''Don't Wait Up'' 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 ...

that was broadcast for six series from 1983 to 1990 on

BBC1 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, ...

. It starred

Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielberg war drama ...

Tony Britton Anthony Edward Lowry Britton (9 June 1924 – 22 December 2019) was an English actor. He appeared in a variety of films (including ''The Day of the Jackal'') and television sitcoms (including '' Don't Wait Up'' and '' Robin's Nest'' He is the f ...

and

Dinah Sheridan Dinah Sheridan (born Dinah Nadyejda Ginsburg; 17 September 1920 – 25 November 2012) was an English actress with a career spanning seven decades. She was best known for the films ''Genevieve'' (1953) and ''The Railway Children'' (1970); the lon ...

, and was written by

George Layton George Layton (born 2 March 1943) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and author best known for three television roles – junior doctor Paul Collier in the comedy series '' Doctor in the House'' and its sequels '' Doctor at Large'', '' ...

. It was directed and produced by

Harold Snoad Harold Edward Snoad (born 28 August 1935) is a British television producer, writer and director. He is best known for the television sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'', starring Patricia Routledge and Clive Swift. He is also well known for having d ...

, who also directed and produced another sitcom, ''

Keeping Up Appearances ''Keeping Up Appearances'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke. It originally aired on BBC1 from 1990 to 1995 with two specials airing in 1997 and 2008 on PBS. The central character is an eccentric and snobbish middle class s ...

''. The series was adapted in part from an earlier, unbroadcast ''

Comedy Playhouse ''Comedy Playhouse'' is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including ''Steptoe and Son'', '' Meet the Wife'', ...

'' by Layton ''Don't Wait Up'' was repeated on

Comedy Central Extra Comedy Central Extra is a European pay television channel that launched in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2003. Followed by the Netherlands in 2011 were it was visible till 31 december 2022. Between 2012 and 2020 it was also available in par ...

and in 2003, Playback released the first two series on DVD.

Plot

''Don't Wait Up'' starts as Tom Latimer splits from his wife Helen. At the same time, his father Toby, also a doctor, announces his intention to divorce his wife of 32 years, Angela. Father and son then move in together and frequently argue about politics and medical practices, Toby being more of a 'Harley Street' type and well to the right of the more liberally-inclined Tom. The latter tries to get his parents back together, while beginning a romance with Toby's secretary Madeleine Forbes, whom he later marries.

Cast

as Dr Toby Latimer *

as Dr Tom Latimer *

as Angela Latimer *

Jane How Carolyn Jane Onslow How (born 21 December 1950) is an English actress with a range of television, film, and stage credits. She is best known for her role as Jan Hammond, the mistress of Den Watts in '' EastEnders''. She appeared in the progra ...

as Helen Kramer (previously Latimer) * Susan Skipper as Madeleine Latimer (née Forbes) *

Richard Heffer Richard Heffer (born 28 July 1946 in Cambridge) is a British actor, best known for his roles on television in the 1970s and 1980s. His film career included appearances in ''Women in Love'' (1969), '' Waterloo'' (1970), '' Penny Gold'' (1973), ''T ...

as Dr Charles Cartwright ''(series 1 and 2)'' * Simon Williams as Dr Charles Cartwright ''(from series 3)'' *Tricia George as Susan Cartwright * Jane Booker as Felicity Spicer-Gibbs *

Timothy Bateson Timothy Dingwall Bateson (3 April 1926 – 15 September 2009) was an English actor. Life and career Born in London, the son of solicitor Dingwall Latham Bateson and the great-nephew of rugby player Harold Dingwall Bateson, he was educated at U ...

as Mr Burton ''(series 1 and 2)'' *Joan Ryan as Lady Greshott *

as Mr Burton *Directed and Produced by

Episodes

Home releases

The first two series were released in a boxset in 2003 by Playback. No further series have been released. Acorn Media re-released the first two series in June 2012.

References

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
British TV Comedy Guide for ''Don't Wait Up''

External links

''Don't Wait Up''
at the BBC Comedy Guide * {{IMDb title, id=0085007, title=Don't Wait Up 1983 British television series debuts 1990 British television series endings 1980s British sitcoms 1990s British sitcoms BBC television sitcoms English-language television shows