''Father, Dear Father'' is a British television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

produced by Thames Television for ITV from 1968 to 1973 starring

Patrick Cargill Patrick Cargill (3 June 191823 May 1996) was an English actor remembered for his lead role in the British television sitcom ''Father, Dear Father''. Early life Cargill was born to middle-class parents living in Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex. After edu ...

. It was subsequently made into a spin-off film of the same title released in 1973. An Australian sequel series of the same name (though usually referred to as ''Father, Dear Father in Australia'' to distinguish it from the UK original) followed in 1978. The same year a West German adaptation '' Oh, This Father'' starring Willy Millowitsch began, lasting until 1981.

Premise

The original series focused on divorced British

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

Patrick Glover (

) and his daughters, Karen (Ann Holloway) and Anna ( Natasha Pyne), a couple of lively girls in their teens. The family lives in Hampstead, London. Another member of the household is the girls' Nanny ( Noel Dyson). As well as having to deal with his progeny, Patrick also faces frequent hassles with his ex-wife Barbara ( Ursula Howells) and her current husband Bill Mossman (played by Patrick Holt, and later Tony Britton). There is also his brother Philip ( Donald Sinden), his mother ( Joyce Carey), his agent Georgie Thompson ( Sally Bazely Series 1 and 2 and later Dawn Addams Series 4-7), his publisher Ian Smyth (Michael Segal in series 3) and his pet St. Bernard dog 'H. G. Wells'. At the end of the sixth series Anna marries Tim Tanner ( Jeremy Child), who then became a regular in the last series.

Cast

- Patrick Glover * Natasha Pyne - Anna Glover * Ann Holloway - Karen Glover * Noel Dyson - Nanny * Dawn Addams - Georgie Thompson * Ursula Howells - Barbara * Joyce Carey - Patrick’s mother * Sally Bazely - Georgie Thompson * Jeremy Child - Timothy Tanner * Tony Britton - Bill Mossman * Michael Segal - Ian Smythe * Patrick Holt - Bill Mossman *James Appleby - Milkman * Donald Sinden - Philip Glover

Episodes

Series 1 and 2 are in black & white. Series 3 to 7 are in colour.

Series 1 (1968)

Series 2 (1969)

Series 3 (1970)

Series 4 (1971)

Series 5 (1971)

Series 6 (1972)

Series 7 (1973)

Australian version

A few years after Karen and Anna have married and left home, Patrick decides to go to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

to do some research for a book he is writing and takes Nanny along (both Cargill and Dyson reprised the roles). He intends to stay with his brother Jeffrey ( Ron Frazer), but Jeffrey unexpectedly has to travel to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for 6 months in connection with his work. Jeffrey comments that he is worried about leaving his daughters, Liz (Sally Conabere) and Sue ( Sigrid Thornton), to fend for themselves while he is away and asks if Patrick and Nanny can look after them, and Patrick begrudgingly agrees. Liz and Sue had been looking forward to being free of adult supervision while their father was away, so they're initially unimpressed with the idea. 'H.G.Wells' was replaced by two new St.Bernards, a dog named G.K. (after G.K. Chesterton) and a bitch named 'A.C.' (after

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

). Wallas Eaton appears in two episodes of the second series as Patrick's Australian publisher, Sam Winterton. Two 7-episode series were made by Lyle McCabe Productions in association with the Seven Network; like the original, they were produced and directed by William G. Stewart. Gordon Franks' original title music was also re-used. Mortimer and Cooke wrote the first episode, "Once More With Feeling"; the rest of the episodes were written by writers such as

Richard Waring Richard Waring (born Richard Waring Stephens; 27 May 1911 – 18 January 1993) was an American actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his role in the film '' Mr. Skeffington'' (1944). Biography Richard Waring was born Richard Stephens in ...

and

Donald Churchill Donald Churchill (6 November 193029 October 1991) was an English actor and playwright. He appeared in many film and television productions over a 35-year period and wrote several TV scripts. Career His films included '' Barnacle Bill'' (1957), ...

.Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', AFTRS 1993 p 174

Series 1 (1978)

Series 2 (1980)

DVD release

All seven series of ''Father, Dear Father'' (including the feature film) have been released on DVD by Network, A 7-disc box-set of the complete series has also been released. Both series of the Australian ''Father, Dear Father'' series have been released in a 2 disc set by Umbrella Entertainment in Australia.

References

External links

* *
Father, Dear Father
- credits and episodes guide {{Cooke and Mortimer 1960s British sitcoms 1970s British sitcoms 1968 British television series debuts 1973 British television series endings British English-language television shows ITV sitcoms Television series by Fremantle (company) Television shows produced by Thames Television Television shows set in London Television shows adapted into films Television shows shot at Teddington Studios