Not in Front of the Children (TV series)
Not in Front of the Children is a BBC television situation comedy, which ran for four series from 1967 to 1970.[1]
Not in Front of the Children | |
---|---|
Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | Richard Waring |
Starring | Wendy Craig Paul Daneman (series 1) Ronald Hines (series 2-4) |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of series | 4 |
No. of episodes | 39 |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Release | |
Original network | BBC1 |
Original release | 26 May 1967 – 9 January 1970 |
It starred Wendy Craig as Jennifer Corner, a rather scatterbrained middle-class housewife.[2] Her husband Henry was a school art teacher, played by Paul Daneman in the Comedy Playhouse pilot "House in a Tree" and the first series, and Ronald Hines subsequently.[3] They had three children, a boy in his early teens (played by Hugo Keith-Johnston) and two girls who were slightly younger (played by Roberta Tovey and Jill Riddick).[4] Charlotte Mitchell played her friend Mary.[5]
In later series she had a baby and they moved from the London suburb of Battersea to the country.
It is significant mainly as Wendy Craig's first role as a scatty housewife; she played similar roles in several other series over the next 15 years.
Surviving Episodes
- Series 1: episode 3: The Word (8 September 1967)
- Series 2: episode 2: Religious Revival (1 March 1968)
- Series 2: episode 5: The Iron Hand (22 March 1968)
- Series 2: episode 6: The George Washington Complex (29 March 1968)
- Series 2: episode 7: Home Chat (5 April 1968)
- Series 2: episode 8: Change Of Policy (12 April 1968)
- Series 4: episode 4: A Babe Around The House (3 October 1969)
- Series 4: episode 13: Pastures New (5 December 1969)
Radio Adaptation
A radio adaptation of the programme was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 1969 and 1970, with Wendy Craig and Francis Matthews in the leading roles. Charlotte Mitchell was Mary, Roberta Tovey was Trudi and Hugo Keith-Johnston played Robin. The scripts were adapted from the TV scripts by Richard Waring. Since 2015 both series have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra.[1]
DVD release
The eight surviving episodes were released on DVD for the first time on Monday, 8 September 2014.[6]
References
- "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Not in Front of the Children, Series 1, House in a Tree". BBC.
- "BFI Screenonline: Craig, Wendy (1934-) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- "Not In Front Of The Children". 15 February 2017.
- "Religious Revival (1968)". BFI.
- Hayward, Anthony (7 June 2012). "Charlotte Mitchell obituary" – via www.theguardian.com.
- Guide, British Comedy. "Not In Front Of The Children DVD". British Comedy Guide.