Our House is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1960 to 1962. The main writer of the programme, which starred many actors known for their roles in the Carry On films, was Norman Hudis, who wrote the first six Carry On films from 1958 to 1962. Our House is based on the premise of nine people of differing backgrounds sharing a house together.
Production Our House was created by Norman Hudis, who was also the main writer. Two other writers contributed to the series, Brad Ashton and Bob Block. It was produced by Ernest Maxin. Episodes were recorded in front of a live audience at ABC's Teddington Studios. The theme music was composed by Maxin and performed by Johnny Gregory.
Cast Hattie Jacques - Georgina Ruddy Charles Hawtrey - Simon Willow Frederick Peisley - Herbert Keene Leigh Madison - Marcia Hatton Trader Faulkner - Stephen Hatton (series 1) Joan Sims - Daisy Burke (series 1) Norman Rossington - Gordon Brent (series 1) Frank Pettingell - Captain Illiffe (series 1) Ina De La Haye - Mrs Illiffe (series 1) Bernard Bresslaw - William Singer (series 2) Hylda Baker - Henrietta (series 2) Eugenie Cavanagh - Marina (series 2)
The last surviving cast member, Eugenie Cavanagh, died in March 2024.https://wcom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/WCOM-PH69-WEB-FILE.pdf] Preserve Harmony Issue 69 Autumn 2024, page 4.
Plot Nine people - two couples and five individuals - find themselves at an estate agents in desperate need of a place to live. With none being able to buy a property alone, they decide to pool their money and buy one large house together. Georgina is a librarian who, forced to remain quiet at work, is loud when at home. Simon is a likeable loner who works in the local council's rates office whilst Daisy goes from one job to another quickly. Gordon is a law student and Herbert a shy, single bank clerk. Captain Illiffe is a retired naval captain and his wife a violinist. Stephen and Marcia Hatton are newly-weds.
Episodes The first series of Our House aired on ITV in late 1960 on Sundays at 3.25pm. The series consisted of 13 episodes, each 55 minutes long. The second series broadcast for 26 45-minute episodes from 1961 to 1962 on Saturdays at 7.40pm. The first seven episodes of series two aired fortnightly across the entire ITV network. However, the remaining episodes - which aired weekly - were not shown in the London region.
Out of a total of 39 episodes, only three are known to have survived in the archives. The three surviving episodes are "Simply Simon", "A Thin Time" and "Love to Georgina", all from the first series. The surviving episodes have not been seen on British television since 1962.
Series One # Episode Title Original Broadcast Date 1"Moving In"11 September 19602"Simply Simon"18 September 19603"A Thin Time"25 September 19604"The Man Who Knew Nothing"2 October 19605"Annie Does Live Here"9 October 19606"Surprise for Stephen"16 October 19607"All in a Good Cause"23 October 19608"To Please Louise"31 October 19609"Speechless"6 November 196010"Day-Time"13 November 196011"Love to Georgina"20 November 196012"Things of the Past"27 November 196013"And Then There Was One"4 December 1960
Series Two # Episode Title Original Broadcast Date 1"Not for Sale"16 September 19612"Vote for Georgina"30 September 19613"A Quiet Time"14 October 19614"Revolution in Walthamstow"28 October 19615"Best Man"11 November 19616"Battle of the Borough"25 November 19617"Knocko"9 December 19618"Willow the Winger"16 December 19619"Complications of the Season"23 December 196110"Treble Mischance"30 December 196111"Where is Everybody?"6 January 196212"Riviera Incident"13 January 196213"Georgina Goes to Press"20 January 196214"Simon Comes to Stay"27 January 196215"Hobbies Galore"3 February 196216"There's No Business Like..."10 February 196217"Off the Rails"17 February 196218"The Tooth Will Out!"24 February 196219"Economy Wave"3 March 196220"Horse Power"10 March 196221"Uncle Silas"17 March 196222"The Den of Vice"24 March 196223"First Night"31 March 196224"Safari"7 April 196225"Oh, Julie!"14 April 196226"Talking Shop"21 April 1962
DVD releases The three surviving episodes of Our House were released on DVD on 16 July 2012.
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