''Mann's Best Friends'' 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 ...

which first aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

in 1985Maxford p.75 It is set in a

boarding house A boarding house is a house (frequently a family home) in which lodging, lodgers renting, rent one or more rooms on a nightly basis and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months, or years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and ...

where the easy-going landlord fails to control the antics of his chaotic tenants, leading him to seek the assistance of the domineering Hamish James Ordway who has recently retired from the

Water Board A water board is a regional or national organisation that has very different functions from one country to another. The functions range from flood control and water resources management at the regional or local level (the Netherlands, Germany), ...

Main cast

Fulton Mackay William Fulton Beith Mackay (12 August 1922 – 6 June 1987) was a Scottish actor and playwright, best known for his role as prison officer Mr Mackay in the 1970s television sitcom ''Porridge''. Early life Mackay was born in Paisley, Renfrew ...

as Hamish James Ordway * Barry Stanton as Henry Mann *

Bernard Bresslaw Bernard Bresslaw (25 February 193411 June 1993) was an English actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the '' Carry On'' film franchise. Bresslaw also worked on television and stage, performed recordings and wrote a series of poetr ...

as Duncan *

Barbara Hicks Barbara Hicks (12 August 1924 – 6 September 2013) was an English film actress. She appeared in Terry Gilliam's 1985 cult film ''Brazil'' and Merchant Ivory Productions's 1992 Bafta award-winning ''Howards End''. Biography Hicks was born in ...

as Mrs. Mann *

Patricia Brake Patricia Ann Kennedy (25 June 1942 – 28 May 2022), better known by her stage name Patricia Brake, was an English actress. She was best known for her role as Ingrid Fletcher, eldest daughter of Norman Stanley Fletcher, in the BBC sitcom ''P ...

as Dolly Delights *

Clive Merrison Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is a Welsh actor of film, television, stage and radio. He is best known for his long running BBC Radio portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, having played the part in all 64 episodes of the 1989–1998 series o ...

as Irvin * Liz Smith as Mrs. Anstruther * Sara Corper as Phoebe * Reginald Marsh as Mr. Beasley (1 episode) *

Rebecca Lacey Rebecca Jane Lacey (born 20 April 1965) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Dr. George Woodman in ''Casualty'' and Hilary in '' May to December'' and for her stage work in the West End and The RSC. Early life She was born in ...

as Receptionist (1 episode)

References

Bibliography

* Maxford, Howard. ''Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company''. McFarland, 2018.

External links

* {{Roy Clarke 1985 British television series debuts 1985 British television series endings 1980s British comedy television series Channel 4 sitcoms Television series by Fremantle (company) Television shows produced by Thames Television British English-language television shows