William Gaunt and Richard Vernon preside over the Albany Club, a fogeyish London gentlemen's establishment thrown into panic by the arrival of its first female members. The series ran for six half-hour episodes on BBC Two during autumn 1988, chronicling the club's attempts to modernise while preserving its ancient rituals. Jill Meager plays Ann, the woman who triggers the upheaval, facing down a committee of moth-eaten retainers including Michael Ripper's Brindles and Christopher Benjamin's Willie.
Richard Gordon, creator of the Doctor novels, mined the same vein of institutional absurdity here, scripting each episode around the club's flustered response to contemporary life. Sydney Lotterby directed and produced, bringing the same light touch he'd applied to Rising Damp and Porridge. The show disappeared after its single run, leaving only its theme music by Max Harris as a lingering echo of a world where ties were tied and women were kept firmly beyond the baize door.
Production Details
BBC Two / 1 Season / 6 Episodes / 1988
Created by: Richard Gordon
Writer(s): Richard Gordon
Producer(s): Sydney Lotterby
Main Cast
William Gaunt as Aubrey
Richard Vernon as George
Jill Meager as Jill Meager
Arthur White as Hawkins
Christopher Benjamin as Willie
Rupert Frazer as Quentin
Robin Bailey as Orlando
Robert Lang as
