''The Bounder'' 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 ...

which ran from 16 April 1982 to 28 October 1983, made by

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

. The series starred

Peter Bowles Peter Bowles (16 October 1936 – 17 March 2022) was an English television and stage actor. He gained prominence for television dramas such as '' Callan: A Magnum for Schneider'' and ''I, Claudius''. He is however, best remembered for his roles ...

(of ''

To the Manor Born ''To the Manor Born'' is a BBC television sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special one-off episode was produced in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by ...

'' fame) as Howard Booth, an ex-convict who served two years in jail. He lives with his brother-in-law, Trevor Mountjoy ( George Cole), and his sister (Trevor's wife), Mary (

Rosalind Ayres Rosalind Ayres (born 7 December 1946) is an English actress, director and producer. Active since 1970, Ayres is well known for her role in the 1997 film ''Titanic'', in which she played Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon. Her husband, Martin Jarvis, playe ...

). The latter left after Series One in 1982. It also starred

Isla Blair Isla Blair Glover (born 29 September 1944) is a British actress and singer. She made her first stage appearance in 1963 as Philia in the London debut of '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''. Early life and education Isla Blair w ...

as the next door widowed neighbour, Laura Miles. This series was created by

Eric Chappell Eric George Chappell (25 September 1933 – 21 April 2022) was an English television comedy writer and playwright who wrote or co-wrote some of the UK's biggest sitcom hits over a more than quarter-century career, first gaining significant noti ...

Production

''The Bounder'' was specifically written by Eric Chappell for Peter Bowles to play the lead role. The pair had first worked together on a 1977 episode of ''

Rising Damp Structural dampness is the presence of unwanted moisture in the structure of a building, either the result of intrusion from outside or condensation from within the structure. A high proportion of damp problems in buildings are caused by ambient ...

'' and then the four series of '' Only When I Laugh'' which aired between 1979 and 1982. Chappell told the ''

Reading Evening Post The ''Reading Post'' (until 2009, the ''Reading Evening Post'') was an English local newspaper covering Reading, Berkshire and surrounding areas. The title page of the paper featured the Maiwand Lion, a famous local landmark at Forbury Gardens. Th ...

'' in 1982, "Peter played the part n ''Rising Damp''with such flamboyancy and style. It was the first time I had seen him in situation comedy and he did it so beautifully. He was a natural choice to play Archie Glover n''Only When I Laugh''. And, after watching his performance in the hospital comedy, I thought it would be marvellous to create a likeable rogue who had all the qualities we had seen conveyed by Peter." Bowles aired his delight at the series to the ''Reading Evening Post'', "It's the first time I have had a series written for me, and I'm thrilled and very enthusiastic about it. I'm also delighted to be working with George Cole for the first time. He is a master of comedy character roles."

Series 1

(Episode 1) He’s not Heavy, he’s my Brother-in-law

Howard Booth, a smoothly plausible former investment manager, emerges from

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

after serving two years for

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

. Having nowhere to go and no funds, he imposes himself on his trusting younger sister Mary and her cynical

estate agent An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged i ...

husband, Trevor Mountjoy.

(Episode 2) Howard at the Majestic

Determined to treat Trevor and Mary to a

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

anniversary dinner at a posh hotel, Howard cons his way into a private party, pretending to be a school old boy. After being exposed by the manager, he attempts to impersonate the head waiter. Despite his initially successful plan, he comes badly unstuck. Guest stars: Ronnie Stevens as Hotel manager;

Glyn Owen Glyn Griffith Owen (6 March 1928 – 10 September 2004) was a Welsh stage, television and film actor, perhaps best known to British TV viewers for three roles: that of Dr Patrick O'Meara in ''Emergency Ward 10'' (ITV, 1957–61), Edward Hamm ...

as ‘Nipper’; Dennis Ramsden as Charles; Alan Curtis as Toby;

Arnold Diamond Arnold Diamond (18 April 1915 – 18 March 1992) was an English character actor, regularly cast in small parts on television. He graduated from RADA in 1936, and his stage work included the RSC, and three years in Agatha Christie's ''The Mo ...

as Diner

(Episode 3) We’ll go no more a-Roving’

Howard romances Laura, a well-off widowed neighbour. Having done some creative writing whilst in prison, he pretends to be a dashing

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and romantic

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. But she soon learns the truth.

(Episode 4) Raising the Wind

When Trevor won't advance Howard a small loan, he cons a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

manager into investing in an African

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

mine he claims to have discovered during a fictitious trip to Africa. But the scheme is quickly exposed as a fraud. Guest stars:

Larry Martyn Lawrence Martyn (22 March 1934 – 7 August 1994) was a British film and television actor known for his comedy performances. Martyn was born in London and was a member of the Parachute Regiment. He was famous as store maintenance man "Mr ...

as window cleaner;

Garfield Morgan Thomas Timothy Garfield Morgan (19 April 1931 – 5 December 2009) was an English actor who appeared mostly on television and occasionally in films. Biography Born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, Morgan began acting with a youth club drama group ...

as bank manager

(Episode 5) On Approval

Howard gives Laura a £7000

bracelet, which he's obtained on approval using Trevor's name. Laura likes it and Howard has to face paying for it or persuading her to reject it.

(Episode 6) Suspicion

Howard and Trevor are shopping at an expensive clothes shop, but Howard spots his former cellmate ‘Greasy" at his usual occupation - shoplifting. When Greasy slips the purloined items into Trevor's shopping bag, Howard has to do some quick thinking, including impersonating a police officer. Guest stars: Ken Jones as ‘Greasy Spriggs;

Tony Steedman Anthony Francis Steedman (21 August 1927 – 4 February 2001) was an English character actor, perhaps best known for roles in British TV drama series of the 1970s and 1980s, and for his role as Socrates in ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' ...

as Cutforth

(Episode 7) The Rival

Laura is being wooed by an Italian, Count Montefiore, which leads Howard to jealousy. He engages an enquiry agent to check up on the Count and see if he’s really who he claims to be. But the investigator mistakenly checks Howard out, rather than the Count. Guest stars:

Stephen Greif Stephen John Greif (; 26 August 1944 – 23 December 2022) was an English actor known for his roles as Travis in ''Blake's 7'', Harry Fenning in three series of ''Citizen Smith'', Signor Donato in ''Casanova'' and Commander John Shepherd in '' ...

as Count Montefiore; John Rapley as Enquiry agent; Frank Coda as Waiter

Series 2

(Episode 1) A Tale of the Unexpected

Mary has left Trevor and the house is a mess. Trevor engages a cleaning woman, but Howard thinks she’s Trevor’s girlfriend and scares her into leaving. Guest star:

Sharon Duce Sharon Duce (born 17 January 1950) is a British actress. Born in Sheffield, she trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art then became a stage actress at the Sheffield Repertory Theatre, the York Theatre Royal, and the Theatre in th ...

as Doreen Brent

(Episode 2) Matchmaker

Howard starts the HB Matrimonial Agency, but the first (and only) two clients are dissatisfied with his bumbling efforts and demand their money back. Guest stars:

Michael Robbins Michael Anthony Robbins (14 November 1930 – 11 December 1992) was an English actor and comedian best known for his role as Arthur Rudge in the TV sitcom and film versions of ''On the Buses'' (1969–73). Career Michael Robbins was born in ...

as Bert;

Frances de la Tour Frances J. de Lautour (born 30 July 1944), better known as Frances de la Tour, is an English actress. She is known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the television sitcom ''Rising Damp'' from 1974 until 1978. She is a Tony Award winner and thr ...

as Celia

(Episode 3) Raffles

Laura’s house is burgled and her jewellery stolen. The police suspect it’s the work of a known thief, nicknamed ‘Raffles’, but Howard's criminal record causes them to suspect him instead. Howard discovers Raffles breaking into Trevor's house, but realises it's really ‘Greasy’, who he shared a cell with in prison. Guest stars: Ken Wynne as Raffles/Greasy Spriggs;

James Grout James David Grout (22 October 1927 – 24 June 2012) was an English actor of radio and television. Early life Grout was born in London, the son of Beatrice Anne and William Grout. He trained to be an actor at RADA. Career His BBC Radio 4 appear ...

as DS Evans

(Episode 4) Love me - Love my Dog

Howard is still smitten with Laura, but she isn't as gullible as he supposes and resists his advances. To compound her resistance, she acquires ‘Sabre’, a

German Shepherd Dog The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for he ...

, who takes Howard's presence as a threat. Guest star: Tim Stern as Potter

(Episode 5) Third Party

Howard and Laura believe that Mary is seeing another man, but it turns out that he's only trying to sell her

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

. But then Laura falls for him – or does she? Guest star:

Michael Culver Michael Culver (born 16 June 1938) is an English actor. He was born in Hampstead, London, the son of actor Roland Culver and casting director Daphne Rye. He was educated at Gresham's School. Actor Culver's aunt, father, mother and brother a ...

as Reggie Thorne

(Episode 6) A Genuine Simpson

Howard meets ‘Softly’ Simpson, a painter and forger he knew in prison, and persuades him to paint Trevor. But the painting looks more like the portrait of the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

on a five-pound note (withdrawn in 1991) than Trevor. Guest star:

Nicholas Le Prevost Nicholas Le Prevost (born 18 March 1947) is an English actor. Early life Le Prevost was born in Wiltshire. He was educated at Shaftesbury Grammar School, Shaftesbury, Dorset from 1957 to 1961 and at Kingswood School, Bath from 1961 to 1964. A ...

as Simpson

(Episode 7) Unreasonable Behaviour

Mary sues Trevor for

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

. Laura is attracted to Trevor, but Howard sets him up with Gloria, Trevor's secretary, who is already engaged. They all meet at a social function where Trevor is due to speak, and it's a disaster. Mary phones to ask to see Trevor, and he hopes for reconciliation, but the situation is left unresolved. Guest star:

Patricia Brake Patricia Ann Brake (25 June 1942 – 28 May 2022) was an English actress. From the age of 16, Brake trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, before joining the Salisbury Playhouse. She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company where (among ...

as Gloria Pert

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bounder, The 1982 British television series debuts 1983 British television series endings 1980s British sitcoms ITV sitcoms Television series by Yorkshire Television English-language television shows