''Alcock and Gander'' 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 aired on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

in 1972. Starring

Beryl Reid Beryl Elizabeth Reid, (17 June 1919 – 13 October 1996), was a British actress of stage and screen. She won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for ''The Killing of Sister George'', the 1980 Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performan ...

and

Richard O'Sullivan Richard O'Sullivan (born 7 May 1944) is an English comedy actor, who is known for his role as Robin Tripp in the 1970s sitcoms ''Man About the House'' (1973–1976) and ''Robin's Nest (TV series), Robin's Nest'' (1977–1981) and as the title c ...

, it lasted for one series. It was written by

Johnnie Mortimer John Mortimer (2 July 1931 – 2 September 1992) professionally Johnnie Mortimer, was a British scriptwriter for British TV whose work, along with creative writing partner Brian Cooke, also served as inspiration for American television pro ...

and

Brian Cooke Brian Cooke (born 1937) is a British comedy writer who, along with co-writer Johnnie Mortimer, wrote scripts for and devised many of the top television sitcoms during the 1970s, including ''Man About the House'', ''George and Mildred'', and '' ...

, who later wrote ''

Man About the House ''Man About the House'' is a British sitcom created by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer that starred Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett, Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy. Six series were broadcast on ITV from 15 August 1973 to 7 A ...

'', where O'Sullivan was the lead male character. It was made for the

network by

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

Cast

as Mrs Marigold Alcock *

as Richard Gander *

John Cater John Edward Cater (17 January 1932 – 21 March 2009) was an English actor. His television credits include: ''Danger Man''; ''Z-Cars''; '' The Avengers''; '' The Baron''; ''Doctor Who'' (in the serial ''The War Machines''); ''Follyfoot''; '' ...

as Ernest *Julie Martin as Collette

Plot

The series starts as Marigold Alcock inherits her husband's business ''The Alcock Group of Companies'' upon his death. The companies, whose headquarters are above a strip club in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

, include ''Sotheby's Racing Service Ltd'' and ''Hugh Blanding's Detective Agency''. The elderly Ernest is her office assistant, while her partner is Richard Gander. He was given partnership in the company after an ''Alcock Economy Coach Tour'' went wrong.

Episodes

#''The Safe Breaker'' (5 June 1972) #''Husband In A Hurry'' (12 June 1972) #''Soho Is Too Small'' (19 June 1972) #''Pontoon'' (26 June 1972) #''The Strip Club'' (3 July 1972) #''Artistic Books, Soho, Ltd'' (10 July 1972)

DVD release

The Complete Series of Alcock and Gander was released by Network DVD in the UK ( Region 2) on 26 November 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 ''Alcock and Gander''

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcock and Gander 1972 British television series debuts 1972 British television series endings 1970s British sitcoms ITV sitcoms Television shows produced by Thames Television Television series by Fremantle (company) English-language television shows Television shows shot at Teddington Studios