Clarence (TV series)

Clarence
Series title card
Format	Comedy
Created by	Ronnie Barker
Starring	Ronnie Barker Josephine Tewson
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	6
Production
Running time	30 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC-1
Original run	January 4, 1988 – February 8, 1988

Clarence was a 1988 BBC situation comedy starring Ronnie Barker and Josephine Tewson, written by Ronnie Barker under the pseudonym "Bob Ferris". It was Barker's final sitcom appearance before his retirement.

Plot

Clarence region 2 DVD cover.

In 1937, on the day of King George VI's coronation, Clarence Sale, a myopic removal man is clearing the house of a snooty upper-class lady who is moving abroad. There, he meets Jane Travers, her maid. The pair are mutually attracted and soon Clarence proposes to her. Jane decides that they should have a trial period of living together in a small cottage she has been given in an inheritance to see if they are compatible, with a bolster in the bed to preserve her chasteness. The series followed this unconventional relationship, as well as Clarence's attempts at his furniture-moving profession. Barker had previously faced criticism over his employment of a stammer for comedic effect in Open All Hours. However, the slapstick potential of a short-sighted furniture shifter must have seemed irresistible. The series was inspired by The Removals Person by Hugh Leonard[1], an earlier programme in the 1971 LWT comedy series, Six Dates With Barker. Only one series of Clarence was made, which is now available on DVD.

External links

• Clarence at bbc.co.uk Comedy Guide
• Clarence at the BBC Programme Catalogue
• Clarence at the British Film Institute
• Clarence at the Internet Movie Database