Wink To Me Only

Originally conceived as a Comedy Playhouse presentation from 1968, this show was one of the rare instances where a one-off production evolved into a full series—albeit with an entirely new cast and characters.

The original episode, View By Appointment, followed Marjorie (Pauline Collins) and Jimmy (Derek Fowlds), a young, socially isolated married couple struggling to sell their home. Their unconventional solution? Hosting potential buyers as dinner guests and charming them over food and wine. This quirky problem-solving approach was further explored in the full series, though with a significant transformation.

Rebranded as Wink To Me Only, the short-lived series (just 7 episodes) introduced a fresh cast, with Beryl Reid and Hugh Paddick stepping in as Irene and Sydney Jelliot, a more mature couple. The show was penned by Jennifer Phillips, one of the few female sitcom writers of that era.

Phillips described her creations to Radio Times readers in the week that the series first aired: 'The Jelliots live just south of the Thames in one of those houses whose nooks and crannies encourage bric-a-brac. They are triumphantly incompatible. Rene is extravagantly sociable and extrovert, Sydney is painfully shy and retiring. But they love each other and obviously couldn't exist apart, since each supplies a quality the other person lacks.

'When most people set out on a plan of action they have an end in view...Rene and her husband do things for the wrong reason. For instance, if they put a house up for sale-as in 'View By Appointment'-they don't really want to sell, they want to entertain the people who come to view. With the result that the visitors become puzzled victims.' Jennifer Phillips wrote the series, she claimed, with Beryl Reid and Hugh Paddick in mind.