The Cuckoo Waltz | |
---|---|
Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | Geoffrey Lancashire |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 4 |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Production | |
Running time | 26 minutes |
Production company | Granada Television |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 27 October 1975 – 7 August 1980 |
The Cuckoo Waltz is a British television sitcom produced by Granada Television for the ITV network between 27 October 1975 and 7 August 1980. It was written by Geoffrey Lancashire, and produced and directed by Bill Gilmour.
The series, which was set in 1970s and early 1980s Manchester, dealt with the comic complications that ensue when impoverished newly-weds Chris and Fliss Hawthorne (David Roper and Diane Keen) take in lodger Gavin Rumsey (Lewis Collins) to ease their financial problems. Collins left after three series and was replaced by Ian Saynor as Adrian Lockett in the fourth series.
The series was re-screened by now defunct satellite TV channel Granada Plus in the late 1990s and early to mid-2000s, and by Rewind TV in 2024, [1] alongside other Granada sitcoms like Surgical Spirit [2] and Watching . [3]
All four series of The Cuckoo Waltz have been released on DVD in May 2009 and August 2011, and a box set with the complete series to follow.
DVD | Release date |
---|---|
The Complete Series 1 | 4 May 2009 |
The Complete Series 2 | 10 August 2009 |
The Complete Series 3 | 21 March 2011 |
The Complete Series 4 | 22 August 2011 |
The Complete Series 1 to 4 Box Set | 3 December 2012 |
A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television.
Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until age 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in rural Missouri. In 1953, at age 15, Stevens relocated with her father to Los Angeles.
Sykes is a British sitcom that aired on BBC 1 from 1972 to 1979. Starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques, it was written by Sykes, who had previously starred with Jacques in Sykes and a... (1960–1965) and Sykes and a Big, Big Show (1971). Forty-three of the 1970s colour episodes were remakes of scripts for the 1960s black and white series, such as "Bus" based on "Sykes and a Following" from 1964 and the episode "Stranger" with Peter Sellers based on "Sykes and a Stranger" from 1961.
George and Mildred is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television and first aired between 1976 and 1979. It is a spin-off from Man About the House, and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as constantly-sparring married couple George and Mildred Roper. The premise of the series had George and Mildred leaving their flat as depicted in Man About the House and moving to a modern, upmarket housing estate in Hampton Wick. Their arrival horrifies their snobbish neighbour Jeffrey Fourmile, a middle-class estate agent who fears the Ropers' presence will devalue his home.
Robert Lindsay Stevenson, known professionally as Robert Lindsay, is an English actor and narrator. He has appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in musical theatre, and is the recipient of a British Academy Television Award, a Tony Award, and two Laurence Olivier Awards.
Bill Gilmour is a Scots television director who worked for Granada Television for over twenty years.
Stephen Lewis, credited early in his career as Stephen Cato, was an English actor, comedian, director, screenwriter and playwright. He is best known for his roles as Inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake in On the Buses, Clem "Smiler" Hemmingway in Last of the Summer Wine and Harry Lambert in Oh, Doctor Beeching!, although he also appeared in numerous stage and film roles.
Lewis Collins was an English actor, best known for his career-defining role playing 'Bodie' in the late 1970s – early 1980s British television series The Professionals.
The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club was a British television variety show produced by Granada Television from 1974 to 1977. It was set in a fictional working men's club in the North of England and was hosted by comedian Colin Crompton as the club's chairman. The show's compere was usually Bernard Manning, who as well as telling jokes and introducing acts often started and often finished the show with a song. Crompton was frequently the butt of his jokes, acting as Manning's stooge.
Diane Keen is an English actress, known for her portrayal of Fliss Hawthorne in the Granada sitcom The Cuckoo Waltz (1975–1980), Rings on Their Fingers (1978–1980) and Julia Parsons on the BBC soap opera Doctors (2003–2012). She also appeared in Nescafé advertisements from 1980 to 1989.
Shirley Cheriton is an English actress and performer, best known for her roles as Debbie Wilkins in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and her portrayal of Miss Prescott in the Are You Being Served? follow up, Grace & Favour.
David Roper is a British film and television actor, best known for his roles in The Cuckoo Waltz and Leave It to Charlie. Later, he played Geoff Barnes in EastEnders (1994-95) and Bob Bradshaw in Coronation Street in 2000.
Sooty & Co. is a British children's television series, created and presented by Matthew Corbett, produced by Granada Television, and aired on the Children's ITV block on ITV from 6 September 1993 to 14 December 1998. It is the sequel to the children's programme The Sooty Show, which had concluded in 1992, retaining the sitcom format, and focuses on the misadventures of Sooty, Sweep, Soo, Little Cousin Scampi, and Matthew as they try to run a bric a brac shop in Manchester. Episodes were mainly filmed at Granada's main studio in Manchester and around the city, though some episodes were filmed outside of Manchester, including within Scotland, Ireland, and Spain.
Target was a British police action drama series, which ran from 1977 to 1978, on BBC1. Set in Southampton, it starred Patrick Mower as Det. Supt. Steve Hackett, Brendan Price as Det. Sgt. Frank Bonney, Vivien Heilbron as Det. Sgt. Louise Colbert and Philip Madoc as Det. Chief Supt. Tate. Seventeen fifty-minute episodes were produced and the theme music was by Dudley Simpson. It was the BBC's response to ITV's successful series The Sweeney, but received criticism for its levels of violence and lasted for just two seasons.
Colin Philip Lowrie is an English former stage and television actor, best known for playing Dennis Tanner in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street, from the programme's inception in 1960–1968, and again from 2011 to 2014.
This is a list of British television related events from 1979.
This is a list of British television related events from 1978.
This is a list of British television related events from 1977.
This is a list of British television related events from 1975.
Ian Saynor is a British film and television actor. He has appeared in various TV dramas set in Wales, including the film The Corn is Green, in which he played the major role of Morgan. He also appeared in episodes of The District Nurse, but is best known for playing Merak in the 1979 Doctor Who serial The Armageddon Factor. He is well known in and around Wales having worked for various production companies, notably S4C, BBC, and has been involved in many stage productions, mostly in Cardiff and London. He lives in the Cotswolds and continues to act.