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Episode Guide: Series Three
Note: The reference to RDS in the Changed Scenes section refers to the page no. of the Rising Damp Scripts book.
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Related pages: The Story of the Series - Script Excerpts - Photos & Stills - Video Clips
 

That's My Boy  -  Stage Struck  -  Clunk Click  -  The Good Samaritan

Fawcett's Python  -  The Cocktail Hour  -  Suddenly At Home



 
Title:
That's My Boy

Starring:
Leonard Rossiter, Richard Beckinsale,
Frances de la Tour, Don Warrington.

With: Ann Beach as Mrs. Brent; David Daker as Mr. Brent;
Daphne Oxenford as Radio Announcer.

 Original Broadcast Date:
Tuesday 12th April 1977, 8.30pm, ITV.

Summary:
A baby occupies the tenants and eventually Rigsby.
Scene Guide:
 
- Rigsby returns home after a holiday on the Costa Brava in Spain. He is glad to be back, claiming the food was just about as greasy as the people. He tells Alan he spent the final three days in a police cell after fighting with a German tourist and pushing him in the hotel pool. He was ex-Luftwaffe, so Rigsby had asked him if he knew who'd bombed his granny's house. He empties his suitcase, which is adorned with numerous cities labels, although he'd taken them off someone else's case at the airport. He pulls out the obligatory T-shirt, and the unobligatory bath towel from his hotel room. Alan tells him he has let the two empty rooms, which Rigsby is angered about. Alan tells him it is to two women, and that Rigsby is in for a nice surprise.
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- Alan rushes off to one of the rooms to warn the new tenant, and with good reason, for it is a married woman with a baby. Alan knows Rigsby's rules on tenants with babies. The woman, Mrs. Brent, says she will have to go and look for another room, and sets off, leaving Alan holding the baby.
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- Rigsby, meanwhile, has gone up to the other no-longer-vacant room. On entering, he is confronted with the most wonderful sight - it is Miss Jones, returned to the fold after her romance with Desmond failed. They move to embrace, but both hold back at the last minute. Instead they sit, and Rigsby tells her of his holiday. Philip enters, and Ruth instantly forgets about Rigsby. Rigsby leaves and goes to see Alan.
- Alan is minding the baby, and quickly hides him and his carrycot behind the curtain when he hears Rigsby on the landing. After a while, Rigsby sees the baby's bottle full of milk, the half-eaten rusk and the baby-like smell in the air. The baby starts to cry, and Rigsby peeps behind the curtain. He tells Alan the likeness is uncanny - especially the nose - but Alan denies being the father. Rigsby gives Alan a choice: either the baby goes or he does. Rigsby leaves angrily. Philip enters, happy in the knowledge that for once, Rigsby can't blame him for something - namely, the father of a white baby. Watch video.
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- They take the baby down for Miss Jones to look after, but Ruth tells them she once dropped a baby into the font at a christening. She reluctantly picks up the baby, and the boys make their excuses and leave. A short while later, Rigsby brings his holiday snaps to show to Miss Jones. Most of them are of Spanish police officers and the cell where he was detained. The baby starts to cry, and Rigsby concludes that the baby must be hers, especially after Alan later tells him "he's back with his mother." Rigsby tries to find out more about how Miss Jones came to have a baby, but she tells him she's only seen his father once, and then by the light of his cigarette. Rigsby is shocked, but reluctantly decides to accommodate the baby for as long as is necessary, telling Miss Jones how fond he is of them. Miss Jones is pleased about that, as she has to go to work and so leaves the baby with Rigsby.
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- He takes the baby in his carrycot up to Alan and Philip's room beacuse he can't stop the baby crying. They try singing to him, which works until Philip peers into the cot.
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- Rigsby takes him down to his room to listen to Children's Hour on the radio. Alan follows him down with a bunny rabbit puppet. This finally quietens the baby down. Just then, the baby's father, a sailor on the cross-channel ferry, enters. Rigsby still thinks it is his and Miss Jones' baby, and sets about grilling Mr. Brent and saying he could never be a fit father if he's always out at sea. Mr. Brent, not surprisingly, loses his temper and gets ready for a fight, but Miss Jones intervenes. Rigsby is shocked when she can't remember the baby's name, and tells her so. Ruth and Mr. Brent find this misunderstanding hilarious, and Mrs. Brent returns to meet Rigsby. Miss Jones has Rigsby on by telling Mrs. Brent that he loves babies and that she can stay as long as they like. Mrs. Brent is surprised at this, telling everyone that Alan had said Rigsby was such a 'miserable so-and-so'. Rigsby puts the bunny rabbit puppet back on his fist, but in the form of a boxing glove, and chases Alan out of the room.
..
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Changed Scenes:
- After Alan tells Rigsby he has let the two vacant rooms while Rigsby was on holiday, the original script has Rigsby recalling the last time he did that - a woman and her pet python. This scene was cut as a later episode, Fawcett's Python, dealt with this storyline in detail (RDS: p.292).
- Between Alan telling Rigsby the baby is back with its mother (actually being babysitted by Ruth) and Rigsby trying to find out more about the father from Ruth, the script called for a scene of an angry Rigsby concluding that the baby was a result of Alan and Ruth's liaison, and the landlord threatening to beat Alan up (RDS: p.299).		 Script Excerpt:
- "Of course I'm back. Who'd you think it was, The Lone Ranger?'

Production Notes:
- Stock footage of a baby was used for the 'lying down' scenes, but for the scenes involving holding the baby, a doll was used.


 
 
Title:
Stage Struck

Starring:
Leonard Rossiter, Richard Beckinsale,
Frances de la Tour, Don Warrington.

With: Peter Bowles as Hilary.

 Original Broadcast Date:
Tuesday 19th April 1977, 8.30pm, ITV.

Summary:
A playwright wants Rigsby for his leading man.
Scene Guide:
 
- Rigsby is in Alan's room and is in a bad mood over his latest tenant, a 'resting' actor called Hilary. Rigsby insists the term actor should be applied very loosely, but Alan tells him of Hilary's film appearances, including the orgy scene in 'I, Claudius' - albeit wearing a stag's head. He reads Rigsby the synopsis of a play Hilary has written. Hilary enters to change the times of rehearsals and Rigsby finds it hilarious that he has chosen Alan for his lead male in the play. Alan storms off in a strop, and Philip enters. He tells Rigsby a bit more about the play, but Rigsby is horrified to learn that the play contains a lot of sex and nudity - and that the lead female is to be played by Miss Jones.
..
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- Meanwhile, Hilary has gone to see Miss Jones, to convince her to play the lead, as she has been having doubts. She is in her room, evidently bored by the script, and proceeds to swat a fly with the rolled up manuscript. Hilary enters and she has to pretend the splattered fly is a currant. After a bit of smooth-talking, the always-gullible Miss Jones agrees to the part, but is surprised when Hilary reveals her opposite number is to be Alan.
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- Later, Ruth and Alan are rehearsing, with Hilary in attendance. It is supposed to be a 'tender love scene' although, Miss Jones' character Maggie is wielding a bread knife. The scene progresses and Alan, playing Slim, ends up in a violent huddle with Miss Jones. She screams as Rigsby enters and Rigsby pounces on Alan and pulls him off. When he realises they are acting, he sits down with a bag of crisps to watch the performance. His continual munching and laughing irritates Alan until he storms off. Rigsby tells Hilary he's picked the wrong man and offers himself as the lead man instead.
..
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- As part of his plan to get the role for himself, Rigsby goes and tells Alan that Hilary is gay and, what's more, fancies Alan, especially his long hair. After Rigsby has left Alan shellshocked, Hilary enters and Alan has to tell him lies about going to play rugby and other 'butch' things as well as going to have his hair cut, in an effort to shake him off.
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- Continuing his rallying for the part, Rigsby disappoints Miss Jones by telling her not to waste her time trying to chat him up, as 'nature has played a cruel trick on that man'. As he is giving Ruth a limp-wristed impersonation of Hilary, the man himself enters, unnoticed for a few seconds, then Rigsby makes for the door in embarrassment.
..
- Later, Hilary accepts Rigsby's apology for the impersonation, and tells his landlord that the little bit of acting he saw impressed him, and offers Rigsby the lead role after all - but it is all a joke. He gets Rigsby to sit by him on the sofa and read out a page of Maggie's passionate lines, with Hilary playing Slim. He ends up with his arm around Rigsby and his other hand on his leg. Rigsby flees in panic, leaving Hilary in hysterics.
..
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- Later, Hilary is in Miss Jones' room rehearsing with her. He has decided to play the lead himself. Rigsby, Alan and Philip listen at the door for a while, then enter. They watch the passionate scene unfold, culminating in Hilary kissing Ruth, sprawled on her bed. Rigsby realises Hilary isn't gay after all, but Alan is the most disappointed, as he has just been to have his hair cut.
..
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Changed Scenes:
- As Alan tells Rigsby of Hilary's acting experience, Rigsby says he'd never be in Crossroads as 'you have to be good to get in that', and that it's the queen's favourite programme (RDS: p.308).
- After Alan tells Rigsby that Hilary was in 'I, Claudius', Rigsby tells him of a previous tenant who claimed he was in showbusiness when he was actually a human cannonball in a variety show. (RDS: p.309).		 Script Excerpt:
- "Written a play? It's all he can do to leave a note for the milkman."

Production Notes:
- This episode was chosen to represent Rising Damp in the Best Comedy category of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards for 1977. It won!


 




 
Title:
Clunk Click

Starring:
Leonard Rossiter, Richard Beckinsale,
Frances de la Tour, Don Warrington.

With:
Derek Francis as Mr. French; Judy Buxton as Caroline Armitage;
James Bree as Peppery Man (scene cut).

 Original Broadcast Date:
Tuesday 26th April 1977, 8.30pm, ITV.

Summary:
Rigsby takes Ruth for a spin in his new car.
Scene Guide:
 
- Alan races back into the garage on his bicycle as though someone is chasing him - there is: Rigsby, in his new white convertible sports car. He admits he's only bought it to impress Miss Jones, and she promptly appears to admire it. He invites her to the Country Club dinner-dance tomorrow night, and Miss Jones is enraptured by the idea. She goes off to borrow her Aunt Ada's fox-fur stole for the occasion.
..
..
- Philip, however, is against cars in general because of pollution. Alan says it's the best way to get a girl, so Philip asks how he got his current girlfriend Caroline, as Alan only has a Raleigh 3-speed. He says he parks it round the back of the cafe and goes in throwing a set of car keys up in the air.
- Later, Rigsby is in a dinner jacket, ready for his night with Ruth, and has moved the car round to the front of the house, nearly knocking down Philip, but avoiding Vienna. Rigsby says he could see the cat better. Ruth enters wearing fox-fur and Philip states his disgust for it, leading to doubts in Ruth's mind about wearing it. Rigsby reassures her, however, and they set off to The Country Club.
..
- At the end of the evening, past midnight, the car returns. Rigsby has inadvertently pranged another car and sped off as fast as he could, not allowing for a hump-backed bridge in the process. Miss Jones is standing in shock in the passenger seat, her head through the canvas roof, and a branch from a tree in her mouth. When she has recovered enough to talk, she rebukes Rigsby for chasing rabbits down country lanes, fighting over balloons at the party and for telling the cloakroom attendant to 'put a bowl of milk down' for Ruth's fox-fur stole. She goes inside in disgust.
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- The next morning, Rigsby is in the garage looking for Vienna when Philip passes on a message about a man who called earlier wanting to see him - his front bumper was missing. Rigsby panics and slams the garage door shut. He sees a small pair of legs peeking out from behind his rear tyre and thinks he's killed Vienna. Not being able to look, he asks Philip to pick him up and put him into a sack for him. Philip does so, but it is Ruth's auntie's fur stole that is lying there. Philip plays along with it. Just then, Alan returns with a buckled wheel on his bike - another victim of last night's reckless driving by Rigsby. He asks his landlord if he can borrow the car for his date with Caroline, but Rigsby says no, and tells him what has happened to Vienna. Rigsby sets off to bury Vienna at the bottom of the garden, but is interrupted by the arrival of the man whose car Rigsby hit last night. He races back into the garage and covers the sports car with a tarpaulin. The man, Mr. French, introduces himself - as a magistrate, much to Rigsby's horror - and Rigsby accidentally pulls the tarpaulin off, revealing the car. He tells Mr. French he does not know who the owner is, but that he will find out. Mr. French agrees to return at 7pm, and Rigsby makes plans not to be around by then.
..
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- Later, Alan has bought girlfriend Caroline Armitage to see what he has led her to believe is his car. She sits in it, and the engine starts. Unbeknown to them, Rigsby is underneath the car, trying to fix it. When Caroline goes inside to phone her mother, Rigsby appears from the floor with oily face. He is about to set upon Alan for lying about his car when he hears Mr. French return. Realising it is 7pm, he quickly tells Alan he can borrow the car, and that he can in fact, own it. Mr. French enters the garage and asks Alan if the car is his. Alan proudly says it is, and Mr. French tells him he was in collision with him the previous night. Rigsby sidles out of the garage until he hears Mr. French say that the accident was his own fault and gives Alan £10 to cover the damage done, as he didn't want to tarnish his reputation as a magistrate. Rigsby can't believe his bad luck.
..
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- Afterwards, Rigsby has an incinerator burning, ready to cremate Vienna. Ruth enters, looking for her auntie's stole, but Rigsby says it must be in the back of the car. He tells her of Vienna's fate and they have a small ceremony. Just then, Philip returns and joins in, trying to keep a straight face. A minute later, Alan enters the garage, holding Vienna in his arms, having found him on the back seat of the car. As Philip and Alan decide to leave hurriedly, Ruth wonders what they have just cremated, and Rigsby fishes out the stole, much reduced in size, and smoking.
..
..
Changed Scenes:
- While Rigsby is showing off his new car to Alan, an angry driver enters who Rigsby has overtaken at traffic lights. He claims men of Rigsby's age shouldn't be driving such flashy cars. The scene was cut due to time constraints (RDS: p.327).
- Alan's discovery that Rigsby has run over his bike comes before Rigsby's discovery of 'Vienna', not after (RDS: p.335).

Production Notes:
- This episode was reported to be Leonard Rossiter's favourite of the 28.

 Script Excerpt:
- "A car is essential in this country. You can't travel by jungle creeper round here, you know."

Bloopers:
- Rigsby thinks he has accidentally mown down Vienna in his sports car. On the realisation that Rigsby has 'cremated' Ruth's auntie's fur stole and not Vienna, Philip and Alan decide to make a sharp exit out of the garage. As Philip pulls Alan, Alan falls forward and into the door. Even Leonard Rossiter turns to see what has happened.


 
 
Title: The Good Samaritan

Starring:
Leonard Rossiter, Richard Beckinsale,
Frances de la Tour, Don Warrington.

With:
David Swift as Mr. Gray.

 Original Broadcast Date:
Tuesday 3rd May 1977, 8.30pm, ITV.

Summary:
A suicidal man moves in to the bed-sitter.
Scene Guide:
 
- Rigsby is showing a Mr. Gray into a spare room. He is a dishevelled, depressed man, seemingly on the verge of suicide. His constant banter of 'going to a better place' worries Rigsby.
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- He talks things through with Alan, who only decides that he probably is about to end it all. Philip enters, and causes Rigsby to panic when he says he's just let Mr. Gray borrow his razor - but it turns out to be an electric one.
..
- Rigsby returns to see if Mr. Gray is still alive. He finds him shaving with Philip's razor, and tries to lift his spirits by commenting on him taking a pride in his appearance. He even offers Mr. Gray some of his women-attracting after-shave, but Mr Gray grabs Rigsby and tells him it was women that brought him to his current situation. He continues his indirect references to suicide, and Rigsby rushes off to see if Miss Jones can offer some calming words for the new tenant.
..
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- As he enters, she complains again to her landlord about her cooker blowing her across the room every time she lights the oven, and Rigsby says he has called the gas board already.
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- Later, as Ruth enters Mr. Gray's room, he is admiring how much of a drop there is from the window. She is then startled at the sight of a noose of rope hanging from a bar on the ceiling. Mr. Gray says he was just about to hang out his drip-dry washing. She directs him towards the table and a waiting cup of tea, but he gets out a bottle of tablets and lets one drop into his tea. He starts to divulge the details of his depression - his wife leaving him, his business becoming bankrupt, another woman who bled him of all his money - and tries to take a sip of his tea every now and again, but Miss Jones pulls it away from him each time. When he turns to show Miss Jones a photo of his wife, she switches the cups. He yells in desperation and Miss Jones jumps up with the tablet-dissolved cup of tea in her hand. She rushes to the door as Rigsby enters. He thanks her for the offer and takes a sip of the tea, then winces. Miss Jones thinks it is cyanide, but Rigsby says it is saccharin.
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- Later, Rigsby tells Alan and Philip he has called The Samaritans, and has invited Mr. Gray up to their room, to see if a bit of socialising will snap him out of his depression. Unfortunately, Alan, Philip and Rigsby get into a political argument about the Labour government and Mr. Gray flees in panic.
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- In the evening, Miss Jones is inside her oven with a torch, trying to see if she can mend the oven herself. The man from the Samaritans enters and quickly pulls her out, thinking she is the suicidal tenant. Unaware of who he is, she starts telling him about her cooker's problem. He only realises they are talking about two different things when she tells him about a sudden drop in pressure and that she thinks she has a leak. She then realises he has come to see Rigsby, and the man goes off to find him.
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- Rigsby, meanwhile, has gone to check on Mr. Gray, only to find a suicide note. He is nowhere to be seen, and The Samaritan thinks it is Rigsby who is suicidal. Miss Jones enters in a panic, as she has seen Mr. Gray - up on the roof. Philip gets ready to go out, but Rigsby sees Miss Jones is impressed, so he grabs the rope and ties it round himself instead.
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- He sets out up the tiles to where Mr. Gray is sitting against the chimney stack. Never one to miss an opportunity, Rigsby asks Mr. Gray to straighten the TV aerial while he is up there. Failing to talk Mr. Gray into coming down, Rigsby retreats, but blacks out and falls, saved only by Alan and Philip holding the other end of the rope.
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- Back inside, Rigsby regains consciousness and sees Miss Jones first. He immediately insists he hadn't fainted, and that it was just a ruse to make Mr. Gray come down - which he did. The Samaritan now returns, however, with two ambulancemen bearing a stretcher. Still convinced it is Rigsby who needs 'saving', he pushes Rigsby onto the stretcher and they carry him off amid protests.
.
Changed Scenes:
- Talk of the rash of suicides prompts Alan to suggest Rigsby would be next, leaving his clothes in a pile on a beach. This is very similar to the storyline in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, which was already being broadcast on BBC1, so the dialogue was omitted (RDS: p.352).
- As Rigsby asks chimney-clinging Mr. Gray to straighten the TV aerial while he's there, he also asks him if he has any unexpired football season tickets he can have before he jumps. This is missing from the TV dialogue (RDS: p.359).		 Script Excerpt:
- "...you don't think he's going to do something desperate, do you?"

Production Notes:
- During this episode, Rigsby reiterates his prediction about the coming of the Ice Age, and also the increased U-V ray penetration from the Sun, due to aerosol usage. Although this may have been known about in the 1970s, it certainly wasn't common knowledge - or fact - until the mid-1980s.



 
 
Title:
Fawcett's Python

Starring:
Leonard Rossiter, Richard Beckinsale,
Frances de la Tour, Don Warrington.

With:
Andonia Katsaros as Marilyn; Jonathan Elsom as Douglas.

 Original Broadcast Date:
Tuesday 10th May 1977, 8.30pm, ITV.

Summary:
An erotic dancer and her snake worry the tenants.
Scene Guide:
 
- Miss Jones has gone to complain about the new female tenant who lounges around the house in a negligee all day and is gone for most of the night. She thinks she might be a prostitute, something which Ruth abhors. Rigsby, however, has been seen getting very friendly with her, and particularly close with the lawn mower when she was topless in the garden. He promises he'll have a word, but goes to get a second opinion from Alan.
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- But Alan is sprucing himself up ready for an attempt to try to chat her up. Rigsby tells him he is sure she is 'a fallen woman' and Alan suddenly changes his mind about her (but only because he's got no money).
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- Rigsby calls in on Marilyn to give her formal notice of eviction, but she tells him her real profession - she is an erotic dancer. Rigsby immediately withdraws his eviction notice and tells her she can stay. She says Rigsby is an improvement on her previous landlord, who took a dislike to her partner Charlie. She fetches a wicker linen basket to Rigsby and takes off the lid. Inside Rigsby is shocked to see that Charlie is a huge, coiled python. He flees the room before he can reinstate the eviction order.
..
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- On the stairs he meets Alan, who has changed his mind about seeing Marilyn, claiming life's too short for moral attitudes. Rigsby agrees and watches Alan enter Marilyn's room, knowing full well he'll come out screaming as soon as he sees the snake. He does.
- Rigsby follows him back to his room and jests with Alan about his terror at seeing the python. But when Philip enters, the mood changes. He has just seen the snake and says it is a Fawcett's Python, one of the world's deadliest snakes, although most of what he says is a practical joke against Rigsby, as Philip has the skin of a very similar snake under his bed, brought from Africa - for which he has plans, now that Rigsby is suitably spooked.
..
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- Meanwhile, Rigsby has gone to tell Marilyn that the snake must go. Unfortunately, the snake has already gone, and Marilyn is frantic with worry. When Rigsby finds out, he is too. He tells her to get out and look for him, especially as the man next door has been clipping his hedge. Watch video.
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- Later, Rigsby is enjoying a cup of tea when Ruth enters to get an update on Marilyn's eviction. He tells her she is a dancer, although she soon guesses what sort of dancer. She advises him to keep her out of the way when the Curate comes round for choir practice with Ruth. After she has gone, Rigsby notices Vienna is playing with something on the floor up the corner. He picks it up - it is the snake. Rigsby stands on a chair and starts to pray. Alan comes in to see what all the commotion is about and recognises the toy snake. Rigsby has an idea to use it as a joke on the Curate, and Alan agrees.
..
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- In the evening, Ruth is in evening dress accompanying the Curate's hymn singing on her recorder. After a while, there is a hissing sound and Ruth spies the snake slithering across her bed. Both her and the Curate leap onto the settee. Rigsby thinks the practical joke has worked perfectly and calmly picks up the snake. However, Alan enters with the stuffed snake tied up with string, and Rigsby is mortified to find he is holding Charlie. In panic, he wrestles the snake onto the ground, and only resurfaces when he claims he has been bitten. Remembering Philip's tale about the snake's deadliness, he thinks he has just minutes to live and insists someone sucks out the poison from his wounds. When he drops his trousers and offers his buttock for immediate medical attention, however, he finds volunteers are not forthcoming. Marilyn enters and is glad to see Charlie again. She laughs when Rigsby says he is poisonous, and Philip and Alan make a sharp exit, chased by Rigsby, trousers round ankles.
..
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Changed Scenes:
- When Ruth warns Rigsby about the tenant being a prostitute, Rigsby tells her not to jump to conclusions, as a previous tenant had a string of men in and out of her room regularly, but turned out to be a chiropodist (RDS: p.364).

Production Notes:
- Perhaps not surprisingly, no real pythons were used during this episode.
- The joke about the neighbour possibly cutting off the snake's head while clipping his hedge came from a cartoon in Punch.

 Script Excerpt:
- "If he carries on growing, we won't be able to get up the stairs without a machete."


 




 
Title:
The Cocktail Hour

Starring:
Leonard Rossiter, Richard Beckinsale,
Frances de la Tour, Don Warrington.

With:
Diana King as Mrs. Armitage; Judy Buxton as Caroline Armitage.

 Original Broadcast Date:
Tuesday 17th May 1977, 8.30pm, ITV.

Summary:
Rigsby gives Alan advice on 'society' behaviour.
Scene Guide:
 
- Rigsby is in his room, preparing to paint a kitchen cabinet. Alan enters and asks if he can bring a girl back to his room, knowing Rigsby always says no. This time is no exception, and Alan leaves in a huff.
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- Later, Alan has had a bath, shaved twice, and is applying far too much after-shave, in anticipation of girlfriend Caroline Armitage's arrival - in defiance of Rigsby's orders, as he is supposed to be going to the bingo hall for the night.
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- Rigsby, however, has not gone out, and is instead sitting by the door in Miss Jones' room, waiting to see the girl in question. When Ruth catches sight of her, she realises who she is - the daughter of Lady Armitage, wife of the property tycoon who owns half the buildings in the area. They decide to make a good impression - Ruth finds her Wedgwood tea service and Rigsby goes off to spray the air freshener, as the wind was coming in off the abbatoir.
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- Alan, meanwhile, is trying to get Caroline out of Alan's chair and on to the bed, but she is resisting. Eventually, she submits, but only because she is sitting on a spring. As they recline for a passionate embrace, she finds herself lying on a jam buttie which Alan had mislaid earlier in the day. As she bursts into tears and takes her skirt off, Rigsby and Ruth enter, with tea on a tray. Ruth takes Caroline off to the bathroom to sponge her down, while Rigsby gives Alan advice on how to get by in priveleged society, but only because Rigsby wants to be part of it if Alan marries into the Armitage family. The ladies return to Alan's room and Rigsby turns on the charm as he pours the tea. Alan completely ignores Rigsby's recent advice, however, and starts dunking biscuits in his tea and ends up kicking the table over as he crosses his legs.
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- Later in the week, Alan is nervous as he awaits the arrival of Caroline and her mother, Lady Armitage. Rigsby has given him a loan to buy an engagement ring and food for the occasion, but has been left out of the social evening, given his reputation of lowering the tone. He walks in on the preparations, however, and is horrified to find he is not invited to the party. He decides to get his own back. The party is soon in full swing until Rigsby barges in with bottles of brown ale, and wearing a party hat with 'I Fancy It' written on it. He recognises Lady Armitage as being Mabel Bagworthy whom he went to school with. He has much pleasure in telling everyone that she always arrived on her father's rag-and-bone cart, always had a runny nose and was fond of showing her knickers to the boys behind the bike sheds. Not surprisingly, Caroline and her mother leave in disgust, and Alan has Caroline's engagement ring flung back at him on their way out. He is reassured by Philip and Rigsby, who asks for his £50 loan back. As he holds out his hand, Alan slips the engagement ring onto his finger. As he sits down, he again kicks the table and sends it flying.
..
..
..
Changed Scenes:
- Alan's girlfriend is called Angela in the script (RDS: p.381ff).		 Script Excerpt:
- "I remember you on your dad's rag and bone cart."


 
 
Title:
Suddenly At Home

Starring:
Leonard Rossiter, Richard Beckinsale,
Frances de la Tour, Don Warrington.

With:
Roger Brierley as Osborne.

 Original Broadcast Date:
Tuesday 24th May 1977, 8.30pm, ITV.

Summary:
A hypochondriac is convinced he is going to die.
Scene Guide:
 
- Rigsby has gone into Alan's room and told him not to ask Osborne how he is when he enters. Rigsby is convinced he is a hypochondriac. When he does arrive, he tells them he has had a hospital appointment. Rigsby jests with him about the state of the hospital and the reputations of the doctors there. Osborne gets out his white tablets in panic. When Rigsby tells him they give removed organs to their dogs, Osborne rushes off to be sick. Philip enters and tells Rigsby that Miss Jones has a lot of time for Osborne while he is 'ill', so Rigsby sets about changing that, but finds she has made him some soup and a pie.
..
..
- Rigsby goes to warn Osborne off instead. He finds Osborne in his room, seated at the table, rigid. He eventually realises that he must be dead, and passes out.
..
- Later, after the ambulance has taken Osborne away, Alan and Philip come looking for him, and Rigsby has to break the bad news to them, and a short while after, to Miss Jones.
..
- Rigsby spends the rest of the day in a black mourner's suit, and takes Alan out into the corridor to show him a coffin he had bought from a funeral director's closing down sale. He had bought it for himself, but has decided to let Osborne have it.
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- Alan helps him carry it into Osborne's vacant room, and Rigsby starts to polish it. Ruth enters and is shocked to see a coffin there. They discuss suitable epitaphs for Osborne's headstone. Philip comes to see the coffin and decides to play a trick on Rigsby. He tells him the coffin would be too short for Osborne, and Rigsby obliges the joke by getting into the coffin to see how spacious it is, including putting the lid down. The boys seize the opportunity and jump on top of the coffin, locking it with the brass screws. Unfortunately, one of them breaks, and Rigsby is trapped in the coffin.
..
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- As they go out to get a tool to prise open the coffin, they pass Osborne in the corridor. His rigidity was due to his taking too many tablets earlier. They divert Osborne from going to his room by telling him to see Miss Jones, who is very concerned about him, although she is actually grieving for him.
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- Ruth is trying on her funeral outfit when Osborne walks in, and she gets the fright of her life. When she eventually accepts that he is alive and not a ghost, she is relieved.
- Osborne goes back to his room to find Alan and Philip wrestling with the coffin lid. It suddenly bursts open, but when Rigsby sees Osborne alive and well, he faints and falls back into the coffin.
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Changed Scenes:
- The coffin is stored in the basement flat in the script, not in a landing cupboard (RDS: p.412).
- The selection of gravestone epitaphs recited by Rigsby and Ruth may well have been researched by Leonard, as he lived near Brompton Cemetery, London, where he often took walks (RDS: p.414).		 Script Excerpt:
- "He's got a list of symptoms as long as your arm."

Production Notes:
- Actor Roger Brierley became a father the day before this episode was recorded. As the script discussed vasectomies, Leonard Rossiter announced Roger's new arrival to the audience, and shared a joke with them about the irony.
- Roger was recommended for the role by Leonard, after working together in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin a year earlier.

 
 

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