''The Diary of Samuel Pepys'' is a British

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

which was originally broadcast on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

in 1958. Based on the diaries of the naval administrator

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

, it portrays life at the court of Charles II during the 1660s.

Main cast

Peter Sallis Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

as Samuel Pepys * Susan Maryott as Elizabeth Pepys * Alan Rowe as William Hewer * Diana Fairfax as Lady Castlemaine * David Peel as Duke of York *

Douglas Wilmer Douglas Wilmer (8 January 1920 – 31 March 2016) was an English actor, best known for playing Sherlock Holmes in the 1965 TV series ''Sherlock Holmes''. Early life Wilmer was born in Brentford, Middlesex, and received his education at King' ...

as King Charles II * Manning Wilson as Lord Sandwich *

Paul Eddington Paul Clark Eddington (18 June 1927 – 4 November 1995) was an English actor best known for playing Jerry Leadbetter in the television sitcom '' The Good Life'' (1975–78) and politician Jim Hacker in the sitcom ''Yes Minister'' (1980–84) an ...

as Sir William Coventry *

John Arnatt John Edwin Arnatt (9 May 1917 – 21 December 1999) was a British actor. Early life and education John Arnatt was born in Petrograd, Russia on 9 May 1917. His parents were Francis and Ethel Marion (née Jephcott) Arnatt. He attended Epworth ...

as Duke of Albemarle * Howard Lamb as William Bowyer *

Anthony Newlands Anthony Newlands (31 January 1925, London – 6 October 1995), was a British actor, born Raymond Gordon Newland. His parents were Lilian Elizabeth (née Manning) and Frederick Stanley. Newland had two sisters: Jean Lillian Newland (born 24 J ...

as Sir William Penn * John Sharplin as John Evelyn *

Frederick Peisley Frederick Walter James Peisley (6 December 1904 – 22 March 1975) was a British stage, film and television actor and theatre director whose career spanned five decades. He is known for ''The Secret of the Loch'' (1934), ''Gentlemen's Agreement' ...

as John Pepys * Raymond Rollett as Sir John Minnes * Jill Carey as Duchess of York

Review

This series was Peter Sallis's first appearance as a principal character on television. A reason for this was that he bore a resemblance when compared to contemporary picture portraits of Samuel Pepys. The series was dramatised by

A R Rawlinson Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Richard Rawlinson, OBE (9 August 1894 – 20 April 1984) was a British Army officer who served on the Western Front, and then in military intelligence in both World Wars. He served as head of MI.9a, and of MI.19. In ...

for

Chloe Gibson Chloe Gibson (18 May 1899 – 1 January 1995) was an English theatre and television director, who directed Telefís Éireann's opening night on New Year's Eve 1961. Early life and family Chloe Gibson was born in Torquay, Devon, England on 18 ...

. Incidentally, Chloe Gibson was one of the first female producers for BBC television. Using the diaries as a template, Sallis captured the wit, verve and cheeky humour of Pepys and was rightly lauded for his performance.Best of British Magazine; February 2021 Issue; Pages 52-53)

References

Bibliography

*Baskin, Ellen . ''Serials on British Television, 1950-1994''. Scolar Press, 1996. {{DEFAULTSORT:Diary of Samuel Pepys, The BBC television dramas 1958 British television series debuts 1958 British television series endings British English-language television shows Television series set in the 17th century