The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole is a British television series based on the book of the same name written by Sue Townsend. It aired from 5 January to 9 February 1987 and starred Gian Sammarco, as the title character Adrian Mole, Stephen Moore as Adrian's father George Mole and Lulu as Adrian's mother Pauline Mole.
| The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy/Drama |
| Written by | Sue Townsend Trevor Waite Oscar Webb |
| Directed by | Peter Sasdy |
| Starring | Gian Sammarco Stephen Moore Lulu |
| Theme music composer | Ian Dury & Chaz Jankel |
| Opening theme | Profoundly In Love With Pandora |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Peter Sasdy |
| Running time | 50/26 minutes |
| Production company | Thames Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 5 January – 9 February 1987 |
Characters edit
Mole family edit
- Adrian Mole (Gian Sammarco) is the main character and narrator.
- George Mole (Stephen Moore) is Adrian's father and estranged to Pauline.
- Pauline Mole (Lulu) is Adrian's mother, who left her husband George in The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole to live with Mr. Lucas.
- May 'Grandma' Mole (Beryl Reid) is George Mole's mother and Adrian's grandmother.
- Rosie Mole is Adrian's baby sister.
Other characters edit
- Bert Baxter (Bill Fraser) is Adrian's foul-mouthed and strongly opinionated old age pensioner friend. He lives with Queenie in a bungalow, along with Bert's aggressive and unpredictable German Shepherd dog, Sabre.
- Queenie Baxter (Doris Hare) is Bert Baxter's wife, who later dies of a stroke.
- Pandora Braithwaite (Lindsey Stagg) is Adrian's girlfriend.
- Tania Braithwaite (Louise Jameson) is Pandora's liberal-minded mother.
- Ivan Braithwaite (Robin Herford) is Pandora's father.
- Nigel Partridge (Steven Mackintosh) is Adrian's best friend.
- Barry Kent (Chris Gascoyne) is a bully at Adrian's school who becomes friends with Adrian.
- Mr 'Creep' Lucas (Paul Greenwood) is the Moles' former neighbour with whom Pauline had an affair.
- Doreen 'Stick Insect' Slater (Su Elliot) is a woman with whom Adrian's father George has an affair while his wife is in Sheffield with Mr. Lucas.
- Maxwell 'House' Slater (Anthony Watson) is Stick Insect's badly-behaved young son from a previous relationship. Stick Insect also gives birth to a baby boy, Brett (George being the father) during the current series and they all live with George's mother for a time.
- Mr Reginald 'Popeye' Scruton (Freddie Jones) is Adrian and Pandora's abrasive and volatile headmaster, who is a huge admirer of the then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
- Ms Fossington-Gore (Mary Maddox) is Adrian, Pandora and Nigel's opinionated but supportive form tutor.
- Mrs Claricoates (Marian Diamond) is the school's kind-hearted and long-suffering secretary.
- Courtney Elliott (John Bird) is the Moles' friendly and slightly eccentric postman, who possesses a surprisingly impressive academic background.
There were one-off appearances from several other actors, including Tony Haygarth as Bernard Porke, the ill-mannered proprietor of the Rio Grande boarding house in Skegness, where the Moles stayed during a holiday; David Ryall as Mr Reginald Gudgeon, the well-meaning but inept manager of the local benefits office, Patrick Barlow as Mitchell Malone, the excitable local radio disc jockey and Lucy Benjamin as Sharon Bott.
Episodes edit
| # | Episode | Writer | Director | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Episode One: Falklands War | Patrick Barlow | Peter Sasdy | 5 January 1987 |
| 1982: the Falklands conflict rages. Bert's swapped medieval squalour for a new bungalow, both Doreen and Pauline have alarming news tor George, and Adrian's mission to demystify the female form ends badly. | ||||
| 2 | Episode Two: Skating Rink | Patrick Barlow | Peter Sasdy | 12 January 1987 |
| Adrian learns that 50p and a bag of grapes can't buy you love - but an aptitude tor domestic chores just might. George has an unwelcome letter from the Inland Revenue, and it seems the Moles will be holidaying in Skegness... again | ||||
| 3 | Episode Three: Skegness | Patrick Barlow | Peter Sasdy | 19 January 1987 |
| George leaves the family home, and Adrian and his mum face straitened circumstances. With her Giro cheque three weeks late, Pauline takes an extreme course of action... | ||||
| 4 | Episode Four: Mum Gives Birth | Patrick Barlow | Peter Sasdy | 26 January 1987 |
| George leaves the family home, and Adrian and his mum face straitened circumstances. With her Giro cheque three weeks late, Pauline takes an extreme course or action... | ||||
| 5 | Episode Five: Reconciliation | Patrick Barlow | Peter Sasdy | 2 February 1987 |
| The Mole family spends New Year's Eve together, with a morose Bert in attendance. Nigel can't decide whether to be heterosexual, bisexual or gay, while an attempted reconciliation between Pauline and George doomed to failure. | ||||
| 6 | Episode Six: Church in Hull | Patrick Barlow | Peter Sasdy | 9 February 1987 |
| Having been suspended for a week Adrian's considered worth of Barry Kent's gang. Spending his evenings loitering outside a Chinese takeaway, he thinks he might be tasting real life at last; but is it a double life? And if he were to run away... would anyone notice? | ||||
