To The Manor Born


To the Manor Born is a British sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. It stars Penelope Keith, who had become famous for playing Margo Leadbetter in the suburban sitcom The Good Life, she plays Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, an upper-class woman who, upon the death of her husband, has to move out of her beloved manor house. The manor is then bought by Richard DeVere a nouveau riche millionaire supermarket owner originally from Czechoslovakia. Once Richard Devere takes over the manor house, he can't do anything right in Audrey fforbes-Hamilton's eyes. He is very attractive and charming, however, which makes for an interesting love/hate relationship. Richard quickly becomes exasperated with Audrey telling him how to run the manor, but he eventually realizes that she is right when she talks about noblesse oblige, and he admires the fact that she is so good at fulfilling the role of chatelaine. Meanwhile, Audrey (and her butler, Brabinger) have a difficult time acclimating to living in the gatehouse. Richard's mother, Mrs. Polouvicka, (whom Audrey affectionately calls "Mrs. Poo") is from the old country, and isn't happy about being uprooted ("again") from London to the countryside. Audrey's best friend since school days, Marjory Frobisher, is like a school girl still-- and has quite a crush on Richard Devere!16 years after the original series of To the Manor Born ended on television, ten 30-minute episodes were recorded for radio, the programme's original intended medium. The episodes, originally aired on Saturdays on BBC Radio 2 from 25 January to 29 March 1997, were written by Peter Spence, six adapted from TV episodes and four new episodes.

1. Rhythms of the Earth. Audrey is unhappy that Richard has not attended the Sunday church service, and goes to the Manor to tell him of his duties as Lord of the Manor, which include reading the lesson. He promises to attend church the following Sunday and read one lesson, while she will read the other. However, she fails to turn up because the clocks had gone forward.
2. The Grapevine. At a party at the Manor, Audrey tells Richard that she is going on holiday to Spain. However, she actually spends her holiday hiding at the Lodge. During her 'holiday' she finds out that Richard and Marjory have been spending time in the woods behind the Lodge. Unknown to her, they are badger watching but when Audrey confronts him at a post-holiday party, he tells her he knows where she spent her holiday.
3. What's in a Name. Audrey is having problems with her heating, and Old Ned is trying to fix it but keeps needing new parts. Meanwhile, Mrs. Poo is bored and enters a "Cavendish Foods" competition, and upon Richard's insistence does so under an assumed name. She wins the competition, to Audrey's good fortune.
4. Vive Le Sport. Audrey believes she is the only healthy person on the estate, but then hurts her back and gets little help from Dr. Horton (Geoffrey Whitehead). Audrey enjoys Richard coming round to see her, and pretends her back is worse than it is to ensure the visits continue. However, when he asks her to go skiing with him, she makes a quick recovery only for Richard to break his leg while practising skiing.
5. Sons of the Fathers. Audrey, a local magistrate, encourages Richard to join the Marlbury bench as they are short of magistrates. Richard meanwhile tries to persuade her to go to the race course with him. However, she refuses as she wants to spend time looking for any close relatives as she is worried about being the last of the fforbes-Hamilton line.
6. A Wife's Prerogative. When Richard gets in a difficult situation with a female business associate Mlle Dutoit (Rula Lenska), he tells her he is married. However, Mlle Dutoit then arranges to visit the Manor, and Richard persuades Audrey to pretend to be his wife for the weekend. Audrey uses the situation to move a piece of modern art she dislikes. The deception goes well until Mrs. Poo returns home early from London.
7. The Spare Room. An old friend of Audrey and Marjory, Podge Hodge (Zulema Dene), comes to visit, Audrey has to ask Richard to provide a bedroom as the Lodge has a leaking roof. Podge and Richard soon start getting on well, to Audrey and Marjory's horror, and when they spend the whole day together after going hunting, Audrey and Marjory ensure Podge does not spend a second night at the Manor.
8. An Englishman's Home. Richard has a security system installed at the Manor and Audrey is concerned that the CCTV will allow Richard to see into her bedroom. Meanwhile, the estate workers' strike fearing they are being watched and Mrs. Poo has problems with the system, causing the Police to be called to the Manor frequently.
9. The Honours List. Audrey lectures Richard for not attending Lord Allenshaw's (Frank Middlemass) lecture on nature conservation. She then attacks him for his proposed destruction of the estate's hedgerows. However, when Audrey hears that a local person is to receive an honour, she believes it will be him and she changes her mind and agrees to host his New Year party. However, it is the Brigadier who gets an honour, being made an OBE.
10.Plenty More Fish. Audrey and Marjory fall out when Audrey develops a close friendship with Commander Jeremy French-Liversey (Doyne Byrd) and does not help organise the county show. Richard gets jealous, and he finds out the Commander has a "roving eye" for women. Meanwhile, Mrs. Poo and Ned get stuck on a runaway traction engine.