Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (TV Series 1973–1978) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em 30min Accident-prone Frank Spencer fails to navigate the simplest tasks of daily life, while also trying to look after his wife and baby. Stars: Frank boards the train for his second honeymoon -the first time he landed in the wrong town. At the hotel, things start go really wrong when he tries to push the single beds together, gradually ... 8.6 The Spencers are moving, as the council sees no other hope for the house Frank has been wrecking with his 'repairs' for years, as dramatically proven when they leave. Betty drives too fast, so the ... 8.5 Because Frank passed out in the only fatherhood class he attended, after one minute of the 'dirty film', Betty takes him along to a cousin's daughters, who only enjoy his inadvertent monkey-business,...

8.4 a list of 30 titles created 12 Jun 2011 a list of 33 titles created 27 Sep 2012 a list of 35 titles created 03 Jan 2013 a list of 24 titles created 26 Dec 2013 a list of 33 titles created 15 Oct 2014 Title: Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973–1978) 7.7/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Classic 1960s British comedy series about a middle aged man and his elderly father who run an unsuccessful 'rag and bone' business (collecting and selling junk). Harold (the son) wants to ... See full summary » Stars: Wilfrid Brambell, Harry H. Corbett, Frank Thornton Victor Meldrew is a retiree who attracts bad luck. If he's not driving his long suffering wife Margeret crazy with his constant moaning, he's fighting with neighbors.

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Disillusioned after a long career at Sunshine Desserts, Perrin goes through a mid-life crisis and fakes his own ... See full summary » Stars: Leonard Rossiter, Pauline Yates, John Barron Edit Storyline Frank Spencer is more than just a complete klutz. Everything he touches falls apart, and he can't keep a job for more than a day. The only thing that keeps him going is his long-suffering wife Betty, who somehow manages to cope with his disaster-prone life-style. Written by Mike Konczewski 15 February 1973 (UK) See more » Also Known As: Anyám büszke lehet See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia In 2016, Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice returned as Frank and Betty for the first time in 38 years for Sports Relief. Which Frank and Betty attend Jessica's cycle race. See more » Goofs Christmas '75 - Learning to Drive (special episode). When Frank is driving the white mini in the country lane, trying to overtake the lady on the bike, there is nothing behind the mini, but then a split second later he is being followed by a silver Renault.

As he tries to overtake the cyclist, Frank is followed by a brown Triumph, then a second later a yellow Ford Anglia is following him. Frank also appears to drive along the same stretch of road several times, as he keeps passing the same parked cars. See more » Connections The Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em Episode Guide Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was something of a sitcom oddity. Ask anybody who watched it how long it ran, and how many episodes there were, and estimates will range wildly. In fact it ran for just three brief seasons from 1973 to 1978 (the first two both being confined to the debut year of 1973) and a trio of Christmas specials – all in all, just 22 episodes. Some Mothers was dreamed up by an Isle Of Wight-based writer, Raymond Allen. Allen eked out a living writing single sketches from home for the likes of Dave Allen and Frankie Howerd. This didn't really bring in enough cash to live on so he also had a "proper" job cleaning his local cinema. Over the years he had submitted over 40 full-length scripts to assorted TV producers, but all had been rejected.

Following the advice which accompanied one reject letter, Allen decided his next idea would be firmly based on something he knew about – himself. As a starting point, Allen borrowed some characteristics from a strange man who used to stop by the cinema that Allen cleaned at and ask inane questions about the current films that were playing. Following the advice he had received in the earlier rejection letter, Allen also folded several autobiographical facets into the mix – his character had few friends and suffered from insecurity and depression, as did Allen himself. Allen also still lived at home with his parents and could, in fairness, be called a "mummy's boy". Thus, step by step, the new character was born. Allen "borrowed" his character's name from the strange cinema man, too – Frank Spencer. Allen's proposal landed on the desk of Michael Mills, Head of Comedy at the BBC, who saw the potential in the idea. Over a series of subsequent meetings, Mills (who had taken on the role as the programme's producer/director) and Allen added in other ingredients to the prototype character. Frank was a walking disaster area – fully competent at being incompetent.

Whether it was mending a boiler, auditioning for a job at a holiday camp or transporting a child's playhouse back home – if he could get it wrong, he would get it wrong. He was also given a supreme ability to annoy people. Within the space of a ten-minute conversation, otherwise calm and rational folk could be reduced to tears by Frank's inability to answer any question coherently, or his habit of peppering his responses with long-winded and trivial monologues (usually concerning his childhood). Frank was easily shocked and immensely naïve – any vaguely risqué comment or action would result in a startled "oooh" and a shocked expression. The image was completed by his clothing – his permanent attire was a raincoat and beret worn atop tight trousers and a gaudy tank-top, which he even wore in bed. Rather surprisingly, the somewhat effeminate Frank Spencer was married.

His mild-mannered wife, Betty (played by Michele Dotrice, actually fifth choice of actress after Sinead Cusack, Elisabeth Sladen, Linda Hayden and Nell Curran), seemed to exist on the edge of a nervous breakdown brought on by Frank's almost uninterrupted stints of being out of work and the couple's general lack of money. Nevertheless, she was loyal to him and always took his side when he was being criticised or picked on. The lead part of the series (then being called variously Don't Bring Frank, His Mother Was Just The Same and I Do Try) was offered first to Norman Wisdom (who probably could have had a fair stab at it) but Wisdom ultimately proved to be unavailable for the planned shooting dates. More strangely, it was then offered to Ronnie Barker. Barker turned down the offer based on the fact that he considered himself a "word comedy" man and didn't do "physical stuff". The third choice was Michael Crawford, then appearing on stage, who came with his own ideas on how to interpret the part: "The characterisation I worked out in a play called No Sex Please, We're British. I thought it was getting a very good reaction and people were laughing at him.

There was also a lot of pathos attached to the character so I'd thought I'd like to develop it. He's a strange mixture because he's funny in what he says and also how he behaves but inside he's boiling – he's an incredibly sensitive soul. To play the part properly you've got to know what it feels like when people say things that hurt." Though Raymond Allen was credited with sole responsibility for the scripts, Crawford had a great deal of impromptu input causing Allen to remark dryly on one occasion, "It was nice of you to use some of my words." The series required an amount of action and stunt work to portray Frank's misadventures. When executed properly, these sequences (almost always done by Crawford himself without the use of a stand-in) could be amusing. However, more often than not, BBC economies played their part and the end results were less than they should have been. Having said this, exploits like Frank's wild roller-skate ride through the streets, or his ejection through a church roof by a stage lift, were, and still are, the highlights of the show to many.

There was an amount of public concern about the risky stunts causing producer Michael Mills to comment: "I'm torn between two things here. One is to say, 'Oh it's frightfully dangerous and he shouldn't do it and he's breaking his neck four times a day,' and that sort of thing. But the truth of the matter is that neither Michael nor I are really quite as stupid as we look and we wouldn't do things unless they were very, very carefully prepared and all the possible precautions were being taken. That's my job as the producer and that's his job as an actor – to make sure he doesn't do anything where he's going to kill himself." As with much television in the seventies, self-appointed media watchdog, Mary Whitehouse, found the show displeased her. She attacked the series publicly, describing the Frank Spencer character as "a purveyor of pornography" apparently after his habit of pulling at the top of his leg while complaining of an unspecified problem vaguely in the area of his genitals ("Genitals – that's a very rude word for her to use," pointed out a mid-seventies TV interviewer. "It's a very long word for her to use," retorted Crawford).

In fact, Frank's downstairs "trouble" was understood by the production team simply to be mild incontinence, and nothing sexual at all. At the end of the second series, to everybody's bemusement, Frank managed to father a baby. After a further two lone Christmas specials, Crawford decided to hang up his beret and move onto other projects. He explained: "I wanted to go off and do different things in those days. I didn't want to be owned by the public as a character. They'll demand that you go on and do more and more but I think you have to be very disciplined about your own career and I want to be acting when I'm 60 and 70." Despite Crawford's fears of typecasting, he eventually donned the mac and beret again for a belated third (and last) season in 1978. Some slight changes to his character were made after worried viewers had voiced their fears about Frank as a father. "I decided," said Crawford, "that the original Frank Spencer could be made to grow up a little – to be slightly more sophisticated. Frank had to grow up, after five years, or he would seem a complete idiot.

He is more in command, but still getting things wrong – simply because he is accident-prone. I knew this had to be done very well indeed. Otherwise people would say I should have left while I was ahead." No doubt the pay being offered – £10,000 per episode (an absolutely incredible amount for the time) – also played its part in Crawford's decision to return to the show. Frank Spencer had indeed now grown up – he was more self-assured and often assumed an air of preposterous self-importance (he would answer his name with "I am he"). This behaviour caused him to use words that he didn't understand, and so Spencer now became a Malaprop as well (claiming, for example, to have been "ejaculated" from his home and, on another occasion, threatening to take his medical problems to "Harlot Street"). This last series saw Frank's long-lost grandfather appear from Australia and offer Frank a new life down under working on a sheep station. Crawford subsequently refused the BBC's requests for further Some Mothers despite allegedly being offered a joint contract by the BBC and an foreign broadcaster (probably Australian, where the show was a massive hit) for another five years of episodes.

Just in case, the BBC – who had done financially well out of the show (selling the British version to over 50 countries as well as licensing a new version for German TV) – decided to leave the series oddly open-ended: Frank last being seen taking flying lessons ready for his move to Australia. Crawford moved onto another sitcom, Chalk And Cheese, which was not well received. Thereafter, he concentrated mainly on musical stage shows such as Barnum and Phantom Of The Opera. The spectre of Frank Spencer was kept alive long after the show ended as a fallback for TV impressionists: notably Mike Yarwood and Bobby Davro (the latter of which was spied on British TV some 25 years later still doing Frank Spencer impersonations). Meanwhile, a young Lenny Henry turned in probably the only black version of Frank Spencer! Creator Raymond Allen, meanwhile, had no more hits after Some Mothers despite writing comedy pilot vehicles for the likes of Matthew Kelly, Milo O'Shea, David Kelly and Brian Glover. He did, however, continue to write sketches here and there for comedians like Jimmy Cricket and Little & Large.

Luckily, the episodes of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em were not affected by the BBC's archive purges of the seventies and have been much repeated since, often in disgracefully abbreviated form, on both the terrestrial BBC channels and on satellite. They were also amongst the most successful of the BBC's early home-video releases. In the guide that follows, each of the episodes is listed together with full cast, crew and transmission details, although for the third season the character names were given only in The Radio Times listings magazine and not on screen. I give a synopsis of each episode and some brief critical comment. Each episode is given a star rating out of five relative to the other episodes. The titles given for the episodes were not shown on screen (or, apart from Jessica's First Christmas, used in The Radio Times) and seem to be intended to be descriptive rather than aesthetic. Three different (sometimes incomplete and/or overlapping) sets of assumed titles exist – those used internally by the BBC; those used on the various UK and US home-video/DVD releases; and those used in Kaleidoscope's The British Television Comedy Research Guide.

This guide follows the "official" BBC titles (as listed on the BBC's Videotape Library computer), but the other titles are mentioned in passing. All dates are in European DD/MM/YY format. All initial transmissions were on BBC1 unless otherwise stated. Various mp3 audio clips are included. These will give people who are new to the series some idea of what it was all about, but there is really no substitute for seeing the actual programmes or buying the DVDs, as Crawford's facial expressions were so much part of the programme (as were the stunts, of course!) But, of course, the clips may while away the odd hour or two at work... Most of the images can be clicked on to reveal larger versions. Audio clips: Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em characters - British Comedy Guide Played by: Michael Crawford Accident-prone Frank lives with his wife Betty and in the third series, with their baby daughter Jessica. No matter what he's doing or what job he's in, Frank always manages to cause chaos, with hilarious consequences. His marriage to Betty seems solid enough, but Frank's relationship with his mother-in-law has never exactly been a good one.

Betty Spencer Played by: Michele Dotrice As Frank's long suffering wife, Betty manages to keep her cool thoughout Frank's various harrassments and situations. Betty's mother, Beryl Fisher, wanted her to marry someone other than Frank (in fact anyone but Frank). Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (Series) - TV Tropes Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em You need to login to do this. Get Known if you don't have an account Share Series / Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em × Timeline Uh-oh, we're in trouble/Something's come along and it's burst our bubble. Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was a British Sitcom that originally aired on the BBC from 1973 to 1978, starring Michael Crawford as the hapless Frank Spencer. It was written by Raymond Allen, based on his own experiences as a single man . However, upon seeing the first draft for the script, Michael Crawford insisted that Frank have a wife. Michele Dotrice was then cast as the long-suffering Betty.

The series saw the well-meaning but disaster-prone Frank Spencer get himself into sticky situations, often causing someone else to break down or causing an unintentional path of destruction . Usually the episodes contained a character who is familiar with Spencer warning another character about working with him, but Frank always proves to be more of a burden than initially feared. The series also focussed on Frank's role as a family man. Hence, it featured a Story Arc where Betty becomes pregnant and eventually gives birth to a girl, Jessica. Episodes generally include stunt work performed by Crawford himself, often highly physical, that today would be unusual in an inexpensive half-hour Sitcom . With such a denouement in mind, typical plot lines involve picnics on high cliffs, driving lessons by the sea, household repairs, or a wide variety of new jobs such as motorcycle courier or high-rise window cleaner. It returned for a sketch in 2016's Sports Relief telethon, with the 74 year old Crawford still doing his own stunts, as he attempted to get to the London Velodrome to see Jessica (now an adult) take part in a cycle race. It was voted #22 in Britain's Best Sitcom .

This series provides examples of: Accent Upon The Wrong Syllable : Frank uses "Ha-RASS-ed" instead of the traditionally British "HA-rassed". The effect of the joke has somewhat weakened in recent years due to the growing usage of the American pronunciation. Accidental Pun : In "The Job Interview": "I do try Betty... no-one can be more trying than me..." Adorkable : Frank is this — his persistent optimism and unwillingness to cause any harm to others exemplify this trope. Badass Longcoat : Frank's trademark trenchcoat. British Brevity : The entire series is composed of three seasons (Season 1 had seven episodes, the other two had six) and three Christmas specials - a grand total of 22 episodes . Captain Obvious : "Does he know what time it is?! The only reason I'm still awake is because I'm not asleep." The Cast Show Off : Michael Crawford performed all his own stunts in the show, also demonstrating his singing chops in "Frank and Marvin". Character Development : Frank receives some in Season 3, becoming more self-assured and sophisticated as well as slowly growing into his role as a husband and father. His voice even becomes a little deeper .

Christmas Episode : "Jessica's First Christmas", "Learning to Drive" and "Learning to Fly" — although "Learning to Fly" has no Christmas theme and is deemed to be a Christmas special simply because it aired during the Christmas period. Corpsing : One noticeable example occurs in "Wendy House" where Richard Wilson plays an insurance assessor who calls on Frank and Betty. All three sit on a sofa to discuss the situation and Wilson slowly sinks down into it so that he barely manages to come up to Crawford's shoulders. Michele Dotrice cannot stifle her laughter and this, in turn, causes both Crawford and Wilson to corpse. After a few seconds all three manage to pick up the script again and the take is retained in the finished edit. Crash Course Landing : Frank is forced to make one after his instructor passes out mid-flight in "Learning to Fly". Critical Psychoanalysis Failure : A psychiatrist tries to goes to convince Frank that he's not a failure. By the end of the episode, the psychiatrist is a nervous wreck, and Frank is delighted to have been proved right - he is a failure. Disaster Dominoes : Every. Single. Time .

In "George's House" from Series 1, Frank and Betty are staying with Betty's brother George, whose house is completely fitted with gadgets that work using motion sensors . While trying to use the toilet without triggering the sensor that opens the door, Frank accidentally sets off the automatic flush, which gets stuck in the "on" position. His attempts to find the cistern cause the toilet to become blocked, until water pours into the bathroom and ultimately into the house's main control room. The circuits short out and the gadgets go haywire, just as George's boss is trying to persuade an American client to sign a contract to build other houses like George's. As the episode ends, the American client has driven off in a rage, George's wife is stuck in a downstairs window, smoke is pouring out of one upstairs window, and a jet of water is shooting out of another upstairs window, while Frank and Betty wonder if anyone noticed anything.

Perhaps the crowning example is the Series 1 episode "Have a Break, Take a Husband"; Frank and Betty go to a seaside B&B for a second honeymoon, but their room has twin beds rather than a double bed, and Frank, having already inadvertently led the proprietor to suspect that he and Betty are not really married, decides to push the beds together rather than asking for a different room. However, the bed snags on the cheap linoleum and tears a hole in it, which Frank tries to cover up. By the end of the episode, through a combination of his own ineptitude and the room's shoddy construction, he has torn a floor mat in half, broken several drawers apart, broken the door off the wardrobe, smashed a hole through the floor in the middle of the room, convinced a nervous fellow guest that his dead grandfather is trying to contact him, put two more holes in the floor under the bed, ripped the washbasin from the wall, and demolished the hotel bar as he and Betty make a midnight getaway. Drives Like Crazy : In "Learning To Drive", when Frank takes his Driving Test (for the tenth time) but ends up driving the car off a pier into the sea.

Also, the famous motorbike sequence in "King of the Road". Men Can't Keep House : Invoked in "The Job Interview" and in the flashbacks of "The Psychiatrist". Mooning : An unintentional example. At the very end of "Scottish Dancing", Frank's kilt suddenly falls down to reveal he is not wearing any underwear. Michael Crawford and the director of the episode initially rehearsed the scene with Crawford wearing Union Jack underwear to elicit the right reaction from the rest of the cast during filming. Moral Guardians : Mary Whitehouse was an outspoken critic of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, at one point calling Frank Spencer a "purveyor of pornography"... just because he alluded to some downstairs trouble in one episode. Frank does indeed (unknowingly) become a literal purveyor of pornography during his job as a motorbike carrier. Frank also quietly assumes this role in "Men as Women" when he discovers Dr Mender, in full drag, in his house. Studio Audience Title Theme Tune : The theme tune is the show's title in Morse Code.

Trash the Set : Practically in every episode, but this trope is the focal point of the episode "Have a Break, Take a Husband", where the hotel room starts with torn linoleum and ends up with several holes in the floor, most of the furniture destroyed, and finally the sink ripped off the wall. The Un-Smile : Frank's attempt at practising a polite smile in "The Job Interview" manages to knock an employee into the pipes display. Vandalism Backfire : The series used this trope several times in episodes where Frank accidentally provokes someone to a destructive but inaccurately targeted fit of anger. In "The Public Relations Course", while spending the night at the house at which the title course is being held, Frank sits on his hot water bottle, causing it to spring a leak. He leaves the room to take a phone call, leaving the hot water bottle on a chair next to the bed of Eddie, a coursemate who has taken Frank under his wing. When he comes back, he accidentally squirts water from the leak into a militant coursemate's face, and in revenge, the militant empties the bottle all over what he thinks is Frank's bed, ignoring Frank's protests as Eddie returns from the bathroom.

As Frank sheepishly gets into his own bed and wishes Eddie good night, Eddie attacks the militant for soaking his bed. In the 1974 Christmas special, "Jessica's First Christmas", Frank gets a job at the same firm as his neighbour, Mr Jackson, who is already angry at Frank over the fact that his one-year-old daughter cries loudly every night. At one point, Frank finds Jackson's folded coat and thinks he sees something moving under it, so he puts a lit pipe under it to smoke out the "animal", setting fire to it, and then further ruining it by soaking it in water. When Jackson sees the damage done to his coat, he empties tea into the bag Frank is carrying... which turns out to be the head of the firm's bag. In "Australia House", an argument between Frank and his next-door neighbour, Mr Lewis, results in the two of them demanding the return of borrowed gardening implements, including a hoe Frank borrowed from Mr Lewis.

After the argument escalates to the point that Frank accidentally knocks down the fence Mr Lewis put up between their gardens to keep the Spencers' dog from defecating in his garden, Mr Lewis grabs the hoe and saws it in half, not realising it is his own until Frank points it out. Enraged, Mr Lewis throws the pieces aside... straight through the glass of his greenhouse. Michael Crawford returning as Frank Spencer in Some Mother's Do 'Av 'Em special | Metro News Tamara Hardingham-Gill for Metro.co.uk Thursday 18 Feb 2016 10:19 am Michael Crawford is back as Frank, alongside Sir Bradley Wiggins, for Sport Relief (Picture: BBC) He’s back! Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em’s one-man walking disaster Frank Spencer is returning to screens for a charity special of the classic seventies TV show. After months of speculation, Michael Crawford has confirmed he’ll reprise the iconic role in a one-off sketch in aid of Sport Relief, nearly 40 years after the sitcom ended. The skit will see him reunite with actress Michele Dotrice, who played Frank’s long-suffering wife Betty.

Olympic cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins is also set to appear in the sketch, which will see Frank causing absolute mayhem in his usual loveable manner. The classic character with his long suffering wife Betty (Michele Dotrice) (Picture: BBC) ‘I am thrilled and delighted to have been asked to bring Frank back,’ Michael, now 74, said in a statement. Meanwhile Sir Bradley, who’s a big fan of the show, says he’s chuffed to be teaming up with the character, whose catchphrase ‘Ooh Betty’ and disaster-prone nature helped him become one of the most popular men on TV. ‘It’s an absolute honour to be involved alongside such an icon of British television,’ says Sir Bradley. ‘And all for a great cause.’ Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em’s Frank Spencer will return to screens for a sketch (Picture: BBC) Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em began in 1973 and ran for three series, ending in 1978 (although the BBC regularly aired repeats of the show over the years).

Sport Relief, which takes place every two years, brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in the UK and across the world. The sketch will be screened during Sport Relief Night on March 18 on BBC One from 7pm. Watch a classic clip from the sitcom here: Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (UK) - ShareTV Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (UK) 42 Fans Remove Show Frank Spencer is more than just a complete klutz. Everything he touches falls apart, and he can't keep a job more than a day. The only thing that keep him going is his long-suffering wife Betty, who somehow manages to cope with his disaster-prone life-style. He drives his neighbours mad and people cross the road to avoid him. NOTE Michael Crawford performed all Frank's stunts himself. Frank goes to a local airfield to book his first flying lesson. He ends up walking along the runway with Betty and Grandad. That afternoon, Frank … Next Episode The show had 3 seasons and 22 episodes air between 1973 and 1978. Character Guide More Trivia Michael Crawford was the third choice for the role of Frank Spencer.

The part had been created for Norman Wisdom (based on the physical clowning, pratfalls and ineptitude of his "Gump"… [show] Michael Crawford was the third choice for the role of Frank Spencer. The part had been created for Norman Wisdom (based on the physical clowning, pratfalls and ineptitude of his "Gump" character), but both he and Ronnie Barker turned it down. Dudley Moore was also considered for the role. [hide] The rhythm of the theme tune is based on the words "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" (minus the apostrophes) written in Morse Code. Michael Crawford performed all his own stunts. When performing stunts, he usually wore gloves, so if he suddenly appears wearing them, a stunt is usually about to follow. For this reason,… [show] Michael Crawford performed all his own stunts. When performing stunts, he usually wore gloves, so if he suddenly appears wearing them, a stunt is usually about to follow. For this reason, there sometimes appear to be continuity errors (no gloves/gloves/no gloves).

BBC - Comedy - Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em "Ooh Betty, the cat's done a woopsie on the floor". That single phrase, repeated across the country throughout the 1970s by impressionists dressed in dark beret and raincoat, probably did more to harm the reputation of one of the decade's most successful sitcoms than the arrival of punk and alternative comedy ever could. Written by Raymond Allen, Some Mothers was the story of Frank Spencer, the well-meaning, ineffectual and utterly accident-prone mummy's boy of the title. Endowed by star Michael Crawford with an effete manner, a nervous laugh and a desperate need to please, Frank was the sweetest walking disaster area you could ever want to meet. Though the BBC had wanted Norman Wisdom or Ronnie Barker for the role, Crawford was the perfect choice, combining an air of innocence with the youth and athleticism necessary to perform some of the biggest and most dangerous stunts British comedy would ever see.

He and Allen also improvised many of Frank's mannerisms, from the bug-eyed smile that causes a shop assistant to leap back in horror (incidentally destroying a window display) early in the very first episode to the dreaded "Ooh Betty" catchphrase that was to become lodged in Britain's collective psyche. The show's storylines amounted to little more than set-ups for a series of increasingly spectacular stunts. Many episodes begin with Frank at home with long-suffering wife, Betty. Ably played by Michelle Dotrice, Betty's deep love for her husband was never quite enough to cover the constant anxiety she (like anyone else) felt in his presence, leading many of her lines to begin with a high-pitched "Ohhhhh Fraaaa-aaank". From this domestic bliss Frank would be catapulted into the world of disaster by the search for a new job, the need to pass a driving test, a sudden enthusiasm for DIY or even, on one occasion, an RAF reunion. The stunts these set-ups led to rivalled anything from Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd.

Among the most memorable were an audition to be a holiday camp "bluecoat" that ended with a life-threatening human fireworks display, a daytrip that culminated in Frank hanging from the exhaust of his little Morris Minor as it teetered on a cliff edge and an extended roller-skate ride that saw our hero crashing through doors, smashing through shops and even skating under a passing lorry. Some Mothers ran for only 22 episodes over three series from 1973. By the end of series two Frank had become the doting father of baby Jessica. Apart from two Christmas specials, the show then had a long gap to its final series in 1978 while Crawford went off to pursue other projects. In his last outing, Frank the dad was a noticeably more self-confident and rather less sympathetic character than before; given to pompous turns of phrase and frequent malapropisms ("I was ejaculated from my home"). The times had also changed and Frank's physical comedy was beginning to seem old-fashioned. And then there were all those dreadful impressions.

Some Mothers Do Ave 'Em, 1973 - British Classic Comedy 5 “Ooh Betty, the cat’s done a whoopsie on the floor” The phrase, repeated across the country throughout the 1970s by just about everybody from impressionists dressed in dark beret and raincoat to the school playground. The phrase was never used in the series but was particuarly popular with impressionist Mike Yarwood. Enter Frank Spencer the well-meaning, ineffectual and utterly accident-prone character that would capture the imagination of a generation. The BBC had originally wanted Norman Wisdom or Ronnie Barker for the role, both declined, Crawford was the perfect choice, combining an air of innocence with the youth and athleticism necessary to perform some of the biggest and most dangerous stunts British comedy would ever see. Voted number 22 in a BBC poll to find Britain’s Best Sitcom, Some Mothers Do Ave ‘Em ran for only twenty two episodes and three specials. It remains one of our most popular posts. The first two series were broadcast in 1973 and the final series in 1978.

Bridging the five year gap were two Christmas Specials screened in 1974 and 1975. Frank bowed out with a Christmas Special in 1978. As the BBC began to release details about it’s proposed celebrations of Hancock’s Half Hour in 2016 a media frenzie began, as they caught onto an interview with Michelle Dotrice in The Daily Mirror on October 3rd, 2015 In the interview Michelle Dotrice is asked if she plans to work again with Michael Crawford. the answer was “Well, I can’t really say, but yes. The BBC are planning to pull out all the stops next year as Hancock’s Half Hour marks 60 years since it’s TV debut, but the BBC is staying non commital on any future plans for Frank and Betty, saying only “It’s one of several shows being considered for BBC One’s Landmark Sitcom Season, but nothing is confirmed as yet and none of the original cast has been approached by us.” read the full article here. In February 2016 the BBC announced that Frank Spencer was indeed returning as a one off sketch for Sports Relief.

Summary The story lines were little more than set-ups for a series of increasingly spectacular stunts. Many episodes begin with Frank at home with long-suffering wife, Betty. The comedy came from a mix of spectacular stunts coupled with Michael Crawford’s brilliant delivery of Frank, who however well meaning, just seemed to get on the wrong side of people. For the final series, in 1978, changes were made to Frank’s character. Becoming more self-aware, and keen to make himself seem better educated and well-spoken. He developed an air of pomposity which was always most evident when someone enquired ‘Mr Spencer?’ to which he would reply ‘I am he’. He also became more self assured and whereas in the past when shouted at for doing something wrong he would have gone to pieces he would now argue back, more often than not winning the argument. Though this was usually because he would leave his opponents dumbfounded by the bizareness of what he had to say. It is thought that the reason for the change was the arrival of Daughter Jessica, as a Father he had to give some sort of aura of sense. Clips

Question: Who played Frank Spencer in the British TV series "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em"?
Answer: Michael Crawford