Each week, we will be taking an in depth look at some of the best sitcoms and comedy shows from both the UK and the USA.

Today we will be looking at a comedy that was written by the same wrier of Only Fools and Horses – Just Good Friends

Opening Sequence / Theme Tune

About the Show

Summary of Plot

The series followed the wavering relationship between two ex-lovers, Penny Warrender, a secretary for an advertising firm, and Vincent Pinner, an ex ice cream salesman turned turf accountant (bookmaker) who is also the son of a wealthy scrap metal merchant. The couple split up following Vincent’s decision not to marry Penny on their wedding day, leaving her at the altar. In the pilot episode, 5 years since their intended wedding day, the pair meet again by chance in a pub, while out on individual dates. The pair decide to forget the past and become friends, although the rekindling of their relationship is not welcomed by Penny’s snobbish parents, particularly her mother, Daphne, played by Sylvia Kay.–IMDb

Number of Seasons / Episodes

3 season

Characters:

• Paul Nicholas – Vincent Pinner
• Jan Francis – Penny Warrender
• John Ringham – Norman Warrender
• Sylvia Kay- Daphne Warrender
• Shaun Curry – Les Pinner
• Ann Lynn – Rita Pinner (Series 2 onwards)
• Adam French -Clifford Pinner

Trivia

+Exteriors filmed in Essex around Southend, Thorpe Bay and Wakering

+ The title song was written by John Sullivan and sung by Paul Nicholas.

+ The final 1986 special of Just Good Friends, which was first broadcast on Christmas Day that year, attracted a massive audience of nearly 21 million viewers.

+ The series was written by John Sullivan who also wrote Citizen Smith and Only Fools & Horses.

+ Penny’s Mum and Dad’s house is just behind Thorpe Bay Station and the church they got married in is Wakering church

Classic Clips

Best Bits