Ooh Betty! Frank Spencer could make a TV return 37 years on
IT’S been 37 years since Frank Spencer last blundered his way on to our screens in his beret, saying to his long- suffering wife: ‘Ooh, Betty!’
Now the disaster-prone dad and his ever-patient spouse could be set for a Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em comeback. Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice – the stars of the original 1970s sitcom – are said to have held talks about a possible return.
Asked i f they plan to work together again, Dotrice, now 67, said: ‘Well, I can’t really say, but yes. Possibly next year – but I can’t really say anything about it.’ Three series of the show ran between 1973 and 1978. Audiences were charmed by Frank’s slapstick attempts to make a home for Betty and their daughter Jessica.
Every episode would end in chaos and Crawford carried out all his own stunts – famously rollerskating under an articulated lorry. Last night fans welcomed rumours of a revival on Twitter. Phillip Clarkson, from Preston, said: ‘Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em making a comeback, yes please!’. Abigail Smith, from London, tweeted: ‘How exciting!’.
Dotrice, now in West End theatre, said she looks back ‘fondly’ on her time with Crawford, 73. She told the Daily Mirror he had been ‘a true friend’ after her husband, the actor Edward Woodward, died in 2009.
The BBC said: ‘It’s one of several shows being considered for BBC One’s Landmark Sitcom Season, but nothing is confirmed as yet and none of the original cast has been approached by us.’