| Turn Out the Lights | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Starring | Arthur Lowe Robert Dorning |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Derek Granger |
| Running time | 55 minutes |
| Production company | Granada Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 2 January – 6 February 1967 |
Turn out the Lights is an ITV sitcom series made by Granada Television, that was first broadcast from Monday 2 January to Monday 6 February 1967 by Rediffusion London and Tyne Tees Television, (all other regions broadcast the series between Friday 6 January and Friday 10 February 1967). The series was a spin-off from the sitcom Pardon the Expression , itself a spin-off from the highly popular soap opera Coronation Street .
Leonard Swindley played by Arthur Lowe was the central character, along with Wally Hunt (played by Robert Dorning). Swindley was formerly the manager of the fashion retail store "Gamma Garments" in Coronation Street and the deputy manager of the department store Dobson and Hawks in Pardon the Expression: in this series, he becomes a professional speaker on astrology who encounters various supernatural events on his travels around the country, along with his colleague Wally Hunt, after they were both fired from Dobson and Hawks in the final episode of Pardon the Expression.
The series directors were David Boisseau and Michael Cox, production designers were Dennis Parkin and Roy Stonehouse. The series was not recorded in front of a studio audience and had no laughter-track.
Coronation Street is a British television soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced street in the fictional Weatherfield, a town based on inner-city Salford, England.
A soap opera, daytime drama, or soap for short, is typically a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by "horse opera", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns.
Are You Being Served? is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft, who also served as executive producer and director, and Jeremy Lloyd. Michael Knowles and John Chapman also wrote certain episodes. Produced by the BBC, the series starred Mollie Sugden, Trevor Bannister, Frank Thornton, John Inman, Wendy Richard, Arthur Brough, Nicholas Smith, Larry Martyn, Harold Bennett and Arthur English.
Arthur Lowe was an English actor. His acting career spanned 37 years, including starring roles in numerous theatre and television productions. He played Captain Mainwaring in the British sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 until 1977, was nominated for seven BAFTAs and became one of the most recognised faces on UK television.
Jack Morris Rosenthal was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original television plays, feature films, and adaptations.
Julie Goodyear MBE is an English retired actress. She is known for portraying Bet Lynch in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She first appeared as Bet for nine episodes in 1966, before becoming a series regular from 1970 to 1995. She returned for eight episodes in 2002 and another seven in 2003. For her role on Coronation Street, she received the Special Recognition Award at the 1995 National Television Awards. She was made an MBE in the 1996 New Year Honours.
ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9 pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel by audience share and the largest after the five main terrestrial services, the position which was previously held by its sister station ITV2. The channel is known for repeats of ITV dramas, and including sequential reruns of Agatha Christie's Poirot, Classic Coronation Street, Classic Emmerdale, Heartbeat, Inspector Morse and A Touch of Frost, amongst others as well as formerly showing repeats of Kojak, Numb3rs, Columbo, Cagney & Lacey and The Bill.
Elizabeth Mary Driver, was a British actress and singer, best known for her role as Betty Williams in the long-running ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, a role she played for 42 years from 1969 to 2011, appearing in 2732 episodes. She had previously appeared as Mrs Edgley in Coronation Street spin-off Pardon the Expression (1965–1966) opposite Arthur Lowe. In her early career she was a singer, appearing in musical films such as Boots! Boots! (1934), opposite George Formby, and in Penny Paradise (1938), directed by Carol Reed. She was made an MBE in the 2000 New Year Honours.
Emily Bishop is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Eileen Derbyshire, the character is the longest-standing female character in the serial, having first appeared on-screen during the fourth episode on 21 December 1960, played by an uncredited walk on actress. From January 1961 onwards, she was played by Eileen Derbyshire. Derbyshire announced in November 2015 that she would be taking a retirement from the show and Emily departed on New Year's Day 2016 after 55 years on screen. It was announced on 9 August 2019 that Derbyshire had agreed to briefly reprise the role. She made a brief cameo on 9 October 2019 for Ken Barlow's 80th birthday celebration.
Robert Dorning was an English musician, dance band vocalist, ballet dancer and stage, film and television actor. He is known to have performed in at least 77 television and film productions between 1940 and 1988.
Leonard Swindley is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. One of the original characters created by Tony Warren, he was played by actor Arthur Lowe between 1960 and 1965. The character of Mr. Swindley also appeared as the central figure in two spin-off series following his departure from the Street—Pardon the Expression and Turn Out the Lights—making him a unique character in British soap opera.
Pardon The Expression was an ITV sitcom made by Granada Television, that was first broadcast from Wednesday 2 June 1965 to Monday 27 June 1966. The sitcom was one of four spin-offs from the soap opera Coronation Street. Pardon the Expression itself had a spin-off: Turn out the Lights, broadcast in 1967. There was not another spin-off until the 1980s with The Brothers McGregor, which reused two characters who appeared in a single episode.
Vincent Joseph Powell was a British television scriptwriter. He collaborated with a writing partner, Harry Driver, until 1973.
Fanny Carby was a British character actress. She had two different roles on Coronation Street: she played Mary Hornigold in 1965, then in 1987 she took the role of Vera Duckworth's domineering mother, Amy Burton, a role she played into the following year. Fanny's other credits include Street spin-off Pardon the Expression, On The Buses, Sykes, The Bill, In Sickness and in Health and Goodnight Sweetheart.
Angela Rosemary Crow was an English television actress, best known for her appearance in the early days of British soap opera Coronation Street, as factory worker Doreen Lostock, between 1961 and 1963.
Derek Granger was a British film and television producer, and screenwriter. He worked on Brideshead Revisited, A Handful of Dust, and Where Angels Fear to Tread.
