The groundbreaking flat-sharing comedy’s very concept terrified ITV. Its writer and actors reflect on its smashing of gender stereotypes and the wildly successful spin-offs it launched
ccording to Philip Larkin’s poem Annus Mirabilis, “sexual intercourse began / In nineteen sixty-three.” But sex in peak-time television did not start – and, then, only fumblingly and furtively – until 1973. On 15 August that year, ITV premiered the sitcom Man About the House.
Even so, ITV initially insisted that the series must go out after the 9pm watershed, reducing its potential audience. Eventually, an 8.30pm slot was agreed as long as the scripts would be “naughty rather than dirty”. Brian Murphy, 90, who played the sexually reluctant husband, says: “ITV – this surprises people – but, in the 1970s, they were much more strict than the BBC about the content and language in their programmes.”
“It was a bit of a disaster,” admits Cooke. “We knew the next one had to be a success or our whole careers would disappear.” “He was a bit peculiar,” says Wilcox. “There were a couple of things he wanted me to do, where I just said: ‘No way.’ I remember he wanted me to bend over a sofa at one point, and I said: ‘I don’t do things like that. I was 21! So I just ignored him.”
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Man whose body decomposed in house for a year had lived there with wife, sonPolice have released photos of a man who was found dead at his Gold Coast home, with detectives believing his remains were there for more than 12 months.
Read more »
Man whose body decomposed in house for a year had lived there with wife, sonBREAKING: Police have released photos of a man who was found dead at a Gold Coast home, with detectives believing his remains were there for more than 12 months.
Read more »
Five dead as house explosion devastates several homesFive people, including an adolescent, were found dead after a house explosion in western Pennsylvania.
Read more »
Inverloch: Renovation turns house without a bathroom into a beloved beach pad - realestate.com.auA house that had rats in the walls and has undergone an enormous facelift which turned it into a chic coastal family home. See the before and after pics:
Read more »
From worst house on the best street to $3.35 million auction jackpotA single-storey weatherboard home in Northcote surpassed seller expectations after selling for $3.35 million at auction on Saturday. Public records show the block last traded in 2009 for $830,500.
Read more »