Bloomers, 1979
This five part sitcom was Richard Beckinsale’s final work before his sad passing.
The writer got the idea for Bloomers while talking with actor John Challis, who owned and worked at a garden centre, while taking a break from acting.
The idea for the show was based on fact, after the writer recalled a local florist telling him about the funny things that happened and thought it would make a good series.”
That local florist was John Challis for whom the writer had been a customer.
A script was drafted based on the stories and passed it on to Challis who then passed it to producer John Howard Davies at the BBC. Co-incidently he was looking for a vehicle for Richard Beckinsale. Challis later joked “So Bloomers was written with me in mind but I wasn’t famous enough, but Richard Beckinsale was wonderful and I got an episode out of it!” Challis makes an appearance as a policeman in episode three.
Five episodes were in the can when tragedy struck. The five completed episodes of Bloomers were recorded prior to Christmas 1978. Due to an industrial dispute at the BBC, the recording of the sixth episode was postponed until 20th March, sadly, it was never completed, as Richard Beckinsale’s died f a heart attack on 19th March 1979.
The five completed episodes were broadcast later the same year.
Summary
Stan is a worker for a small London flower business. The humour centred on the relationships between the workers and the scrapes they get into doing odd jobs in the gardens of houses in the district.
Beckinsale’s character, Stan, was apt at winding up in bed with lonely housewives, and equally apt at spending time with said housewives musing on philosophy and the pointlessness of life.
Clips
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Cast
Richard Beckinsale – Stan
Anna Calder-Marshall – Lena
Paul Curran – George
David Swift – Dingley
Pat Gorman – Pub Landlord
June Ritchie Diana
Beryl Nesbitt – Connie
Details
Channel: BBC2
Written By: James Saunders
Produced By; John Howard Davies
Original Transmission Dates: 27th September – 25th October 1979