On the face of it, the Mundys are just an ordinary Birmingham family. There’s Sidney (Michael Elphick), Sadie (Susan Tracy) and the kids, Kevin (Lucas Penn) and Dawn (Tessa Harrison). There’s also “her” – Sidney’s formidable, shrewd, devious and clever mother-in-law (Lila Kaye).
She’s “Mummy” to Sadie, and to the kids, she’s “Grandma”. But to Sidney, she’s “The Bride of Frankenstein”, “The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb”, or simply “Her!”.
She moved in “temporarily” when her husband died – 11 years ago! – and thinks she owns the place.
So Sidney gets down to The Plume of Feathers as often as possible to drown his sorrows and tell his mate Terry (Tim Preece) about all the diabolical things she gets up to. Not that Terry believes everything Sidney tells him because some of his stories about “Her” sound pretty unlikely.
Still, it’s best to hear him out and then say, “Pull the other one!”
Thus, we were introduced to the Mundys, the subject of Central Television’s six-part situation comedy which premiered on Friday 15 June 1984.
The debut episode – “Grandma Goes West” – had the Mundys on their way to Cornwall for a holiday when Grandman is taken ill. Thinking she is dead, Sidney and Sadie wrap her in a tarpaulin, tie her on the car roof rack and set off to find a phone – but then the car is stolen.
The series began life as a radio play entitled Grandma Goes West.
Sidney Mundy
Michael Elphick Sadie Mundy
Susan Tracy Grandma
Lila Kaye Terry
Tim Preece Kevin Mundy
Lucas Penn Dawn Mundy
Tessa Harrison
Episodes
Grandma Goes West | Grandma Goes East | Grandma Strikes Back | Grandma Steals the Show | Grandma Does It Herself | Grandma Gets Fit
