The ''Doctor'' novels are a series of 18

comic novel A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's literary ...

s by British physician Richard Gordon, covering the antics of a group of young doctors. They were published between 1952 and 1986.

Books

* ''Doctor in the House''. London: Michael Joseph. 1952. *'' Doctor at Sea''. London: Michael Joseph. 1953. *'' Doctor at Large''. London: Michael Joseph. 1955. *''

Doctor in Love ''Doctor in Love'' is a 1960 British comedy film, the fourth of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series, starring James Robertson Justice as Sir Lancelot Spratt and Michael Craig as Dr Richard Hare. This was the first film in the series not to ...

''. London: Michael Joseph. 1957. *''

Doctor and Son ''Doctor and Son'' is a 1959 comedy novel by the British writer Richard Gordon.Pringle p.227 It is the fifth novel in Gordon's ''Doctor'' series. Returning from his honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds immediately after the ...

''. London: Michael Joseph. 1959. *''

Doctor in Clover ''Doctor in Clover'' is a British comedy film released in 1966, starring Leslie Phillips. The film is based on the novel of the same title by Richard Gordon. It is the sixth of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. The film was released i ...

''. London: Michael Joseph. 1960. *''

Doctor on Toast ''Doctor on Toast'' is a 1961 comedy novel by the British writer Richard Gordon (English author), Richard Gordon. Part of his long-running Doctor (novel series), ''Doctor'' series, it features Doctor Grimsdyke and his superior Sir Lancelot Spratt ...

''. London: Michael Joseph. 1961. *'' Doctor in the Swim''. London: Michael Joseph. 1962. *''

Love and Sir Lancelot ''Love and Sir Lancelot'' is a 1965 comedy novel A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Com ...

''. Heinemann. 1965. *''

Doctor on the Boil ''Doctor on the Boil'' is a 1970 comedy novel A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic ...

''. Heinemann. 1970. *''

Doctor on the Brain ''Doctor on the Brain'' is a 1972 comedy novel A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic ...

''. Heinemann. 1972. *'' Doctor in the Nude''. Heinemann. 1973. *''The Sleep of Life''. Heinemann. 1975. *'' Doctor on the Job''. Heinemann. 1976. *'' Doctor in the Nest''. Heinemann. 1979. *''Doctor's Daughters''. Heinemann. 1981. *''Doctor on the Ball''. 1985. *''Doctor in the Soup''. 1986.

Adaptations

Films

The seven ''Doctor'' films were developed from the books, directed by

Ralph Thomas Ralph Philip Thomas Military Cross, MC (10 August 1915 – 17 March 2001) was an English film director. He is perhaps best remembered for directing the ''Doctor Series, Doctor'' series of films. His brother, Gerald Thomas, was also a film dire ...

and produced by

Betty Box Betty Evelyn Box, (25 September 1915 – 15 January 1999) was a prolific British film producer, usually credited as Betty E. Box. Early life and career Born in Beckenham, Kent, England, she initially planned to be a commercial artist or journa ...

. The early films featured

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Organ ...

in the lead as Doctor Sparrow and

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (195 ...

as Benskin. Later films starred

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...

. The first film came in 1954 and the last in 1970.

Television series

The films inspired in turn to seven different ''Doctor'' television series between 1969 and 1991, totalling 157 thirty-minute episodes: * ''

Doctor in the House ''Doctor in the House'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the 1952 novel by Gordon, and follows a group of st ...

'', which first ran on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

from July 1969 to July 1970, with a total of 26 thirty-minute episodes. * '' Doctor at Large'', which first ran on ITV from February to September 1971, with a total of 29 thirty-minute episodes. * ''

Doctor in Charge ''Doctor in Charge'' is a British television comedy series based on a set of books by Richard Gordon about the misadventures of a group of doctors. The series follows directly from its predecessor '' Doctor at Large''. It was produced by London ...

'', which first ran on ITV from April 1972 to December 1973, with a total of 43 thirty-minute episodes. * '' Doctor at Sea'', which first ran on ITV from April to July 1974, with a total of 13 thirty-minute episodes. * '' Doctor on the Go'', which first ran on ITV from April 1975 to April 1977, with a total of 26 thirty-minute episodes. * ''

Doctor Down Under ''Doctor Down Under'' was an Australian television comedy series based on a set of books by Richard Gordon about the misadventures of a group of doctors. The series follows directly from its predecessor '' Doctor on the Go'', and was produc ...

'', which first ran on Australian Channel Seven from February to May 1979, with a total of 13 thirty-minute episodes. * ''

Doctor at the Top ''Doctor at the Top'' is a British television comedy series based on a set of books by Richard Gordon about the misadventures of a group of doctors. With episodes written (though not jointly) by George Layton and Bill Oddie, the series follows ...

'', which first ran on

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

from February to April 1991, with a total of 7 thirty-minute episodes.

Radio series

*''Doctor in the House'', a 13 part

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

adaptation began in September 1968, starring

Richard Briers Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but ...

as Simon Sparrow and

Geoffrey Sumner Geoffrey Sumner (20 November 1908, Ilfracombe, Devon – 29 September 1989, Alderney, Channel Islands) was a British actor. As well as appearing in a number of films, he was also a commentator for British Movietone News., His parents were Edmund ...

as Sir Lancelot Spratt. *''Doctor at Large'', a 13 part BBC Radio 4 series started in June 1969, with Briers and Sumner reprising their roles.

References