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''I Didn't Know You Cared'' is a British television comedy set in a working-class household in South Yorkshire in the 1970s, written by
Peter Tinniswood
Peter Tinniswood (21 December 1936 – 9 January 2003) was an English radio and TV comedy scriptwriter, and author of a series of popular novels. He was born in Liverpool, but grew up above a dry cleaner's on Eastway in Sale, Cheshire.
Early ca ...
loosely based upon his books ''A Touch of Daniel'', ''I Didn't Know You Cared'' and ''Except You're a Bird''. It was broadcast by the
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 exam. ...
...
in four series (seven episodes each in series 1, 3 and 4 and six in series 2) from 1975 to 1979.
The main characters are: Carter Brandon (played by
Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as ''V for Vendetta'', ''Michael Collins'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Award ...
and, in series 3 and 4,
Keith Drinkel
Keith Drinkel (born 14 November 1944) is an English actor.
Drinkel was born in York, educated at St Michael's College, Leeds, and is now based in Brighton.
His notable appearances in film and television include ''A Family at War'' (1970), ...
); his uncle, Uncle Mort (
Robin Bailey
William Henry Mettam "Robin" Bailey (5 October 1919 – 14 January 1999) was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire.
Often cast in upper class and tradition-bound roles such as Mr Justice Graves in Thames Television's ''R ...
); his mother, Annie (
Liz Smith); his father, Les (
John Comer
John Comer (1 March 1924 – 11 February 1984) was a British comic actor. He was best known for his roles in ''Coronation Street'' as Mr Birtles, then as a taxi driver, and later as Wilf Jones, in ''Emmerdale Farm'' as Ernie Shuttleworth, Les ...
); his girlfriend (later wife), Pat Partington (
Anita Carey
Anita Carey (born 16 April 1948) is an English actress, best known for playing Joyce Smedley in '' Coronation Street'' and later for playing Vivien March in '' Doctors''. Carey has appeared in British television programmes since the 1970s.
Car ...
and, in series 3 and 4, Liz Goulding); and his other uncle, Uncle Staveley (Bert Palmer and, in series 4,
Leslie Sarony
A Wills cigarette card from the 'Radio Celebrities' series, 1934; Sarony on right
Leslie Sarony (born Leslie Legge Frye; 22 January 1897 – 12 February 1985) was a British entertainer, singer, actor and songwriter.
Biography
Sarony was b ...
). Auntie Lil (
Gretchen Franklin
Gretchen Franklin (7 July 1911 – 11 July 2005) was an English actress and dancer with a career in show business spanning over 70 years. She was born in Covent Garden, Central London. She played Ethel Skinner in the long-running BBC 1 soap ope ...
), appears in the first two series. Other recurring characters, mostly from Carter's workplace, are: Linda Preston (Deirdre Costello); Mrs Partington, Pat's mother (
Vanda Godsell
Vanda Godsell (17 November 1922 – 2 April 1990) was an English actress. Hal Erickson writes in Allmovie, "Vanda Godsell specialised in playing disheveled housewives, busybody landladies and blowsy domestics." She appeared as Mrs Weaver in ...
); Sid Skelhorn (
Ray Dunbobbin and, in series 3 and 4, Bobby Pattinson); and Louis St. John (
Paul Barber).
The novels narrate the story of which Carter's thoughts are an integral part. A recurring theme in the books is conversation between Carter and baby Daniel (Uncle Mort's son). One feature of the books is a line at the top of each page which summarizes the developments on that page. The TV series adhere more closely to the conventions of
situation comedy
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 ...
, and present generally light-hearted versions of the stories from the books.
In the TV series, Uncle Staveley (remembered for his catchphrase, "I heard that! Pardon?") always appears with the ashes of Corporal Parkinson—one of his comrades from
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
—in a box around his neck.
Peter Tinniswood wrote six further series for BBC Radio 4 featuring members of the Brandon family between 1987 and 1996; two six-episode series each of ''Uncle Mort's North Country'', ''Uncle Mort's South Country'', ''Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe''. In these series,
Stephen Thorne
Stephen John Thorne (2 March 1935 – 26 May 2019) was a British actor of radio, film, stage, and television. He was best known for his regular BBC Radio 4 work and audiobook recordings, and for his portrayals of several ''Doctor Who'' villains ...
played Uncle Mort, with
Peter Skellern
Peter Skellern (14 March 1947 – 17 February 2017) was an English singer-songwriter and pianist who rose to fame in the 1970s. He had two Hit song, top twenty hits on the UK Singles Chart - "You're a Lady" (1972), which typifies his signature u ...
as Carter Brandon (
Sam Kelly
Roger Michael Kelly (19 December 1943 – 14 June 2014), known by the stage name Sam Kelly, was an English actor who appeared in film, television, radio and theatre. He is best known for his roles as Captain Hans Geering in '' 'Allo 'Allo ...
replaced Skellern in ''South Country'' and ''Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe'').
Episodes
Series 1 (1975)
Series 2 (1976)
Series 3 (1978)
Series 4 (1979)
References
External links
*
*{{British Comedy Guide, tv, i_didnt_know_you_cared
BBC television sitcoms
1970s British sitcoms
1975 British television series debuts
1979 British television series endings
English-language television shows
Television shows set in South Yorkshire