and Chrissy Plummer in Man About the House (ITV 1973-76)
I.
There are several English actresses from the 1970s that I absolutely adore and one of these is definitely Paula Wilcox, fondly remembered as Chrissy Plummer in Man About the House (1973-76) [1] and, prior to that, as Beryl Battersby in The Lovers (1970-71) [2].
II.
Miss Wilcox was only twenty when she starred as Beryl alongside Richard Beckinsale as her boyfriend, Geoffrey, in The Lovers and her character was famous for frustrating the latter's desire to become an active participant in the sexual revolution of the period.
For Beryl, the freedom to say yes to sex before marriage - thanks to advances in contraception and changes in public morality during the 1960s - meant nothing if it was not also the freedom to say no: consent had to be something that could be given, withheld, or withdrawn.
And besides, Beryl was an old-fashioned girl at heart; one to whom marriage and motherhood still meant more than women's liberation and the promise of socio-sexual independence [3].
In fact, her traditionalism and conservatism was even tinged with a streak of puritanism, as betrayed by the fact that she often referred to sex as Percy Filth (even whilst entertaining her own erotic fantasies involving her idol Paul McCartney).
This made Beryl - not least of all to poor Geoffrey, desperate to pop her cherry and lose his own virginity in the process - an at times maddening character.
However, thanks in no small part to Wilcox's lovely performance, she remains endearing and Geoffrey ultimately makes the right choice in resigning himself to the fact that he will have to marry Beryl if he wishes to consummate their relationship (perhaps even growing a moustache and smoking a pipe at her behest in order to signal his submission on this point).
III.
Similar themes to do with sexual politics and comically thwarted desire were also at the heart of Man About the House, with Miss Wilcox playing a more liberated character than Beryl, but one who still placed her body very much off limits to the charming and likeable young man, Robin (played by Richard O'Sullivan), who desires knowledge of it.
To be honest, I don't quite understand why Chrissy doesn't take Robin as her lover; she is clearly very fond of him and extremely jealous whenever he shows sexual interest in other women [4].
Even less do I understand - or much like the fact - that in the final episode of the show, following a whirlwind romance, she marries Robin's obnoxious older brother, Norman, who with his double-breasted blazer, flared grey slacks, and flash sports car is everything that Robin is not [5].
That just feels wrong and it makes me have serious reservations about Chrissy: it's almost as if having flirtatiously teased him for so long, she now wishes to humiliate poor Robin. When the latter trips and falls into a spectacular wedding cake that he himself has made, he literally has his nose rubbed in the fact that she is marrying a man who has bullied and bested him his whole life.
Interestingly, after the wedding, when a number of men step forward to kiss the bride, Chrissy has a passionate snog lasting almost a full half minute with Robin in front of the other guests - including her new husband, who eventually steps in to break things up.
Whether this reveals Chrissy's true feelings or is simply her continuing to tease Robin (and humiliate Norman by being unfaithful to him before they have even left for their honeymoon), I'm not sure. But, again, it does make me wonder about her character.
Richard O'Sullivan as Robin and Paula Wilcox as Chrissy in Man About the House (ITV 1973-76)
Notes
[1] Man About the House is a British sitcom created by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer. It starred Richard O'Sullivan (as Robin), Paula Wilcox (as Chrissy), Sally Thomsett (as Jo), as well as Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as the Ropers. The theme tune - click here - was written by Johnny Hawksworth and entitled "Up to Date" (although it was not specially commissioned for the show).
Six series (39 episodes) were broadcast on ITV from 15 August 1973 to 7 April 1976, all directed by Peter Frazer-Jones. The show was considered rather risqué at the time because it featured a randy and good-looking young man sharing a London flat with two single women. A big-screen version was released in UK cinemas in December 1974, dir. John Robbins. To watch the original movie trailer, click here.
It's a brilliant series which, were it not for a certain snobbery regarding shows that weren't made by the BBC, would be ranked much higher in any list of the UK's best sitcoms than it is (I would certainly put it in my top 10: click here).
[2] The Lovers is a British television sitcom created and written by Jack Rosenthal (and, during the second series, Geoffrey Lancashire). It stars Richard Beckinsale (as Geoffrey) and Paula Wilcox (as Beryl), a perfectly suited young couple, despite having diametrically opposed attitudes toward sex and marriage.
Two series (13 episodes) were broadcast on ITV programme from 27 October 1970 to 18 November 1971. It's essentially a chaste (and charming) sex comedy.
Jack Rosenthal also wrote the feature film adaptation of the same title - but with an added exclamation mark - directed by Herbert Wise and released in UK cinemas in May 1973 (i.e., 18 months after the TV series ended and just three months before the first episode of Man About the House was broadcast). To watch the original movie trailer, click here.
[3] In one scene in The Lovers! (1973), Beryl and Geoffrey encounter a feminist on the stairs at a house party, smoking a joint and loudly proclaiming the ideals of Women's Liberation. When she removes her bra and tells Geoffrey to burn it, he is only too happy to oblige, but Beryl, profoundly unimpressed, storms of in outrage to the kitchen and helps with the washing up.
[4] See for example, episode 4 of series 1: 'And Then, There Were
Two!' (1973). In this episode Robin brings a girl, Liz (played by Jenny Hanley), back to the flat and Chrissy deliberately ruins the evening by walking in on them as they smooch on the sofa in the living room, falsely
claiming that she's his pregnant mistress.
See also episode 2 of series 3: 'Come Into My Parlour' (1974), in which Chrissy displays the same mixture of jealousy and concern when Robin plans to seduce his new girlfriend Angie (played by Caroline Dowdeswell) over dinner in the flat.
[5] Somewhat disconcertingly, the role of Norman Tripp is played by Norman Eshley, despite the fact that in an earlier episode - 'In Praise of Older Men (S2/E3) - the same actor played Ian Cross; a sleazy married man attempting to seduce Chrissy and take her away for the weekend to Bouremouth on a business trip.
Norman first appears in episode 5 of series 6: 'Mum Always Liked You Best' (1976). During a two day visit to see his brother, he takes a shine to Chrissy (which is understandable) and she seems to also be instantly attracted to him (which is not quite so believable). Robin makes his feelings clear to his brother and does everything he can to discourage Norman from pursuing Chrissy, but to no avail. For by the following episode - 'Fire Down Below' (1976) - the relationship between Norman and Chrissy has become serious and after a romantic sight-seeing tour of London, he proposes and she accepts without hesitation. In the next episode - which is also the show's finale - 'Another Bride, Another Groom' (1976) - they marry and the whole nation groaned with disappointment and sympathy for Robin.
Still, he does eventually get to open his own small restaurant as long wanted, Robin's Nest, and to marry an attractive blonde called Vicky Nicholls (played by Tessa Wyatt), but that's a whole different series ...
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