Sue Nicholls - IMDb IMDb Sue Nicholls was born on November 23, 1943 in Walsall, Staffordshire, England as Susan Frances Harmer Nicholls. She is an actress, known for Coronation Street (1960), The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976) and Up the Elephant and Round the Castle (1983). She has been married to Mark Eden since July 1993. See full bio » Born: LeonardRossiter.com: Reggie Online - Biographies of Main Cast Actor: LEONARD ROSSITER Character: Reginald Perrin, including various pseudonyms while in disguise (e.g.. Donald Potts, Martin Wellbourne, Lord Amherst, Sir Wensley Amherst, and Signor Antonio Stifado, an Italian tourist). Bored, stressed, middle-aged sales executive, sexually-frustrated, tired and weary of the rat race.

Read Character Study Catchphrases: "Eleven minutes late..." Appearances: Series One - Episodes 1 to 7; Series Two - Episodes 1 to 7; Series Three - Episodes 1 to 7; Christmas Special Biography: Leonard Rossiter was born on October 21st, 1926 in Liverpool. Unable to afford to go to university, he worked in an insurance office until he was 27, when he joined Preston repertory company and made his professional stage debut in The Gay Dog. After Preston, he starred in productions at Wolverhampton, Salisbury and The Old Vic Company at Bristol's Theatre Royal. In 1962 he made his first big-screen appearance in A Kind of Loving, followed by other films throughout the 1960s, including Billy Liar and TV appearances such as Z Cars, The Avengers and Steptoe and Son. His portrayal of Adolf Hitler in the 1969 play The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui made him a West End star.

His roles as Rigsby in Rising Damp and the title role in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin made him a household name, and his Cinzano commercials with Joan Collins were comic masterpieces. A keen sportsman, he excelled in squash, tennis and football. He was also a connoisseur of fine wines. His busy career came to a tragically premature end on October 5th 1984, just sixteen days short of his 58th birthday. During a performance of Joe Orton's play Loot, Leonard suffered a heart attack in his dressing room. He was married to actress Gillian Raine and had a daughter, Camilla. Visit sister web site Leonard Rossiter.com for much more information. Notable Credits:Theatre: Semi-Detached (Fred Midway), The Banana Box (Rupert Rigsby), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Arturo Ui), The Immortal Haydon (Haydon), The Strange Case of Martin Richter (Martin Richter), The Rules of the Game (Leone Gala).

TV: Rising Damp (Rupert Rigsby), BBC3, I Tell You It's Burt Reynolds (Leonard), The Losers (Sydney Foskett), Z Cars (Det. Insp. Bamber), Tripper's Day (Norman Tripper), Play For Today, Pygmalion Smith (Smithy). Film: A Kind Of Loving (Whymper), Billy Liar (Mr. Shadrack), This Sporting Life (Phillips), Oliver! (Mr. Sowerberry), King Rat (Col. McCoy), 2001:A Space Odyssey (Andre Smyslov), Water (Sir Malcolm Leveridge), Barry Lyndon (Capt. Quin), Le Petomane (Monsieur Pujol). Remembering Reggie: "He lived the life that a lot of commuter office workers would have liked to have lived." Character: Elizabeth Perrin, Reggie's ever-faithful, if increasingly worried, wife.

Read Character Study Catchphrases: "Oh, Reggie!" Appearances: Series One - Episodes 1 to 7; Series Two - Episodes 1 to 7; Series Three - Episodes 1 to 7; Christmas Special; The Legacy of Reginald Perrin - Episodes 1 to 7. Biography: Born in St. Helens, Merseyside, Pauline Yates knew she wanted to be an actress from an early age. After leaving school, she went straight into Oldham Rep., making her stage debut aged 17 as Grace Poole in Jane Eyre In the late 1960s she landed her first TV role and was starting to become a familiar face on programmes such as Crown Court and Armchair Theatre. She was married to actor/writer Donald Churchill with two daughters, Jemma and Polly. Pauline died on January 21st 2015, aged 85. Notable Credits: Play For Today, Armchair Theatre, Crown Court, Keep It In The Family (Muriel Rush), Bachelor Father (Mrs. Moore), My Honorable Mrs. (Jane Prendergast), Rumpole of the Bailey, commercial for Abbey National.

Film: She'll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas. Remembering Reggie: "Reggie Perrin seemed to hit a chord with so many people - particularly older men who, perhaps, saw Reggie's situation as very close to their own. I'm pleased to be associated with it and it's one of my career highlights." Actor: JOHN BARRON Character: Charles Jefferson (C.J.), F.J. Reggie's boss/employee. A tyrannical ruler of his desserts empire. Does not suffer fools gladly, if at all. Read Character Study Catchphrases: "I didn't get where I am today...", mixed proverbs. Appearances: Series One - Episodes 1, 2 and 4 to 7; Series Two - Episode 1 to 7; Series Three - Episodes 1 to 7; Christmas Special; The Legacy of Reginald Perrin - Episodes 1 to 7. Biography: John Barron was born on Christmas Eve, 1920. A kind godfather paid his training fees at RADA in 1938. During the war, he served in the Navy, then returned to acting after demob, mostly in rep. productions.

He soon became a theatre director, and directed Leonard Rossiter in numerous productions throughout the 1950s. His first regular TV role was in Emergency Ward 10, which was quickly followed by many sitcoms, listed below. Since recording the third series, John has lost two wives: Joan Peart (who played Mrs. E. Blythe-Erpingham in Series Three, Episode Five) died in 1989, after 40 years marriage. His second wife, actress Helen Christie, died in 1995. John died on 3rd July 2004. Notable Credits: Emergency Ward 10 (Harold De La Roux), Doomwatch (The Minister), Potter (The Vicar), All Gas and Gaiters (The Dean), Dial Rix (Sir William Pardon), To The Manor Born, Whoops Apocalypse (The Deacon), Glencannon (John Cannon), No Place Like Home, Shelley, Don't Wait Up. Film: The Day The Earth Caught Fire (Sub-Editor), The Great Question (Iraqi propaganda film - see link below).

Remembering Reggie: "I came into it because I was up in Granada-land, working for Granada Television doing ‘Crown Court’…suddenly a parcel arrived from the BBC…it was a hardback novel of "...Reginald Perrin". John Howard–Davies [the producer of the pilot episode] had attached a note saying “Read this. Would you like to play ‘C.J.’?” So I started to read it, and it got better…and better…and better…and better. And I closed the last page and reached for the phone almost before I’d put the book down, and said ‘YES!’" "I like to think I helped [Leonard] through the early days of his career.

People used to ask me how it was we worked so well together - what they didn't know was that we'd known each other for twenty years before "...Perrin"." "Middle-aged parents kept coming up to me saying: "You ruined my life because my child wouldn't stop saying 'I didn't get where I am today without...'" "I think my affection for C J was for a rather cruel reason: he was the most intolerant man I'd ever met!" "Playing CJ has been the highlight of my television career." Actor: SUE NICHOLLS Character: Joan Greengross/Webster/Millbeck, Reggie's secretary. Secretly in love with Reggie, and respects him greatly. Read Character Study Appearances: Series One - Episode 1 to 5, and 7; Series Two - Episodes 1 to 7; Series Three - Episodes 1 to 7; Christmas Special; The Legacy of Reginald Perrin - Episodes 1, 3, 5 and 7.

Biography: The daughter of former Conservative MP the late Lord Harmar-Nicholls, The Honourable Susan Frances Harmar Nicholls was born in Walsall, West Midlands on November 23rd, 1943. She trained at RADA for two years before becoming assistant stage manager at a repertory company. In 1964 she landed her first big TV role as Marilyn Gates in the soap Crossroads. In 1968 Sue released a record called Where Will you Be? which peaked at a satisfying no.17 in the UK charts. She now plays the major character of Audrey Roberts in Coronation Street. Notable Credits: Dixon of Dock Green, The Professionals, Not On Your Nellie (Big Brenda), Rentaghost (Mrs. Nadia Popov), Up The Elephant and Round The Castle (Wanda Pickles), Pipkins (Mrs. Muddle), Crossroads (Marilyn Gates), Coronation Street (Audrey Roberts). Remembering Reggie: "I can see that first show even now.

I was thrown in at the deep end because it was a case of being ravished on an office desk in the middle of a field, and running slowly towards Len with my hair down – and I’d met him only about forty minutes before that!" "I loved the fact that she didn’t notice that he came in and did silly things, missed the umbrella stand, and so on. She just picked up his umbrella – it was all par for the course. And she loved him." "Leonard’s comedy made me laugh. He is the master of delayed reaction – I don’t know anybody better." "I loved working with Len. I admired him and learned a lot from him...His timing and delayed timing were superb...Often when we were filming a scene which didn't include me, I had to leave the set because I couldn't stop laughing!" Character: Jimmy (Major James Gordonstoun Anderson), Reggie's bungling, military-speakng, accident-prone brother-in-law. Read Character Study Catchphrases: "Bit of a cock-up on the ...

front." Appearances: Series One - Episodes 2, 3 and 7; Series Two - Episodes 1, 3, 6 and 7; Series Three - Episodes 2 to 7; Christmas Special; The Legacy of Reginald Perrin - Episodes 1 to 7. Biography: Born in London on June 4th, 1927, Geoffrey Palmer worked in an imports office and then as an accountant before his girlfriend persuaded him to join the local amateur dramatics society. Eventually he became assistant stage manager at Croydon's Grand Theatre, and then spent several years touring with rep. His first roles on TV came in comedy series such as those of Harry Worth and Arthur Askey. He is now a familiar face on British television. He is married to Sally, with one son Tom and one daughter Harriet. Notable Credits: Butterflies (Ben Parkinson), Bulldog Breed (Mr. Meadows), Executive Stress (Donald Fairchild), Hot Metal (Harry Stringer), The Last Song (Leo Bannister), Whoops Apocalypse (Foreign Secretary), Fawlty Towers (Dr.

Price), Fairly Secret Army (Harry Truscott), As Time Goes By (Lionel Hardcastle). Remembering Reggie: "It was a great pleasure to be in Reggie Perrin. You had one enormous central character surrounded by a group of wonderful, diverse supporting characters and it worked very well...It was one of the happiest projects I've worked on...you always hoped that you'd get the added bonus of the programme being a quality product and enjoyable - and I got that with Reggie." Actor: SALLY-JANE SPENCER Character: Linda Patterson / Perrin, Reggie's buxom, beautiful daughter. Married to "that dreadful arse" Tom. Read Character Study Appearances: Series One - Episodes 2, 6 and 7; Series Two - Episodes 1 to 4, 6 and 7; Series Three - Episodes 1 to 7; The Legacy of Reginald Perrin - Episodes 1 to 7. Biography: Sally-Jane was born in Buckinghamshire. After training at drama school she took the unusual step of making her debut performance on the West End stage in ‘The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie’.

She then continued in theatre roles, including four seasons at Chichester Theatre, before leaving the industry to raise a family. She has a son and a daughter. Notable Credits: Theatre: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; TV: The Newcomers Remembering Reggie: "The three years spent working on the original three series turned out to be the happiest of my career - we had lots of fun, lots of laughs and everyone was delightful to work with." Character: Tom Patterson, Reggie's son-in-law, brewer of less-than-fine home-made wines. Read Character Study Catchphrases: "I'm a ... person." Appearances: Series One - Episodes 2, 3 and 7; Series Two - Episodes 1 to 4, 6 and 7; The Legacy of Reginald Perrin - Episodes 1 to 7. Biography: Tim Preece was born in Shropshire, and started acting while at school. He entered theatre professionally playing Whitby, Bristol, Salisbury and Farnham repertory theatres, before bit-parts in comedy shows. He is also a playwright with two plays to his credit. Notable Credits: Waiting For God (Rev.

Dennis Sparrow), Just William, The Bagthorpe Saga (Uncle Parker), Making Faces (Stuart), Pull The Other One (Terry), Porterhouse Blue (Dr. Messmer), Landshapes (documentary, presenter), Dulux paint commercial. Remembering Reggie: "On the first day, down in Dorset, we filmed what became a fairly famous scene in the safari park. I remember filming this thing – in the heat on the first day. None of us thought “…Perrin” would do anything, really. It was just another job. And it felt awful, with us couped up in the car with two kiddies in the back feeling sick, and Leonard doing his thing. And yet it turned into one of the funniest scenes in “…Perrin”." "It'll take a lot to beat Reggie because it was just a joy to do. In my opinion the second series improved on what was already a brilliant first series...[all series] have been repeated so regularly it's become famous." Character: Tom Patterson (in Series Three only). Read Character Study Catchphrases: "I'm a ...

person." Appearances: Series Three - Episodes 1 to 7 Biography: Leslie Schofield was born in Oldham, Lancashire. After his parents divorced, he became a wayward, rebellious teenager. Deciding he should instill himself with some discipline, he joined a naval training ship for two years. His first taste of acting came during ten years subsequent service in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. He continued acting in civvy street, including a year at Eastbourne. Until summer 2000, he played Jeff Healy, a central character in the BBC soap Eastenders. Notable Credits: The Gentle Touch, Spoils Of War, Johnny Briggs, Tricky Business (Derek Yates), Rentaghost, Eastenders (Jeff Healy). Remembering Reggie: "I was very worried. Taking over a character who's already been created is much more difficult than creating something from new, even if you have plenty of material to work with. The cast members made me welcome from the start, especially Sue Nicholls, who I'd worked with previously in Rentaghost. "Reggie..." was a very funny series and stupendously written, there's nothing around to touch it as far as I'm concerned.

Although many of the characters in Reggie Perrin were odd, you could at least say: "I've met nutters like that!"" Actor: JOHN HORSLEY Character: Gerald 'Doc' Morrissey, "the wizard of the medicine chest". In reality, a complete idiot, struck off in Series Three for "gross professional incompetence". Read Character Study Catchphrases: "Take two aspirins." Appearances: Series One - Episodes 1,2,4 and 5; Series Two - Episodes 1, 6 and 7; Series Three - Episodes 1 to 7; Christmas Special; The Legacy of Reginald Perrin - Episode 1 to 7. Biography: John was born in Westcliff-On-Sea, Essex in 1920, the son of a doctor (!). He made his acting debut at the Theatre Royal, Bournemouth. After spending a year in various reps. including Hastings, Watford and Eastbourne, he was conscripted into the Devon Yeomanry during the war and served in Italy and Sicily, but contracted hepatitis. He then became a member of the Army Bureau For Current Affairs - Play Unit, touring England, France and Germany.

He then spent many years in theatre, before branching out into films and starring alongside David Niven and John Mills. He has also appeared in many TV roles. John died on January 12th 2014, aged 93. Notable Credits:Films: Ben Hur, Sink The Bismarck! (Capt. Sheffield), and Dunkirk (Padre). TV: Dempsey & Makepeace (Judge Hackett), Z Cars, Don't Rock The Boat (Wally), Hot Metal (Fr. Teasdale), Leave It To Charlie (Mr. Ffolliott), My Husband And I (Mr. Mundy), Oh Happy Band! (Mr. Braithwaite), Softly, Softly and You Rang M’Lord (Sir Ralph Shawcross). Remembering Reggie: "[On recording "The Legacy Of..."] From day one everything slotted into place, so much so that it was hard to believe we hadn't worked together as a group for nearly twenty years." Actor: TREVOR ADAMS Character: Tony Webster, one of C.J.'s "yes" men. A wide-boy, full of himself, fancies himself as a God with the ladies.

Read Character Study Catchphrases: "Great!" "Knockout!" "... City, Arizona!" Appearances: Series One - Episodes 1,2, and 4 to 7; Series Two - Episodes 1 to 7; Series Three - Episodes 1 to 7; Christmas Special Biography: Trevor trained with RADA and was a member of the National Youth Theatre. He spent a year at Stratford-Upon-Avon before turning to television, where he was often cast as a criminal. In 1982 he quit acting for a career in law, which lasted twelve years. Trevor died on December 15th, 2000. Notable Credits: Fawlty Towers (Alan), Dixon Of Dock Green, The Professionals (Benny), What Are You Doing After The Show?. Remembering Reggie: "It was a great cast and an excellent script...every character, however minor, had much to offer.

Everyone had a purpose, even if it was only working as a foil for Leonard, sparking off a different reaction from him." "I never thought I'd become involved with a series that used catchphrases, but then Reggie Perrin came along!" Actor: BRUCE BOULD Character: David Harris-Jones. C.J.'s other "yes" man. Unbearably shy and lacking in confidence, but manages to get married and raise a family in Series Three and Four. Read Character Study Catchphrases: "Super!" Appearances: Series One - Episodes 1,2 and 4 to 7; Series Two - Episodes 1 to 7; Series Three - Episodes 1 to 7; Christmas Special; The Legacy of Reginald Perrin - Episodes 1 to 7. Biography: Born in Bradford to actor parents, Bruce began his own acting career aged seventeen at the Birmingham Repertory, before joining RADA. In 1972 he met and married Theresa Watson who plays David's wife Prue in Series Three and Four. After many bit-parts on TV, including Z Cars, he returned to the stage in two plays Clever Soldiers, and A Family And A Fortune, with Alec Guinness.

Notable Credits: The Good Life (Guy), To The Manor Born, Shelley, Drop The Dead Donkey (Simpson), Howard's Way. Remembering Reggie: "The first series was pretty terrible to do. It was full of technical things which the BBC wasn’t terribly good at at that time. There was all that thing with the hippopotamus. Len had to think, and as he thought, the hippopotamus had to come into his head. Len knew what his timing was, but the vision mixer had no idea what was going on. Len would think, and then – eventually – the hippopotamus would appear, and Len would blow up. We’d rehearse and rehearse and rehearse until they got it right. And it was the same with the farting armchairs – a sort of delayed raspberry. All that was done live in the studio." "David Harris-Jones has always been marvellous to play. He's a sympathetic character but infuriating, which is nice. I like playing comedy. I found for a while after Reggie I ws constantly being asked to play berks, which I hated in some ways.

I always made sure I played the other roles differently from the way I played David because to me he wasn't a berk." Leonard Rossiter.com: Reggie Online - Character Studies (Colleagues) Related Links: C J's catchphrases - John Barron biography Introduction: C. J. - Charles Jefferson - is the owner of Sunshine Desserts, and is as tough a boss as they come. Tyrannical and unforgiving, he lords over his employees with a rod of iron. He is married to Kate, but she is only ever referred to by him as 'Mrs. C. J.', and they live in Virginia Water in sprawling grounds with a river running through the rear garden. They have no children. He lives for being in control and at the top of the business tree, and enjoys advising people that he didn't get where he is today by doing or saying what his inferiors have just mentioned. But C.J.'s life suffers many setbacks and revivals as the series progress. Series One C.J. is briefing the three key men - Reggie, Tony and David - on Sunshine Desserts' brand new project, Exotic Ices. His office is large, with double doors and a huge oak desk.

His chair is ominous in itself and adequately frames the man who makes his employees quake. He is present later in Reggie's much smaller office for a 'tasting' to determine the three most popular flavours that will launch the Exotic Ices project. The computer collating the results blows up, however, and C.J. is left contemplating the fact that the three most popular flavours are bookends, pumice stone and West Germany. The next day, C.J. has his key man, Reggie Perrin, in his office to tell him that he has chosen him to give a speech at a fruit seminar on Friday. C.J. has decided the speech will be called 'Are We Getting Our Just Desserts?' He begins to get concerned about his decision for Reggie to give the speech when Reggie invites him and Mrs. C.J. to a dinner party but refuses to give them any food. His worries are diverted, however, by David Harris-Jones getting drunk, dropping his trousers and asking him for the last waltz. Next day, Reggie is present in C.J.'s office when he grills David over last night's events.

He is more concerned that David is a homosexual and that his underpants featured a picture of Ludwig von Beethoven, and goes so far as to call for Tony Webster to display his pants. David explains they were on sale while on holiday in Bonn. As the day of the speech arrives, C.J. calls in on Reggie to see if he is nervous, and more to the point, is still sane. He is, just about. But Reggie gets drunk at Bilberry Hall and refers to C.J. as 'toothbrush', and invites anyone from Tarporley to stand up and shake hands with the person on their right. Reggie disappears, leaving his clothes on a beach in Dorset, but not before sabotaging a fishing contest held on C.J.'s private stretch of river, featuring Tony, David and Doc Morrissey. Reggie borrows a van of loganberry essence and pollutes the river upstream, having earlier promised C.J. in a furtive letter posted under his door that 'blood will flow'. C.J. sees the 'blood' and is convinced there is a crazed murderer killing all his guests. He wades into the river, trips and is knocked unconscious. Doc Morrissey declares him dead.

C.J. declares the Doc fired. A week or two later, C.J. is in the pub with Tony and David. He is still not sure about David's future with the company, but has promoted Tony Webster to fill Reggie's position. Reggie, disguised as a Welshman, listens nearby to their conversation, and is surprised to hear that his disappearance has made C.J. think about life. He hears him tell his proteges that his dad once caught him thinking and advised his son that 'philosophy doesn't get the washing up done'. Reggie's death has changed C.J. He attends Reggie's memorial and cracks jokes at the wake (Reggie attends both in disguise as Martin Wellbourne, Reggie's friend from Brazil). Elizabeth falls in love with Martin and gets him a job at Sunshine Desserts. C.J. has given Reggie the job of running the Reginald Perrin Memorial Foundation. Series Two Reggie is again working for C.J., except this time disguised as Martin Wellbourne. He hates his job, as he's in charge of his own memorial fund. He has been asked by C.J. to distribute a questionnaire among all staff about what people like about Sunshine Desserts.

There were very few things Reggie could report to C.J. that people actually did like. One of the main things they didn't like was C.J. himself. But C.J. is a changed, more happier man since Reggie's 'suicide', and takes Martin's findings in his stride. However, things soon change after Martin visits Doc Morrissey and the old medic recognises him as Reggie, and tells C.J. The boss sacks both of them on the spot. With Reggie no longer 'in memoriam', the Reginald Perrin Memorial Foundation is scrapped, and it's back to business with the Exotic Ices project. After their split, Joan has left the company and Tony is now overseeing the project in the position left by Reggie. Reggie is out of work and there is no money coming in. This drives Elizabeth to desparate measures - she goes to see C.J. for a job. He employs her as secretary to Tony and David. With Mrs. C.J. in Luxembourg, C.J. uses the opportunity to wine and dine Elizabeth with the hope of having an affair in his country cottage near Godalming.

He uses the ruse of a pile of papers that need sorting, and she reluctantly agrees to meet him one Saturday morning. C.J. plies her with champagne but realises the stupid mistake he is making, and reaches for the pile of unsorted papers. All this time, Elizabeth has been lying to Reggie that she is working for the British Basket Company, but he begins to suspect, and follows her to work - all the way to Sunshine Desserts. He suspects, correctly, that C.J. is the man at the centre of all this, but C.J. deflects the blame onto Tony Webster. Reggie and Tony fight, and both end up with black eyes. Next day, Elizabeth decides to get herself sacked in case C.J. tries anything else, and does so by typing out a rude letter. Meanwhile, Reggie has returned to the piggery, but the owner has found out who he really is too, and he has been sacked from there. Soon, Reggie gets his inspired idea for Grot and goes to see C.J. for a loan. C.J. thinks it's blackmail money and readily signs a cheque for him for £30,000.

The Grot empire soon grows, and at the same time Sunshine Desserts goes bankrupt. Reggie thinks it would be fun to have all his old crowd working for him for a change, particularly C.J. He invites C.J. for an interview and gives him a job as Head Of Expansion (Europe). Eventually, Reggie tires of Grot and the commuter rut he has found himself back in, and both himself and Elizabeth leave their clothes on the beach and assume new identities. The following day, they are sitting on a cliff-top bench when an old tramp asks them for some small change for a cup of tea. It is C.J. He has followed Reggie's lead in faking his death, and hundreds of others down on the beach are doing the same. Series Three At the start of Series 3, C.J. has not returned to society but has remained a tramp, or 'street entertainer' as he prefers to call it, earning a living by busking, badly, on the streets of London. Reggie has set out to recruit all the old mob again for his Perrins Community and finds C.J. playing his banjo outside a tube station. He treats C.J.

to a pint and offers him a job, although he'd have to live in a tent. With all staff recruited, the first meeting is soon held to allocate everyone's jobs in the community. Reggie elects C.J. the Work Therapist, as "no-one understands the problems of work..." more than C.J., adding "having caused most of them yourself, C.J.". But C.J.'s first task is less than satisfying for him. Reggie is in charge of the household chores, and applies C.J. to babysitting duties three days running. Linda's children Adam and Jocasta and baby Reggie Harris-Jones are fond of thrusting a stuffed Kermit toy down the front of C.J.'s trousers, much to his annoyance. Eventually, guests start to arrive, although half the staff have to pretend to be guests to assure the first real guest that he is not alone. C.J. pretends that he 'can't make friends' but the guest sees through the scheme and flees in panic. When the community is fluorishing, we see C.J. in a role-playing session with two guests, Thruxton Appleby the textiles tycoon and Arthur Noblett. an arc welder.

Reggie looks in to hold a 'watching brief', and suggests that the worker should be the boss and the tycoon should be the labourer to demonstrate the 'them and us syndrome'. C.J. reluctantly agrees and decides to be the boss's secretary Cynthia Jones. The two guests fail to become each other and so C.J. and Reggie decide to show them how it's done, but get carried away and end up in a slanging match. Guests are now pouring into Perrins as a result of TV and newspaper promotions and Reggie tells staff members they will have to share. He bets Elizabeth five pounds that he can get C.J. to share with Doc Morrissey, and does so, but only by first telling him he must share with sweaty, germ-ridden Scottish chef McBlane then 'compromising' by saying the Doc instead. But when the Doc hears of his order to share with C.J., he faints. In Anti-Self-Consciousness Week, C.J. has an idea to go out in public and having conversations ending with '-ergle'. They try it on a train and it is a great success. A femme fatale called Deborah Swaffham leads C.J.

astray, even to the point of them both being undressed. But the Community is threatened by thugs and despite their best efforts, they cannot save it and it closes down. All staff go their separate ways, and Reggie faces the prospect of never seeing C.J. again. A few weeks later, however, a letter arrives inviting Reggie to an interview at Amalgamated Aerosols where C.J.'s brother F.J. is managing director. Reggie soon discovers he is to be C.J.'s 'think tank' and orders Reggie to attend a 'smelling' to determine the three most popular fragrances which will launch the new range of aerosols. C.J. is horrified to read that one person has listed rude answers to what each smell reminded people of, and he knows it's Reggie. He orders Reggie to conduct an investigation, but Reggie decides to come clean and dictates a memo to be distributed to all departments. The Legacy of Reginald Perrin With Reggie now dead, all are assembled at his funeral service, including C.J. Weeks later he, along with all Reggie's other close friends and family, have been ordered to attend the reading of Reggie's last will and testament at the office of solicitor Geraldine Hackstraw.

C.J. nearly faints when told he is to inherit £1million of Reggie's money, but is less than keen to learn they all have to do something totally absurd to earn it. After working separately, they eventually decide to work together to march on London in demonstration against ageism. C.J. funds the project, and recruiting begins. Meanwhile, C.J. tries to woo Miss Hackstraw, little realising that Doc Morrissey is trying to do the same. C.J. decides to betray the team and sell the secret to the papers - spied on by Tom and David - but one journalist gets run over by a lorry and is hospitalised, and another decides to join the team. The big day arrives, and the injured reporter remembers his scoop in time to tip-off the London police about the demonstration. Newspapers carry the story of C.J. the betrayer and one has 'PM thanks C.J.' for allowing the police to be there to meet them. On the day of the beneficiaries receiving their money, no-one is speaking to C.J. and Elizabeth suggests C.J. should forfeit some of his money in recompense.

But Geraldine refuses to release any of the money anyway, as the project failed to be absurd enough, and C.J. nearly has a heart attack. Character Analysis C.J. is second only to Reggie himself for the number of scenes and number of storylines to be featured in during The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. He has probably the most fondly-remembered catchphrase of all the characters and, including The Legacy of Reginald Perrin, has more 'rises and falls' than Reggie. C.J. is remembered because his character was larger than life, and one that everybody loved to hate. He was ruthless with his employees but also funny without him realising it. He revelled in his power and was uncaring in embarrassing his workers in front of others. More than anything, he was real. People who watched the series worked for people like C.J.. their tyranny, their giant cigars, giant desks in their 'inner sanctums' of a giant office, and their sheer brutality was displayed with total accuracy by C.J. It is, however, only the first Series in which C.J.'s character is remembered by most people.

His subsequent ups and downs - working for Reggie at Grot, becoming a busker, working for Reggie at Perrins, Reggie working for him again at Amalgamated Aerosols - are not often recalled by most viewers when they think of C.J. This is because, although, still a dominant figure, the character became only as peripheral as that of, say, Tony or Joan in Reggie's later projects, but still managed to provide some of the greatest scenes of all three series. C.J. is now in the halls of sitcom fame as the archetypal office boss, unmatched by newcomer pretenders to the throne such as that of Ricky Gervais' creation in The Office. C.J. was king, and still is. Tony Webster Related Links: Tony's catchphrases - Trevor Adams biography Introduction: Tony Webster was a handsome, trendy man in his early twenties. He was also one of Sunshine Desserts' 'yes-men'. Where David Harris-Jones was conciliatory and obedient out of fear, Tony did it out of a desire to get promoted. Eventually, it worked. He is single at the start of the series but ends up married to, then separated from, Joan Greengross, Reggie's secretary.

His approving remark was 'Great!' and he used it often. Later it became 'Knockout!'. He was a likeable character, and C.J. liked him a lot, 'grooming him' for management. Series One Tony Webster is in C.J.'s office with David Harris-Jones and Reggie, being briefed on the launch campaign for the new range of Exotic ices. Later, he is present in Reggie's office with a number of staff to help select the most popular flavours which will launch the new range. He collects everyone's scorecards and goes off to feed them in to the computer. To C.J.'s surprise he is back within two minutes. Unfortunately, the computer has blown a fuse and printed out the three most popular flavours as being bookends, pumice stone and West Germany. The next day there is a marketing meeting in Reggie's office with advertising guru Morris Coates, statistics expert Esther Pidgeon, Tony and Reggie. David Harris-Jones is off sick after eating thirty-six ice creams the previous day. By now, Reggie is despairing of his job and is rude to both Morris and Esther. Tony stays behind after they have left and congratulates Reggie on his handling of them.

Reggie says "Great!" The following day Tony and David arrive to be given their sales areas for promoting the Exotic Ices. Reggie has completely forgotten about designating their areas and quickly puts the maps on his desk, grabs the wastepaper basket and draws round it for Tony's area, and uses Joan's handbag to delineate David's area. Tony has been given East Lancashire, although 20% of it is in the Irish Sea. At Tony's mention of this, Reggie congratulates him on being observant, and passes off his error as being 'whole new sales terrirtory', including oil rigs, ferries and trawlers. When David Harris-Jones is interrogated about his underpants decorated with Beethoven, after he dropped them in front of C.J. at Reggie's dinner party, it is Tony who is brought in to set an example. C.J. asks Reggie to ask Tony to drop his trousers, revealing a pair of plain blue pants. When Reggie creates the loganberry slick in C.J.'s private river, it is Tony who spots it first and drags C.J. out of the river. We next see Tony at Reggie's memorial, and then in the pub with C.J.

and David, reminiscing over Reggie, although Tony is happy to have been promoted to Reggie's old job. When Reggie is Martin Wellbourne and Elizabeth has got him a job at Sunshine Desserts, Reggie is now working for Tony Webster. Series Two At the start of Series Two, Tony is enjoying being Reggie's boss. He tells Reggie to inform C.J. about a noticeable increase in absenteeism, but C.J. is off sick. C.J. discovers that Martin is really Reggie and sacks him, so Elizabeth has to get a job. C.J. employs her as secretary to Tony and David. He takes her to dinner where Tony is having a meal with Joan. They are in love, and become engaged. Elizabeth, meanwhile, is lying to Reggie about where she is working, and assumes she is having an affair. He follows her all the way to Sunshine Desserts one morning and confronts C.J., but he deflects the finger of suspicion onto Tony. He waits for Tony to come back from lunch and fights with him behind a hedge. Later, when Grot is successful, Reggie returns to Sunshine Desserts to repay a loan he has had from C.J.

He finds Tony looking at a pile of papers on C.J.'s desk while his boss is in a crucial meeting. Sunshine Desserts goes bankrupt and all the staff eventually end up at Reggie's firm Grot. Tony is pleased to be offered a job, but is horrified to learn he will be working under David Harris-Jones. Personally, Tony is separated from Joan after getting married then chatting up a Swedish woman on their honeymoon. With Joan now back as Reggie's secretary, he hoped working under the same roof would have brought them back together. Eventually, after a number of liaisons between Joan and Reggie, Tony goes back to her. Series Three When Reggie sets off to recruit his staff for the Perrins Community, he finds Tony and Joan's flat. Tony lies he is involved in an import-export business and is just off to Frankfurt. His briefcase falls open, however, to reveal leaflets for the UniWarm central heating system, for which he is on a poor commission each time he makes a sale. He accepts Reggie's offer and accepts on behalf of Joan also. When the staff are gathered for the first time, their jobs in the Community are allocated.

Tony is the Culture Officer, expanding guests' knowledge of English literature and art, once he's expanded his own. The staff become demoralised at the slow start, however, and Tony cheers himself up by decorating his work hut with Page 3 topless women. Eventually the Community is a success, and more properties are needed to accommodate everybody. Reggie asks Tony to pose as a black man to make their neighbours move out. He appears as Winston Gladstone Baldwin Chamberlain Frederick, with blacked-up face and a tea cosy on his head. The stunt works. Tony becomes one of the first to fall under the spell of femme fatale Deborah Swaffham, but he is one of many. Soon after, the Community is forced to close and everyone goes their separate ways. The Legacy of Reginald Perrin Tony is said to be in New Zealand during the events of The Legacy of Reginald Perrin, and has been separated from Joan for ten years. Joan has a new boyfriend, Hank Millbeck. Character Analysis Of the two sycophantic 'yes-men' that work for C.J., it is Tony who is more driven. He is the one who works to become, and remain, his boss's favourite. C.J.

says he is 'grooming him' for management, and indeed becomes Reggie's boss when disguised as Martin Wellbourne. But Tony is still a teenager at heart, with an eye for the women, a trendy wardrobe, and probably a sports car too. He has the grooviest of the two catchphrases he shares with David - 'Great!' is more street-cred than the slightly more fusty 'Super!' In Series Two he is too proud to admit to Reggie his commission-only job until forced to when his leaflets fall from his briefcase. By now he has acquired an even more juvenile catchphrase, ending statements as though they were entire towns in the US - 'Success City, Arizona', 'Sensations in Triflesville'. Completely meaningless, but he thinks it makes him 'hip'. His ignorance is revealed when Reggie makes him Culture Therapist in his Community, but he pulls through and eventually proclaims Shakespeare 'a real laid back Bard'. Had Tony been in Series Four, he would no doubt still be trying to talk and act young, probably with ponytail and jeans too tight. David Harris-Jones Related Links: Bruce Bould biography Introduction David Harris-Jones is a nervous, lightly-built man from Haverfordwest.

He is totally lacking in self-confidence and quakes at the very mention of C.J. By Series Three he is much more confident and is a major player in BROSCOR during Series Four. He is married to Prue, and they have a child by Series Three called Reggie. Series One David, Tony and Reggie are being briefed by C.J. on the launch of the new Exotic Ices project. David eats too much ice cream at the tasting later in the day and is forced to take the next day off sick. When he returns he learns he has been given Hertfordshire as his sales area to promote the Exotic Ices. He is invited to Reggie's dinner party (without food) and embarrasses himself by getting drunk, asking C.J. for the last waltz and dropping his trousers in front of him. He is too drunk to travel home and spends the night at Reggie's, travelling to work on the train with Reggie the next day. C.J. is wondering about Reggie's Uncle Percy's suggestion that David was probably a poof, and orders him into his office, with Reggie present.

He enquires as to the reason why his underpants bore an image of Ludwig von Beethoven and suggests he might be better off running a boutique or hairdressing salon. He attends C.J.'s fishing contest but catches nothing, and is with C.J. and Tony in the pub after Reggie's disappearance. Series Two Now working for Martin Wellbourne, David is still as nervous as ever in front of his 'new' superior, although he claims he is more confident. He is asked if he has been given the colour scheme booklet for his new office and tells Martin he is undecided on which colours to choose, and for what reasons. Later on, he is forced to dictate to C.J. the letter which he earlier dictated to Elizabeth, who is working for him as secretary. Elizabeth, however, is aware that Reggie suspects her of having an affair, and gets herself sacked by ignoring David's dictation and typing out a rude letter instead. When Sunshine Desserts goes bankrupt, David is the first ex-colleague to be recruited by the fluorishing Grot and is present at a design meeting with old affiliates Morris Coates the advertising exec and Esther Pigeon the market researcher.

When Tony agrees to join the firm, Reggie informs him that he will be answerable to David. Both employees are as shocked as each other to find out. Series Three When Reggie has his idea for the Community, he sets out to recruit all his old friends. He finds David and his wife Prue at their home in West Wales, along with a new addition, baby Reggie, named after Reggie himself. They agree to move to Botchley and become part of the project. Much to David's horror, the quiet, prudish David is given the job of sex therapist, talking through the guests' sexual problems frankly. He fails miserably, becoming tongue-tied even at the mention of the word 'sex'. At the Mr. Babbacombe charade, David pretends to be a drug-addicted roadie for a rock group, but the sole guest recognises him as the warden who greeted him at the door the previous day. His confidence grows and is even found to be conducting a game of sexual Just A Minute with a number of guests. Deborah Swaffham's femme fatale charms come off the worst with David, as he is spotted leaving her bedroom by his wife Prue.

She leaves the Community, and her husband, returning to Wales. At the news of the impending violent activity, however, she returns to help fight, but it is to no avail. They return to Haverfordwest with little Reggie Harris-jones. The Legacy of Reginald Perrin David and Prue gather at the reading of the will, and please everybody by still being together, when everybody else has just described their broken relationships. David has, however, been made redundant from the company he worked for. The fate of their son, however, is less than perfect. Reggie Harris-Jones lives in a gypsy caravan with his pregnant girlfriend in a lay-by. As part of their individual attempts to be absurd, they go to their local pub dressed as Long John Silver and Nell Gwynn. When they decide to work as a team, it is David who suggets the idea of the elderly and unemployed marching on London in demonstration, and everyone is surprised at how good the idea is. When C.J.

decides to leak the project to the papers, Jimmy elects David and Tom to spy on him, but David makes his own gaffe when, at the wedding reception of Joan to Hank and Tom to Linda, he gets drunk and tells Tom and Linda's son Adam Patterson all about their aims. Adam works for the BBC. Character Analysis David Harris-Jones is a memorable character, not only because of his catchphrase response "Super!", but also because he is another archetypal office character - as much as is tyrannical C.J. or loyal Joan. David is intelligent, but never seems able to show it. He is extremely nervous, dithering and totally lacking in self-confidence. He is clumsy and awkward in front of superiors and shy in front of women. He is almost comparable to sitcom 'mummy's boy' characters, but moves away from that in Series Two onwards. He becomes much more confident, taking charge of situations, getting married and having a child. Unlike his colleague Tony Webster, he becomes responsible and mature. And happier with it. Joan Greengross - Watch video clips - Series One Joan Greengross is as much a part of Reggie's routine as his late trains and familiar faces.

She knows he will always arrive at eleven minutes past nine and her boss will always explain his delay. She is always ready with her notepad for dictation when Reggie arrives. She advises Reggie of anything he should know about immediately, such as a collection being made for a colleague who is leaving, or the fact that Reggie is apparently only entitled to a 3-peg hatstand, not a 4-peg one. She takes part in the ice cream tasting to determine the launch flavours for the Exotic Ices project, as it is she who has laid out the various tubs in Reggie's office ready for the tasting. As the days pass, Joan is noticing that his boss's excuses are getting more fanciful and that he is looking at her longingly. Things come to a head when Reggie asks Joan to go to his house on Sunday for 'important business'. He soon admits he has got her there to have an affiar, and Joan is pleased, as she has often dreamed of such events. Unfortunately, Reggie's son, son-in-law and brother-in-law come round, sent by Elizabeth to check on him while she's away. Joan has to get dressed hurrily upstairs and climb down the drainpipe.

She is spotted by Jimmy crawling through the shrubbery on the front lawn, and Reggie quickly explains it's the local mad woman, and that they always let her crawl through their shrubbery. Later that week, Joan has gone to see Doc Morrissey as she is increasingly worried about Reggie's behaviour. Doc tells her it's middle-age and that he should be over the worst by now. She goes back to her office to find Reggie sitting in her dictation chair pretending to be her. She is never more worried than when Reggie says goodbye and shakes her hand before his 'disappearance', although he insists he will see her again soon. After Reggie has become Martin Wellbourne, he is back working for Sunshine Desserts, running the Reginald Perrin Memorial Foundation. His new secretary is his old secretary, Joan. Series Two After eight years of working for Reggie, Joan soon realises that Martin is really Reggie behind the wig and beard, but realises she can't tell C.J. the truth. C.J. finds out from Doc Morrissey and Reggie is sacked, along with the Doc. Elizabeth gets a job at Sunshine Desserts and is being wined and dined by C.J. in a restaurant which he thinks is quiet.

Behind him is David and his girlfriend, and Tony and Joan at another table. We next see Joan when Reggie has built up his Grot empire and is fed-up at having dour Miss Erith as his secretary. He discovers that Joan and Tony were married, then separated on the second week of the honeymoon when Tony cheated on her with a Swedish girl. Joan consequently left Sunshine Desserts to work for an ointment manufacturer in Godalming. She is soon working for Reggie again, but both have promised that what almost happened before must not almost happen again. Reggie hoped that with Tony also working at Perrin Products (Grot) Ltd. it would bring him and Joan together again. Joan thinks it would be a good idea to make Tony jealous in an effort to rekindle their relationship and cajoles Reggie into being 'the other man'. This time, Tony does indeed call on Joan at her flat while Reggie is there, and it is Reggie who has to climb down the drainpipe. Eventually sick of Grot, Reggie confides in Joan that the only way to destroy it is to start behaving oddly again.

Series Three Joan and Tony are back together for Series Three and both arrive together at Perrins Community, located in 19, Oslo Avenue, Botchley. They have to sleep in a tent, until more properties are purchased. Joan is designated the music therapist. The first guest has a fear of being the first guest, so Joan and others have to pretend to be guests. The plan fails. Eventually, guests do arrive and Joan sets to work improving their vocal ranges, without much success. She later leads a 'campfire' session of staff and guests by playing a song on the guitar. She realises that Tony is one of the people who succumbed to the seductive charms of Deborah Swaffham, but that he was not alone. Soon, however, the Community is closed down and Tony and Joan leave for pastures new. The Legacy of Reginald Perrin Joan is one of the beneficiaries of Reggie's will, and meets the rest of her old friends and Reggie's family at the solicitors for the reading of the will. They spend a lot of time 'catching up' on the years that have passed, and Joan tells the assembled party that she separated from Tony again, and she hadn't seen him for ten years.

The idea of doing absurd things separately has been swept aside by a desire to unify in their cause by the time we next see Joan. She attends a meeting at the Perrins' home, and brings along her new boyfriend, a City shares dealer Hank Millbeck. Hank is later made redundant, as if to endorse the team's ideas for marching on London to demonstrate about ageism and occupational rejection in the workplace. Joan and Hank get engaged, and have a double wedding with the newly-rekindled lovers Tom and Linda. Character Analysis Considering the number of scenes in which Joan Greengross her appeared, she remains one of the less-developed characters of the series. For example, we know nothing of her history or of her family. As stated previously, she is kind, generous, happily subserviant to Reggie and a good listener as well as a good worker. She speaks her mind when she needs to, but also knows when to keep quiet. She is secretly in love with Reggie, but keeps it to herself until Reggie declares his love for her. She is important enough to be remembered by Reggie in his last will and testament. Dr. Gerald ' Doc' Morrissey

Question: Who had a secretary called Joan Greengross?
Answer: Reginald Perrin