Dear Mother...Love Albert

Dear Mother...Love Albert
Format	Sitcom
Created by	Rodney Bewes Derrick Goodwin
Starring	Rodney Bewes Garfield Morgan Sheila White (Series 1 & 2) Geraldine Newman (Series 1 & 2) Liz Gebhardt (Series 3) Amelia Bayntun (Series 3 & 4) Cheryl Hall (series 4)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	26 + 3 shorts
Production
Producer(s)	Thames Television (series 1) Yorkshire Television (series 2-4)
Running time	30 minutes per episode (plus 3 short specials)
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV
Picture format	4:3
Original run	15 September 1969 (1969-09-15) – 6 June 1972 (1972-06-06)

Dear Mother...Love Albert later retitled Albert! was a successful British sitcom broadcast between September 1969 and June 1972. It was created by and starred Rodney Bewes. Bewes co-wrote and produced the series with Derrick Goodwin. The show proved popular and regularly made the TV ratings top ten throughout its three year run.

The theme song was sung by Bewes, co-written by Mike Hugg. Hugg had also encouraged Bewes to sing the theme to his previous sitcom The Likely Lads, but Bewes recalls "I think I drank a bottle of port in the end, but I couldn't get it".

There were 26 episodes, including the three Christmas specials, all three broadcast as part of All Star Comedy Carnival. The fourth and final series was broadcast as a sequel entitled Albert!, which ran for a further series of seven episodes. Series 1 was produced by Thames Television. The subsequent colour series 2-4 were produced by Yorkshire Television. The first series and the three Christmas specials are all currently missing and believed to have been wiped.

Plot

Albert Courtney (Rodney Bewes) leaves his home in the North of England to live in London. He writes home to his mother, grossly exaggerating the events that have happened to him. Albert finds work in a confectionery company, moves into a flat he shares with two young ladies and becomes engaged to Doreen Bissel (Liz Gebhardt), however during the fourth and final series albert later loses his job and Doreen (then played by Cheryl Hall) later dumps him, however he still continues his attempts of survival in London.

Regular Cast

• Rodney Bewes - Albert Courtnay
• Garfield Morgan - A C Strain
• Sheila White - Vivian McKewan (series 1 & 2)
• Geraldine Newman - Mrs McKewan (series 1 & 2)
• Liz Gebhardt - Doreen Bissel (series 3)
• Mary Land - Frankie (series 3)
• Luan Peters - Lesley (series 3)
• Amelia Bayntun - Ada Bissel (series 3)
• Cheryl Hall - Doreen Bissel (series 4)

Episode guide

Series 1 (1969)

• The Interview (Missing Episode)
• Merely A Formality (Missing Episode)
• In the Field (Missing Episode)
• Knight of the Road (Missing Episode)
• The Good Samaritan (Missing Episode)
• A Commercial Break (Missing Episode)

All Star Comedy Carnival -Christmas Special, Broadcast December 25, 1969 (Missing Episode)

Series 2 (1970)

• Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing
• All The World's A Stage
• Hearts And Flowers
• The Deligate
• I'm Going To Be A Father
• Major Ab Adversis
• All Mod Cons

All Star Comedy Carnival -Christmas Special, Broadcast December 25, 1970 (Missing Episode)

Series 3 (1971)

• A Ring On Her Finger
• The Compulsive Gambler
• Raquel
• De Profundis
• Hold Up, It's A Hand Up
• Lost Weekend

All Star Comedy Carnival- Christmas Special, Broadcast December 25, 1971 (Missing Episode)

Series 4 (1972)

• Hair
• Ghost Train
• Trouble At T'Mill
• Blood Brothers
• Hit Pot!
• If He'd Meant Us To Fly
• Brave New World

DVD release

The first series (produced in B&W by Thames) including the three Christmas specials no longer exist.

However a 3-Disc set containing the subsequent colour series 2-4 (produced in Colour by Yorkshire Television) & broadcast 1970-72 was made available on 14 June 2010.

NOTE: The third series (1971) is actually in black and white. The DVD notes claim that no colour version of this series ever existed; the series was filmed in black and white because of a contemporary strike.

External links

• Dear Mother...Love Albert at BBC Online
• Dear Mother...Love Albert at the British Comedy Guide
• Dear Mother...Love Albert at Nostalgia Central
• Dear Mother...Love Albert at lostshows.com
• All Star Comedy Carnival at BBC Online