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Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt

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Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt
Created byRoy Clarke from a concept by Bill Maynard
Directed byDerrick Goodwin (pilot)
Ronnie Baxter (series)
Starring
Theme music composerBill Dean
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series4
No. of episodes29
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production companyYorkshire Television
Original release
NetworkITV
Release30 September 1974 (1974-09-30) –
17 October 1978 (1978-10-17)

Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt is a British television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television which originally aired on the ITV network from 1974 to 1978. Initially created by Roy Clarke from a concept by Bill Maynard, most of the series was written by Alan Plater. It starred Maynard as Selwyn Froggitt, a hapless but good-natured council labourer, handyman and working men's club secretary in the fictional Yorkshire town of Scarsdale. The programme was a major ratings success, with Froggitt's catchphrase "magic!" becoming widely known in the United Kingdom. It ran for four series, the last of which carried the title Selwyn and featured only Maynard reprising his role in the new location of a holiday camp.

Plot

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The first three series of Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt are set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Scarsdale and centre on the bungling exploits of Selwyn Froggitt, a handyman and a council labourer. Bill Maynard described Froggitt, a burly, balding and good-natured man often clad in a donkey jacket, as "this naïve boy who never grew up".[1] Froggitt has an urge to improve his life and that of everyone around him; he carries The Times and often tells people "there was an article about it in The Times" regarding subjects he has brought up. He lives with his put-upon mother (Megs Jenkins) and his brother Maurice (Robert Keegan), whose romance and eventual marriage to Vera Parkinson (initially played by Rosemary Martin, replaced by Lynda Baron for the second and third series) is sometimes subject to Selwyn's interference. A running gag is Froggitt's mother warning him "don't open that cupboard our Selwyn, things fall out!", to no avail.

Froggitt is on the committee of Scarsdale Working Men's Club and Institute, serving as concert secretary in charge of booking "turns". Froggitt's colleagues are the dour Scouser Jack (Bill Dean), Harry (Harold Goodwin) and excitable, stereotypical Welshman Clive (Richard Davies), often called Taff by Froggitt. All decisions taken by the club committee are taken on a "show of hands..." and "carried unanimously". Though clumsy and somewhat incompetent, Froggitt is honest and hard-working, unlike the other committee members, who usually sit back in comfort while Froggitt does the manual labour. They generally tolerate him because he is prepared to volunteer for unwanted tasks, and they sometimes mislead him for their own amusement. The club steward is Raymond (Ray Mort), often seen answering the telephone with a number of fictitious and fanciful addresses.

In the fourth and final series, the format of the show changed radically. This version of the programme, retitled Selwyn, featured only Maynard from the earlier series and had Froggitt become entertainments officer under the supervision of manager Mervyn Price (Bernard Gallagher) at the seedy Paradise Valley Holiday Camp.[2]

Cast

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Production

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Conception

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Bill Maynard had the initial idea for the show, wishing to create a sitcom based around the members of the working men's club in his home village of Sapcote, Leicestershire.[3] He later said "every character came from that club".[3] Maynard modelled his lead character on Peter Wright, a larger-than-life patron who often exclaimed "magic!" with his thumbs up and ordered "a pint of cooking and a bag of nuts", both of which would become catchphrases of Maynard's character.[4][5][1] Wright had arms too muscular to fold properly so he kept them high on his chest, another attribute Maynard borrowed.[3] Maynard later commented "you couldn't dream up a character like Selwyn. In fact, I played him down."[6] Additionally, Maynard took inspiration from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, with Froggitt as Bottom and the committee at the working men's club as the mechanicals.[7][8] Robert Keegan believed Maynard based Selwyn "on himself".[9]

Maynard considered Froggitt's interest in reading The Times an important part of the character, explaining "I wanted him to be intelligent, always anxious to improve himself. The easy route would've been to use old clichés, like malapropisms and spoonerisms, but that would have made the character too one-dimensional. By getting him to read The Times and be an ardent student of dynamic word power, we gave him the breadth to spread the comedy over a wide range of subjects. We wanted people to laugh with him, not at him".[10] Maynard characterised Froggitt as someone who causes havoc simply due to "his tremendous enthusiasm and his willingness to help his fellow man", rather than "an idiot".[11] He identified "a lot of drama and a certain amount of pathos" in the character.[11]

Commission and writing

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The series was Alan Plater's first sitcom

Maynard attempted to get the programme commissioned by Duncan Wood during the latter's 1972–73 tenure as the BBC's Head of Comedy.[10] Wood commissioned a pilot after he had moved to Yorkshire Television to be Head of Light Entertainment.[12] Wood brought in Roy Clarke, the creator of Last of the Summer Wine, to write the pilot for the series. As Clarke felt he lacked the familiarity to write about a working men's club, Maynard took the train to Leeds to assist him. Clarke devised the title Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt, and the pilot episode was transmitted on 30 September 1974 as part of a six-week season of Yorkshire Television comedy specials.[10][13] This initial episode rendered Selwyn's surname as 'Froggit'.[14]

The first series of Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt was commissioned in September 1975, following the failure of another sitcom starring Maynard, The Life of Riley.[15] Feeling the pilot had been at odds with his original concept, the actor met again with Clarke to discuss the show's direction. According to Maynard, Clarke admitted he had found it difficult to write about situations he had not thought up himself and decided he was not right for the job.[10] Maynard approached Alan Plater to take Clarke's place as writer, having worked with the playwright and screenwriter on Trinity Tales (1975).[10] Plater was best known for writing television dramas including Shoulder to Shoulder (1974) and The Stars Look Down (1975); Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt was his only foray into sitcom writing. Plater's involvement has been characterised as indicative of a maverick and prolific approach to television writing.[16] He would later comment that Maynard had "a constitutional resistance to learning the script".[16]

The second series episode "Daze of Hope", in which Selwyn believes he is to feature in an episode of This Is Your Life with Eamonn Andrews, was inspired by Maynard's own experience on the programme in 1974.[10] The series employed little bawdy humour; Maynard said he received letters thanking him for "the cleanest show on television".[11]

Filming and transmission

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The regular cast of Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt. Left to right from top row: Maurice (Robert Keegan), Selwyn (Bill Maynard), Mrs Froggitt (Megs Jenkins), Ray (Ray Mort), Clive (Richard Davies), Jack (Bill Dean) and Harry (Harold Goodwin).

Filming for the first series commenced in October 1975.[17] It was mainly shot at Yorkshire Television Studios on Kirkstall Road, Leeds, whilst outdoor location filming for the series took place in Skelmanthorpe, West Yorkshire and Elvington, North Yorkshire.[17] Bill Maynard's wife Muriel frequently attended dress rehearsals and recordings.[10] Megs Jenkins, cast as Froggitt's mother, had initially considered herself the wrong fit for the role and resolved to approach the part straight.[18] The programme's theme tune was written and composed by Bill Dean, who starred as Jack, and performed by the Tony Mansell Singers.[19] The theme would feature different lyrics for each episode.[19] On transmission, the series became a ratings success, topping the national weekly chart and eventually reaching peak viewing figures of 29 million.[4][20] Froggitt became a cult figure, with his catchphrase "magic!" and thumbs-up becoming widely known in the United Kingdom.[21][22]

Rosemary Martin, who played Maurice Froggitt's partner Vera, left the programme after its first series. Interviewed in July 1976, she stated "I was sick of playing silly, mindless women. And Selwyn Froggitt, although a very successful show, was one of the unhappiest jobs I have ever had. I left it thinking I must be a quarrelsome, bad tempered person who couldn't get on with anybody."[23] Martin was replaced by Lynda Baron, who had recently appeared as Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in the first series of Open All Hours.[24][25]

The second series topped the national ratings for four of the seven weeks it was on air.[26] Interviewed during its run, Maynard described the second series as the last, saying the Froggitt role was "starting to take me over".[27] Maynard was uncomfortable with the prospect of being typecast and refused to appear in character as Selwyn for public appearances.[28][29] When starring in a pantomime production of Jack and the Beanstalk in Norwich, Maynard insisted his character be called "Simple Simon" rather than the scripted "Simple Selwyn".[29] Maynard was signed to Waif Records as a singer and turned down several songs with Froggitt's catchphrase "magic" in the title.[29] After the programme ended, Maynard wrote "Stock Car Racing is Magic", a self-released single credited to Vroom.[30]

The immense popularity of Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt led to the commissioning of a third series by June 1977.[26] Alan Plater, who described both himself and Maynard as "knackered" after the previous run, agreed to return but only to write two episodes.[26] Filming commenced on 5 September 1977, following Maynard's recovery from a slipped disc.[31] A Christmas episode, "On the Feast of Selwyn", concluded the third series.[32]

Maynard had considered the third series the last, but was persuaded by Duncan Wood to return for a new version of the programme, simply titled Selwyn.[29] Maynard believed the programme had got into a rut and considered a new setting and supporting cast the best way to further develop his character.[33] Maynard drew on his 1950s experience as a comedian at Butlin's for the holiday camp setting.[10] Plater was not involved with this fourth series and Robert Keegan, who had played Maurice, considered the removal of the supporting cast a potential mistake "as I think viewers of situation comedy like to get to know lots of characters".[33] A proposed fifth series was not produced after disappointing audience reactions.[2] Maynard confirmed the series had finished in May 1980, telling the media "if you keep on with the same character all the time, people won't accept you as anything else. If I do [play Selwyn again], it will be when people have begun to forget about him."[34][35]

Reception and legacy

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Following the transmission of the pilot episode in 1974, Terry Dwyer of the Leicester Mercury compared the character to Frank Spencer from the BBC1 sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, commenting "he's another one-man disaster area, but unlike Frank has no feelings of inadequacy – just the reverse in fact. There's nothing he can not do and it was the exuberance and unshakeable optimism of the character that made last night's ITV comedy a lot of fun".[36] During broadcast of the second series, Chris Watson of the Western Daily Press praised Maynard's performance but criticised the "inconsistent scripts and rather obvious humour", commenting "the amiable buffon Selwyn Froggitt is currently the most popular character on TV, and that is a telling indictment of the current choice".[37] Celia Andrews of the Western Daily Press praised "the touch of naivete" in Maynard's performance, describing Froggitt as "a sort of human Aunt Sally meeting life's slings and arrows with a maniacal laugh."[38]

Reviewing the fourth series, Selwyn, Stafford Hildred of the Birmingham Evening Mail considered the axing of the supporting cast a mistake, commenting "now Mr. Maynard provides most of the humour himself, and the ration of laughs is spread very thin indeed".[39] Clem Lewis of Birmingham Evening Mail felt Maynard "now hogs all the funny lines... all two of them per programme".[40] Linton Mitchell of the Bristol Evening Post commented "the character does nothing for me at all – except to make me feel vaguely uneasy."[41]

Retrospectively, Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt has been described as "a kind of Billy Liar for nutters" in The Guinness Book of Classic British TV.[42] In 2010, Michael Coveney of The Guardian wrote that the series exhibited Alan Plater's "gift of writing supple, salty dialogue for working-class characters", as with Plater's scripts for Z-Cars and its sequel Softly, Softly.[43] The series was an influence on Victoria Wood.[44]

In August 1989, "Gala Performance" was repeated with a specially-recorded introduction by Maynard to celebrate Yorkshire Television's 21st anniversary.[45] The series was regularly repeated on UK Gold between 1997 and 1999[46][47] and on Forces TV in 2022.[48] Volumes of selected episodes from the series were released on VHS in the 1990s.[49] Network released a boxset of the complete series on DVD on 11 October 2010.[50]

List of episodes

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In total, 29 episodes of Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt, including 7 under the title Selwyn, were produced.

Series Episodes Original Broadcast
Series premiere Series finale
Pilot 1 30 September 1974
Series 1 (1976) 6 7 January 1976 11 February 1976
Series 2 (1977) 7 21 February 1977 4 April 1977
Series 3 (1977) 8 8 November 1977 27 December 1977
Series 4 (1978) 7 5 September 1978 17 October 1978

Pilot (1974)

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The pilot and the first series were released on DVD by Network on 25 May 2009.

No.TitleWritten byOriginal air date
0"Oh No- It's Selwyn Froggit"Roy Clarke30 September 1974 (1974-09-30)

Series 1 (1976)

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No.TitleWritten byOriginal air date
1"Three Fifths of the World Loves a Lover"Alan Plater7 January 1976 (1976-01-07)
2"We Are the Masters Now"Alan Plater14 January 1976 (1976-01-14)
3"There Are Several Businesses Like Show Business"Alan Plater21 January 1976 (1976-01-21)
4"The Grand Outing"Alan Plater28 January 1976 (1976-01-28)
5"The Master Builder"Alan Plater4 February 1976 (1976-02-04)
6"Ladies' Desire"Alan Plater11 February 1976 (1976-02-11)

Series 2 (1977)

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The second series was released on DVD by Network on 7 September 2009.

No.TitleWritten byOriginal air date
1"Daze of Hope"Alan Plater21 February 1977 (1977-02-21)
2"The Game of the Name"Alan Plater28 February 1977 (1977-02-28)
3"Raffles"Alan Plater7 March 1977 (1977-03-07)
4"Selwyn Rides Again"Alan Plater14 March 1977 (1977-03-14)
5"Alphabetic Orders"Alan Plater21 March 1977 (1977-03-21)
6"The Protection Racket"Alan Plater28 March 1977 (1977-03-28)
7"Just Cause and Impediment"Alan Plater4 April 1977 (1977-04-04)

Series 3 (1977)

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The third series was released on DVD by Network on 3 May 2010.

No.TitleWritten byOriginal air date
1"Be It Ever So Humble, There's No Place"Alan Plater8 November 1977 (1977-11-08)
2"Gala Performance"Mike Craig, Lawrie Kinsley and Ron McDonnell15 November 1977 (1977-11-15)
3"Boom Boom"Bernie Sharp22 November 1977 (1977-11-22)
4"The Occupational Hazard"Mike Craig, Lawrie Kinsley and Ron McDonnell29 November 1977 (1977-11-29)
5"Sling Along with Selwyn"Bernie Sharp6 December 1977 (1977-12-06)
6"A Little Learning"H. V. Kershaw13 December 1977 (1977-12-13)
7"Around the Houses"Alan Plater20 December 1977 (1977-12-20)
8"On the Feast of Selwyn"Mike Craig, Lawrie Kinsley and Ron McDonnell27 December 1977 (1977-12-27)

Series 4 (1978)

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The fourth series was released on DVD by Network on 16 August 2010.

No.TitleWritten byOriginal air date
1"The Road to Paradise Valley"Lawrie Kinsley and Ron McDonnell5 September 1978 (1978-09-05)
2"Wish You Were Here"Lawrie Kinsley and Ron McDonnell12 September 1978 (1978-09-12)
3"Better Never Than Late"Richard Knight19 September 1978 (1978-09-19)
4"Take a Tip from Selwyn"Lawrie Kinsley and Ron McDonnell26 September 1978 (1978-09-26)
5"I've Gotta Jockey"Richard Knight3 October 1978 (1978-10-03)
6"Don't Make Waves"Jon Glover and Jeremy Nicholas10 October 1978 (1978-10-10)
7"A Man for One Season"Lawrie Kinsley and Ron McDonnell17 October 1978 (1978-10-17)

References

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  1. ^ a b Shaw, Karen (21 December 2015). "A scoundrel, thespian, CHEEKY CHARMER | Bill Maynard". Northern Life. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Selwyn". British Classic Comedy. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Wakelin, Adam (30 March 2018). "Named after wine gums, a fortune squandered – Things you never knew about Heartbeat actor Bill Maynard". Leicestershire Live. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b Marlow, Lee (30 March 2018). "'I made 31 films, most were rubbish': Bill Maynard in his own hilarious words". Leicestershire Live. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Moving Up". Bill Maynard. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Bill's still at the top". Leicester Mercury: 10. 17 June 1993. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  7. ^ Hannam, John. "John Hannam Meets Bill Maynard (Archive Edition)". Apple. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Oh yes, Bill's back again". Evening Post: 11. 21 February 1977. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  9. ^ Brooks, Doreen (9 April 1977). "Oh yes, it's Bob in luck yet again". Derby Evening Telegraph: 14. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Maynard, Bill; Sheard, John (1997). Stand Up... And Be Counted (1st ed.). Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-080-3. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  11. ^ a b c Hildred, Stafford (8 November 1977). "Selwyn's no idiot, he's just too keen". Birmingham Evening Mail: 2. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Bill Maynard Interview". Youtube. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  13. ^ Dwyer, Terry (30 September 1974). "In mint condition". Leicester Mercury: 2. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Round-the-clock TV and radio guide". Evening Post: 13. 30 September 1974. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  15. ^ Watson, Albert (12 September 1975). "Tele gossip". Evening Post: 2. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  16. ^ a b Sweet, Matthew (4 September 2004). "Alan Plater: 'I used to be cool...'". Independent. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  17. ^ a b Watson, Albert (26 September 1975). "Tele gossip". Evening Post: 2. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  18. ^ Gibson, Enid (7 March 1977). "Megs stays mum". Derby Evening Telegraph: 5. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Latest top TV ratings". Birmingham Evening Mail: 10. 26 March 1977. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  21. ^ "It's Selwyn Froggitt again!". Rugeley Times: 16. 19 June 1982. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  22. ^ "The Selwyn sign..." The Hinckley Times: 12. 14 May 1976. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  23. ^ Gibson, Enid (16 July 1976). "Top Marx for Rosemary". Grimsby Evening Telegraph: 11. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Tonight's programmes". Leicester Mercury: 3. 14 March 1977. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  25. ^ West, Roy (31 December 1976). "Barker goes straight, Rag Trade returns and they've all got faith in faith". Liverpool Echo: 3. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  26. ^ a b c Stuckey, David (4 June 1977). "Bionic Bill and the Plater tripe saga". Liverpool Daily Post: 5. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  27. ^ Johns, Victor (12 March 1977). "The new role that fits the bill - even though it's a big surprise". Liverpool Echo: 7. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  28. ^ "Oh no, he got it right!". Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph: 1. 9 August 1976. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  29. ^ a b c d Purnell, Tony (11 December 1977). "Oh no - it's not Simple Selwyn". The Sunday People: 3. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  30. ^ "Stock Car Racing Is Magic". 45Cat. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  31. ^ Smyllie, Patricia (1 June 1977). "A Wheelchair Winner – That's Selwyn". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  32. ^ "It's magic, says Selwyn". Daily Mail: 7. 24 December 1977. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  33. ^ a b "Look out - Selwyn at large". The Sunday People: 19. 7 May 1978. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  34. ^ "Selwyn to stay away from TV". Leicester Mercury: 24. 16 May 1980. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  35. ^ Hildred, Stafford (9 January 1981). "Bill's boss is no accident". Sandwell Evening Mail: 22. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  36. ^ Dwyer, Terry (1 October 1974). "Selwyn the supermouth". Leicester Mercury: 2. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  37. ^ Watson, Chris (29 March 1977). "Oh no! Is this really tops?". Western Daily Press: 7. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  38. ^ Andrews, Celia (22 February 1977). "Oh yes, Selwyn is just my type". Western Daily Press: 3. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  39. ^ Hildred, Stafford (26 September 1976). "Not much fun from Selwyn this time..." Birmingham Evening Mail: 2. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  40. ^ Lewis, Clem (17 October 1978). "Pick of tonight's TV". Birmingham Evening Mail: 2. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  41. ^ Mitchell, Linton (11 October 1978). "Selwyn is blasted out". Bristol Evening Post: 2. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  42. ^ Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith (1996). The Guinness Book of Classic British TV. Guinness. ISBN 9780851126289.
  43. ^ Coveney, Michael. "Alan Plater obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  44. ^ Brandwood, Neil (31 March 2011). Victoria Wood: The Biography. Ebury Publishing. ISBN 9780753546574.
  45. ^ "TV tonight". Lincolnshire Echo: 2. 24 August 1989. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  46. ^ "Satellite TV guide". The Herts and Essex Observer: 41. 11 September 1997. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  47. ^ "TV guide". The Express: 61. 5 March 1999. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  48. ^ "Farewell, Forces TV". Fanderson. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  49. ^ "Magic, our Maurice". Huddersfield Daily Examiner: 11. 23 September 1994. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  50. ^ "Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
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