''The Cuckoo Waltz'' is a British television

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 ...

produced by Granada Television for the ITV network between 1975 and 1980. It was written by Geoffrey Lancashire, and produced and directed by Bill Gilmour. The series, which was set in 1970s and early 1980s Manchester, dealt with the comic complications that ensue when impoverished newly-weds Chris and Fliss Hawthorne ( David Roper and

Diane Keen Diane Keen (born 29 July 1946) is an English actress, known for her portrayal of Fliss Hawthorne in the Granada sitcom '' The Cuckoo Waltz'' and Julia Parsons on the BBC soap opera '' Doctors''. She also appeared in Nescafé advertisements from ...

) take in lodger Gavin Rumsey (

Lewis Collins Lewis Collins (27 May 1946 – 27 November 2013)"Happy Birthday Richard Hastilow, 65", ''The Times'', 26 May 2010 was an English actor, best known for his career-defining role playing 'Bodie' in the late 1970s – early 1980s British television ...

) to ease their financial problems. Collins left after three series and was replaced by Ian Saynor as Adrian Lockett in the fourth series. The series was re-screened by now defunct Satellite TV channel

Granada Plus Plus was a digital channel run by Granada Sky Broadcasting. It was launched on 1 October 1996 under the original name of Granada Plus, and during its availability it underwent successive rebrands as G Plus, G+ and then simply Plus. However, it ...

in the late 1990s and early to mid-2000s.

Cast

as Fliss Hawthorne * David Roper as Chris Hawthorne *

as Gavin Rumsey (series 1-3) *Clare Kelly as Connie Wagstaffe *John McKelvey as Austen Tweedale * Ian Saynor as Adrian Lockett (from series 4)

Episodes

Series 1 (1975)

*Cuckoo in the Nest (27 October 75) *One Week Later (3 November 75) *Paying Your Way (10 November 75) *The Anniversary (17 November 75) *A Day Off (24 November 75) *Fleet Street (1 December 75) *House for Sale (8 December 75)

Series 2 (1976)

*Babysitter (8 July 76) *Financial Difficulties (15 July 76) *The Armchair (22 July 76) *Connie (29 July 76) *The Model (5 August 76) *The Letter (12 August 76)

Series 3 (1977)

*It's All Greek to Me (10 January 77) *The Treat (17 January 77) *The Air Hostesses (24 January 77) *The Policeman (31 January 77) *Perspectives (7 February 77) *Alterations (14 February 77)

Series 4 (1980)

*The New Lodger (26 June 80) *The Neighbour (3 July 80) *Leather (10 July 80) *A Love That Does Not Dim (17 July 80) *Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (24 July 80) *The Press Ball (31 July 80) *An Ideal Home (7 August 80)

DVD release

All four series of The Cuckoo Waltz have been released on DVD in 2009 and 2011, and a box set with the complete series to follow.

External links

* *
The Official Lewis Collins Fansite
ITV sitcoms 1970s British sitcoms 1975 British television series debuts 1980 British television series endings 1980s British sitcoms Television series by ITV Studios Television shows set in Manchester English-language television shows Television shows produced by Granada Television {{comedy-tv-prog-stub