1 9 7 1 (UK)
7 x 30 minute episodes
Premiering on Friday 15 January 1971 (after being postponed from the previous Friday), this brief BBC comedy series starred Bill Fraser as Basil Bulstrode, the cantankerous, stubborn and bombastic manager of a North country funeral parlour.
Emanuel Holroyd (Raymond Huntley) was the proprietor, and Percy (David Battley) was their assistant.
The series was spawned by an episode of Comedy Playhouse entitled ‘Last Tribute’, which aired in March 1970 and was repeated as the first episode of the new series.
Most of the location filming took place in and around Burton-on-Trent.
A feature film version was produced by Hammer and released in 1972, co-starring Roy Kinnear, Richard Wattis, Frank Thornton, Bob Todd, and Michael Robbins. The film performed poorly at the box office.
Basil Bulstrode
Bill Fraser
Emanuel Holroyd
Raymond Huntley
Percy
David Battley
Episodes
Last Tribute | Alas Poor Eric | Winning the Ashes | The Last to Go | What’s in a Name? | Unholy Deadlock | A Touch of Violet