To the Manor Born (1979)
To the Manor Born (1979)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently To the Manor Born is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: BritBox, BritBox Amazon Channel, Britbox Apple TV Channel
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
Cast & Crew.
Ben Aris
Spalding
Peter Bowles
Richard DeVere
Penelope Keith
Audrey fforbes-Hamilton
Angela Thorne
Marjory Frobisher
Michael Bilton
Ned
John Rudling
Brabinger
Daphne Heard
Mrs. Polouvicka
Alexander Armstrong
Adam fforbes-Hamilton
Peter Spence
Creator / Writer
Gareth Gwenlan
Producer / Director
John Dunstan
Editor
Daphne Oxenford
Mrs. Polouvicka / Mrs. Polouvicka / Mrs. Patterson
Gerald Sim
The Rector
Celia Imrie
Polly
George Tovey
Bert
Vincent Brimble
Arthur
Media.
Details.
Release DateSeptember 30, 1979
StatusEnded
Seasons3
Episodes21
Running Time30m
Content RatingTV-PG
Genres
Last updated:
This TV Show Is About.
Wiki.
To the Manor Born is a BBC television sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special one-off episode was produced in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by Peter Spence, the creator, while the final episode in 1981 was written by script associate Christopher Bond. The title is a play on the phrase "to the manner born," from Shakespeare's Hamlet ("Though I am a native here and to the manner born, it is a custom more honoured in the breach than the observance".)
In To the Manor Born, Penelope Keith (who was previously best known for her role as social-climber Margo Leadbetter in the suburban sitcom The Good Life), plays upper-class Audrey fforbes-Hamilton. Upon the death of her husband, Audrey is forced to sell her vast country estate, Grantleigh Manor. However, she then moves into the estate's small, modest lodge house (where she can keep an eye on the estate's new owner) and manages to keep her butler and her much loved Rolls-Royce 20/25 car. The manor is bought by Richard DeVere (played by Peter Bowles), a nouveau riche millionaire supermarket owner originally from Czechoslovakia. DeVere and fforbes-Hamilton have a love-hate relationship.
The programme proved popular and it received high audience figures for many of its episodes, especially the series 1 final episode, the most watched British television programme (excluding live events) of the 1970s.