Family fun that blessed our screens
Sid James’ sitcom Bless This House served up lots of laughs when it launched au 50 years s ago
CARRY On star Sid James was a comedy hit playing g father-of-two Sid Abbott t in Bless This House. Diana Coupland played his wife Jean, with Robin Stewart as his unemployed ex-art t graduate son Mike and Sally
Geeson as their 16-year-old schoolgirl daughter Sally.
They all lived at Birch Avenue, Putney, with Anthony Jackson and Patsy Rowlands as their neighbours, Trevor and Betty.
The show’s theme tune was called The Generation Gap and that summed up Sid’s relationship with his children, as he said d of his son: “You know that generation gap they keep going on about – it’s between his ears”.
The Thames Television comedy y launched 50 years ago this month, h, in 1971 and ran for 65 episodes over r six series with hit sitcom writer Carla a Lane, of The Liver Birds and Bread ad fame, penning some of the scripts. ts.
Sid James’ appearance in Bless This House followed his earlier sitcom success in shows like Hancock’s Half Hour and George And The Dragon with Peggy
Mount.
June Whitfield, future EastEnders actor Bill Treacher, Lionel Blair and Windsor Davies were among some of the other stars who appeared in the show, while Sally Geeson also featured in the film Carry On Abroad with Sid James in 1972.
She later said: “I played Sid’s daughter for seven years in Bless This House and it was halfway through the series that Sid asked me appear in one of the Carry On movies. I was so glad Sid was there because I was very nervous.”
There was also a film version of Bless This House in 1972, with Robin Askwith playing son Mike as Robin Stewart was not available.
More series were planned, but the sitcom came to an abrupt end four days after the season six finale, following the sudden death of
Sid James at the age of 62, in April 1976.
He suffered a fatal heart attack on stage at the Sunderland Empire during the first night of the tour of The Mating Season and died on his way to the hospital.
Sid had earlier toured the comedy show in Australia where it broke all box office records, but once said: “Comedy is hard work and I am not really a comedian. I need funny people around me to get the best out of myself.”