Valentine Park to The Vital Spark

The Ultimate Guide to British Sitcoms

All sitcoms starting with the letter V. This takes you from Valentine Park to The Vital Spark.

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VALENTINE PARK

Central / 12×30 minute episodes / 1987-88 Season 1: 19 June – 24 July 87 / Season 2: 22 July – 26 August 88
Creators: Nicholas Hyde, Glen Cardno / Executive Producer: Jon Scoffield / Producer: Glen Cardno
Sitcom. Young Max gets a job working as a gardener in a large public park, much to the initial horror of his godfather who is head gardener at the park.
Max………………………………………DAVID THEWLIS
Tom………………………………………KEN JONES
Mrs Giles……………………………….LIZ SMITH
Claire…………………………………….KATIE NEWELL
Bodie…………………………………….DANIEL NEWMAN
Doyle (Season 1)……………………..BERNARD PADDEN
Maggie………………………………….PENNY MORRELL
Wendy………………………………….JENNIFER GUY
Mr Smackley (Season 2)…………..ELLIS DALE
Philip (Season 2)…………………….KEN FARRINGTON

THE VERY MERRY WIDOW

BBC1 / 19×30 minute episodes / 1967-69 Three seasons.
Writer: Alan Melville / Producers: Robin Nash, Graeme Muir, John Howard Davies
Sitcom. When she is left a widow and heavily in debt Jacqui Villiers takes a variety of jobs(as well as a lodger) to make ends meet. Season three known as The Very Merry Widow and How.
Jacqui Villiers………………………….. MOIRA LISTER
Mrs Frayle……………………………… MOLLY URQUHART
Freddie Phillipson…………………….. DONALD HEWLETT
Roger (Season 3)…………………….. JIMMY THOMPSON
Jennifer Villiers……………………….. SALLY THOMPSETT
Mavis Anstruther……………………… DIANA KING
Francois (Seasons 2-3)…………….. GEORGES LAMBERT
Henrietta Greaves (Seasons 1-2)… MARGARET COURTENAY
Millicent Dickson (Seasons 1-2)…. ELIZABETH ALLAN
Mr Tiffin (Seasons 1-2)……………… A.J. BROWN
Katie (Season 3)…………………….. PATRICIA HAYES
Constance Cartwright (Season 1).. BERYL MASON

THE VICAR OF DIBLEY

BBC1 / 20 episodes 9×30 minute episodes 6×40 minute episodes 3×45 minute episodes and 2×10 minute episodes / 10 November 1994 – December 2006
Creator: Richard Curtis / Script Editor: Emma Freud / Music: Howard Goodall / Executive Producers: Richard Curtis, Peter Bennett Jones / Producer: Jon Plowman
Sitcom. Female Vicar Geraldine Granger raises a few eyebrows when she takes over the parish of Dibley. At first Parish council leader David Horton didn’t want Geraldine there but later came to have a grudging respect for her and her abilities. The 1997 Comic Relief special teamed up the show with Ballykissangel. After a gap of 6 years (the series had more or less ended in 2000) the show returned for two further episodes Christmas 2006 that were definitely supposed to be the last episodes ever.
Dawn French as Geraldine Granger / Gary Waldhorn as David Horton / James Fleet as Hugo Horton / Emma Chambers as Alice Tinker / John Bluthal as Frank Pickle / Trevor Peacock as Jim Trott / Roger Lloyd Pack as Owen Newitt / Liz Smith as Letitia Cropley (season one)

THE VITAL SPARK

BBC1 / 20×30 minute episodes / 1966-67/73-74 1 pilot, 3 seasons + 1 special
Writer: Bill Craig / Characters: Neil Munro / Producer: Pharic Maclaren
Sitcom. Misadventures of Captain Para Handy and his hapless crew aboard the Vital Spark. Began as a Comedy Playhouse entry. Following a fifty minute special in 1973 a further six episodes were made and broadcast in 1974. See also Para Handy- Master Mariner and The Tales of Para Handy.
Para Handy…………………………………. RODDY McMILLAN
McPhail……………………………………… JOHN GRIEVE
Dougie………………………………………. WALTER CARR
Sunny Jim………………………………….. ALEX McAVOY

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