Leslie Phillips purrs his way through seven half-hours as Henry Newhouse, a prosperous public-relations man who juggles wife Carol (Jan Holden) and a string of mistresses, each liaison collapsing into bedroom farce. Galton and Simpson wrote the scripts specifically for Phillips after spotting him in their 1969 LWT playlet “The Suit”, but the chemistry never ignites: episode three finds Henry trying to save his son from expulsion for photographing a maths mistress, while the finale traps the exhausted lothario inside a wardrobe as a wrestler husband returns home early.
Critics hated it. Stanley Reynolds in The Times complained the gags were “too old and feeble”, and Mary Whitehouse’s National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association condemned the risqué tone. The backlash forced an abrupt schedule shuffle: the first two episodes screened at 8pm on Thursdays, then the remaining five were exiled to Mondays at 9.25pm, replaced in the family slot by the quiz show Mastermind, which promptly became a hit. The ratings collapse ensured no second series was commissioned.
All seven episodes survive on a 2012 Acorn DVD, preserving a curious footnote in British comedy history: the moment television’s most celebrated sitcom writers misjudged the public appetite for cheerful adultery.
Production Details
BBC1 / 1 Season / 7 Episodes / 1973
Producer(s): Harold Snoad
Main Cast
Leslie Phillips as Henry Newhouse
Jan Holden as Carol Newhouse
