while Keith Barron
replaced Bowles as Richard. Other actors, including Frank Middlemass
and Nicholas McArdle, who played Miller in the TV version, replaced many of the by then deceased original television cast members. The series has subsequently been repeated on the BBC 7
.
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
from 1979 to 1981. A special edition appeared in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith
Penelope Keith
Penelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE, DL is an English actress.Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom The Good Life...
and Peter Bowles
Peter Bowles
-Early life:Bowles was born in London, England, the son of Sarah Jane and Herbert Reginald Bowles. His father was a chauffeur and butler at a stately home in Warwickshire; but, upon the outbreak of World War II, he was seconded to work as an engineer at Rolls-Royce and moved the family to Nottingham...
, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by Peter Spence
Peter Spence
Peter Spence is an English journalist and writer. He is perhaps best known for creating and writing the British sitcom To the Manor Born.-Early life:...
, the creator, while the 1981 finale was written by Christopher Bond, the script associate. The title is a deliberate pun on the phrase "to the manner born," from Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
("Though I am a native here and to the manner born, it is a custom more honored in the breach than the observance.")
In To the Manor Born Penelope Keith, who had become famous for playing Margo Leadbetter in the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an sitcom The Good Life, plays Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, an upper-class woman who, upon the death of her husband, has to move out of her beloved manor house. The manor is then bought by Richard DeVere, played by Peter Bowles, a nouveau riche
Nouveau riche
The nouveau riche , or new money, comprise those who have acquired considerable wealth within their own generation...
millionaire supermarket owner originally from Czechoslovakia. DeVere and fforbes-Hamilton have a love–hate relationship which is eventually resolved in the 1981 finale, in which they marry. In the 2007 special they celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
From the first series, the programme proved popular and it received high audience figures for many of its episodes, with one episode being the most watched British television programme, excluding live events, of the 1970s. In 2004, To the Manor Born came 21st in Britain's Best Sitcom
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...
, a public poll to find Britain's favourite situation comedy.
Development
Peter Spence first thought of the idea behind To the Manor Born in the early 1970s when he was working for BBC RadioBBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
as a gag writer
Joke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
. One of the programmes that Spence wrote for featured a Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
comedian, who had recently bought a manor house in an English country village. When holding a housewarming party
Housewarming party
A housewarming party is a party held within approximately 90 days of moving into a new residence. It is an occasion for the hosts to present their new home to their friends, and for friends to give gifts to furnish the new home...
, the comedian invited the previous occupant, a widow who could not afford to keep the house up and had moved to a smaller house in the village. The comedian's account of the lady, and the conversation he had with her, Spence later described as a "perfect description" of Audrey.
A few years later, following the success of The Good Life, Spence was asked by BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
to come up with an idea for a programme to feature Keith. Thinking of Keith's character in The Good Life, Spence had the idea of an upper-class version of Margo Leadbetter, and from the account from the comedian, came up with Audrey fforbes-Hamilton. Instead of a Cockney comedian as the new owner of the manor, Spence decided on an American who sees the manor while in England looking for his roots. The American later discovers he is descended from the fforbes-Hamiltons. This was made into a radio pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
in 1976 with Bernard Braden
Bernard Braden
Bernard Chastey Braden was a Canadian-born English actor and comedian.Braden was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and educated at Magee Secondary School, Kerrisdale, Vancouver. He produced plays on CJOR Vancouver in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He married Barbara Kelly in 1942 and they moved...
as the American, but was never broadcast because of the interest to make it into a TV series.
When writing the TV series, Christopher Bond was brought in as the script associate
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and helped to adapt the series from radio to television. The American character was changed, and the idea of a character who appeared to be an English gentleman but turns out not to be, was thought of. It was then decided that this character needed someone who could reveal his real background, and his mother was created, although it was not until Spence had nearly finished the first series that she was written in from the beginning. The characters of Brabinger and Margery followed soon after. The first episode aired on 30 September 1979, a year after Keith had played Margo Leadbetter for the last time in The Good Life.
Filming
To the Manor Born was filmed on location in Cricket St ThomasCricket St Thomas
Cricket St Thomas is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated in a valley beside the A30 road between Chard and Crewkerne in the South Somerset district.The village has a population of 50...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, and in a studio. The Manor, Cricket House, was at the time of the original series owned by the father-in-law of Peter Spence, the show's creator and writer. Some interior scenes were also filmed inside Cricket House. The Old Lodge, which on screen was at the end of the Manor's drive, is in fact about one mile away and called West Lodge. A false gatepost was installed to help the illusion that the two are close together. The 2007 special was, like the original series, filmed on location in Cricket St Thomas in Somerset. This filming took place for about a week starting on 28 October 2007. The studio footage was filmed in front of a live audience at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
on 25 November 2007.
All the episodes were directed
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
by Gareth Gwenlan
Gareth Gwenlan
Gareth Gwenlan is a British television producer, best known for his work on shows such as The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, To the Manor Born, Only Fools and Horses, and High Hopes. In 1983 he was appointed Head of Comedy for BBC.-External links:...
, who also produced
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
the original series. The 2007 Special was co-produced by Gwenlan and Justin Davies.
Cast
To the Manor Born's cast is led by Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles as Audrey and Richard. The other main cast members in the original series are Angela ThorneAngela Thorne
Angela Thorne is an English actress who is best known for her roles in To the Manor Born and Anyone for Denis?-Early life:Angela Thorne was born in Karachi, British India, , in 1939...
(playing Audrey's old friend Marjory), Daphne Heard
Daphne Heard
Daphne Heard was an English actress. She was born in Plymouth, Devon.She had a long and distinguished career on the stage, especially in classical roles, but was perhaps best known to the general public in latter years as "Mrs...
(Richard's mother, Mrs. Polouvicka), John Rudling
John Rudling
John Rudling was an English television actor who was perhaps best known for playing the butler Brabinger in the popular BBC sitcom To the Manor Born....
(Brabinger the butler), Michael Bilton
Michael Bilton
Michael Bilton was an English actor best known for his roles in the British television sitcoms To the Manor Born and Waiting for God....
(Ned, the odd-job man) and Gerald Sim
Gerald Sim
Gerald Grant Sim is an English actor who is perhaps best known for playing the Rector in To the Manor Born. He is the younger brother of actress Sheila Sim and brother-in-law of actor/director Lord Attenborough.- Career :...
(the Rector). Rudling was absent in the 1979 Christmas special and for much of the second series, being temporarily replaced as butler by Ned. The off-screen reason for this absence was Rudling's ill health. He died in 1983. Angela Thorne had worked with Keith before when she had played Lady "George" Truscott in a 1977 episode of The Good Life. Gerald Sim, who appears as the Rector in To the Manor Born, also played vicars in many other sitcoms including Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. Centred on the life of eccentric, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket , the sitcom portrays a social hierarchy-ruled British society...
, Love Hurts
Love Hurts (UK TV series)
Love Hurts is a British situation-comedy television series that was broadcast from 1992 to 1994 on the BBC. It was scripted by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran and starred Adam Faith, Zoë Wanamaker and Jane Lapotaire as Frank Carver, Tessa Piggott and Diane Warburg, respectively....
and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is a series of novels which developed into a British sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter in the title role...
. Michael Bilton played Basil Makepeace, a main character in the first four series of the sitcom Waiting for God
Waiting for God (TV series)
Waiting for God was a British sitcom that ran on BBC1 for five series from 1990 to 1994. It starred Stephanie Cole and Graham Crowden as two spirited residents of a retirement home who spend their time running rings around the home's oppressive management and their own families. It was written by...
in the 1990s before his death in 1993.
Peter Bowles had been asked some years earlier to play Jerry Leadbetter, the husband of Keith's Margo, in The Good Life. Owing to prior commitments, Bowles turned down the role, but had he played Jerry, it is unlikely he would have been offered the part of Richard; as Bowles later said, "there's no way I could have played Penelope Keith's screen husband in two separate sitcoms". However, in 1987 Bowles replaced Geoffrey Palmer
Geoffrey Palmer (actor)
Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:...
as Keith's screen husband in the 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...
sitcom Executive Stress
Executive Stress
Executive Stress is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1986 to 1988. Produced by Thames Television, it first aired on 20 October 1986. After three series, the last episode aired on 27 December 1988....
.
Aside from the main cast, the original series features many recurring character
Recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus...
s, who are either estate workers or members of Audrey's social circle. Celia Imrie
Celia Imrie
Celia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress. In a career starting in the early 1970s, Imrie has played Marianne Bellshade in Bergerac, Philippa Moorcroft in Dinnerladies, Miss Babs in Acorn Antiques, Diana Neal in After You've Gone and Gloria Millington in Kingdom...
, who makes two appearances as Polly, later became famous for her work with Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
, including a lead role in dinnerladies
Dinnerladies
Dinnerladies is a British sitcom written, co-produced by and starring Victoria Wood. It ran on BBC One for 16 episodes from 1998 to 2000.-Plot:...
, as well as lead roles in Kingdom
Kingdom (TV series)
Kingdom is a British television series produced by Parallel Film and Television Productions for the ITV network. It was created by Simon Wheeler and stars Stephen Fry as Peter Kingdom, a Norfolk solicitor who is coping with family, colleagues, and the strange locals who come to him for legal...
and After You've Gone.
The 2007 Christmas Special features four of the original cast members: Penelope Keith, Peter Bowles, Angela Thorne, and Gerald Sim. New characters include Alexander Armstrong
Alexander Armstrong (comedian)
Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong is a British comedian, actor and television presenter.-Early life and career:Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, the youngest of three children, to Henry Angus Armstrong and his wife Emma Virginia Peronnet Thompson-McCausland, daughter of Lucius...
as Adam fforbes-Hamilton, Audrey's nephew-by-marriage and godson
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
; Alan David
Alan David
Alan David is a Welsh television actor. Living in London, he is married with two sons.David was born in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan. He has had many television credits ranging from Coronation Street in 1973 to Virtual Murder , Honey for Tea and "The Unquiet Dead", an episode of Doctor Who in 2005...
as Emmeridge, Audrey and Richard's outspoken butler; and Michael Cochrane
Michael Cochrane
Michael Cochrane is an English actor who specialises in playing upper class characters, sometimes with a suaveness that hides their villainy....
as Archie Pennington-Booth, a neighbouring landowner. While the Rector makes only a brief appearance, the other three original characters are main characters throughout and are credited in the opening credits.
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Penelope Keith Penelope Keith Penelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE, DL is an English actress.Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom The Good Life... |
Audrey fforbes-Hamilton |
| Peter Bowles Peter Bowles -Early life:Bowles was born in London, England, the son of Sarah Jane and Herbert Reginald Bowles. His father was a chauffeur and butler at a stately home in Warwickshire; but, upon the outbreak of World War II, he was seconded to work as an engineer at Rolls-Royce and moved the family to Nottingham... |
Richard DeVere (Bedrich Polouvicki) |
| Angela Thorne Angela Thorne Angela Thorne is an English actress who is best known for her roles in To the Manor Born and Anyone for Denis?-Early life:Angela Thorne was born in Karachi, British India, , in 1939... |
Marjory Frobisher |
| Daphne Heard Daphne Heard Daphne Heard was an English actress. She was born in Plymouth, Devon.She had a long and distinguished career on the stage, especially in classical roles, but was perhaps best known to the general public in latter years as "Mrs... |
Mrs. Maria Polouvicka (Mrs Poo) |
| John Rudling John Rudling John Rudling was an English television actor who was perhaps best known for playing the butler Brabinger in the popular BBC sitcom To the Manor Born.... |
Brabinger |
| Michael Bilton Michael Bilton Michael Bilton was an English actor best known for his roles in the British television sitcoms To the Manor Born and Waiting for God.... |
Old Ned |
| Gerald Sim Gerald Sim Gerald Grant Sim is an English actor who is perhaps best known for playing the Rector in To the Manor Born. He is the younger brother of actress Sheila Sim and brother-in-law of actor/director Lord Attenborough.- Career :... |
The Rector |
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Jonathan Elsom | J.J. Anderson |
| Dennis Ramsden | Arnold Plunkett |
| Betty Tucker | Mrs. Beecham |
| Jayne Lester | Linda Cartwright |
| Daphne Oxenford Daphne Oxenford Daphne M. Oxenford is an English actress known for her television and radio work.She is possibly best known for being the voice for BBC radio's Listen with Mother from 1950 to 1971, and for being one of the readers on newspaper review programme What the Papers Say for over thirty years... |
Mrs. Patterson |
| Nicholas McArdle | Miller |
| Joyce Windsor | Mrs. Dorothy Plunkett |
| Anthony Sharp Anthony Sharp Anthony Sharp was an English actor cast for roles on television and film principally from the 1950s onwards.... |
Brigadier Lemington OBE |
| Celia Imrie Celia Imrie Celia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress. In a career starting in the early 1970s, Imrie has played Marianne Bellshade in Bergerac, Philippa Moorcroft in Dinnerladies, Miss Babs in Acorn Antiques, Diana Neal in After You've Gone and Gloria Millington in Kingdom... |
Polly |
| John Gleeson | Mr. Purvis |
| Ben Aris Ben Aris Benjamin Patrick Aris was an English actor who was best known for his parts in Hi-de-Hi! and To the Manor Born, and was also very active on stage. He was often cast as an eccentric, upper-class man.... |
Mr. Spalding |
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Penelope Keith Penelope Keith Penelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE, DL is an English actress.Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom The Good Life... |
Audrey DeVere |
| Peter Bowles Peter Bowles -Early life:Bowles was born in London, England, the son of Sarah Jane and Herbert Reginald Bowles. His father was a chauffeur and butler at a stately home in Warwickshire; but, upon the outbreak of World War II, he was seconded to work as an engineer at Rolls-Royce and moved the family to Nottingham... |
Richard DeVere |
| Angela Thorne Angela Thorne Angela Thorne is an English actress who is best known for her roles in To the Manor Born and Anyone for Denis?-Early life:Angela Thorne was born in Karachi, British India, , in 1939... |
Marjory Frobisher |
| Gerald Sim Gerald Sim Gerald Grant Sim is an English actor who is perhaps best known for playing the Rector in To the Manor Born. He is the younger brother of actress Sheila Sim and brother-in-law of actor/director Lord Attenborough.- Career :... |
The Rector |
| Alexander Armstrong Alexander Armstrong (comedian) Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong is a British comedian, actor and television presenter.-Early life and career:Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, the youngest of three children, to Henry Angus Armstrong and his wife Emma Virginia Peronnet Thompson-McCausland, daughter of Lucius... |
Adam fforbes-Hamilton |
| Alan David Alan David Alan David is a Welsh television actor. Living in London, he is married with two sons.David was born in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan. He has had many television credits ranging from Coronation Street in 1973 to Virtual Murder , Honey for Tea and "The Unquiet Dead", an episode of Doctor Who in 2005... |
Emmeridge |
| Michael Cochrane Michael Cochrane Michael Cochrane is an English actor who specialises in playing upper class characters, sometimes with a suaveness that hides their villainy.... |
Archie Pennington-Booth |
Original series
To the Manor Born is set in the fictional village of Grantleigh, in Somerset near the fictional town of Marlbury. The series begins with the funeral of Marton (sic) fforbes-Hamilton, the Lord of the Manor. Audrey, his widow (and apparently also his cousin), while not happy at her husband's death, is certainly less than distraught as she now has control of the Grantleigh estate, which her family the fforbes-Hamiltons have controlled for 400 years. Her joy is short-lived though, as her solicitor Arnold Plunkett informs her that Marton was bankrupt and that the Manor will have to be sold to pay off the debts. Audrey tries to buy back the manor at auctionAuction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
, but fails. The new Lord of the Manor is Richard DeVere, a recently-widowed self-made millionaire who started his career on an East End
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
fruit barrow and founded the "Cavendish Foods" supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
chain, but who to Audrey is simply a "grocer
Grocer
A grocer is a bulk seller of food. Beginning as early as the 14th century, a grocer was a dealer in comestible dry goods such as spices, pepper, sugar, and cocoa, tea and coffee...
". DeVere brings his domineering mother, who is soon nicknamed Mrs. Poo for her unpronouceable surname, her full name being Maria Jaroslava Vladimira Martinka Polouvicka. She reveals to a horrified Audrey that she and her son came to Britain in 1939 from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and Richard, whose real name is Bedrich Polouvicki, is half-Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
and half-Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
n, with Mrs. Poo being Czechoslovakian and her late husband Lazlo Polish. Mrs. Poo tries hard to fit into country life, but her accent often leads to many mispronunciations and she frequently comes out with sayings from her "old Czechoslovakia" (even though Czechoslovakia is not so old for her; she was 15 years old when the country was created in 1919). From early on in the series she encourages her son to propose to Audrey.
After leaving the Manor, Audrey moves into the "Old Lodge", at the end of the drive, where she can see most of what goes on at the Manor. Living with her is her elderly and loyal butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
, Brabinger, who has worked for the fforbes-Hamiltons his whole life, and her Beagle
Beagle
The Beagle is a breed of small to medium-sized dog. A member of the Hound Group, it is similar in appearance to the Foxhound, but smaller, with shorter legs and longer, softer ears. Beagles are scent hounds, developed primarily for tracking hare, rabbit, and other game...
Bertie. Audrey's supportive best friend, and a frequent visitor, is the well-meaning Marjory Frobisher, who quickly develops a crush on DeVere. Marjory, who was at school with Audrey, is still a schoolgirl at heart and a committed countryside campaigner. Marjory has no organisational ability, which leads to her being nicknamed "Muddlesome Marj" by some. Despite Marjory's encouragement, Audrey refuses to get a job, saying her only job could be running the Grantleigh estate and doing other public service, which includes her being a magistrate
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
. This means that money is a constant problem. During the second series, Brabinger is away ill and Ned, whose tied cottage is being renovated by Richard, takes over as butler to Audrey. Ned, a gardener and "outside man", has worked on the estate all his life and finds working indoors difficult to get used to. Other estate staff include the estate foreman Mr. Miller, the estate manager Mr. Spalding and the cook Mrs. Beecham. Another character Polly originally works at the local "Cavendish Foods" store and then at the doctors' surgery, while Linda Cartwright works in the stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
s and as a domestic
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
. The postman, Mr. Purvis, appears in two episodes.
Other characters include the local Rector, who is very happy when Audrey loses the Manor, and wishes she would leave the area so he could have a bigger say on the running of the Church. The Rector favours Richard, who is frequently generous when it comes to donations to church funds. The village shop is run by Mrs. Patterson, the local gossip who again favours Richard and does not get on with Audrey. The typically English Brigadier Lemington, of the Somerset Rifles, is another local landowner and friend of Audrey's and the Master of Foxhounds
Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
and, like Audrey and Marjory, has an interest in nature conservation
Conservation movement
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
. Arnold Plunkett and his wife Dorothy are friends of Audrey, while Arnold is also the family solicitor. Grantleigh's local estate agent
Estate agent
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent...
is J.J. Anderson, of "Anderson and Fish", who appears at Manor parties.
During the course of the three series, Audrey and Richard grow closer. Hostile to each other at the start, they grew to understand and accept each other, as both try to adapt to each other's way. The last two 1981 episodes show Richard having problems at Cavendish. With his board of directors refusing to let Richard buy a refrigerated plant in Argentina, he seriously considers selling the manor to raise the money to buy the plant himself. Audrey, suddenly taking an interest in all matters financial, follows the debacle through the newspapers, to see "how much my one share of Cavendish is worth". Trying to help Richard, she asks her uncle, a well-respected and connected member of the financial community, to lend Richard a hand. Thanks to him, things begin to go Richard's way. Unfortunately, Audrey's uncle dies before the deals are signed and Richard is back to square one. Resisted on every side, Richard has had enough. He decides to sell the manor to pay for the refrigerated plant. By a twist of fate, Audrey inherits her uncle's fortune and buys the manor back. Now back home, and on her own turf, Audrey asks Richard to marry her. Taken aback, Richard says yes and they are married in the final episode, broadcast on 15 October.
Based on facts presented in the series, the characters of Audrey fforbes-Hamilton and her first husband Marton fforbes-Hamilton appear to have been distant relations who married each other. Grantleigh Manor has belonged to the fforbes-Hamilton’s for “400 years” (Series One, episode one, and repeated references in numerous other episodes), and Audrey makes repeated references to having grown up on the manor (series two, episode five, among others). Audrey fforbes-Hamilton and Marton fforbes-Hamilton were apparently relatives, very likely cousins of some sort, just as Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were fifth cousins once removed.
2007 Christmas Special
As Richard and Audrey plan to celebrate their silver wedding (25th) anniversaryWedding anniversary
-Official recognition:In the Commonwealth realms, one can receive a message from the monarch for 60th, 65th, and 70th wedding anniversaries, and any wedding anniversary after that...
, with both planning a surprise party for the other, Richard confesses to Audrey that he owns "Farmer Tom", a company that has been putting the neighbouring estates out of business. Audrey leaves him, staying with Marjory. Richard tries to think of a way to get Audrey back, going to the grave of his mother, who died in 1988, for help. He gets the idea of allowing a rock concert
Rock concert
The term rock concert refers to a musical performance in the style of any one of many genres inspired by "rock and roll" music. While a variety of vocal and instrumental styles can constitute a rock concert, this phenomenon is typically characterized by bands playing at least one electric guitar,...
to be held on the estate. When the licence application is up before the Magistrates' Court, Richard changes his mind, in front of a furious Audrey, and says that he does not want the concert held there. However, Audrey still does not forgive him, until the following day, her anniversary, when Marjory leads her to a surprise party organised by Richard.
New characters in the 2007 Christmas Special include Emmeridge, the Manor's outspoken butler, as Brabinger died some years before, having worked until he died at aged 91. Other characters include Adam fforbes-Hamilton, the nephew of Audrey's first husband Marton and Audrey's godson, who has recently moved to Grantleigh to be trained on how to run an estate; and Archie Pennington-Booth, a neighbouring landowner who is close to bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
due to Richard's company, "Farmer Tom". Meanwhile, Marjory is now living in the Lodge, where Audrey used to live, and she develops a crush on Adam. Bertie, Audrey's dog, has long since died and has not been replaced, but a small nod was placed into the special with a picture of Brabinger and a small beagle statuette appearing on a side table in one of the opening scenes.
Episodes
The original series of To the Manor Born ran for three series and one Christmas special from 30 September 1979 to 29 November 1981. Each episode is thirty minutes long. The first series aired for seven episodes on Sundays at 8.45pm, the second series for six episodes on Sundays at 8.35pm and the seven-episode Series Three on Sundays at 7.15pm. The Christmas special aired at 8.00pm. All episodes aired on BBC1BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. A one-off Christmas Special, announced on 24 October 2007, aired at 9.30pm on BBC One on 25 December 2007.
Several episodes received extremely high audience figures. In 1979, the last episode of the first series received 23.95 million viewers, the fourth-highest figures for any programme in the UK in the 1970s, and the highest for a non-live event. The following year, 21.55 million people watched the series two finale, the fifth-highest viewing figure for the 1980s. The 1981 finale, when Audrey and Richard marry, received 17.80 million viewers. The 2007 Christmas Special garnered 10.25 million viewers and ranked as the 6th most watched programme in the UK for that week.
The theme tune for To the Manor Born was composed by Ronnie Hazlehurst
Ronnie Hazlehurst
Ronald "Ronnie" Hazlehurst was an English composer and conductor who, having joined the BBC in 1961, became its Light Entertainment Musical Director....
, the BBC's Light Entertainment Music Director who composed the theme tunes for many sitcoms around this time.
2007 Christmas Special
Writing in the Sunday ExpressDaily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
on 30 December 2007, Marshall Julius described the 2007 Christmas Special as "so cosy and old-fashioned that I could easily have dismissed it with a cynical wave". However, he says he found himself enjoying it "about halfway through" and said "it was a real pleasure to see Peter Bowles and Penelope Keith, for both of whom I feel great affection, once again sparring on the small screen". Julius finished his review by commenting "Not that I'm saying I'd like a whole series of it but as a one-off event it was surprisingly welcome".
The British Comedy Guide
British Comedy Guide
The British Comedy Guide or BCG is a British website covering all forms of British comedy, across all media. At the time of writing, the BCG has published guides to more than 1,200 individual British comedies - primarily TV and radio situation comedy, sketch shows, comedy dramas, satire, variety...
was more critical saying that "whilst it gained great viewing figures it really wasn't a patch on the original episodes." This opinion was reflected in the voting for The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2007, in which the show picked up the title "The Worst British TV Sitcom Special 2007".
Novelisations
The writer Peter Spence wrote two books that accompanied To the Manor Born. While they were based on the TV episodes, both books did differ with added conversations, changed storylines and the characters being given different personality traits. The first book, published in 1979 by Arrow BooksRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, is entitled To the Manor Born and is based on the first series episodes 1, 2,4, 6 and 7. In this book, Brabinger's first name, which is never mentioned in the TV series, is revealed as Bertram and Ned's surname revealed as Peaslake. The second book, titled To the Manor Born Book 2, was published by the same publisher in 1980. This is a novelisation of the 1979 Christmas Special and episodes 5, 4, 3, 2 and 6 from the second series, plus an original story.
Radio version
In 1997, 16 years after the original series of To the Manor Born ended on television, ten 30-minute episodes were recorded for radio, the programme's original intended medium. The episodes, originally aired on Saturdays on BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
from 25 January to 29 March 1997, were written by Peter Spence, six adapted from TV episodes and four new episodes. Keith and Thorne returned as Audrey and Marjory, while Keith Barron
Keith Barron
Keith Barron is an English actor and television presenter, well-known from numerous roles on British television from the 1960s to the present day.-Career:...
replaced Bowles as Richard. Other actors, including Frank Middlemass
Frank Middlemass
Francis George Middlemass was an English actor, who even in his early career played older roles. He is best remembered for his television roles as Rocky Hardcastle in As Time Goes By, Algy Herries in To Serve Them All My Days and Dr. Alex Ferrenby in Heartbeat...
and Nicholas McArdle, who played Miller in the TV version, replaced many of the by then deceased original television cast members. The series has subsequently been repeated on the BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
.
Cast
| Actor | Character/s |
|---|---|
| Penelope Keith Penelope Keith Penelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE, DL is an English actress.Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom The Good Life... |
Audrey fforbes-Hamilton |
| Keith Barron Keith Barron Keith Barron is an English actor and television presenter, well-known from numerous roles on British television from the 1960s to the present day.-Career:... |
Richard DeVere (Bedrich Polouvicki) |
| Angela Thorne Angela Thorne Angela Thorne is an English actress who is best known for her roles in To the Manor Born and Anyone for Denis?-Early life:Angela Thorne was born in Karachi, British India, , in 1939... |
Marjory Frobisher |
| Margery Withers | Mrs. Maria Polouvicka (Mrs Poo) |
| Nicholas McArdle | Brabinger |
| Frank Middlemass Frank Middlemass Francis George Middlemass was an English actor, who even in his early career played older roles. He is best remembered for his television roles as Rocky Hardcastle in As Time Goes By, Algy Herries in To Serve Them All My Days and Dr. Alex Ferrenby in Heartbeat... |
Ned/Arnold Plunkett |
| Zulema Dene | Mrs. Plunkett |
| Jonathan Adams | Brigadier Lemington, OBE |
Episodes
| # | Title | Region 2 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... ). The first series and the 1979 Christmas special were released on 5 May 2003, followed by Series Two on 29 December 2003 and Series Three on 14 June 2004. The DVDs feature an interview with Peter Spence. The 2007 Christmas Special was released on Region 2 DVD on 11 February 2008. The complete original series was released in a boxset in the United States and Canada (Region 1) on 15 June 2004. The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
|
|---|