''For the Love of Ada'' is an ITV

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 ...

that ran between 1970 and 1971. Although not seen on British TV for over 30 years, the complete series began airing again in late 2018 on

Talking Pictures TV Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage-film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky channel 343, but later also became available on Freeview, Freesat, and Virgin Media. It is on air for 24 h ...

, albeit edited with certain offensive words muted out. One of the notable points about this series was there were no opening titles or closing credits in the real sense of the word. Instead both were superimposed on the screen as the 'live' action and script played out on the screen.

Outline

The sitcom stars

Irene Handl Irene Handl (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British author and character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Austria-born father ...

as Ada Cresswell, a

Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...

widow, a pensioner who is prone to

malapropism A malapropism (also called a malaprop, acyrologia, or Dogberryism) is the mistaken use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a nonsensical, sometimes humorous utterance. An example is the statement attributed to ...

s. She lives with her daughter Ruth Pollitt ( Barbara Mitchell) and son-in-law Leslie (

Jack Smethurst John Smethurst (9 April 1932 – 16 February 2022) was an English television and film comic actor. He was best known for his role as Eddie Booth in the British television sitcom '' Love Thy Neighbour''. Early life Smethurst was born on 9 Apri ...

). Ada starts a relationship with Walter Bingley (

Wilfred Pickles Wilfred Pickles, OBE (13 October 1904 – 27 March 1978) was an English actor and radio presenter. Early life and personal life Pickles was born in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He moved to Southport, Lancashire, with his family ...

), the

gravedigger A gravedigger is a cemetery worker who is responsible for digging a grave prior to a funeral service. Description If the grave is in a cemetery on the property of a church or other religious organization (part of, or called, a churchyard), ...

who buried her husband, after meeting him at the cemetery while laying flowers on her husband's grave. Walter is a

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

man; his relationship with Ada slowly changes from one of companionship to one of romance. They get engaged, and later marry, after which they move in together at his cemetery lodge abode.

Cast

Main

as Ada Cresswell (later Bingley) *

as Walter Bingley * Barbara Mitchell as Ruth Pollitt (''née'' Cresswell) *

as Leslie Pollitt

Recurring

*Robert Keegan as Jack Pollitt, Leslie's father *

Mollie Sugden Mary Isobel Sugden (21 July 19221 July 2009), known professionally as Mollie Sugden was an English actress. She was best known for being an original cast member in the British sitcom '' Are You Being Served?'' (1972–1985) as senior saleswoman ...

as Nellie Pollitt, Leslie's mother *Malcolm Rogers as the Vicar *Cecily Hullett as Freda Skinner * Gabrielle Daye as Mrs Armitage *

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

as Arthur Parsons *Anna Turner as Maggie Bingley *

Patsy Rowlands Patricia Amy Rowlands (19 January 1931 – 22 January 2005) was an English actress who is best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films series, as Betty Lewis in the ITV Thames sitcom '' Bless This House'', and as Alice Meredit ...

as Pauline Whitehead *Meadows White as Fred Carter *Bert Palmer as Fred Bingley *

Ann Way Ann Way (14 November 1915 – 13 March 1993) was an English film and television character actress. Born in Wiveliscombe, Somerset, she began her career in repertory in Birmingham in the 1950s moving from there to the Dundee Rep. Her petite build ...

as Florrie Bingley *

Ann Beach Ann Beach (7 June 1938 – 9 March 2017) was a British actress. She is perhaps best remembered for her supporting role as Sonia Barrett, the quirky next-door neighbour on the comedy ''Fresh Fields'', starring Julia McKenzie and Anton Rodgers. ...

as Alice Bingley *Gerard Hely as Albert Bingley *

Daphne Heard Delia Phyllis Daphne Heard (21 August 1904 – 22 June 1983) was an English actress and acting teacher. She was born in Plymouth, Devon. She appeared in numerous made-for-TV movies and TV series. But was perhaps best known in latter years a ...

as the nosey neighbour

Transmission dates

Series One
(6 x 25 mins) 20 Apr-25 May 1970 – Mon mostly 9.30pm Series Two
(7 x 25 mins) 14 Sep-26 Oct 1970 – Mon 9.30pm Short special
Part of the All-Star Comedy Carnival 25 Dec 1970 – Fri 6pm Series Three
(7 x 25 mins) 15 Mar-3 May 1971 – Mon 8.30pm Series Four
(6 x 25 mins) 26 Aug-30 Sep 1971 – Thu 9pm Christmas special
(38 mins) Boxing Day (27 Dec 1971) – Sun 6.45pm The entire series was re-broadcast in 2020 and 2021 by

Film version

A film version, based on the series, was released in 1972. It was directed by Ronnie Baxter and featured the same principal cast, along with an appearance by

Arthur English Arthur Leslie Norman English (9 May 1919 – 16 April 1995) was an English television, film and stage actor and comedian from the music hall tradition. Early life English was born at 22 Lysons Road in Aldershot,'Arthur English, ''Aldershot H ...

as a colleague of Walter. The plot revolves around a surprise party being planned for Ada and Walter's first wedding anniversary.

American version

''For The Love Of Ada'' spawned an American remake called ''

A Touch of Grace ''A Touch of Grace'' is an American sitcom that was based on the British series ''For the Love of Ada'' starring Shirley Booth and J. Patrick O'Malley centering on a widow who moves in with her daughter and son-in-law and her romantic relationsh ...

'' that premiered on ABC in January 1973. This version starred Shirley Booth and J. Pat O'Malley as Grace Simpson and Herbert Morrison, who like their English counterparts fall in love. The American version faced very tough competition from ''

All In The Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' and drew low ratings, resulting in its cancellation in April 1973 after only thirteen episodes, although ABC ran reruns of the show in prime time until June 1973.

DVD release

All four series of ''For the Love of Ada'' were released between 2009 and 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:For The Love Of Ada 1970 British television series debuts 1971 British television series endings ITV sitcoms Television shows adapted into films 1970s British sitcoms Television shows produced by Thames Television English-language television shows Television shows shot at Teddington Studios