Charley’s Aunt (ITV 29 Dec 1977, Eric Sykes, Jimmy Edwards)

In this version of the famous comedy play Charley’s Aunt written by Brandon Thomas and here adapted by star Eric Sykes, we are in the 1890’s at Oxford University where the manservant of a couple of undergraduates is forced to drag up and pretend to be an aged aunt in order to act as chaperone during a visit from two young women and their lascivious older Uncle.

In the original the Aunt figure is played by one of the students but Sykes was way past student age so decided to make the manservant Brassett the main character. He is more than ably assisted by regular cohort Jimmy Edwards as the gold-digging Uncle Spettigue,.

Production details
UK / ITV – Yorkshire / 1×65 minutes / Thursday 29 December 1977 at 8.45pm

Writer: Eric Sykes / Play: Brandon Thomas / Music: Dennis Main Wilson / Production Design: Colin Pigott / Producer and Director: Graeme Muir

cast
ERIC SYKES as Brassett
JIMMY EDWARDS as Mr Spettigue
BARBARA MURRAY as Donna Lucia D’Alvadorez
GERALD FLOOD as Sir Francis Chesney
OSMUND BULLOCK as Jack Chesney
ALUN LEWIS as Charley Wykeham
GRAHAM FAULKNER as Lord Fancourt Babberley
LOUISE HALL-TAYLOR as Kitty Verdun
JUDI MAYNARD as Amy Spettigue
YVONNE NICHOLSON as Ela Delaha