''Seven of One'' was a British comedy series that aired on BBC2 in 1973. Starring

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as ''Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and '' Open All Hours''. ...

, ''Seven of One'' was a series of seven separate comedies that would serve as possible pilots for

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 ...

s. Originally it was to be called ''Six of One'', which Barker planned to follow up with another series called ''And Half a Dozen of the Other''. This was a BBC equivalent of a similar showcase for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

called ''

Six Dates with Barker ''Six Dates with Barker'' is a series of six one-off, half-hour situation comedies showcasing the talents of Ronnie Barker. All were broadcast by London Weekend Television early in 1971. Writers on the series included John Cleese and Spike ...

'' created in 1971. In addition to Barker, ''Seven of One'' also featured

Roy Castle Roy Castle (31 August 1932 – 2 September 1994) was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. In addition to being an accomplished jazz trumpet player, he could play many other instruments. Following a vers ...

Bill Maynard Walter Frederick George Williams (8 October 1928 – 30 March 2018), better known by his stage name Bill Maynard, was an English comedian and actor. He began working in television in the 1950s, notably starring alongside Terry Scott in '' G ...

, Talfryn Thomas,

Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a ...

Glynn Edwards John Glynn Edwards (2 February 1931 – 23 May 2018) was a British television and cinema character actor, who came to national prominence for his portrayal of the barman Dave Harris in the 1970s–1990s British television comedy-drama ''Minder' ...

Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for playing Gran i ...

Keith Chegwin Keith Chegwin (17 January 1957 – 11 December 2017) was an English television presenter and actor, appearing in several children's entertainment shows in the 1970s and 1980s, including '' Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'' and ''Cheggers Plays Pop''. ...

, Leslie Dwyer,

Robin Parkinson Christopher Robin Parkinson (25 October 1929 – 7 May 2022) was an English actor known for his comedy roles. He was the second actor to portray Monsieur Ernest Leclerc in '' 'Allo 'Allo!'' (22 episodes: series 7 to 9), after the death of Derek ...

Sam Kelly Roger Michael Kelly (19 December 1943 – 14 June 2014), known by the stage name Sam Kelly, was an English actor who appeared in film, television, radio and theatre. He is best known for his roles as Captain Hans Geering in Allo 'Allo ...

, Christopher Biggins,

Richard O'Callaghan Richard O'Callaghan (born Richard Brooke, 7 March 1940, London) is an English film, stage and television character actor. He is the son of actors Patricia Hayes and Valentine Brooke, whose stage name was Valentine Rooke. As a boy actor he was ...

Yootha Joyce Yootha Joyce Needham (20 August 1927 – 24 August 1980), known as Yootha Joyce, was an English actress best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy in the sitcom ''Man About the House'' (1973–1976) and its spin-off ''George and ...

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 ...

, and Avis Bunnage in supporting roles. The series was released on BBC DVD in 2005.

Episodes

Successful pilots

Whilst most of the pilots were not developed any further, ''Prisoner and Escort'' was chosen to be developed into a series and became '' Porridge'' (1974–1977), which also led to a spinoff series called ''

Going Straight ''Going Straight'' is a BBC sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale. The programme was a direct spin-off to the sitcom '' Porridge'', which all four were involved in, wit ...

'' in 1978, a feature film adaptation of '' Porridge'' in 1979, and many years later a sequel sitcom '' Porridge'' (2016–2017). ''Open All Hours'' was later developed into a sitcom of the same name, ''

Open All Hours ''Open All Hours'' is a British television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which aired in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985. The programme developed from a television pilot broadcast in Ronn ...

'' (1976, 1981–1982, 1985), and many years later a sequel sitcom named ''

Still Open All Hours ''Still Open All Hours'' is a British sitcom created for the BBC by Roy Clarke, and starring David Jason and James Baxter. It is the sequel to the sitcom ''Open All Hours'', which both Clarke and Jason worked on throughout its 26-episode run ...

'' (2013–present). Additionally, ''My Old Man'' also led to a sitcom of the same name, '' My Old Man'' (1974–1975), which was made by

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

and shown nationally on ITV, but featuring an entirely new cast led by

Clive Dunn Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn (9 January 19206 November 2012) was an English actor. Although he was only 48 and one of the youngest cast members, he was cast in a role many years his senior, as the elderly Lance Corporal Jones in the BBC sitcom ' ...

. Ronnie Barker's favourite of the seven pilots was ''I'll Fly You for a Quid'', which he initially chose to do as a series, before being convinced by the BBC that it would be harder to do a full series of scripts about Evan Owen in a Welsh gambling community compared to Norman Stanley Fletcher in the prison setting of ''Prisoner and Escort''.

External links

Seven of One
at Nostalgia Central * {{Porridge 1973 British television series debuts 1973 British television series endings 1970s British sitcoms 1970s British comedy television series Television pilots not picked up as a series BBC television sitcoms 1970s British anthology television series English-language television shows