Man About the House

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Man About the House was a British sitcom, made by Thames Television for ITV. It ran for six series, between August 1973 and April 1976. Image:PaulaWilcox.jpg

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Series Overview

It began in 1973 when young flatmates Chrissy and Jo find a stranger called Robin asleep in their bath after a party. He moves in permanently on a platonic basis. The idea was reached by co-writer Johnnie Mortimer after he noticed an increase in the number of advertisements in local newspapers for flatmates of either gender, when previously the idea of sharing a home with a member of the opposite sex who was not a spouse or relative was considered risqué.

Robin, played by Richard O'Sullivan, was a student chef who spent much of the programme's lifespan trying to seduce Chrissy, played by Paula Wilcox. He was less interested in Jo, played by Sally Thomsett, but still flirtatious with her. Although the women had no romantic interest and spurn his mild advances, they quickly adapted to his presence in the flat, although they only got permission from the landlord when they told him Robin was gay.

The landlord (in truth a sub-letting landlord placed by the council) was George Roper, played by Brian Murphy, a bumbling, accident-prone and gullible man under the thumb of his domineering and sexually-frustrated wife Mildred, played by Yootha Joyce, whose way of making up for her husband's inadequacy as landlord and lover was to make suggestive remarks to Robin and frequently side with her tenants against George. That said, for all their battles, the Ropers were a devoted couple.

The comedy of the series frequently concerned romances of the trio, and sometimes Robin's sexual attraction for Chrissy. Frequently they would have to outwit landlord George, but usually found an ally in Mildred. After the first series Robin's friend Larry, a loveable rogue played by Doug Fisher, moved into the loft apartment and was a frequent source of trouble. Another occasional cast member was dodgy builder and schemer Jerry, a friend of George's played by Roy Kinnear.

Robin's affection for Chrissy allowed the writers to bring a dramatic end to the programme in 1976 when Chrissy fell for Robin's confident elder brother Norman, played by Norman Eshley. In the final series, Chrissy married Norman with Robin's blessing, even though he had tried to win her love for real when he first realised she and Norman were getting close. He ended up accepting their partnership and was a proud best man, also baking a magnificent wedding cake as his present (which he later dropped in a drunken state after the stag night). The wedding saw the appearance of Robin and Chrissy's parents; one of whom (Chrissy's father) was played by Glynn Edwards, who was marred to Yootha Joyce at the time.

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Man About The House has remained a fondly-recalled programme with frequent repeats on ITV in the 1980s. It now receives regular airtime on satellite channels in the UK. It was also popular in Australia and repeated there several times. The sitcom was shown in syndication on several PBS stations in the United States in the 1980's. In the poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom in 2003, it was ranked 69th. A movie version, featuring all six regular characters, was made in 1974.

After the series ended two successful spin-off series followed. These were Robin's Nest where Robin gets married and opens a restaurant, and George & Mildred where the Ropers move to the suburbs. These spinoffs are also frequently repeated. The characters of Chrissy, Norman, Jo and Larry never appeared again after Man About The House. Man About The House was later remade in the USA as Three's Company.

However in 1977, Wilcox took the eponymous role in Miss Jones and Son, a BBC show which broke new ground as the first depiction of a single mother in British situation comedy. The Miss jones character wasn't that far removed from Chrissy.

Prior to playing Robin's brother and Chrissy's husband-to-be, Norman Eshley had appeared twice before in the series, each time playing different characters, all of whom were somehow romantically associated with Chrissy. In one of his guest appearances he played a philandering executive who tried to seduce Chrissy, but Robin introduced her to the executive's kindly pregnant wife who had no idea of her husband's infidelity. Eshley also had a regular lead role in George and Mildred, playing yet another character.

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