Doctor in the House (TV series)

British TV sitcom (ITV, 1969–70)

For the television franchise, see Doctor in the House (franchise).

Doctor in the House

Genre| Comedy
Directed by|

* David Askey
* Maurice Murphy
* Mark Stuart
* Bill Turner

Starring|

* Barry Evans
* Robin Nedwell
* Geoffrey Davies
* George Layton
* Ernest Clark

Country of origin| United Kingdom
Original language| English
No. of episodes| 26
Production
Running time| 25 minutes
Production company| London Weekend
Original release
Network| ITV
Release| 12 July 1969 (1969-07-12) –
3 July 1970 (1970-07-03)
Related

* Doctor at Large
* Doctor in Charge
* Doctor at Sea
* Doctor on the Go
* Doctor Down Under
* Doctor at the Top

Doctor in the House is a British television comedy series loosely based on a set of books and a film of the same name by Richard Gordon about the misadventures of a group of medical students.[1] It was produced by London Weekend Television from 1969 to 1970.[2]

The primary writers for the Doctor in the House episodes were Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie. There were also contributions from Graham Chapman, John Cleese, and Barry Cryer.[2] The series was directed by David Askey and Maurice Murphy among others and the producer was Humphrey Barclay.[3][4] The external establishing shots were of Wanstead Hospital, London (now Clock Court).[5]

It was the first series in a franchise which included six later series, using some of the same cast members and writers. The follow-up series was Doctor at Large.

## Plot

[edit]

The plot revolved around the educational challenges and off-hour antics of a group of medical students at the fictional St. Swithin's teaching hospital in London, focusing on the contrast between the idealistic and somewhat naive Michael Upton and his more worldly and mischievous colleagues.

## Cast

[edit]

* Barry Evans – Michael A. Upton
* Robin Nedwell – Duncan Waring
* Geoffrey Davies – Dick Stuart-Clark
* George Layton – Paul Collier
* Simon Cuff – Dave Briddock
* Yutte Stensgaard – Helga, Dave's girlfriend
* Martin Shaw – Huw Evans (series 1)
* Jonathan Lynn – Daniel Hooley (series 2)
* Ernest Clark – Professor Geoffrey Loftus
* Ralph Michael – The Dean
* Joan Benham – Mrs Loftus
* Peter Bathurst – Dr Upton, Michael's father

Well-known actors David Jason (Only Fools and Horses), and James Beck (Dad's Army), both appeared in the 1970 Series 2 episode: "What Seems to be the Trouble?".[3]

## Episodes

[edit]

### Series 1 (1969)

[edit]

No.
overall| No. in
series| Title| Written by| Original release date

|
|
|
|

1| 1| "Why Do You Want to be a Doctor?[6]"| John Cleese, Graham Chapman| 12 July 1969 (1969-07-12)
2| 2| "Settling In"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 19 July 1969 (1969-07-19)
3| 3| "It's All Go..."| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 26 July 1969 (1969-07-26)
4| 4| "Peace and Quiet"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 2 August 1969 (1969-08-02)
5| 5| "The Students Are Revolting!"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 9 August 1969 (1969-08-09)
6| 6| "Rallying Round..."| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 16 August 1969 (1969-08-16)
7| 7| "If in Doubt – Cut it Out!"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 23 August 1969 (1969-08-23)
8| 8| "The War of the Mascots"| Graham Chapman, Barry Cryer| 30 August 1969 (1969-08-30)
9| 9| "Getting the Bird"| Graham Chapman, Barry Cryer| 6 September 1969 (1969-09-06)
10| 10| "The Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Casino"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 13 September 1969 (1969-09-13)
11| 11| "Keep It Clean!"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 19 September 1969 (1969-09-19)
12| 12| "All for Love..."| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 26 September 1969 (1969-09-26)
13| 13| "Pass or Fail"| Graham Chapman, Barry Cryer| 3 October 1969 (1969-10-03)

### Series 2 (1970)

[edit]

No.
overall| No. in
series| Title| Written by| Original release date

|
|
|
|

14| 1| "It's All in the Little Blue Book[7]"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 10 April 1970 (1970-04-10)
15| 2| "What Seems to be the Trouble?"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 17 April 1970 (1970-04-17)
16| 3| "Take Off Your Clothes... and Hide"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 24 April 1970 (1970-04-24)
17| 4| "Nice Bodywork – Lovely Finish"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 1 May 1970 (1970-05-01)
18| 5| "Look Into My Eyes"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 8 May 1970 (1970-05-08)
19| 6| "Put Your Hand on That"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 15 May 1970 (1970-05-15)
20| 7| "The Royal Visit"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 22 May 1970 (1970-05-22)
21| 8| "If You Can Help Somebody...Don't!"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 29 May 1970 (1970-05-29)
22| 9| "Hot Off the Presses"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 5 June 1970 (1970-06-05)
23| 10| "A Stitch in Time"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 12 June 1970 (1970-06-12)
24| 11| "May the Best Man..."| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 19 June 1970 (1970-06-19)
25| 12| "Doctor on the Box"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 26 June 1970 (1970-06-26)
26| 13| "Finals"| Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie| 3 July 1970 (1970-07-03)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Barker, Dennis (15 August 2017). "Richard Gordon obituary". The Guardian - via www.theguardian.com.
2. ^ a b "Doctor in the House | Nostalgia Central". 27 June 2014.
3. ^ a b "What Seems to Be the Trouble? (1970)". BFI. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020.
4. ^ "The Students Are Revolting (1969)". BFI. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021.
5. ^ Marcus, Laurence. "Doctor in the House (film)". Television Heaven.
6. ^ "Why Do You Want to Be a Doctor? (1969)". BFI. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020.
7. ^ "It's all in the Little Blue Book (1970)". BFI. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* Doctor in the House at British TV Comedy Guide
* Doctor in the House at IMDb
* Doctor in the House at British Comedy Guide

* v
* t
* e

Richard Gordon's Doctor series

Novels|

* Doctor in the House (1952)
* Doctor at Sea (1953)
* Doctor at Large (1955)
* Doctor in Love (1957)
* Doctor and Son (1959)
* Doctor in Clover (1960)
* Doctor on Toast (1961)
* Doctor in the Swim (1962)
* Love and Sir Lancelot (1965)
* The Summer of Sir Lancelot (1965)
* Doctor on the Boil (1970)
* Doctor on the Brain (1972)
* Doctor in the Nude (1973)
* Doctor on the Job (1976)
* Doctor in the Nest (1979)
* Doctor's Daughters (1981)
* Doctor on the Ball (1985)
* Doctor in the Soup (1986)

Adaptations|

| Film|

* Doctor in the House (1954)
* Doctor at Sea (1955)
* Doctor at Large (1957)
* Doctor in Love (1960)
* Doctor in Distress (1963)
* Doctor in Clover (1966)
* Doctor in Trouble (1970)

|

Radio|

* Doctor in the House (1968)
* Doctor at Large (1969)

Television|

* Doctor in the House (1969–70)
* Doctor at Large (1971)
* Doctor in Charge (1972–73)
* Doctor at Sea (1974)
* Doctor on the Go (1975–77)
* Doctor Down Under (1979)
* Doctors' Daughters (1981)
* Doctor at the Top (1991)

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