''Sweet Sixteen'' is a British

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 ...

that aired on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

in 1983. It stars

Penelope Keith Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith, (née Hatfield; born 2 April 1940) is an English actress and presenter, active in film, radio, stage and television and primarily known for her roles in the British sitcoms '' The Good Life'' and '' To the M ...

and was written by Douglas Watkinson and directed and produced by

Gareth Gwenlan Gareth Gwenlan (26 April 1937 – 8 May 2016) was a Welsh television producer, director and executive, best known for his work on shows such as ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'', ''Butterflies'', ''To the Manor Born'', ''Only Fools and Ho ...

Plot

Helen Morgan (Nee Carrington and Formerly Walker) is the no-nonsense and independent 41-year-old head of a successful local building firm known as Carrington and Daughter, founded by her late father (John Carrington) and leads a rather affluent lifestyle with her luxury Jaguar and all the trappings. However, her life is turned upside down when she falls in love with Peter Morgan, her young, attractive and recently recruited Architect who is 16 years younger than she. After a torrid beginning, time softens and he also falls in love with her after she has become pregnant with his child, despite already having a 19-year-old son James (Jimmy) Walker. Jimmy is a history student from her previous marriage to Mr. Walker (deceased). After the two marry in a registrars office, they move into a cozy property that Helen has sourced as part of her business dealings (Church Farm) through Hartshorn Jr. who is her dopey agent. He wants nothing more than to be liked by her so after buying that and a 4ac development site known as "Askett Field" which is also part of the story. The story remained largely unresolved as low viewing figures meant a second series was not commissioned and the series was never repeated on any BBC channel.

Cast

– Helen Walker – Director of Carrington and Daughter *

Christopher Villiers Christopher Francis Villiers (born 7 September 1960) is an English actor, screenwriter and producer. Biography Villiers was born in London, the son of Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Wing commander David Hugh Villiers (1921–1962) and his s ...

– Peter Morgan – Architect and Love Interest/Husband *John Rapley – Arthur Poole – Helen's Faithful Building Supervisor * Sheila Fay – Millie Poole – Arthur's Wife and the Morgan's Housekeeper *

Joan Blackham Joan Blackham (15 May 1946 – 6 September 2020) was a British actress with a long stage, film and television career. Education Blackham attended The Alice Ottley School, Worcester and was head of Carroll house. Career Blackham was a profess ...

– Jane – Helen's Secretary * Mike Grady – Dr Ballantine the Local GP *Matthew Solon – James Walker – James (Jimmy) Walker – Helen's Son (b.1964) *

Victor Spinetti Vittorio Giorgio Andre "Victor" Spinetti (2 September 1929 – 19 June 2012) was a Welsh actor, author, poet, and raconteur. He appeared in dozens of films and stage plays throughout his 50-year career, including the three 1960s Beatles films ...

– Ken Green – Helen's Accountant David Neville as Tony Hartshorn of Hartshorn and Hartshorn ( Helen's Dopey Estate Agent) Richard E. Grant made his first screen appearance, playing Anton in Episode Six.

Episodes

#Episode One (16 October 1983) #Episode Two (23 October 1983) #Episode Three (30 October 1983) #Episode Four (6 November 1983) #Episode Five (13 November 1983) #Episode Six (20 November 1983)

References

;Notes ;Sources *

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
British TV Comedy Guide for ''Sweet Sixteen''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweet Sixteen 1983 British television series debuts 1983 British television series endings 1980s British sitcoms BBC television sitcoms