''The Boys and Mrs B'' is a 1977

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

. Written by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, it was originally intended as

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

for a

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 ...

but was made as a one off special. It was produced and directed by

Dennis Main Wilson Dennis Geoffrey William Wilson, known as Dennis Main Wilson (1 May 1924 – 20 January 1997) was a British producer of radio and television programmes, mainly for the BBC. Main Wilson has been described by ''Screenonline'' as "arguably the ...

with a cast of established and upcoming comedy actors.

Plot

Mrs. Battley runs a

youth center A youth center or youth centre, often called youth club, is a place where young people can meet and participate in a variety of activities, for example table football, association football (US soccer, UK football), basketball, table tennis, vid ...

for the

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

but has trouble controlling the boys, who have hired a

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

to appear at a fundraising event.

Production and broadcast

Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, creators of successful comedy series such as ''

The Rag Trade ''The Rag Trade'' is a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by LWT between 1977 and 1978. Although a comedy, it shed light on gender, politics and the "class war" on the factory floor. The scripts were writ ...

'' and ''

On The Buses ''On the Buses'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom that was broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was created by Chesney and Wolfe, Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, who wrote most of the episodes. It spawned thr ...

'', pitched the idea of a sitcom set in a youth club to Dennis Main Wilson in 1976. The aim was a series that would appeal to a teenage and young adult audience, and be a vehicle for young comedy actors. A pilot was commissioned, however only days before it was to be recorded the BBC decided not to proceed with a series. With only very minor changes to the script it was made as a one off television special. The special was recorded in February 1977 and the original broadcast was on 26 April at 7.40pm on

BBC One 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, p ...

in London.

Cast

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a Briti ...

as Mrs. Battley *

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television series ''Blackadder'' and has presented several historical documentaries ...

as Mark *

Herbert Norville Herbert Norville (born 1957 in London) is an actor known for his appearances in many British films in the 70s and 80s such as '' Scum'' (1979), ''Pressure'' (1976), '' Meantime'' (1983), ''Full Metal Jacket'' (1987) and ''Bugsy Malone'' (1976). P ...

as Nick * Sue Upton as Jackie *

Richard Caldicot Richard Caldicot (7 October 1908 – 16 October 1995) was an English actor famed for his role of Commander (later Captain) Povey in the BBC radio series ''The Navy Lark''. He also appeared often on television, memorably as the obstetrician del ...

as Councillor Cooper *

Gorden Kaye Gordon Irving Kaye(7 April 194123 January 2017), known professionally as Gorden Kaye, was an English actor, best known for playing womanising café owner René Artois in the television comedy series Allo 'Allo!''. Early life Kaye was born o ...

as Mr. Hobkirk *

Luan Peters Luan Peters (18 June 1946 – 24 December 2017), also known as Karol Keyes, was an English actress and singer. Biography Born Carol Ann Hirsch, she made her stage debut in a pantomime aged four, then went on to win a drama scholarship at the ag ...

as Ingrid

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boys and Mrs B 1977 television specials British television specials British comedy films 1970s British films