''A Sharp Intake of Breath'' is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

starring

David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom '' Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector ...

, Jacqueline Clarke with Richard Wilson and Alun Armstrong for series 1-3, which ran from 1977 to 1981, when Jason took up the role of Del Trotter in ''Only Fools & Horses''. It was made for the ITV network by ATV and recorded at ATV Elstree Studios. The opening titles featured cartoons by Mel Calman. Series 1-3 were written by Ronnie Taylor, series 4 by Vince Powell following the death of Taylor in 1979.

Plot

Jason played an everyman character called Peter Barnes and Jacqueline Clarke played his wife Sheila. Wilson and Armstrong played a range of petty officials and bureaucrats whose actions frustrated Barnes' attempts to deal with the necessities of everyday life. The title ''A Sharp Intake of Breath'' refers to the reactions of various characters to seemingly simple requests by Peter, generally followed by a denial. The show made use of the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

plot device A plot device or plot mechanism is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelie ...

Cast

as Peter Barnes * Jacqueline Clarke as Sheila Barnes * Richard Wilson as various characters * Alun Armstrong as various characters * Maggie Jones as Jean *

Malcolm Storry Malcolm Storry (born 13 January 1948) is an English actor with extensive experience on stage, television, and film. Amongst many roles, he is perhaps best known for 'Yellin' in ''The Princess Bride'', HM Customs Chief Bill Adams on '' The Knock' ...

as Cyril Potts *

Bella Emberg Bella Emberg (born Sybil Dyke; 16 September 1937 – 12 January 2018) was an English comedy actress whose television career spanned 60 years. Early life and career Emberg was born in Brighton and grew up wanting to be an entertainer. Her profes ...

as Doris * Margaret Courtenay as Sheila's Mother * Bunny May as Terry *

Gerald Flood Gerald Robert Flood (21 April 1927 – 12 April 1989) was a British actor of stage and television. Early life Flood was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, but lived for most of his life in Farnham, Surrey, where he regularly appeared on stag ...

, as the Doctor, in 'Rear Window' .

Episodes

Pilot (1977)

Series 1 (1978)

Series 2 (1979)

Series 3 (1980)

Series 4 (1981)

Home media

The Complete series was released on DVD .

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp Intake of Breath 1970s British sitcoms 1977 British television series debuts 1980s British sitcoms 1981 British television series endings English-language television shows ITV sitcoms Television shows produced by Associated Television (ATV) Television series by ITV Studios Television shows shot at ATV Elstree Studios