The Upper Hand

Last updated

The Upper Hand
The upper hand.png
Genre Sitcom
Created by
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series7
No. of episodes94 (list of episodes)
Production
Production location Television House [1]
Running time25 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network ITV
Release1 May 1990 (1990-05-01) 
14 October 1996 (1996-10-14)
Related
Who's the Boss?

The Upper Hand is a British television sitcom with dramatic elements broadcast by ITV from 1 May 1990 to 14 October 1996. The programme was adapted from the American sitcom Who's the Boss?

Contents

As in the former series, affluent single woman Caroline Wheatley (Diana Weston), raising her son with the help of her mother Laura West (Honor Blackman), hires a housekeeper, and a man called Charlie Burrows (Joe McGann) applies for the job. [2]

Premise

Down on his luck, former footballer Charlie Burrows moves from a deprived area of London to leafy Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire to make a better life for his teenage daughter Joanna, by taking a job as housekeeper for well-off advertising executive Caroline Wheatley. Although Caroline is unsure about employing him, her man-eating ageing mother Laura West talks her into it. Soon the two become friends, Caroline's son Tom comes to see Charlie as a father figure, and Joanna enjoys having a female influence in her life following the premature death of her mother.

Both Caroline and Charlie repeatedly attempt to find love elsewhere, denying their blossoming feelings for each other. For years they lead the viewer on a "will-they-won't-they" chase that lasts until the end of the sixth series when the pair marry. After initial plans to end the series there, ITV commissioned a seventh series featuring Charlie and Caroline as husband and wife, which went beyond the premise of the original American version.

Cast and characters

Main

Minor and recurring

Theme tune

The theme music was written by Debbie Wiseman. A piano version of the theme titled Joe & Diana was released in 2011 on her album Piano Stories. [3]

Episodes

SeriesEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
1 131 May 1990 (1990-05-01)27 December 1990 (1990-12-27)
2 1218 February 1991 (1991-02-18)20 May 1991 (1991-05-20)
3 135 November 1991 (1991-11-05)11 February 1992 (1992-02-11)
4 1920 October 1992 (1992-10-20)22 February 1993 (1993-02-22)
5 169 September 1993 (1993-09-09)23 December 1993 (1993-12-23)
6 146 January 1995 (1995-01-06)8 April 1995 (1995-04-08)
7 72 September 1996 (1996-09-02)14 October 1996 (1996-10-14)

Home media

The Upper Hand was first released on VHS format in the United Kingdom, where three volumes containing various episodes were made available from Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment. All seven series of The Upper Hand have been released in 2010 and 2011 in the United Kingdom via Network.

VHS

TitleEpisodes# TapesRelease date BBFC
rating
Ref.
Volume 1: The Best of Series I & II"Just the Job"
"Caroline's First Fight"
"Wedding Bells (Part 1)"
"Wedding Bells (Part 2)"
116 January 1995PG [4]
Volume 2: Caroline & Charlie's Romance"First Kiss"
"The Anniversary"
"Tunnel of Love"
"Happy Ever After? (Part 2)"
16 March 1995PG [5]
Volume 3: The Wedding"The Wedding"11995PG [6]

DVD

TitleEpisodes# DiscsRelease date BBFC
rating [7]
Ref.
The Complete First Series13218 January 2010PG [8]
The Complete Second Series12210 May 2010PG [9]
The Complete Third Series13226 July 2010PG [10]
The Complete Fourth Series19327 September 2010PG [11]
The Complete Fifth Series16225 October 2010PG [12]
The Complete Sixth Series14224 January 2011PG [13]
The Complete Seventh Series7120 June 2011PG [14]
The Complete Series94148 December 2014PG [15]

References

  1. "Ex-ITV Regional Studios". TV Studio History. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. "BBC - Comedy Guide - The Upper Hand". Archived from the original on 5 December 2004. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  3. "Debbie Wiseman Piano Stories". AllMusic . Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  4. "The Upper Hand: The Best Of Series 1 And 2 [VHS]". Amazon.co.uk. 16 January 1995. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  5. "The Upper Hand: Volume 2 - Caroline And Charlie's Romance [VHS]". Amazon.co.uk. 6 March 1995. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  6. "The Upper Hand - Vol. 3 - The Wedding [1990]". Amazon.co.uk. 11 October 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  7. "The Upper Hand". British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  8. "The Upper Hand - Series 1 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  9. "The Upper Hand - Series 2 - Complete [DVD][1990]". Amazon.co.uk. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  10. "The Upper Hand - Series 3 - Complete [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  11. "The Upper Hand - Series 4 - Complete [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  12. "The Upper Hand - The Complete Fifth Series [DVD]". Amazon UK. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  13. "The Upper Hand - The Complete Sixth Series [1995][DVD]". Amazon UK. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  14. "The Upper Hand - The Complete Seventh Series [DVD]". Amazon UK. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  15. "The Upper Hand: The Complete Series [DVD]". Amazon UK. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2018.