I was a big fan of the original You Rang, M’Lord? (David Croft’s most underrated sitcom), and I remember watching the final episode with my Dad, when we agreed there could easily be a spin-off series, as James and Ivy went off to run their seaside boarding house. Thirty-three years later, and here it is!
Robin Carr and Roy Gould have done a fine job of bringing back Jimmy Perry and David Croft’s characters, and this series feels as though it could easily have been shown on BBC TV around the mid-Nineties, while also having an old-school radio comedy feel to it. It mixes comedy and drama in exactly the same way the parent series did, and Jeffrey Holland and Su Pollard play their parts again with gusto (even if, inevitably, they sound a little older than their characters now). Perry Benson is just as dolefully funny and sympathetic as ever in the role of Henry (though thankfully he isn’t having his ears boxed any more) and Judy Buxton’s recreation of Barbara New’s Mabel (not only her Cockney voice, but her pseudo-posh voice and even her laugh) is astounding.
The middle episodes are a little weaker and could have done with stronger storylines and more gags (unfortunately, the theatricals just aren’t as interesting as the characters from the parent series). Episode five, The Government Inspector picks up the pace, with a clever plot of twists and turns that keeps you guessing until the end.
They saved the best ‘til last. Episode six, Tea For Two, sees the return of Miss Poppy (I can’t help wishing she’d shown up a bit sooner) and Susie Brann voices her as if she’d last played the role a week ago. Poppy is just as spoilt, manipulative and cunning as ever as she turns up to turn James’s life upside-down and resurrect the love triangle between her, James and Ivy, leading to a surprisingly dark and downbeat ending.
The continuity seems a little shaky in places, as Poppy already seemed to be married to Jerry when the original series ended. We also have James’s father being strict and religious as he claimed he was, rather than the petty crook You Rang revealed him to be. Plus, there’s no mention of Henry and Mabel still running Lord Meldrum’s house at the end of the original series.
But no matter. This is a terrific treat for all fans of You Rang and Perry and Croft’s work, with a theme song that will stay in your head for days. I hope there will be more, preferably with some of the other surviving You Rang actors making an appearance. Will Mr Teddy and Rose turn up, booking in under an assumed name to escape Teddy’s creditors in London? Will Miss Cissy be in town for the United Workers Party conference? Will Jock MacGregor turn up, on the run after trying to murder a factory manager? As things are left, the possibilities are endless.
It would be lovely to see this live – it could easily be done as a radio ‘recording’ on stage.
