''His Lordship Entertains'' was

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as '' Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and ''Open All Hours''. ...

's second vehicle for his Lord Rustless character, first seen three years earlier in '' Hark at Barker'' 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 ...

. This time though, Rustless appeared in a series for

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. ''Hark at Barker'' had also included sketch inserts, whereas ''His Lordship Entertains'' was a sitcom. Set again in the aristocratic Chrome Hall, which had now become a hotel. It once more starred

David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector J ...

as the 100-year-old Dithers and

Josephine Tewson Josephine Ann Tewson (26 February 1931 – 18 August 2022) was an English actress, best known for her roles in British television sitcoms, such as Edna Hawkins ("Mrs H") in '' Shelley'', Elizabeth "Liz" Warden in ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (19 ...

as Mildred Bates, two actors who would continue to have a working relationships with Barker. In fact all of the regular cast reprised their roles from ''Hark at Barker''. Barker wrote all the scripts under the pseudonym Jonathan Cobbald.https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/h/hislordshipenter_66600370.shtml He liked to refer to the show as "

Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television ...

mark one" as it appeared on television three years before that other hotel bound sitcom. Four episodes of the sitcom have been performed on stage by the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

's New Theatre.

Archive status

For many years it was thought that the series had been entirely

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. However, the first episode of ''His Lordship Entertains'', 'The Food Inspector', was recovered in 2009. In addition the scripts were published in Ronnie Barker's anthology ''All I Ever Wrote''.

Cast

- Lord Rustless *

- Mildred Bates *

- Dithers *

Mary Baxter Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

- Cook *

Moira Foot Moira Foot (born in Northampton) on 19 June 1953 is an English actress. She starred in '' 'Allo 'Allo!'',. playing Denise Laroque, the leader of the local communist resistance. She also played Miss Thorpe, Mr Rumbold's temporary secretary, i ...

- Effie *

Frank Gatliff Frank Ernest Gatliff (31 December 1927 – 23 June 1990) was an Australian actor based in Great Britain. He appeared in several films (notably as Bluejay in ''The Ipcress File'') but mostly on TV, in such series as ''Gideon's Way'', '' The Baron'' ...

- Badger *

Mary Merrall Mary Merrall (5 January 1890 – 31 August 1973), born Elsie Lloyd, was an English actress whose career of over 60 years encompassed stage, film and television work. Stage career Merrall's stage career started in her teens, making her first stag ...

- Mrs Ringer * Bart Allison - Mr Blunt *

Gladys Henson Gladys Henson (27 September 1897 – 21 December 1982) was an Irish actress whose career lasted from 1932 to 1976 and included roles on stage, radio, films and television series. Among her most notable films were ''The History of Mr. Polly ( ...

- Mrs Ringer's Friend *

Diana King Diana King (born 8 November 1970) is a Jamaican-American singer-songwriter who performs a mixture and fusion of reggae, reggae fusion and dancehall. They were born to an Indo-Jamaican mother and an Afro-Jamaican father. They are best known f ...

- Harriet *

Anthony Sharp Dennis Anthony John Sharp (16 June 1915 – 23 July 1984) was an English actor, writer and director. Stage career Anthony Sharp was a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and made his stage debut in February 1938 ...

- Sir Geoffrey Quick * Michael Knowles - Mr Smith *

Walter Sparrow Walter Leonard Sparrow (22 January 1927 – 31 May 2000) was an English film and television actor best known for his appearance as Duncan in the 1991 film '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' starring Kevin Costner. Born in Eltham, London in ...

- Mr Flint *

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...

- The Sheik *

Colin Bean Colin Bean (15 April 1926 – 20 June 2009) was an English actor. He was best known for his role as Private Sponge in the BBC comedy series ''Dad's Army''. Early life Born in Wigan, Lancashire, Bean's father played football for local side Wigan ...

- Guest *

Pamela Cundell Pamela Isabel Cundell (15 January 1920 – 14 February 2015) was an English character actress. She played List of Dad's Army characters#Mrs Fox, Mrs Fox in the long-running TV comedy ''Dad's Army''. She was a descendant of Henry Condell, one ...

- Mrs Featherstone

References

External links

''His Lordship Entertains''
at the

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Guide to Comedy
''His Lordship Entertains''
at Lost Shows * {{DEFAULTSORT:His Lordship Entertains 1972 British television series debuts 1972 British television series endings 1970s British children's television series BBC television sitcoms Lost BBC episodes English-language television shows