Debuting on Sunday 19 February 1989, Wendy Craig starred in her first BBC comedy since Butterflies as recently divorced Laura Kingsley, who arrives home after ten years in California to find her beloved Britain much changed.
Ever a magnet for the unexpected, she has no sooner touched down at Heathrow than she is up to her neck in disorder.
Incident-prone Laura finds herself involved with some villainous art thieves who have switched identical hand luggage with hers to pass a stolen Modigliani through customs.
On the way to the home of her stuffy lawyer son, Howard (Graham Sinclair) and daughter-in-law, Helen (Sally Hughes), she becomes pals with a young black van driver, Oberon (Stephen Persaud), and enjoys a stop at a friendly pub.
When the villains make the luggage swap at the pub, they end up driving away with the wrong bag again – and her frillies.
Later, Laura pays Oberon a visit at his squat in Slough, where she meets his girlfriend, Holly (Marie Berry). The building is owned by a property shark whose aim is demolition rather than preservation, but he hasn’t bargained for a confrontation with Laura.
Laura finds that life with Oberon and Holly is much more fun than with Howard and Helen, where she is at risk of becoming the butt of too many mother-in-law jokes, and – much to her son’s horror – she decides to move into their squat, where she is determined to launch Oberon’s musical career.
Wendy Craig co-wrote the scripts (under her pseudonym Jonathan Marr) with her ex-journalist husband Jack Bentley and their son Ross.
Unfortunately, the series was not a success and was not renewed.
Laura Kingsley
Wendy Craig Oberon
Stephen Persaud Howard Kingsley
Graham Sinclair Helen Kingsley
Sally Hughes Holly
Marie Berry Gosset
Stephen Greif Hepple
Jonathan Stephens Mr Mansfield
Peter Clapham Marriott
Derek Royle Mr Gatana
Andreas Markos
Episodes
Back from California | Villains | Confrontation | The Squat | An Unorthodox Response | The Metal Detector
Video
You May Also Like
Richard Pryor Show, The 1 9 7 7 (USA) 4 x 60 minute episodes The career of young black comic Richard…
Woman's Place?, A 1 9 7 8 (UK) 8 x 25 minute episodes Beginning on Tuesday 2 May 1978, this…
Little and Large 1 9 7 8 - 1 9 9 1 (UK) 78 x 60 minute episodes After…
Ever a magnet for the unexpected, she has no sooner touched down at Heathrow than she is up to her neck in disorder.
Laura finds that life with Oberon and Holly is much more fun than with Howard and Helen, where she is at risk of becoming the butt of too many mother-in-law jokes, and – much to her son’s horror – she decides to move into their squat, where she is determined to launch Oberon’s musical career.
