Take a Letter, Mr. Jones
| Take a Letter, Mr. Jones | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Chesney and Wolfe |
| Starring | John Inman Rula Lenska Miriam Margolyes Gina Maher Joan Blackham Christine Ozanne Claudine Bowyer Allan Mitchell |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 6 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 5 September – 10 October 1981 |
Take a Letter, Mr. Jones is a short-lived British sitcom starring John Inman and Rula Lenska that aired for six episodes on ITV from 5 September to 10 October 1981. It was created by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe.
Plot
Take a Letter, Mr. Jones is a role-reversal comedy wherein Graham Jones (John Inman) works as a personal secretary to female executive Joan Warner (Rula Lenska), within a London-based multinational corporation called 8-Star. Although he ably assists her in their busy office, Graham often helps Joan with her equally hectic domestic arrangements as she is a single mother to seven-year-old daughter, Lucy. Miriam Margolyes plays Joan's excitable Italian housekeeper, Maria.
Episode list
| # | Title | Director | Writers | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Interview"[1] | Bryan Izzard[1] | Chesney and Wolfe[1] | 5 September 1981[1] |
| 2 | "The Protector"[2] | Bryan Izzard[2] | Chesney and Wolfe[2] | 12 September 1981[2] |
| 3 | "The Holiday"[3] | Bryan Izzard[3] | Chesney and Wolfe[3] | 19 September 1981[3] |
| 4 | "The Japanese Contract"[4] | Bryan Izzard[4] | Chesney and Wolfe[4] | 26 September 1981[4] |
| 5 | "The Trade Fair"[5] | Bryan Izzard[5] | Chesney and Wolfe[5] | 3 October 1981[5] |
| 6 | "Business Before Pleasure"[6] | Bryan Izzard[6] | Chesney and Wolfe[6] | 10 October 1981[6] |
Context and afterlife
John Inman starred in Take a Letter, Mr. Jones between seasons of the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? Take a Letter, Mr. Jones was never a ratings success (only running for six episodes), but in recent years it has been resurrected by many American PBS stations, where Are You Being Served? is also a hit. A UK repeat of the series was shown on Film24[7] in 2010.
In 2015 UK channel Talking Pictures TV reshowed the series.
A US VHS set of the series was released by Questar in 1995. A UK DVD of the series was released in 2009 by Simply Home Entertainment.
References
- ^ a b c d "The Interview". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ a b c d "The Protector". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ a b c d "The Holiday". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ a b c d "The Japanese Contract". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ a b c d "The Trade Fair". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Business Before Pleasure". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ [1]