The World of Wodehouse

The World of Wodehouse was a comedy television series, based on the Blandings Castle and Ukridge stories written by P. G. Wodehouse.[1]

The World of Wodehouse
Scene from "Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend", with McAllister (Radcliffe), Gladys (Jones), and Lord Emsworth (Richardson)
GenreComedy
Based onBlandings Castle and Ukridge stories by P. G. Wodehouse
Written byJohn Chapman (Blandings Castle)
Richard Waring (Ukridge)
StarringRalph Richardson (Blandings Castle)
Anton Rodgers (Ukridge)
ComposersRon Grainer (Blandings Castle)
Arthur Wilkinson (Ukridge)
Country of originEngland
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes13
Production
ProducersMichael Mills and Frank Muir (Blandings Castle)
Joan Kemp-Welch (Ukridge)
Running time30 minutes
DistributorBBC Television
Release
Original networkBBC1
Original release24 February 1967 (1967-02-24) –
26 August 1968 (1968-08-26)
Chronology
Related showsThe World of Wooster

The series, which followed the television series The World of Wooster, was shown on BBC Television. It consisted of two series, the 1967 Blandings Castle series (six episodes) and the 1968 Ukridge series (seven episodes).

Apart from one or more extracts from one episode of Blandings Castle ("Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend"),[2] all episodes of both Blandings Castle and Ukridge are lost.[3]

Cast members

Blandings Castle

Ukridge
Anton Rodgers as Ukridge

Background and production

The World of Wodehouse was created as a result of the success of the BBC television series The World of Wooster, which aired from May 1965 to November 1967. The six episodes of the Blandings Castle series, which aired in early 1967, were released before the third series of The World of Wooster, which was broadcast later that year.[8]

Michael Mills and Frank Muir produced the episodes based on P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings Castle stories, which were adapted by John Chapman. Joan Kemp-Welch produced the episodes based on Wodehouse's Ukridge stories, which were adapted by Richard Waring. The episodes for both series were each approximately 30 minutes long.[9]

Exterior shots of Blandings Castle were filmed at Penshurst Place.[10]

The music for the Blandings Castle series was composed by Ron Grainer.[11] Arthur Wilkinson composed the music for the Ukridge series.[12]

Penguin Books, which had previously published Jeeves books with covers featuring full-colour promotional images from The World of Wooster, published tie-in Blandings books with covers featuring promotional images from The World of Wodehouse in December 1966.[13][14]

Derek Nimmo, who played Freddie Threepwood in the Blandings Castle series, also played Bingo Little in several episodes of The World of Wooster.[15] Both Anton Rodgers and Julian Holloway, who played Ukridge and Corky respectively in the Ukridge series, had previously played other roles in the third series of The World of Wooster. Rodgers also portrayed Rupert Baxter in the third episode of the Blandings Castle series, "Lord Emsworth and the Crime Wave at Blandings".[16]

Episodes

Blandings Castle
EpisodeTitleFirst broadcastOriginal storyAdditional cast
1"Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend"24 February 1967"Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend"Gaynor Jones as Gladys, Freddie Foote as Ern, Cyril Luckham as the vicar
2"The Great Pumpkin Crisis"3 March 1967"The Custody of the Pumpkin"Derek Nimmo as Freddie Threepwood, Jimmy Edwards as Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe, Alfred Marks as Mr Donaldson, Lynn Rainbow as Aggie
3"Lord Emsworth and the Crime Wave at Blandings"10 March 1967"The Crime Wave at Blandings"Anton Rodgers as Rupert Baxter, Celia Bannerman as Jane, Peter Jesson as George Abercrombie, Robert Davies as George
4"Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best"17 March 1967"Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best"Derek Nimmo as Freddie Threepwood, Cyril Luckham as the vicar, Lynn Rainbow as Aggie, Wanda Ventham as Jane
5"Pig Hoo-oo-ey!"24 March 1967"Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey"Angela Thorne as Angela, James Hayter as Smithers, Derek Waring as James Belford
6"Lord Emsworth and the Company for Gertrude"31 March 1967"Company for Gertrude"Derek Nimmo as Freddie Threepwood, Jimmy Edwards as Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe, Richard Klee as Cyril Wellbeloved, Leslie Phillips as the Rev. Esmond Gander, Marilyn Taylerson as Gertrude[1][4]

Ukridge
EpisodeTitleFirst broadcastOriginal storyAdditional cast
1"The Home from Home"15 July 1968"Ukridge and the Home from Home"Marian Spencer as Aunt Julia, David Langton as Col. Bagnew, Tim Barrett as Victor Beamish, Hugh Latimer as Barter, Eric Dodson as Mr. Wapshott, Joan Benham as Lady Bastable
2"The Dog College"22 July 1968"Ukridge's Dog College"Marian Spencer as Aunt Julia, Hugh Latimer as Barter, John Blythe as Joe, Kenneth Thornett as Bowles, Noel Davis as Tupper, Harry Davis as the Barman, Damaris Hayman as Angelica Vining
3"The Debut of Battling Billson"29 July 1968"The Debut of Battling Billson"Dickie Owen as Battling Billson, Kenneth Thornett as Bowles, Noel Davis as Tupper, Harry Davis as the Barman, Robin Wentworth as Billson's second, Pamela Cundell as Flossie Burns
4"The Accident Syndicate"5 August 1968"Ukridge's Accident Syndicate"Tim Barrett as Victor Beamish, John Fraser as Teddy Weeks, Tony Bateman as Gussy, Arthur Cox as Freddie
5"The Comeback of Battling Billson"12 August 1968"The Come-back of Battling Billson" and "Buttercup Day"Marian Spencer as Aunt Julia, Hugh Latimer as Barter, Dickie Owen as Battling Billson, Harry Davis as the Barman, Brian Oulton as Stuttering Sam, Debbie Bowen as the Buttercup girl
6"The Nasty Corner"19 August 1968"Ukridge Rounds a Nasty Corner"Marian Spencer as Aunt Julia, Kenneth Thornett as Bowles, Noel Davis as Tupper, Margaretta Scott as Lady Lakenham, Patrick Waddington as Sir Rupert Lakenham, Janie Booth as Millie Lakenham
7"The Wedding Bells"26 August 1968"No Wedding Bells for Him"Bernadette Milnes as Mabel Price, Julian Orchard as Looney Coote, Fred Hugh as Mr Grindley[1][6]

See also

References
Notes
  1. Taves (2006), pp. 179–182. (Episode titles, broadcast dates, and original story titles.)
  2. "The World of Wodehouse: Blandings Castle". TV Brain. Kaleidoscope. 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  3. See also "The World of Wodehouse: Ukridge". TV Brain. Kaleidoscope. 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  4. "Blandings Castle". British Comedy Guide. 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  5. Taves (2006), p. 179.
  6. "Ukridge". British Comedy Guide. 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  7. Taves (2006), p. 181.
  8. Taves (2006), pp. 178–182.
  9. Taves (2006), pp. 117, 179, and 181.
  10. Taves (2006), p. 117.
  11. "The World of Wodehouse: Blandings Castle: Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  12. "The World of Wodehouse: Ukridge: The Dog College". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  13. Taves (2006), pp. 115–116.
  14. "Penguin First Editions: Early First Edition Penguin Books". Penguin First Editions. Penguin First Editions. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  15. "P. G. Wodehouse's The World Of Wooster: Cast & Crew". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  16. "Series 1, Episode 3 - Lord Emsworth And The Crime Wave At Blandings". British Comedy Guide. 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
Sources
  • Taves, Brian (2006). P. G. Wodehouse and Hollywood: Screenwriting, Satires and Adaptations. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786422883.
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