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: 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 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 - Season Two VTR: 9/9/73. Ratings: 15.9 million. Cast: Michael Crawford (Frank Spencer), Michele Dotrice (Betty), Vernon Dobtcheff (Henry), Hazel Bainbridge (Miss Partridge), Elissa Derwent (Joan), Peter Leabourne (Rugby Player), action by HAVOC, Ned Hood (Old Man in Library), Stenson Falke, Nancy Adams, Barbara Bernel, John Tatham, Zelda Tatham, Jim Delany (in Library), Eddie Noades, Joan Noades (Picnickers on cliff edge), Swanage & Wareham RFC. Crew: Raymond Allen (Writer) [from an idea by Howard Dell], James Balfour (Film Camera), Ron Blight (Film Sound), Steve Samson (Film Editor), Lisa Benjamin (Costumes), Jan Harrison (Makeup), Derek Slee (Lighting), John Lloyd (Sound), Bernard Wilkie (Visual Effects), Ken Starkey (Design), Michael Mills (Production). Frank is looking after his neighbour's chickens and visits the public library to find a book on the subject.

He has lost his ticket but believes he has spotted it in the tray of tickets on the counter. The result is 200 tickets all over the library floor. Hastily, Frank returns home to feed the chickens. Trying to force the fowl into the daylight, Frank knocks down the chicken house surrounding him. Though he hastily rebuilds it in a ramshackle fashion, one of the chickens later decides to shift position slightly and it collapses again. Using his newly acquired knowledge of poultry, Frank attempts to bluff his way through a job interview with a local farm-supply firm. Amazingly he gets the job and is given the use of a car. That weekend, Frank takes Betty on a picnic atop some cliffs on the coast. As they start to drive back home, the car jolts to a halt and the pair peer out to discover the car is hanging precariously over the edge of the cliff. They both manage to climb out of the car but Frank decides to climb over the top of the car in order to ditch some heavy fertiliser that he has in the boot. This results in him slipping off the car and he is left hanging onto the bumper with the sea many feet below him.

Betty runs off to phone for assistance but, being a weekend, nobody will help. Luckily a coach of rugby players stops and hauls the car away from the cliff and Frank to safety. The Spencers return home in the car... but with it strapped to the roof of the coach. A great episode with exactly the right mixture of dialogue and action. Frank's character is slightly more headstrong in this series which results in two very funny dialogue scenes in this episode. In the first, Frank tries to pretend he has knowledge of chicken breeding to get a job ("A good cockerel always faces a north wind... legs apart") and, later, he tells a confused Betty that he would "like to start breeding" (she is talking about babies; him, chickens). The much-loved car-hanging-over-the-cliff sequence (filmed near Swanage) is well executed, though the climactic gag of the car being strapped to the top of the coach – with Frank giving hand signals out of the window – seems very forced. Look out for a continuity error: the librarian knows Frank wants a book on chickens without him even asking for it – it looks like some material has been edited at this point.

This episode is also known as Frank Goes over the Edge. Audio clips: VTR: 20/9/73. Ratings: 15.9 million. Cast: Michael Crawford (Frank Spencer), Michele Dotrice (Betty), Stuart Fell, Marc Boyle, Allan Chuntz (Three GIs), David Rowley (Pianist), Desmond Llewelyn (Air Commodore Drew), Norman Shelley (Group Captain Firth), John Pollendine (Harris), Roger Dene (Roberts), Leonard Gregory (Horace), Richard Eden, Mark Allington, Michael Reeves, Chris Sullivan (Airmen in Billet), David Quilter (Pilot Officer Baker), Blain Fairman (Flight Sergeant), Michael Gwynn (Wing Commander Day), Kenneth Watson (Orderly), Robert Samson (Carter), Ben Aris (Brown), Richard Blomfield (Hayward), Richard McNeff (Squadron Leader), Fulton Mackay (Fowler), action by HAVOC, Nick Thompson Hill (Barman), David Bache, Patrick Wright, Richard Sheekey, Joe Santo, Frederick Woolf, Arthur Parry (at the Reunion).

Crew: Raymond Allen (Writer), James Balfour (Film Camera), Ron Blight (Film Sound), Steve Samson (Film Editor), Lisa Benjamin (Costumes), Jan Harrison (Makeup), Derek Slee (Lighting), John Lloyd (Sound), Bernard Wilkie (Visual Effects), Bryan Ellis (Design), Michael Mills (Production). Frank is getting overexcited because of his forthcoming RAF reunion evening. During a restless night, he dreams that he is a World War II pilot, heroically rescuing Betty from the rough antics of some American soldiers. As he wrestles with them, he wakes to find himself fighting with the sofa. As in previous years, when he arrives at the reunion he fails to introduce himself to the Air Commodore, which leads the Commodore to wonder what exactly Frank got up to in his days in the RAF. As it happens, even Frank's first night in his billet started badly, with him caught changing his trousers in the middle of an inspection. Trying to hide, he got stuck in a locker which ended up plummeting down a flight of stairs. After explaining to a recruitment officer that he joined the air force mainly because he liked the uniform ("a nice blue"), Frank was sent for an air-crew medical.

During this, he managed to think the hearing test was some sort of whispering game, and fainted when he was administered some simple eye drops. Frank also succeeded in breaking the gymnasium equipment when he was being tested on his team-leadership skills. Later, when asked to perform a simple fit-the-shapes-in-the-correct-holes test, Frank successfully used all the pieces of wood... but jammed them in all the wrong holes! Bells sound and Frank wakes to find himself in bed, having returned home from the reunion in a drunken state causing him to put on one of Betty's nightdresses by mistake! The majority of this story is a too episodic to allow it to build up to many big laughs, but the extended sequence with Frank struggling with some simple intelligence tests is very amusing, trying the patience of his instructor (played by Fulton Mackay, better known as the chief warder from Porridge) to the utmost. Another famous face here is Desmond Llewelyn, who played Q in the James Bond films. Audio clips: VTR: 28/8/73. Ratings: 17.7 million.

Cast: Michael Crawford (Frank Spencer), Michele Dotrice (Betty), James Cossins (Watson), Zulema Dene (Miss Gibbons), Mark Griffith (Lang), Robin Halstead (Roberts), Christopher Biggins, Jill Damas (Students), Ralph Watson, Kevin Moran (Workmen at manhole), David Kitchen, Kevin Savage, Kelly Varney, Eddie Sommer, Stephanie Marrian, Lee Patrick, Giles Melville (Students), Rosina Stewart (Cashier), Patricia Gordeno, Irene Peters (Two assistants in cafeteria), Susie the Dog. Crew: Raymond Allen (Writer), James Balfour (Film Camera), Ron Blight (Film Sound), Steve Samson (Film Editor), Lisa Benjamin (Costumes), Jan Harrison (Makeup), Derek Slee (Lighting), John Lloyd (Sound), Bryan Ellis (Design), Michael Mills (Production). After being sacked from his job with the water board for getting stuck down a sewer, Frank attends a residential course in public relations. On his first evening, Frank joins the other students in an automated canteen which dispenses food from a machine. Frank gets an unwanted plate of baked beans by mistake and attempts to stuff it back inside the machine.

This causes the machine to malfunction and cover everybody in food. Later, in the dormitory, Frank bursts his hot-water bottle and accidentally manages to squirt the contents over a co-attendee on the course. The angry student retaliates by emptying the rest of the water over Frank's bed. However, he has got the wrong bed and a free-for-all fight ensues. The following morning, the students are nursing their wounds as the first session begins. Frank is selected to take a part in a role-play exercise. Getting carried away in the role, the lesson descends into a fiasco when he starts throwing random insulting phrases at the course instructor ("hypocritical charlatan... reprobate... educational hoodwinker... grovelling, servile, sycophantic scamp"). Convinced the instructor is a quack, the other students walk out of the course. Frank is chased out of the grounds by the angry instructor. A funny episode but let down by the contrived canteen sequence which depends on that tired comedy fallback: a malfunctioning machine which, in this case, unconvincingly hurls food in people's faces.

It would be better if the machine was something we could relate to, but this plate-dispensing device is totally illogical. Fortunately, the rest of the episode is better and it's amusing to hear Frank develop his own catchphrase (albeit one pinched from psychologist Émile Coué – "Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better") which he repeats after every calamity he causes. With this story, Christopher Biggins makes the first of two appearances in the show (the other being in Learning to Fly) and was one of the celebrities interviewed as part of the Selection Box (q.v.) retrospective in 1997. A slightly longer version of the scene where Frank is chased out of the grounds of the house survives in the BBC archives. It includes a couple of extra shots of Frank and the fuming Watson, and after the line, "I'm waiting... for Betty," Frank adds by way of explanation, "She's my wife – going to drive me home." This episode is also known simply as The PR Course. Audio clips: VTR: 2/10/73. Ratings: 16 million.

Cast: Michael Crawford (Frank Spencer), Michele Dotrice (Betty), Anthony Woodruff (Dr Smedley), Sydney Tafler (Lockwood), Christopher Timothy (Roy), Pamela Binns (Mrs Jones), Julia Breck (Mrs Ford), Charles Lamb (Skipper), Christopher Holmes (Boatman). Crew: Raymond Allen (Writer), James Balfour (Film Camera), Ron Blight (Film Sound), Steve Samson (Film Editor), Lisa Benjamin (Costumes), Jan Harrison (Makeup), Derek Slee (Lighting), John Lloyd (Sound), Bernard Wilkie (Visual Effects), Ken Starkey (Design), Michael Mills (Production). Frank is working as a captain on board a riverboat. He beaches the boat on a mudflat and is sacked. Meanwhile at home, Betty makes a secret appointment with Doctor Smedley who confirms that she is pregnant (Betty: "I can hardly believe it" / Dr Smedley: "I can hardly believe it myself"). Betty returns home and tries to break the news to Frank who thinks the "little addition" to the family is some sort of reference to getting a pet.

Eventually the news sinks in to the shocked Frank and he vows to try to win the football pools to get enough money to support the child. Frank visits Dr Smedley's maternity clinic in order to get some advice on the pregnancy and to show Dr Smedley the somewhat under-sized crib he has built (Smedley: "It's hardly big enough to take a sausage roll"). That afternoon, Frank attends an audition for an entertainer at a holiday camp. His first act is a ventriloquist's dummy called Marvin: a gorilla with a human head – Frank having reversed his car over the proper head. After managing to destroy a microphone, he also demonstrates the rest of his act: singing an appalling rendition of Early One Morning while doing a twee dance. Reaching into his pocket for the lyrics, he accidentally sets off his "Vesuvius" – a human firework display. He is extinguished by gallons of foam pumped over him from a foam-generating machine. Frank and Marvin is the first in the Frank-has-a-baby trilogy and a very funny individual episode. There is little slapstick here but this episode contains some of the series' best dialogue scenes, particularly the sequence in which Betty announces her pregnancy to Frank.

Already agitated by Frank continually failing to understand what she is trying to tell him, she grabs his pullover and says, in exasperated tones, "Don't you understand Frank? I'm going to have a baby!" Frank takes in the news slowly and then brusquely brushes her away: "Well you might have asked me first!" Classic stuff! The only let-down in this episode is the forced climax: what exactly is this huge foaming machine doing in a ballroom at a holiday camp? Also watch out for a continuity error in the sequence with Marvin the monkey: the empty glass on the stool next to Frank suddenly becomes filled with beer and Spencer remarks that he is "a little damp". Presumably some material was cut here prior to transmission. The Bluecoat in the holiday camp is played by a young Christopher Timothy who would later go on to play James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small for many years. Audio clips: VTR: 15/10/73. Ratings: 17.6 million.

Cast: Michael Crawford (Frank Spencer), Richard Pescud (White), Michele Dotrice (Betty), Lajla Lund (Alison), Cynthia Lund (Judy), Seymour Green (Charles), David King (Dr Powell), Brian Osborne (Jordan), Tony Hazel (Hamilton), Cynthia Powell (Lucy), Taiwo Ajai (Sally), Geoffrey Chater (Bank Manager), action by HAVOC, Claire Campbell, Helen Burnat, Josephine O'Sullivan, Bernice Spivack, Martin Clark, John Cash, Ricky Newby (Expectant mothers and fathers), Lola Morice (Manageress of 'Motherhood' shop), Shirley English (Assistant), Vanessa Dodd (Mother), Emmett Hennessey (Policeman), Ray Miller (Workman), Marc Boyle, Val Musetti (Stunt Drivers), Sue Bishop, Tony Woolley (Couple outside 'Motherhood'). Crew: Raymond Allen (Writer), James Balfour (Film Camera), Ron Blight (Film Sound), Steve Samson (Film Editor), Lisa Benjamin (Costumes), Jan Harrison (Make-up), Derek Slee (Lighting), John Lloyd (Sound), Bernard Wilkie (Visual Effects), Bryan Ellis (Design), Michael Mills (Production).

Chimpanzee sequences filmed at Twycross Zoo Leicestershire. Frank is sacked from yet another job – this time working in a photographic lab, where he manages to spill acid down the legs of his supervisor. Back at home, Frank is showing signs of stress so Betty suggests he gets himself involved with her work looking after two children whose mother is in hospital. Franks goes to meet the children but wrongly assumes them to be babies, hence his presents for them – a plastic duck and a rattle – are somewhat inappropriate. That lunchtime, after shaking off the advances of a homosexual businessman whom he meets in the street, Frank attends his prenatal class. But after Frank accidentally makes a suggestive comment to one of the women attendees, the class breaks up in chaos. Frank's next port of call is the bank where he attempts to get a loan. This is refused when the only reference he can offer the bank manager is from his psychiatrist, and when he attempts to put up his council house as security. That afternoon, Frank goes to the zoo with the two children in Betty's care. Much to the kids' amusement, a chimp steals Frank's beret and Frank enters the monkey enclosure to retrieve it.

Later, they all go roller-skating but Frank builds up too much speed and smashes through the rink's fire exit out into the street. After a hair-raising roller-skate ride around town, Frank crashes through a baby-ware shop, wrecking most of the shop's contents in the process. The roller-skate ride is arguably Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em's best-remembered set piece, but suffers from a clumsy change from film to videotape near the end as Frank crashes through the shop (how exactly do you roller-skate up stairs anyway?) The sequence is also slightly marred by jumpy cuts and sudden changes of location. The other action sequence – in the chimps' cage – is also implausible: are the doors to animal cages usually left unlocked in zoos?

The best dialogue sequence is when Frank attends his baby class and fails to grasp the location of a baby's soft spot (Doctor: "When you were a baby, you had a soft spot, didn't you?" / Frank: "I was very fond of treacle pudding.") As with a few other episodes, there is evidence that material has been cut from this episode: the bank manager knows that Frank has no job and a baby on the way without being told. This episode is also known as Frank is Introduced to Fatherhood. Audio clips: VTR: 21/10/73. Ratings: 15.7 million. Cast: Michael Crawford (Frank Spencer), Michele Dotrice (Betty), Eric Francis (Hospital Porter), Alison Coleridge (Nurse Moore), Diane Holland (Receptionist), John D Collins (Dr Boyde), Richard Caldicot (Sir John Gifford), Anthony Woodruff (Dr Smedley), Cyril Luckham (Fr O'Hara), Della Flinch, Lorna Leech (Nurses), Martin Terry (Doctor), Maureen Purkiss, Gay Desser, Amanda Carlson (Patients).

Crew: Raymond Allen (Writer), James Balfour (Film Camera), Ron Blight (Film Sound), Steve Samson (Film Editor), Lisa Benjamin (Costumes), Jan Harrison (Make up), Derek Slee (Lighting), John Lloyd (Sound), Bernard Wilkie (Visual Effects), Ken Starkey (Design), Michael Mills (Production). Frank rushes into his local hospital crying, "She's having it." After being examined, it turns out Betty has nothing but cramp. It is the fifth such false alarm in a week and the doctors' patience is wearing thin. The hospital's top obstetrician, Sir John Gifford, arrives to find Frank's car in his private space. Frank attempts to remedy the situation and this results in Gifford crashing his car. Later at home, Dr Smedley pops into the Spencer household to see how things are going but is not impressed when he finds out that Frank wishes to attend the birth. After reluctantly agreeing to this, Dr Smedley gives Frank a lift to his local church ("...of the The Immaculate Conception"). The irritated Father O'Hara is none too pleased to see Frank who has already been to confession many times that week.

Frank confesses to the sin of envying his comparatively well-off neighbours and is told to do penance (Father O'Hara: "Say three Hail Marys and four Our Fathers." / Frank: "Ooh, that's a bit harsh!") Later that night, Betty starts getting her contractions and Frank rushes her to hospital, losing the house keys and breaking a window in the process. With an excited Frank (still in his beret) looking on, the Spencer child is born – it is a girl. Overcome with emotion, Frank passes out on the delivery-room floor. Later, the Spencers leave the hospital with their baby, who now also has her own mini-beret. They find their cat has also given birth on the back seat of their car. Everything is obviously going too well to last; Frank reverses his car out of the hospital and crashes it. The last episode in both the trilogy about the Spencers' baby, and in the second season, sees Frank finally (and incredibly) getting a baby daughter. Crawford based the whole birth sequence on his own experiences during the birth of his second daughter, Lucy, a few years previously.

We see Frank reach a new level of naïvety when he can't even manage to determine the sex of his newly born child (Frank: "It's a boy! I've got a boy!" / Doctor: "It's a girl, Mr Spencer." / Frank: "Well, what's that then?" / Doctor: "That is the umbilical cord." / Frank: "Ooh I say!") Frank is also revealed to be Catholic and we meet his priest, the irascible Father O'Hara (played by the late Cyril Luckham), for the first time. Look out also for the hospital receptionist played by Diane Holland, who would later play snooty ballroom dancer Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves in the holiday-camp sitcom Hi-De-Hi. Audio clips: VTR: 16-17/11/74. Ratings: 23.6 million.

Cast: Michael Crawford (Frank Spencer), Michele Dotrice (Betty), Emma Ware (Jessica Spencer), Bryan Pringle (Jackson), Brian Hayes (Hudson), Cyril Luckham (Father O'Hara), Bartlett Mullins (King Herod), Alan Bowerman (First Shepherd), Ian Milton (Second Shepherd), Tony Bateman (First Wise Man), Peter Mackriel (Second Wise Man), Bruce Callender (Third Wise Man), Marjorie Hogan (Miss Murphy), action by HAVOC, Reginald Thomason (Joseph (Mr Hunter)), Ricky Laney (Innkeeper), John Cannon, Stephen Kane, David Nichol, John Watkins (Dockers), David Kitchen (Stand-in for Michael Crawford), Marcia King (Stand-in for Michele Dotrice), Alan Bowerman (Stand-in for Bryan Pringle).

Crew: Raymond Allen (Writer), James Balfour, Pat Turley (Film Camera), Colin March, Bill Meekums (Film Sound), Bill Symon (Film Editor), Jim Acheson (Costumes), Ann Briggs (Makeup), Derek Slee (Lighting), John Lloyd (Sound), Bernard Wilkie (Visual Effects), John B Hobbs (Production Assistant), Bryan Ellis (Design), Michael Mills (Production). Frank's daughter Jessica is now one year old and is having trouble sleeping at nights. The noise is waking the entire street and annoying the Spencers' new neighbour, Mr Jackson, who has to be up early for his job in a warehouse. A new employee is due to start at the warehouse the following day and Jackson is infuriated to find out that it is Frank who has been taken on to help him. Meanwhile, Father O'Hara is organising the Christmas nativity play and is finding it difficult to make it sink in with Frank that his acting skills are not required this year due to the chaos he has caused in previous years. Eventually, as a compromise, Frank is told that he can design the scenery. Christmas wouldn't be complete without a tree...

and indeed the tree Frank brings home is nothing like complete – it is missing its top half which was torn off by a passing lorry as he was bringing it home. Things are not going any better at Frank's new job in the warehouse where Frank has already managed to knock Jackson over a wall with the end of a plank of wood. Later, Frank spots a movement under Jackson's folded coat and, suspecting a rat, puts a lighted pipe under the coat in an attempt to smoke out the animal. This sets fire to the coat which Frank ruins further by soaking it with water. Jackson attempts revenge by emptying a flask of tea into a bag that Frank is holding but, unfortunately, the bag does not belong to Frank but to the head of the firm! Later at the church, Frank shows his scenery to the, initially impressed, Father O'Hara. He has also made a mechanical lift for the Angel of the Lord to descend from heaven. Demonstrating this, Frank is hurled into the rafters of the church. He plummets to the stage and his scenery falls around his ears.

The next day at work, Frank offers to drive a forklift truck to cover for the absent Jackson who is busy elsewhere in the warehouse pilfering goods for his own use. The forklift runs out of control and smashes up the warehouse, before driving itself onto a lorry which promptly departs up the street. Both Spencer and Jackson are fired. At the final dress rehearsal of the nativity play, Frank is delighted to be asked to play the Angel of the Lord due to the sickness of the original choice of actor. However, the person helping with Frank's new pulley system doesn't understand its workings properly and loads a weight onto the system that is too heavy. This causes Frank to be catapulted through the roof of the church. A helicopter is called to rescue him as he holds on for dear life. There was no new series of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em in 1974, so this extended Christmas special was a welcome chance for viewers to catch up on Frank's exploits. There are basically two plots spread over the episode: Frank's new job in the warehouse, and his participation in his church's nativity play.

For my part, though, it is once again the less obvious dialogue sequences that bring the biggest laughs. This episode contains the first of a run of amusing sequences where Frank would be shown alone with his daughter, trying to entertain her with, variously, games of I spy, his "impressonations" (which include Prime Minister Harold Wilson – to which the baby emits an intentionally ridiculous electronic burp) or, in later episodes, by singing invented nursery rhymes. Audio clips: Tx: 25/12/75: 1855-1940. Ratings: 25.6 million.

Cast: Michael Crawford (Frank Spencer), Hazel Bainbridge (Mrs Perkins), George Sewell (Wheeler), Alrich Riley, Chris Leonard (Rude Boys), Michele Dotrice (Betty), Campbell Singer (Finney), David Jacobs (TV Interviewer), Michael Angrave (Cameraman), Wendy Gilmore (Linda), Richard Latham (Neville), David Woodcock (Clapper Boy), Peter Jeffrey (Hayes), action by Marc Boyle, Marc Boyle (Father Christmas stunt artist), Andrew Porter, David Weare, Joseph Clark, Emma Tandy, Mark Herman, Mark Farmer, Rosemary Leonard (Children at toy fair), Eileen Winterton, Juliet St David, Vivienne Clifford, Ken Tracey, Helen Bernat, Gill Goldstein, Janet Seager, Marianne Leigh, Jules Walter (Parents at toy fair), Tony Christopher (Stand-in for Michael Crawford), Michael Angrave (Stand-in for George Sewell), Wendy Gifford (Stand-in for Hazel Bainbridge).

Crew: Raymond Allen (Writer), James Balfour (Film Camera), John Jarvis (Film Editor), Nicholas Rocker (Costumes), Judy Cain (Makeup), Derek Slee (Lighting), John Lloyd (Sound), Bernard Wilkie (Visual Effects), John B Hobbs (Production Assistant), Rochelle Selwyn (Design), Michael Mills (Production). Frank's current job is helping out as a pixie in Santa's grotto at a local department store, but things have not been going too well. After Father Christmas makes numerous complaints about Frank, the manageress threatens him with the sack if there are any more mistakes. The grotto includes a mechanical device which lowers Santa to the shop floor and the awaiting kids. Frank is in charge of operating this but unfortunately he manages to ruin the mechanism and Santa plummets to the ground. Frank is sacked. Later, Frank is taking his last driving lesson before his test. Remarking that the road seems very wide, Frank and his instructor find themselves on an airport runway! Later in the lesson, Frank gets out of the car for a second but accidentally leaves the handbrake off and the vehicle starts rolling down the street, out of control.

Frank gives chase and manages to climb on top of the speeding car which finally stops when it runs straight into the open back of a horsebox. Back at home, Frank is excited to have been chosen to feature in a TV programme about DIY. David Jacobs arrives from the BBC together with a cameraman (Frank: "He's got a funny walk, hasn't he?" / Jacobs: "He's actually got quite a lot of heavy equipment.") Frank introduces Jacobs to his DIY masterpieces: a wonky bookshelf, a standard lamp made from a length of plastic gutter pipe, and a sofa which goes "boing" every time somebody sits on it. An attempt at filming a simple sequence – with Frank coming home and greeting Betty after a day's work – results in his lamp blowing up, his bookshelf collapsing and his sofa sprouting rogue springs. The unfortunate experience forgotten, Frank is now taking his 10th driving test. When Frank stops in the middle of a river bridge as it is in the process of opening, this is the last straw for the examiner and he asks to be driven straight back to the test centre.

Frank thinks he knows a short cut, but unfortunately his route takes the speeding car off the end of a quayside into the sea. The examiner swims back to the shore with Frank inquiring from the sinking car, "Have I passed?" This extended Christmas episode doesn't start too well as it veers dangerously into the old Perry/Lloyd/Croft sitcom standby of getting a cheap laugh by having the carefully built characters prostitute themselves by coming on in "funny" costumes (cf. Are You Being Served?, Hi-De-Hi et al.) This sequence – already rather stagey – isn't helped by being carelessly shot, with the top of the studio's cyclorama coming into view on several occasions (just how high is this shop's ceiling anyway?) Fortunately, after we are clear of the department store, things begin to warm up. Frank is amusingly trying to advertise his skills on a postcard in a shop window (Frank: "I am willing to offer my services." / Betty: "No!" / Frank: "No – one of them funny ones might read that.") before finding out he is to appear on TV which results in him opening an exploding bottle of home-made wine to celebrate.

One strange, presumably unnoticed goof left in the finished episode occurs when Frank is running through the start-up procedure for the car with his instructor – put it in gear and then depress the clutch? Has Frank himself been repairing this vehicle? The making of the action sequences concerning Frank's erratic driving was covered in the documentary To Be Perfectly Frank (q.v.), belatedly screened in April 1977. Preserved therein is an amusing gaff which occurred during the filming of one of these sequences with Frank and his instructor driving along a country lane. After Crawford has already fluffed a take of the scene by collapsing in giggles, attempts to do a second take are ruined when the car is suddenly plunged into darkness as it passes under a bridge (Crawford: "The bloody sun's gone in!") Audio clips: Why a Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em revival would be brilliant | Sitcom Lover's Corner Why a Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em revival would be brilliant Posted on by geezworld234 Welcome to my blogging comeback. I have to admit this post wasn’t going to be my grand re-entrance but when I heard the news I am about to discuss I had to dust off the laptop.

So, as I am sure you sitcom enthusiasts will have heard there are rumours running wild this week that Frank and Betty Spencer (Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice) have been visiting dear old Auntie about the possibility of letting us back into their lives and seeing what they are up to four decades later. The rumours began after Michele Dotrice apparently ‘let slip’ in an interview with the Daily Mirror that she and Crawford are working together again next year. But of course in true showbiz fashion she can’t say too much. This then prompted the rumours of secret meetings at the BBC about bringing back this beloved sitcom. I have to admit, while I am excited for the prospect of a possible return for the show that made me fall in love with sitcoms, I am somewhat sceptical about these rumours. I’ve known for a while that my favourite fictional couple were openly looking for a new project to work on together, but they hadn’t been so keen on revisiting Betty and Frank. However, I have another reason as to why I am so excited about the prospect of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em returning. The show that made my Sundays as a child has recently made its own comeback into my life.

At a party recently, I was introduced to someone who turns out is also a massive Some Mothers fan, not something you usually find at an 18th birthday party. It is safe to say a friendship was quickly established and we have already spent hours re-watching, discussing and quoting Frank. So it is quite apt that this news has come a few weeks later and exactly one week after we both went into meltdown after Betty herself, Michele Dotrice tweeted us. So, naturally she is our favourite person right now. As I and many others have mentioned before, there is usually an initial excitement when a sitcom comeback is announced, followed by bitter disappointment at the result. However, I actually think Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em could surpass the latter element. While To The Manor Born, Still Open All hours and all the rivals before them had scope, plenty of room for character development and decent back stories to cover during the time they had been off air, they failed to deliver. Compared to Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em; the examples above appear to me rather boxy. You can’t really find out much about Granville’s unseen escapades unless they are mentioned over the shop counter in passing and then they are only two second anecdotes.

He still has the same job in the same street with some of the same characters. Nothing has really changed. It’s the same with the De Veres, before their wedding anniversary we last saw Audrey and Richard tying the knot, they were relatively normal characters and we all knew what would happen to them once Audrey got her hands back on her beloved manor and accepted that times were changing and old money was a thing of the past. They would more than likely live a comfortable, happy life together and that’s really what happened. The last time we saw Frank and Betty they were waiting to hear from Australia House about their attempted visa application so they could join Frank’s long lost granddad in the land down under. Of course, we all knew Frank wouldn’t be accepted after the shambles of an interview and the interviewer’s attempted suicide, but he had all his eggs in one basket, he had promised Jessica her third Christmas would be in Oz. What would they do next? Betty hated their new house and Frank still hadn’t passed his driving test. A bright future for the Spencers?: I would love to know what Frank & Betty did next What about Jessica? How did she turn out? Did she inherit her mother’s patience and her sensibility?

Or did she end up as accident prone as her father and her namesake; her grandmother? Did she marry and make Frank and Betty grandparents? Was she more successful than her mother and father? Personally, I think this is the most exciting aspect of the prospect of a comeback. We all know the amazing stunts Crawford did wouldn’t be allowed to be done today; my Gran was only saying so last night. So, what about if Frank handed down his beloved beret to the apple of his eye and Jessica became the new star of the show? We could see Frank and Betty dropping in and depending how she turned out saving their daughter from ‘harassments.’ That way we could have the physicality that made the original series so unique and very funny, without having to worry that Michael Crawford and his stunts were ‘looking tired and forced.’ Perhaps the BBC could let him do a few minor stunts? If his enthusiasm during his stint in the Wizard of OZ showed, he was still very much game for anything physical (Andrew Lloyd Webber missed out vetoing that one). Having Jessica at the helm would also answer questions like did Frank and Betty have any more children? Did they have little Frank junior who grew up to be just like his dad?

Did Frank ever manage to hold down a job and support his wife and child? How would he cope in a world of Twitter and technology? Did Frank ever manage to get his wife that fur coat he longed to buy her? Perhaps his tendencies to fall over and cause havoc made him a youtube star. Did Betty ever have enough of Frank’s failures and leave him like she claimed she might have to do in ‘Have a Break, Take a Husband?’ As well as exploring the character of Jessica Spencer and how her life turned out. While of course, like its predecessors who have all made comebacks before, it does run the risk of losing a touch of its original magic, nothing can take away the brilliance of the original series. And with the stars of the show clearly still very good friends, I doubt their spark will have been extinguished.

So while the prospect of being offered the chance to (try and) keep up with the Spencers delights my eight year old self and the 21-year-old obsessive I have become, I am just happy at the thought that my original sitcom heroes appear to be working together again, and whatever that might be; “I’m excited Betty.” Standing the test of time: Some Mothers has provided one with hours of laughs, i hope more are to come See the original story published by ‘The Mirror’ here: The Mail claim Crawford and Dotrice are in talks with BBC bosses Share this:

Question: In the sitcom "Some Mothers Do Have Them" what was the name of Frank & Betty Spencer's baby?
Answer: JESSICA