British Sitcoms Of The 60s And 70s Quiz

Answer: The Liver Birds

'The Liver Birds' was created by Carla Lane and Myrna Taylor. It was a British sitcom that first aired in 1969. Set in Liverpool, England, it was about two single, young women who shared a flat. One character named Sandra Hutchinson was played by Nerys Hughes, who replaced Pauline Collins. Polly James played Beryl Hennessey. Mr. Hutchinson, Sandra's snobbish father, was portrayed by Ivan Beavis.

Sandra was very refined, mostly because of her mother, who was played by Molly Sugden. Beryl, on the other hand, was more working-class and outspoken. The sitcom was often compared with The Likely Lads, which featured two male characters and is regarded as being its female counterpart. It finished its run in 1996.

Answer: The Rag Trade

'The Rag Trade' was a British sitcom created by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe. It first aired on the BBC in 1961 and ran until 1963. It was set in a clothing factory in London, England, called Fenner's Fashions. Its owner was a character named Harold Fenner, played by actor Peter Jones.

It focused on the politics of the workplace and gender dynamics. Boss, Harold had frequent clashes with his employees. These were represented by a militant shop steward, Paddy Fleming, played by Miriam Karlin, whose catchphrase was 'Everybody out!'.

The sitcom was shown later on ITV (1977-1978) and featured some of the original members of the cast along with a few new ones.

Answer: Nearest and Dearest

'Nearest and Dearest' was another British sitcom by Vince Powell and Harry Driver. It was first shown in 1968. Set in Colne, Lancashire, England and featured a middle-aged brother and sister who had inherited the family's pickle factory. It was stipulated by their fathers that to gain their inheritance, they must run the factory together for five years. However, their constant arguing made this no mean feat.

The brother, Eli Pledge, was played by actor Jimmy Jewel and Hylda Baker played his sister, Nellie. Eli, a drinker and womaniser had very little interest in the factory. Conversely, Nellie was a spinster and hard-working. She had a sharp tongue and was known for her malapropisms! For example, when introducing herself, she would say 'You haven't had the pleasure of me yet, have you?'

Answer: On the Buses

The British sitcom 'On the Buses' was written by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe. It ran from 1969-1973 and was known for its working-class type of humour.

It featured bus drivers employed at the Luxton and District Motor Traction Company. Two of the main characters there were the partnership of bus driver Stan Butler (Reg Varney) and conductor Jack Harper (Bob Grant). The pair were forever chasing female employees and trying to get the better of their boss, Inspector Blakey (Stephen Lewis), whose catchphrase was 'I 'ate you, Butler'.

Other characters were Mabel Butler (Doris Hare), the matriarch, along with Olive Rudge (Anna Karen), who was Stan's dimwitted and frumpy sister, also her sarcastic, grumpy husband Arthur (Michael Robbins).

Answer: Please Sir

Written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, 'Please Sir' was another British sitcom from the 60s-70s era. It first aired in 1968 and continued until 1972.

The setting was Fenchurch Street Secondary Modern School and featured the unruly pupils of class 5C. The class teacher was Mr Bernard Hedges (John Alderton), who was young and an idealist, seeing potential in his pupils despite his colleagues who had given up on them.

Some other characters were the strict headmistress, Miss Doris Ewell (Joan Sanderson) and pupils Frankie Abbott (David Barry), Eric Duffy (Peter Cleall),
Dennis Dunstable (Peter Denyer), Maureen Bullock (Liz Gebhardt), Sharon Eversleigh (Penny Spencer), and Peter Craven (Malcolm McFee).

Answer: Mind Your Language

First shown in 1977, the British sitcom 'Mind Your Language' was written by Vince Powell.

The setting was an adult education college in London, England. It featured an English teacher named Jeremy Brown, played by actor Barry Evans, whose job entailed having to teach the English language to a class of students who came from various different cultural backgrounds, such as Spain, France, India, and China. This, of course, led to many misunderstandings, which provided the source of humour!

The formidable college principal, Dolores Courtney, was played by Zara Nutley. She strongly disliked men and made life difficult for Jeremy Brown by checking on the progress of his class and being disappointed by their progress.

Answer: Bless This House

'Bless This House' was another British sitcom written by Vince Powell and Harry Driver. It was first shown on television in 1971 and continued until 1976.

The setting for it was Howard Road, New Malden, a suburban area in South West London, England. It featured married couple Sid and Jean Abbott, played by Sid James and Diana Coupland, and their struggle to keep up with the modern ways of their teenage son and daughter and the changing attitudes of the younger generation.

Their son Mike, who had just left art college, was played by Robin Stewart and their daughter Sally, a trendy schoolgirl, was played by Sally Geeson. The Abbotts' neighbours, Trevor and Betty Lewis ( Anthony Jackson and Patsy Rowlands, often got tangled up in the goings-on, which added to the comedy!

Answer: Man About the House

The British sitcom 'Man About the House' was written by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer and was first shown in 1973.

It was set in London, England, and followed the lives of two young women who were sharing a flat there, one of whom was Chrissy Plummer, played by Paula Wilcox, and Joanne Trent, played by Sally Thompsett. Chrissy was the independent, sharp-witted one, while Joanne was bubbly and ditzy.

After a party, they find a student chef, named Robin Tripp (played by Richard O'Sullivan) asleep in their bathtub and, because neither of them can cook, let him move in. However, to convince their landlord that this is acceptable, a man living with two women, Robin has to pretend he's gay. This added many comedic moments.

Answer: George and Mildred

The British sitcom 'George and Mildred' was also written by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer and was a spin-off of 'Man About the House'. It was shown from 1976-1969.

Set in a middle-class neighbourhood called Hampton Wick, it focused on the lives of Mildred and George Roper (Youtha Joyce and Brian Murphy), who were very different from each other. Mildred aspired to scale the social ladder and fit in with their snooty neighbours, Jeffery and Ann Fourmile (Norman Eshley and Sheila Fearn). George, on the other hand, was unemployed, lazy and not remotely interested in becoming more refined.

George and Mildred's interactions with the Fourmiles provided a lot of hilarious moments, with George frequently embarrassing his wife! Mildred was bossy and had a sharp tongue. George was oblivious as regards her desire for them as a couple to climb the social ladder. This made it even more hilarious.

Answer: Butterflies

Set in Cheltenham, Gloucester, England, 'Butterflies' was a British sitcom written by Carla Lane which aired from 1978-1983.

It featured husband and wife Ben and Ria Parker (Geoffrey Palmer and Wendy Craig) and their sons Russell and Adam (Andrew Hall and Nicholas Lyndhurst). Russell was the carefree and rebellious one, while Adam was more introspective and quiet. Ben was a dentist who collected butterflies and Ria was a bored housewife who felt trapped in her mundane life.

Ria, who yearns for more, has an emotional relationship with Leonard Dunn, a charming businessman she meets up with on occasion. This remains unconsummated. This, her husband's obliviousness to her dissatisfaction, their sons' carefree attitudes, plus Ria's terrible cooking, gave rise to a lot of comedic moments.