Take a Letter, Mr. Jones is a British sitcom starring John Inman and Rula Lenska that aired for a single series of six episodes produced by Southern Television for the ITV network from 5 September to 10 October 1981. It was created by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe.

Take a Letter, Mr. Jones
GenreSitcom
Created byChesney and Wolfe
StarringJohn Inman
Rula Lenska
Miriam Margolyes
Gina Maher
Joan Blackham
Christine Ozanne
Claudine Bowyer
Allan Mitchell
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production companySouthern Television
Original release
NetworkITV
Release5 September (1981-09-05) –
10 October 1981 (1981-10-10)

Plot

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Graham Jones (John Inman) works as a personal secretary to female executive Joan Warner (Rula Lenska), within a London-based multinational corporation called 8-Star. Although he ably assists her in their busy office, Graham often helps Joan with her equally hectic domestic arrangements as she is a single mother to seven-year-old daughter, Lucy. Miriam Margolyes plays Joan's excitable Italian housekeeper, Maria. The programme featured the Barclays House in Poole.

Context and afterlife

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John Inman starred in Take a Letter, Mr. Jones between seasons of the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? Take a Letter, Mr. Jones was never a ratings success (only running for six episodes), but in recent years it has been resurrected by many American PBS stations, where Are You Being Served? is also a hit. A UK repeat of the series was shown on Film24[1] in 2010, and on Talking Pictures TV[2] in 2024.

A US VHS set of the series was released by Questar in 1995. A UK DVD of the series was released in 2009 by Simply Home Entertainment. UK channel Talking Pictures TV reshowed the series in 2015, 2018 and January 2024.

Episode list

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# Title Director Writers Original air date
1"The Interview"[3]Bryan Izzard[3]Chesney and Wolfe[3]5 September 1981 (1981-09-05)[3]
2"The Protector"[4]Bryan Izzard[4]Chesney and Wolfe[4]12 September 1981 (1981-09-12)[4]
3"The Holiday"[5]Bryan Izzard[5]Chesney and Wolfe[5]19 September 1981 (1981-09-19)[5]
4"The Japanese Contract"[6]Bryan Izzard[6]Chesney and Wolfe[6]26 September 1981 (1981-09-26)[6]
5"The Trade Fair"[7]Bryan Izzard[7]Chesney and Wolfe[7]3 October 1981 (1981-10-03)[7]
6"Business Before Pleasure"[8]Bryan Izzard[8]Chesney and Wolfe[8]10 October 1981 (1981-10-10)[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Sony Crime Channel". film24.com. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Talking Pictures TV". talkingpicturestv.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "The Interview". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d "The Protector". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d "The Holiday". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d "The Japanese Contract". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d "The Trade Fair". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d "Business Before Pleasure". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
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