''Chance in a Million'' is a British

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

broadcast between 10 September 1984 and 1 December 1986, produced by

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

for the fledgling

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

as part of its early homegrown programming. The series was co-written by Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen and starred Simon Callow and

Brenda Blethyn Brenda Blethyn (''née'' Bottle; 20 February 1946) is an English actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and two Academy Award nominations. Blethyn ...

. The

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and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

of the series was Michael Mills.

Plot

The premise of the show is the growing relationship between Tom Chance and Alison Little, which progresses throughout the series from initial meeting through to marriage. The show is structured like a traditional sitcom, although at the time of broadcast was considered by viewers and critics to be more in line with

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

in the UK. The titular character, Tom Chance, is frequently the victim of unlikely coincidences, nearly always to his detriment (with his last name indicating

Nominative Determinism Nominative determinism is the hypothesis that people tend to gravitate towards areas of work that fit their names. The term was first used in the magazine ''New Scientist'' in 1994, after the magazine's humorous "Feedback" column noted several ...

). As such, the show was a precursor to One Foot in the Grave, which had an almost identical premise a decade later. Tom is aware of the coincidences that dog him, and describes it as a "disability". However, he is generally stoical, and often declares the best course of action when they occur is to "go with the flow". Tom meets his girlfriend, Alison Little, by chance when the two go to the same

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

. Tom is on a blind date to meet a girl, who is also called Alison. Meanwhile, Alison Little has arranged to meet her cousin Tom for the first time since they were young children. Alison appears meek and passive, working as an archetypical librarian, although her even meeker parents consider her to be a tearaway. Tom is shy towards Alison and oblivious to her romantic and sexual approaches, which are mostly implied and discreet. However, Alison has fallen in love with Tom at first sight and she is keen for their friendship to develop into something more intimate as the show progresses. Crucially, as Tom soon comes to realise, Alison is immune from suffering too badly from the consequences of his coincidences, although is always involved as each situation plays out. Alison is in her twenties, while Tom is probably in his early 30s. When the show started filming, Blethyn was 38 and Callow was 35. Tom's character is somewhat bombastic and old-fashioned, a deliberate callback to similar middle/upper-class characters in UK fiction of the Victorian/Edwardian periods. His style of speaking is a key component of his comic nature. He speaks only in short staccato sentences similar to a telegram, devoid of personal pronouns and conjunctions: "Can’t talk Alison. Car being towed. Problem with lawn furniture." However, in other ways his character is surprisingly modern: He has an amusing ability to drink an entire pint of lager in one gulp whilst in the middle of speaking a sentence, for example. (According to Callow in a DVD commentary, a trick glass containing a fraction of a pint was actually used.) Because of Tom's tendency to get into trouble as a result of unlikely coincidences, his back story features him being arrested for crimes he did not commit – which happens so often that police Sergeant Gough gives orders for Tom not to be arrested, no matter how suspicious the circumstances. Unlike Alison, Tom does not work. Instead, he is of independent means, his income provided by six Premium Bonds that frequently win, which he ascribes to the same coincidences that otherwise plague him. Tom's interest is cricket, and he has a fascination with

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er Alec Bedser, and a cricket bat, which has been autographed by the cricketer, is one of Tom's most treasured possessions. (Or at least was, before it was chewed up by next door's alsatian.) And in the penultimate episode, Alison presents her husband-to-be with a book containing a signed dedication by Bedser, to Tom's great delight. The show frequently and somewhat gratuitously features women in nothing but their underwear (including Blethyn, who at various times appears in underwear, a neglige, and a basque). As such, it's reminiscent of the concurrent Benny Hill TV shows, or even the

Carry On Carry On may refer to: * ''Carry On'' (franchise), a British comedy media franchise *Carry-on luggage or hand luggage, luggage that is carried into the passenger compartment * ''Carry On'' (film), a 1927 British silent film * ''Carry On'' (novel), ...

series.

Theme

The title tune for the show is a version of

Taking a Chance on Love "Taking a Chance on Love" is a popular music, popular song from the 1940 Broadway musical ''Cabin in the Sky (musical), Cabin in the Sky''. It was introduced by Ethel Waters playing the role of Petunia Jackson both on Broadway and later in the 19 ...

Cast

* Simon Callow as Tom Chance *

as Alison Little * Ronnie Stevens (series 1), Hugh Walters (series 2 and 3) as Mr. Little * Deddie Davies as Mrs. Little * Bill Pertwee as Sergeant Gough * Angus MacKay as Terrence Wingent *Geraldine Gardner aka Trudi Van Doorn as Barbara Wingent – (series 2 & 3) *

Peter Corey Peter Frederick George Corey (1946–10 April 2019) was a British writer, actor and comedian. Corey was the author of the ''Coping With'' children's book series. He also wrote scripts for television programmes and acted in dramas and soap operas. ...

as Cousin Thomas * Rosemary Smith as "Janet" – (series 3)

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (1984)

Series 2 (1986)

Series 3 (1986)

Home releases

Notes

Speaking about the series following its release on DVD Simon Callow said: "I loved doing it and it's one of the most popular things I ever did. The central character, Tom Chance, was a guy who was plagued by coincidence that was the basic formula of the series. The charming thing about him was that he seemed to belong to another world completely. He spoke in the most extraordinary way, which I think was derived from Mr. Jingle in '' The Pickwick Papers'' – he never used the personal pronouns ... He'd say, "... went to bank ... had problem ... sat down ... couldn't get out ... killed a woman ... very sad...".

, she's absolutely superb in it. Brenda and I and the writers are desperately keen to do a series, 25 years later on ... same couple ... I think it would be wonderful."Simon Callow speaking on ''The Danny Baker Show'', Radio 5 Live, 22 May 2010. Brenda Blethyn, in her 2006 autobiography ''Mixed Fancies'', speaks of the series at length with clear affection and happy memories of the project.

References

* ''The Penguin TV Companion'' (2nd Edition) – Jeff Evans, Penguin Books Ltd., London, 2003

External links

* *
''Chance in a Million''
– BBC Comedy Guide

– British TV Comedy

– British TV Comedy {{DEFAULTSORT:Chance in a Million 1980s British sitcoms 1984 British television series debuts 1986 British television series endings Channel 4 sitcoms Television series by Fremantle (company) Television shows produced by Thames Television British English-language television shows Television shows shot at Teddington Studios