# It Takes a Worried Man

It Takes a Worried Man is a British TV sitcom. It was made by Thames Television and ran for three series, broadcast from October 1981 to November 1983. The first two series were broadcast on the ITV network, and the third and final series on Channel 4. Most episodes were written by the star, Peter Tilbury, who played office worker Philip Roath. The title comes from a line in the folk song Worried Man Blues. The series was based on the writings about the male menopause by novelist Philip Roth, whom Tilbury named the main character after. He also took inspiration from his own life from the character of Roath.

## Premise

Philip Roath is a middle-aged and divorced office worker who is highly intelligent, but suffering a midlife crisis, and completely bored with his job. He is never seen doing any actual work, just conversing with his colleagues about his boredom and frustrations with life. His boss suspects that Philip does little work, but is powerless to prove it or to do anything about it. Philip is also seen in psychoanalysis sessions with his analyst, Simon, who has worse emotional issues than Philip does.

## Cast list

* Peter Tilbury – Philip Roath
* Sue Holderness – Liz (Series 2-3)
* Diana Payan – Ruth
* Andrew Tourell – Napley
* Nicholas Le Prevost – Simon
* Christopher Benjamin – The Old Man (Philip's Boss)
* Angela Down – Lillian (Series 1)

## Episodes
### Series 1 (1981)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Endangered Species" | 27 October 1981 (1981-10-27) |
| 2 | 2 | "As You Like It" | 3 November 1981 (1981-11-03) |
| 3 | 3 | "New Leaf" | 10 November 1981 (1981-11-10) |
| 4 | 4 | "Mixed Feelings" | 17 November 1981 (1981-11-17) |
| 5 | 5 | "Frankly Speaking" | 24 November 1981 (1981-11-24) |
| 6 | 6 | "Soul Mates" | 1 December 1981 (1981-12-01) |

### Series 2 (1983)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original release date |
| 7 | 1 | "Aren't Our Policemen Wonderful?" | 13 January 1983 (1983-01-13) |
| 8 | 2 | "At First the Infant" | 20 January 1983 (1983-01-20) |
| 9 | 3 | "Night and Day" | 27 January 1983 (1983-01-27) |
| 10 | 4 | "Listening In" | 3 February 1983 (1983-02-03) |
| 11 | 5 | "Personnel" | 10 February 1983 (1983-02-10) |
| 12 | 6 | "Pros and Cons" | 17 February 1983 (1983-02-17) |
| 13 | 7 | "Scenes From Country Life" | 24 February 1983 (1983-02-24) |

### Series 3 (1983)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original release date |
| 14 | 1 | "Seasonally Adjusted" | 16 October 1983 (1983-10-16) |
| 15 | 2 | "Naughty But Nice" | 23 October 1983 (1983-10-23) |
| 16 | 3 | "Getaway" | 30 October 1983 (1983-10-30) |
| 17 | 4 | "Do Me a Favour" | 6 November 1983 (1983-11-06) |
| 18 | 5 | "Annually, Once a Year" | 13 November 1983 (1983-11-13) |
| 19 | 6 | "Three Cheers" | 20 November 1983 (1983-11-20) |

## DVD Release

All three series of It Takes a Worried Man have been released individually on DVD by Network. In 2024, a complete boxset was released by Old Gold Media.
| DVD | Release date |
| The Complete Series 1 | 31 October 2011 |
| The Complete Series 2 | 25 February 2013 |
| The Complete Series 3 | 14 October 2013 |
| The Complete Series 1 to 3 Boxset | 2024 Old Gold Media |