Leave it to Charlie


Leave it to Charlie is a British television sitcom that was first broadcast on ITV from 1978 to 1980. Starring David Roper and Peter Sallis, the series followed a young man named Charlie Fisher, an agent employed by the Lancastrian Insurance Company, whose well-intentioned deeds are often unsuccessful. The series was produced by Granada Television and broadcast from 13 July 1978 to 25 March 1980.

Plot

Charlie Fisher, a keen young agent, is employed by the Lancastrian Insurance Company in Bolton, Lancashire, owned by Arthur Simister. Although Fisher's deeds are well-intentioned, they invariably backfire one after another.

Cast

Main

Recurring

  • Jeannette Wild as Marigold
  • Steven Beard as George Harrop
  • Felix Bowness as Newsreader, George, Mechanical Voice, Politician's Voice
  • Robert Gillespie as Sergeant Pickersgill
  • Arthur Kelly as Fred Bailey, Cyril Haskins
  • Josie Lane as Clarice, Mrs Philpotts
  • Angela Crow as BeryI Butterworth
  • Michael Syers as Hiker, Mr Partridge
  • Jane Beaumont as Barmaid

Guest

Characters

Charlie Fisher

Fisher is a keen, cheerful, optimistic and always eager to lend a hand young agent who works for Arthur Simister's company the Lancastrian Insurance Company. Through out the series he helps clients with personal issues, but when he helps someone file a claim, weather that being offering someone a lift or trying to fix a misunderstanding his deeds sometimes end up backfiring into a mess.

Arthur Simister

Arthur Simister is Charlie's boss and the manager of the Lancastrian Insurance Company. Whenever he gives Charlie a job to do and it backfires it always results in him looking like a fool. This results in him getting frustrated with him at times. Despite that he still appreciates Charlie for what he does and he always means well for him and everyone else that works with him. He also always tries his best to make sure everything for his business is running smoothly and professionally. He spends a lot of time at work trying to manage financial matters, which sometimes involves into trying to get money in order to pay for specific company-related expenses or initiatives.

Alice Simister

Alice Simister is the forgetful and vague wife of Mr. Simister. She often helps out her husband, although she often tends to mess up a lot of time when trying to help him. Whenever she tries to remind Arthur about certain things or whenever she tries to offer assistance she often forgets key details. She tends to trust Charlie a lot of the time and often says to people that have a problem "Just leave it to charlie".

Jennifer Padgett

Jennifer Padgett is a scatterbrained receptionist that works for Arthur Simister. During her daily work hours she manages incoming calls, passes messages over to Arthur, greets everyone that visit and handles basic office tasks. She often quite forgetful and easily distracted which sometimes leads to confusion between her and the people she works with. She's also very supportive to Charlie's efforts, but sometimes when she unintentionally complicates them it leads to Charlie's deeds backfiring, but she's always with a sense of loyalty and warmth.

Florence McGee

Florence McGee is Charlie Fisher's landlady. When Charlie first meets her she gives him a place to stay at her house and a room for him. She spends most of her time chatting to Charlie in the morning and evening before he leaves to go to work or later in the day when he arrives back from work. Most of the time when he talks to him she offers him support. She also spends most of her time at her house with her dog alone. Whenever Arthur's office is unavailable she's more than welcome to have Arthur hold meetings at her house when his office is unavailable.

Harry Hutchins

Harry Hutchins is a caretaker that works for the Lancastrian Insurance Company. Before he was originally a thief that stole money, but after he got a suspended sentence flee he eventually changed and stopped stealing money. He later on gets to work as a caretaker at the Lancastrian Insurance Company in order to help him improve. While he works there he's often quite sleepy, slow-moving, and somewhat oblivious, mainly when he is caught falling fast asleep. Sometimes when no one is watching him he tends to go into the store rooms to flirt with Florence McGee, although he sometimes gets caught doing it. Florence McGee really enjoys him for what he is and finds him to be a silly chap.

Desmond ffolliott

Desmond ffolliott is Arthur's partner for the Lancastrian Insurance Company. He is often seen having meetings with Arthur Simister about experimental or unconventional ideas he has related towards office management and insurance practices. He sometimes goes to Arthur's house for a drink or to enjoy a meal. He is also willing for anyone to come and work for him.

Episodes

The series ran for four series, comprising 26 episodes, on ITV from 13 July 1978 to 25 March 1980. The episodes ran for an approximate duration of 30 minutes. All 26 episodes of this series are fully intact but sadly none of the episodes have been released on VHS, DVD or on any other home media platforms. The series is however available to watch at the British Film Institute, although five episodes are not available to watch from their archive. Additionally, selected episodes are available to view on YouTube.

Series 1 (1978)

  1. "Home Is Where the Heartburn Is"
  2. "'Arry with a Haitch"
  3. "Won't You Come Home Fred Bailey?"
  4. "How to Make Oscar Wilde"
  5. "Home and Away"
  6. "Love and Mrs. McGee"
  7. "Keep It in the Family"

Series 2 (1979)

  1. "Money, Money, Money"
  2. "One of our Typewriters Is Missing"
  3. "Alice, Whose Art Thou?"
  4. "Never a Cross Word"
  5. "Do Sit Down, Mrs. Foster"
  6. "This Is Our Once-A-Year Day"
  7. "Moonlight Becomes You"

Series 3 (1979)

  1. "World Without Women"
  2. "Ole Brown Eyes"
  3. "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"
  4. "Strike Me Pink"
  5. "I'm Just Wild About Harry..."
  6. "...And Harry's Just Wild About Me"

Series 4 (1980)

  1. "The World of Mr. Wellbeloved"
  2. "The Trouble with Harry"
  3. "Happy Birthday to Who?"
  4. "The Ffolliott Experiment"
  5. "A Star Is Born"
  6. "The Old Flame"

Production

When the series was being filmed, series two and three were commissioned and produced as one thirteen-part run, but upon broadcast, they were broken into two separate series; seven of the episodes were broadcast as series two, while the other six episodes were broadcast as series three.

Reception

Critical response

Pip Williams of Television Heaven described the series as a "refreshing, quiet, and gently funny sitcom" from the cluttered 1970s.