''The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾'' is a

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

series based on the book of the same name written by

Sue Townsend Susan Lillian Townsend, FRSL (née Johnstone, 2 April 194610 April 2014), was an English writer and humorist whose work encompasses novels, plays and works of journalism. She was best known for creating the character Adrian Mole. After writing ...

. It began in 1985, and starred

Gian Sammarco Giancarlo "Gian" Sammarco (born 30 January 1970) is an English former child actor and nurse. He is best known for playing the title role in the television dramatisations of '' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾'' (1985) and its sequel ...

as the title character

Adrian Mole Adrian Albert Mole is the fictional protagonist in a series of books by English author Sue Townsend. The character first appeared (as "Nigel") as part of a comic diary featured in a short-lived arts magazine (called simply ''magazine'') publi ...

, Stephen Moore as Adrian's father George Mole and

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...

as Adrian's mother Pauline Mole. It was directed by Peter Sasdy.

Characters

Mole family

*Adrian Mole (

) is the main character of the series and also serves as narrator. His character on screen is shown wearing spectacles as well as wearing ties often when not at school, points not mentioned in the book. *George Mole ( Stephen Moore) is Adrian's father, married to Adrian's mother Pauline. *Pauline Mole (

) is Adrian's mother, who leaves her husband George to live with her neighbour Mr. Lucas in Sheffield. Walters was replaced by

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...

for series two. *May 'Grandma' Mole (

Beryl Reid Beryl Elizabeth Reid, (17 June 1919 – 13 October 1996), was a British actress of stage and screen. She won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for ''The Killing of Sister George'', the 1980 Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performan ...

) is George Mole's mother and Adrian's grandmother.

Other characters

*Bert Baxter (

Bill Fraser William Simpson Fraser (5 June 1908 – 9 September 1987) was a Scottish actor who appeared on stage, screen and television for many years. In 1986 he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for his stage role in the play '' ...

) is Adrian's foul-mouthed and strongly opinionated friend, an old age pensioner whom Adrian has to look after as part of a school club of which he is part. Bert owns an aggressive and unpredictable German Shepherd dog named Sabre, whom Adrian strongly dislikes. *Queenie Baxter (

Doris Hare Doris Breamer Hare, MBE (1 March 1905 – 30 May 2000) was a British actress, comedian, singer, and dancer best known for portraying Mabel Butler in the British sitcom '' On the Buses'' and its film spin-offs, after replacing the original actr ...

) is Bert Baxter's partner, who later becomes his wife. *Pandora Braithwaite (

Lindsey Stagg Lindsey Anne Stagg (born 1970) is an English former child actor known for playing Pandora Braithwaite in the television dramatisations of '' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾'' (1985) and its sequel, '' The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole'' ...

) is Adrian's girlfriend. *Tania Braithwaite ( Louise Jameson) is Pandora's liberal-minded mother. *Ivan Braithwaite (Robin Herford) is Pandora's father. *Nigel Partridge (

Steven Mackintosh Steven Mackintosh (born 30 April 1967) is an English actor and narrator. He is perhaps best known for his role as Andreas Tanis in the action horror films '' Underworld: Evolution'' (2006) and '' Underworld: Rise of the Lycans'' (2009). Mack ...

) is Adrian's best friend. *Barry Kent (

Chris Gascoyne Christopher Gascoyne (born 31 January 1968) is an English actor, who is known for his role as the seventh Peter Barlow in the soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2000. Gascoyne has been nominated for several accolades at the British Soap Aw ...

) is a bully at Adrian's school who beats Adrian up in exchange for money, until Adrian's grandmother puts a stop to it. *Mr 'Creep' Lucas ( Paul Greenwood) is the Moles' former neighbour with whom Pauline has an affair in series 1. *Doreen 'Stick Insect' Slater (

Su Elliot Su Elliott (born 18 December 1950) is a British actress. She was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, England. Her film roles include Alice in ''The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1984), a nurse in '' The Girl in a Swing'' (1988), Ma ...

) is a woman with whom Adrian's father George has an affair while his wife is in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

with Mr. Lucas. *Maxwell 'House' Slater (Anthony Watson) is Stick Insect's badly-behaved young son from a previous relationship. *Dr Grey (

Bill Wallis William Wallis (20 November 1936 – 6 September 2013) was a British character actor and comedian who appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as in the theatre. Biography Wallis was born in Guildford in Surrey, the only son of A ...

) is the family's jobsworth local doctor, whose bedside manner is generally rude and unsympathetic. *Mr Reginald 'Popeye' Scruton (

Freddie Jones Frederick Charles Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005.''; at ancestry.com (12 September 1927 – 9 July 2019) was an English actor who had an extensive career in television, theatre and cinema productions for a ...

) is Adrian and Pandora's abrasive and volatile headmaster, who is a huge admirer of the then Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

. *Ms Fossington-Gore (Mary Maddox) is Adrian, Pandora and Nigel's opinionated but supportive form tutor. *Mrs Claricoates (Marian Diamond) is the school's kind-hearted and long-suffering secretary. *Hamish Mancini (Craig Souza) is an American teenager whom Adrian befriends during his barge-holiday with his mother and 'Creep' Lucas. In addition, Brenda Cowling appeared in two episodes as the formidable matron of the Alderman Cooper Sunshine Home, in which Bert and Queenie were residents before their marriage. Some characters and places featured from the book are omitted in the TV series and parts of the diary entries mentioned with omitted characters are substituted by others (e.g. Rick Lemon is not featured but references to diary entries where he was featured have other characters fill in such as Ms Fossington-Gore. Another example is when Adrian goes to Scotland with his mother and Mr Lucas, this is changed to a river barge holiday in England.

Episodes

Location

The series was mainly filmed on location in the Braunstone and South Wigston areas of Leicester. The Moles' house and street were actually filmed in Ludlow Close, South Harrow and Adrian's school scenes at 'Neil Armstrong Comprehensive' were all filmed at Hammersmith School in West London (now Phoenix High). Whilst being set in Leicester, which is in the East Midlands, some of the characters speak with a distinct '' West Midlands accent'' (e.g.

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

, etc.).

Music

The opening and closing theme was "Profoundly In Love With Pandora" by

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads ...

. It was released as a single in October 1985 and reached number 45 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

.Official Charts Company - Ian Dury - Profoundly In Love With Pandora
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, The ITV television dramas 1985 British television series debuts 1985 British television series endings 1980s British comedy-drama television series Adrian Mole Television shows produced by Thames Television English-language television shows Television series about families Television series about teenagers Television series by Fremantle (company) Television series set in 1981 Television series set in 1982