No Honestly (ITV Sitcom, John Alderton, Pauline Collins)

Sitcom No Honestly offered up another chance for husband and wife team John Alderton Pauline Collins to star together after their star making turns in Upstairs Downstairs.

The series, also written by a husband and wife team – Charlotte Bingham and Terence Brady, saw Alderton plays Charles Danby (aka C.D. aka Clever Drawers) and Pauline playing his wife Clara.

Each of the 13 episodes begins with Clara and Charles talking directly to camera before flashing back to how the couple first met, married and at the series end, celebrated their first wedding anniversary. When they first meet C.D. is a struggling actor and and Clara is a struggling writer. Ten years later Clara is a successful children’s author (writing the Ollie the Otter books) and C.D. is still acting.

The theme music was composed and sung by Lynsey de Paul, it was also a top ten chart hit. The series was made by London Weekend Television for ITV and the 13 half hour episodes aired from 4 October 1974 – 5 January 1975.

Incidentally many people assume that Brady and Bingham’s next series Yes – Honestly was a continuation of this series. It’s not so much a sequel but of a re-hash of the plot. Different characters and actors (Liza Goddard and Donel Donnelly) but the idea was the same.

Bingham and Brady had been married for 11 years at the time of the series and heavily based the premise on their own lives, Brady was a former actor too.

• Three Comedies of Marriage: One of the Family (S1EP3 ITV Thurs 17 Jul 1975, Matthew Guinness, Polly Adams)

• Three Comedies of Marriage (ITV 1975, David Warner, Michael Bryant)

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• Nanny (BBC-1 1981-1983, Wendy Craig)

• Thomas and Sarah (ITV 1979, John Alderton, Pauline Collins)

• Pig In The Middle (ITV 1980-1983 with Dinsdale Landen and Joanna Van Gyseghem)

• No Honestly: Surprise, Surprise! (ITV Sun 5 Jan 1975 with Tony Selby)

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