The World of Wodehouse

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The World of Wodehouse
Jack Radcliffe, Gaynor Jones, and Ralph Richardson in Blandings Castle (TV series).jpg
Scene from "Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend", with McAllister (Radcliffe), Gladys (Jones), and Lord Emsworth (Richardson)
Genre Comedy
Based on Blandings Castle and Ukridge stories by P. G. Wodehouse
Written by John Chapman (Blandings Castle)
Richard Waring (Ukridge)
Starring Ralph Richardson (Blandings Castle)
Anton Rodgers (Ukridge)
Composers Ron Grainer (Blandings Castle)
Arthur Wilkinson (Ukridge)
Country of originEngland
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes13
Production
Producers Michael Mills and Frank Muir (Blandings Castle)
Joan Kemp-Welch (Ukridge)
Running time30 minutes
Original release
Network BBC1
Release24 February 1967 (1967-02-24) 
26 August 1968 (1968-08-26)
Related
The World of Wooster

The World of Wodehouse is a comedy television series, based on the Blandings Castle and Ukridge stories written by P. G. Wodehouse. [1]

Contents

The series, which followed the television series The World of Wooster , was shown on BBC Television. It consisted of two series, the 1967 Blandings Castle series (six episodes) and the 1968 Ukridge series (seven episodes).

Apart from one or more extracts from one episode of Blandings Castle ("Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend"), [2] all episodes of both Blandings Castle and Ukridge are lost. [3]

Cast members

Blandings Castle

Ukridge

Anton Rodgers as Ukridge Anton Rodgers as Ukridge.jpg
Anton Rodgers as Ukridge

Background and production

The World of Wodehouse was created as a result of the success of the BBC television series The World of Wooster , which aired from May 1965 to November 1967. The six episodes of the Blandings Castle series, which aired in early 1967, were screened before the third series of The World of Wooster, which was broadcast later that year. [8]

Michael Mills and Frank Muir produced the episodes based on P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings Castle stories, which were adapted by John Chapman. Joan Kemp-Welch produced the episodes based on Wodehouse's Ukridge stories, which were adapted by Richard Waring. The episodes for both series were each approximately 30 minutes long. [9]

Exterior shots of Blandings Castle were filmed at Penshurst Place. [10]

The music for the Blandings Castle series was composed by Ron Grainer. [11] Arthur Wilkinson composed the music for the Ukridge series. [12]

Penguin Books, which had previously published Jeeves books with covers featuring full-colour promotional images from The World of Wooster, published tie-in Blandings books with covers featuring promotional images from The World of Wodehouse in December 1966. [13] [14]

Derek Nimmo, who played Freddie Threepwood in the Blandings Castle series, also played Bingo Little in several episodes of The World of Wooster. [15] Both Anton Rodgers and Julian Holloway, who played Ukridge and Corky respectively in the Ukridge series, had previously played other roles in the third series of The World of Wooster. Rodgers also portrayed Rupert Baxter in the third episode of the Blandings Castle series, "Lord Emsworth and the Crime Wave at Blandings". [16]

Episodes

Series overview

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
Blandings Castle 624 February 1967 (1967-02-24)31 March 1967 (1967-03-31)
Ukridge 715 July 1968 (1968-07-15)26 August 1968 (1968-08-26)

Blandings Castle (1967)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleAdaption ofOriginal air date
11"Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend""Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend"24 February 1967 (1967-02-24)
Guest appearances: Gaynor Jones as Gladys, Freddie Foote as Ern, Cyril Luckham as the vicar
22"The Great Pumpkin Crisis""The Custody of the Pumpkin"3 March 1967 (1967-03-03)
Guest appearances: Derek Nimmo as Freddie Threepwood, Jimmy Edwards as Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe, Alfred Marks as Mr Donaldson, Lynn Rainbow as Aggie
33"Lord Emsworth and the Crime Wave at Blandings""The Crime Wave at Blandings"10 March 1967 (1967-03-10)
Guest appearances: Anton Rodgers as Rupert Baxter, Celia Bannerman as Jane, Peter Jesson as George Abercrombie, Robert Davies as George
44"Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best""Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best"17 March 1967 (1967-03-17)
Guest appearances: Derek Nimmo as Freddie Threepwood, Cyril Luckham as the vicar, Lynn Rainbow as Aggie, Wanda Ventham as Jane
55"Pig Hoo-oo-ey!""Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey"24 March 1967 (1967-03-24)
Guest appearances: Angela Thorne as Angela, James Hayter as Smithers, Derek Waring as James Belford
66"Lord Emsworth and the Company for Gertrude""Company for Gertrude"31 March 1967 (1967-03-31)
Guest appearances: Derek Nimmo as Freddie Threepwood, Jimmy Edwards as Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe, Richard Klee as Cyril Wellbeloved, Leslie Phillips as the Rev. Esmond Gander, Marilyn Taylerson as Gertrude [1] [4]

Ukridge (1968)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleAdaption ofOriginal air date
71"The Home from Home""Ukridge and the Home from Home"15 July 1968 (1968-07-15)
Guest appearances: Marian Spencer as Aunt Julia, David Langton as Col. Bagnew, Tim Barrett as Victor Beamish, Hugh Latimer as Barter, Eric Dodson as Mr. Wapshott, Joan Benham as Lady Bastable
82"The Dog College""Ukridge's Dog College"22 July 1968 (1968-07-22)
Guest appearances: Marian Spencer as Aunt Julia, Hugh Latimer as Barter, John Blythe as Joe, Kenneth Thornett as Bowles, Noel Davis as Tupper, Harry Davis as the Barman, Damaris Hayman as Angelica Vining
93"The Debut of Battling Billson""The Debut of Battling Billson"29 July 1968 (1968-07-29)
Guest appearances: Dickie Owen as Battling Billson, Kenneth Thornett as Bowles, Noel Davis as Tuppf, Harry Davis as the Barman, Robin Wentworth as Billson's second, Pamela Cundell as Flossie Burns
104"The Accident Syndicate""Ukridge's Accident Syndicate"5 August 1968 (1968-08-05)
Guest appearances: Tim Barrett as Victor Beamish, John Fraser as Teddy Weeks, Tony Bateman as Gussy, Arthur Cox as Freddie
115"The Comeback of Battling Billson""The Come-back of Battling Billson" and "Buttercup Day"12 August 1968 (1968-08-12)
Guest appearances: Marian Spencer as Aunt Julia, Hugh Latimer as Barter, Dickie Owen as Battling Billson, Harry Davis as the Barman, Brian Oulton as Stuttering Sam, Debbie Bowen as the Buttercup girl
126"The Nasty Corner""Ukridge Rounds a Nasty Corner"19 August 1968 (1968-08-19)
Guest appearances: Marian Spencer as Aunt Julia, Kenneth Thornett as Bowles, Noel Davis as Tupper, Margaretta Scott as Lady Lakenham, Patrick Waddington as Sir Rupert Lakenham, Janie Booth as Millie Lakenham
137"The Wedding Bells""No Wedding Bells for Him"26 August 1968 (1968-08-26)
Guest appearances: Bernadette Milnes as Mabel Price, Julian Orchard as Looney Coote, Fred Hugh as Mr Grindley [1] [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

Blandings Castle is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Lord Emsworth, home to many of his family and the setting for numerous tales and adventures. The stories were written between 1915 and 1975.

Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl Emsworth, commonly known as Lord Emsworth, is a recurring fictional character in the Blandings Castle series of stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. He is the amiable and somewhat absent-minded head of the large Threepwood family. Longing for nothing more than to talk to his prize pig, Empress of Blandings, or potter peacefully in the idyllic gardens of Blandings Castle, he must frequently face the unpleasant reality of his domineering sisters and familial duties.

Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, 5th Earl of Ickenham, commonly known as Uncle Fred, is a fictional character who appears in comedic short stories and novels written by P. G. Wodehouse between 1935 and 1961. An energetic and mischievous old chap, his talent for trouble is the bane of his nephew Pongo Twistleton's life.

Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge is a fictional character in comedic stories by author P. G. Wodehouse. Ukridge appears in one novel and nineteen short stories. Ukridge is a charismatic opportunist who will do anything to increase his capital—except, of course, work. The stories in which he appears generally involve his get-rich-quick schemes. Though Ukridge never achieved the popularity of the same author's Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, Wodehouse retained a certain fondness for him, his last appearance in a Wodehouse story being as late as 1966. With completed new stories appearing over a span of 60 years, he is the longest-running of Wodehouse's characters, topping Jeeves and Wooster and the denizens of Blandings Castle.

<i>Summer Lightning</i> 1929 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Summer Lightning is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 1 July 1929 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, under the title Fish Preferred, and in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1929 by Herbert Jenkins, London. It was serialised in The Pall Mall Magazine (UK) between March and August 1929 and in Collier's (US) from 6 April to 22 June 1929.

Sebastian Beach is a fictional character in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse. He is the butler at Blandings Castle, seat of Lord Emsworth and his family, where he serves for over eighteen years.

The Honourable Frederick Threepwood is a fictional character in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse. A member of the Drones Club affectionately known as "Freddie", he is the second son of Lord Emsworth, and a somewhat simple-minded youth who brings his father nothing but trouble.

<i>Leave It to Psmith</i> 1923 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Leave It to Psmith is a comic novel by English author P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 30 November 1923 by Herbert Jenkins, London, England, and in the United States on 14 March 1924 by George H. Doran, New York. It had previously been serialised, in the Saturday Evening Post in the US between 3 February and 24 March 1923, and in the Grand Magazine in the UK between April and December that year; the ending of this magazine version was rewritten for the book form.

<i>Heavy Weather</i> (Wodehouse novel) 1933 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Heavy Weather is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 28 July 1933 by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, and in the United Kingdom on 10 August 1933 by Herbert Jenkins, London. It had been serialised in The Saturday Evening Post from 27 May to 15 July 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Custody of the Pumpkin</span> 1924 short story by P. G. Wodehouse

"The Custody of the Pumpkin" is a short story by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. It first appeared in the United States in the 29 November 1924 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, and in the United Kingdom in the December 1924 issue of Strand Magazine. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935), although the story takes place sometime between the events of Leave it to Psmith (1923) and Summer Lightning (1929).

"Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United Kingdom in the June 1926 Strand Magazine, and in the United States in the 5 June 1926 issue of Liberty. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935), although the story takes place sometime between the events of Leave it to Psmith (1923) and Summer Lightning (1929).

"Company for Gertrude" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United Kingdom in September 1928 in Strand, and in the United States in October 1928 in Cosmopolitan. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935), though the story takes place sometime between the events of Leave it to Psmith (1923) and Summer Lightning (1929).

Lady Constance Keeble is a recurring fictional character in the Blandings Castle stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being Lord Emsworth's most formidable sister, a strikingly handsome woman, with a fair, broad brow, and perfectly even white teeth. She has the carriage of an empress, and her large grey eyes are misleadingly genial.

<i>Heavy Weather</i> (film) 1995 film

Heavy Weather is a television film with a screenplay by Douglas Livingstone based on the 1933 novel Heavy Weather by P. G. Wodehouse, set at Blandings Castle. It was made by the BBC and WGBH Boston, first screened by the BBC on Christmas Eve 1995 and shown in the United States on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre on 18 February 1996.

"Sticky Wicket at Blandings" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared, under the title "First Aid for Freddie", in the United States in the October 1966 issue of Playboy magazine. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Plum Pie (1966). It was published, under the title "First Aid for Freddie", in the United Kingdom in the April 1967 issue of Argosy, after being published in Plum Pie in the UK.

<i>The World of Wooster</i> English TV series or programme

The World of Wooster is a comedy television series, based on the Jeeves stories by author P. G. Wodehouse. The television series starred Ian Carmichael as English gentleman Bertie Wooster and Dennis Price as Bertie's valet Jeeves.

<i>Blandings</i> (TV series) British TV series or programme

Blandings is a British comedy television series adapted by Guy Andrews from the Blandings Castle stories of P. G. Wodehouse. It was first broadcast on BBC One from 13 January 2013, and stars Timothy Spall, Jennifer Saunders, Jack Farthing, Tim Vine and Mark Williams. The series was produced with the partial financial assistance of the European Regional Development Fund.

<i>Blandings</i> (radio series)

The Blandings radio series is a series of radio dramas based on the Blandings Castle stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. The stories were dramatised by Wodehouse biographer Richard Usborne. The series ran between 1985 and 1992 on BBC Radio 4.

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 Taves (2006), pp. 179–182. (Episode titles, broadcast dates, and original story titles.)
  2. "The World of Wodehouse: Blandings Castle". TV Brain. Kaleidoscope. 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  3. See also "The World of Wodehouse: Ukridge". TV Brain. Kaleidoscope. 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Blandings Castle". British Comedy Guide. 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  5. Taves (2006), p. 179.
  6. 1 2 "Ukridge". British Comedy Guide. 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  7. Taves (2006), p. 181.
  8. Taves (2006), pp. 178–182.
  9. Taves (2006), pp. 117, 179, and 181.
  10. Taves (2006), p. 117.
  11. "The World of Wodehouse: Blandings Castle: Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  12. "The World of Wodehouse: Ukridge: The Dog College". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  13. Taves (2006), pp. 115–116.
  14. "Penguin First Editions: Early First Edition Penguin Books". Penguin First Editions. Penguin First Editions. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  15. "P. G. Wodehouse's The World of Wooster: Cast & Crew". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  16. "Series 1, Episode 3 – Lord Emsworth and the Crime Wave at Blandings". British Comedy Guide. 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
Sources