Doctor In Charge, 1972
The third in the series of TV shows that followed the books and films of the same name. All the regular cast return for forty three episodes, screened over two series between 1972 and 1973. Look for a young Richard O’Sullivan in this series as Doctor Lawrence Bingham.
Summary
Continuing the misadventures of the St. Swithin’s Hospital medical students.
Doctor At Large see the students moving further up the promotion ladder, but there’s no change to their slacking off, chatting up girls, nor their ability to drive Professor Loftus round the bend.
However there’s more trouble for the boys from brown-noser Lawrence Bingham who trots about after Loftus in the hope of crawling into the good books.
Clips
Cast
Robin Nedwell – Dr. Duncan Waring
George Layton – Dr. Paul Collier
Geoffrey Davies – Dr. Dick Stuart-Clark
Ernest Clark – Professor Geoffrey Loftus
Richard O’Sullivan – Dr. Lawrence Bingham
Details
Channel: ITV
Written By:
David Askey
Graham Chapman
Graeme Garden
George Layton
Jonathan Lynn
Bernard McKenna
Bill Oddie
Phil Redmond
Gail Renard.
Produced By: London Weekend Television for ITV
Original Transmission Dates: 9th April 1972 – 29th December 1973
Merchandising
With Barry Evans had in fact been sacked after 1971′s Doctor at Large due to erratic behaviour and had not left of his own accord, it hit crisis point. So popular having recast the role of ‘Upton’ would have been a mistake. Humphrey Barclay chose instead to bring back the cheeky ‘Duncan Waring’ – not seen since ‘In The House’ – played by the late, much-missed Robin Nedwell as many would say Doctor in Charge were the golden years regarded as been the best of the ‘Doctor’ series ever mainly because of the combined team of Nedwell, Davies, Layton, O’Sullivan and Clark who were all at their peaks and the superb scripts by, amongst others, Monty Python’s Graham Chapman, Bernard McKenna, David Sherlock, George Layton, Jonathan Lynn, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie and future ‘Grange Hill’ and ‘Brookside’ creator Phil Redmond.