No-Honestly tv series

No-Honestly

1974 - United Kingdom

Having met on the set of Upstairs, Downstairs, John Alderton and Pauline Collins soon became one of television's most renowned real-life married couples. Struck by their on-screen chemistry, Michael Grade, the recently‑appointed deputy controller of LWT entertainment programmes commissioned No-Honestly specifically for them.

The series was written by husband-and-wife Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham, who had been married for over ten years, and was inspired on Bingham’s autobiography, Coronet Among the Grass, which was published in 1972. Further inspiration came from incidents during Brady and Bingham’s own marriage and included incidents that were only funny in hindsight. "When we first moved into a small house in Notting Hill Gate, London," explained Terence, "Charlotte painted everything in the house white: even the doorknobs. One evening I arrived home to find that she'd painted the garden as well. All the stones, bricks, flower tubs, paving stones and drains. It was unbelievable. We'd only been married about six months and it was our first really big row.”

Charlotte, daughter of Lord and Lady Clanmorris, and Terence, for whom writing superseded acting, insisted that the storyline of No-Honestly was "in no way autobiographical". But they did concede that some of the incidents were based on fact.

The comedy featured the celebrity pair of Alderton and Collins as a relatively prosperous and successful happily‑married couple. Alderton played actor Charles Danby (referred to in the programme as C.D. - also short for Clever Drawers) and Collins was children’s writer Clara.

No-Honestly tv show 1974

Each episode begins with Clara and C.D. seated on stools in front of a live studio audience where they chat briefly to each other, or directly to camera, about the ups and downs of their first year of married life some ten years previously, until a comment or remark from Clara begins the programme proper of a significant event shown in flashback.

No-Honestly tv show 1974

In the first flashback we are introduced to C.D. who starts out as an orphan turned actor who is mostly out of work when he meets Clara, a debutante of ennobled parentage, at a party in Hampstead. He asks her out for an afternoon and teaches her about "who does which, when and whatever." By the time we come to meet them in the present day he is in regular employment and she is the author of a famed children's character called Ollie the Otter.

Guest stars on the series included Johnny Briggs (Mike Baldwin in Coronation Street), Geoffrey Hughes (Keeping Up Appearances, Heartbeat, The Royle Family), Patrick Newell (The Avengers), Liz Smith (The Vicar of Dibley, Lark Rise to Candleford) and Tony Selby (Get Some In!, Doctor Who).

No-Honestly tv show 1974

The comedy was fairly standard domestic sitcom fodder concerning daily domestic dramas, paying the bills and confusion around parents or friends and their relationship in the early days of marriage. A pilot was made for CBS television in the United States although it was never aired. In the US version, Charles would have been an orphan from the Bronx who meets Clara, a recently graduated student who had been educated at the finest of schools.

Lynsey de Paul wrote and sang the No-Honestly theme tune which became a hit single, peaking at Number 7 in the UK pop charts in November 1974.

No-Honestly tv show 1974

The writers went on to write Yes – Honestly in 1976, although this series, sometimes mistakenly regarded as a sequel, featured different lead actors (Liza Goddard and Donal Donnelly) and there was no direct storyline continuity from the original series. Alderton and Collins teamed up again in a number of different future projects although the most successful was the Upstairs, Downstairs spin-off, Thomas and Sarah.

No-Honestly tv show 1974

Published on August 27th, 2021. Written by Malcolm Alexander for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

Emergency Ward 10

Britain's first medical soap, which was also the first of the country's twice-weekly serials, went on to become one of the nation’s best loved programmes, reaching an average audience of 16 million people a week and 24 million at its peak.

Also starring John Alderton

About Face

A series of 12 unconnected half-hour sitcoms, all written by different writers, created as a starring vehicle for Maureen Lipman

Also tagged British Sitcom

The Army Game

Hugely successful series from Granada TV that started in 1957 as a fortnightly live sitcom, which was moved to a weekly spot when it became so popular. The series followed the misfortunes of a mixed bag of army conscripts.

Also tagged British Sitcom

Wink To Me Only

Originally a Comedy Playhouse presentation from 1968, this was one of those rare beasts that was made into a full series but with an entirely different cast with entirely different character names.

Also starring Pauline Collins

Russ Abbot's Madhouse

If you grew up in the 1980s in the UK, there's a strong chance Russ Abbot's Madhouse was part of your Saturday night viewing routine. A zany sketch show offering a blend of slapstick, parody, and wacky characters. "See you, Jimmy!"

Also starring Liz Smith

Valentine Park

Tom Morris is an employee of the council whose job it is to maintain the standards of his local park. Unfortunately, his task is not helped by the incompetent people around him, which include two overzealous park officers - Bodie and Doyle

Also starring Liz Smith

Six of the Best

Six individual sitcoms that ITV hoped would produce a full series and do for them what 'Comedy Playhouse' did for the BBC.

Also starring John Alderton