Please Sir!



Please Sir! is a London Weekend Television situation comedy, created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey and featuring actors John Alderton, Deryck Guyler, Joan Sanderson, Noel Howlett, Erik Chitty and Richard Davies. The series ran for 55 episodes between 1968 and 1972.

Synopsis
The programme was set in the fictional Fenn Street School, and starred John Alderton as Bernard Hedges, a young teacher fresh out of training college. The supporting cast included Deryck Guyler, Joan Sanderson and Richard Davies. Character actors and actresses formed the supporting cast, including Mollie Sugden as a parent of a student, Barbara Mitchell as Frankie Abbott's mother, Ann Lancaster as Mrs Rhubarb in a 1968 episode.

Bernard Hedges and the 5C pupils were replaced by a new teacher and pupils for the final series in 1971–72, while the original pupils continued in a spin-off series, The Fenn Street Gang, which ran for 47 episodes between 1971 and 1972. This was followed by Bowler (1973), following crime boss Stanley Bowler, played by George Baker for 13 episodes.

Like many situation comedies of this era, a film version was released in 1971. This was set in an outdoor pursuit centre, but starred most of the TV cast.

Cast
The Staff: The Pupils (1968–71): The Pupils (1971–72):
 * John Alderton as Mr Bernard Hedges
 * Deryck Guyler as Mr Norman Potter
 * Noel Howlett as Mr Cromwell
 * Joan Sanderson as Miss Doris Ewell
 * Richard Davies as Mr Price
 * Erik Chitty as Mr Smith
 * Bernard Holley as Mr Hurst (1971-1972)
 * Vivienne Martin as Miss Petting (1971-1972)
 * Richard Warwick as Mr David Ffitchett-Brown (1971)
 * David Howe as Colin Lovelace (1970-1971)
 * Lindsay Campbell as Mr. Sibley (1970-1972)
 * Arnold Peters as School Governor (1970-1972)
 * Roderick Smith as Philip Larch (1971)
 * Liz Gebhardt as Maureen Bullock
 * Peter Cleall as Eric Duffy
 * David Barry as Frankie Abbott
 * Peter Denyer as Dennis Dunstable
 * Penny Spencer as Sharon Eversleigh (1968-1970)
 * Carol Hawkins as Sharon Eversleigh (1971)
 * Malcolm McFee as Peter Craven (1968-1970)
 * Charles Bolton as Godber
 * Rosemary Faith as Daisy
 * Billy Hamon as Des
 * Barry McCarthy as Terry Stringer
 * Drina Pavlovic as Celia
 * Shirley Cheriton as Pat (1971)

Episodes
NOTE: All of these episode descriptions have been taken from the DVD sleeves of the Please Sir DVDs, released by Network (In Australia, Series One and Two are available as one set of DVDs, Series Three (along with the 1971 Please Sir movie) as another).

Note: The first series was in an experimental 40-minute format (to fit in a 45-minute slot). The remaining episodes were in the traditional 25-minute format (to fit in a 30-minute slot)

The transmission dates and times reflect the listings for the London ITV region. Listings for the alternative ITV regions are not indicated.

Series One
This series was recorded and transmitted in black and white on the VHF 405-line TV system.

Series Two
All of these episodes were made in colour, although all the episodes up to The Generation Gap were transmitted in monochrome, as ITV began colour transmission on Saturday 15 November 1969. All were shown in colour in a repeat run, seen in some ITV regions in early 1970.

Series Three
The final three episodes of this series were affected by the ITV Colour Strike, which affected all ITV programmes recorded between November 1970 and March 1971. As a result of this industrial action, these affected episodes were recorded and transmitted in black and white.

Series Four
Unlike the previous series, episodes were initially broadcast on a Saturday. However, there was a week's break in transmission between Episode 14 (Old Fennians Day) and Episode 15 (What Are You Incinerating). When it returned it was broadcast in a Sunday night slot. This was only in London. In the other ITV regions, it continued to be broadcast on Saturdays at 6:30pm, so the rest of the nation saw the last 7 episodes of this series one day before Londoners saw them.

Characters
Staff

Mr Bernard Hedges (Portrayed by John Alderton). A teacher fresh out of training. He was allocated Class 5C, the most unruly form in the school, at the beginning of term. At first relations were frosty between Bernard and Class 5C, but gradually Bernard gained the respect of his class and the rest of the staff. As the series progressed, he is shown to be a caring and very fair teacher and would always defend his form, regardless of how much evidence is put towards them.

In the movie, he met Air stewardess Penny Wheeler. After misinterpreting a 'few white lies' made by a pupil accidentally left behind, she began to take shine to Bernard. After some time of dating, Bernard attempted to propose to Penny but she already said yes before he could complete his sentence and they got engaged and later married.

Shortly after Bernard got married, a new term started and was allocated Class 4C but it was not quite the same as 5C. He later resigned and left.