Potting On
Encyclopedia
Potting On is a radio situation comedy
broadcast on BBC Radio 4
. It stars poet and author Pam Ayres
and veteran actor Geoffrey Whitehead
as an aging couple running a garden centre
with the help of various oddball employees. The supporting cast includes Trevor Bannister
, Alex Tregear, and Karl Theobald
. The show is written by Chris Thompson and Peter Reynolds.
Pam and Gordon (Ayres and Whitehead) are a long-married couple. Gordon is a creature of habit while Pam longs to break out of her humdrum routine. The humour revolves around her efforts to persuade him to try something new, or at least stop holding her back. For instance, for their annual holiday, Gordon is content to return to their caravan which has been parked for years in Swanage
, while she tries to organize a trip to some exotic location overseas, or at least somewhere other than Swanage.
Geoffrey Whitehead's role is to set up situations into which Pam Ayres delivers punchlines
in her distinctive brogue. For example, in an episode where Gordon becomes obsessed by an Indiana Jones
-style computer game and stays up till the early hours of the morning, there is the following exchange:
The same actors portray Pam and Gordon in sketches on the comedy and poetry show Ayres on the Air.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
broadcast on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. It stars poet and author Pam Ayres
Pam Ayres
Pam Ayres MBE is an English poet, songwriter and presenter of radio and television programmes. Her 1975 appearance on the television talent show Opportunity Knocks led to a variety of appearances on TV and radio shows, a one woman touring stage show and performing before the Queen.-Early life:Pam...
and veteran actor Geoffrey Whitehead
Geoffrey Whitehead
Geoffrey Whitehead is an English actor. He has appeared in a huge range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at the Shakespeare Globe, St...
as an aging couple running a garden centre
Garden centre
A garden centre is a retail firm that sells plants and products related to gardens as its primary business. It is open to the public, with facilities to care for and display plants.- UK :...
with the help of various oddball employees. The supporting cast includes Trevor Bannister
Trevor Bannister
Trevor Gordon Bannister was an English actor best known for playing the womanising junior salesman Mr. Lucas in the sitcom Are You Being Served? from 1972 to 1979, and for his role as Toby Mulberry Smith in the longest-running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine, from 2003 until it ended its run in 2010...
, Alex Tregear, and Karl Theobald
Karl Theobald
Karl Theobald is an English comedian and actor, best known as Dr. Martin Dear in Channel 4 sitcom Green Wing, and for his physical comedy style....
. The show is written by Chris Thompson and Peter Reynolds.
Pam and Gordon (Ayres and Whitehead) are a long-married couple. Gordon is a creature of habit while Pam longs to break out of her humdrum routine. The humour revolves around her efforts to persuade him to try something new, or at least stop holding her back. For instance, for their annual holiday, Gordon is content to return to their caravan which has been parked for years in Swanage
Swanage
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...
, while she tries to organize a trip to some exotic location overseas, or at least somewhere other than Swanage.
Geoffrey Whitehead's role is to set up situations into which Pam Ayres delivers punchlines
Punchlines
Punchlines was a comedy game show series that was produced by LWT and aired on the ITV network from January 3, 1981 until December 22, 1984...
in her distinctive brogue. For example, in an episode where Gordon becomes obsessed by an Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
-style computer game and stays up till the early hours of the morning, there is the following exchange:
- Gordon: I'm trying to find the hidden treasures of Nefertiti!
- Pam: Well come to bed then, I'll make sure you get yer 'ands on 'em!
The same actors portray Pam and Gordon in sketches on the comedy and poetry show Ayres on the Air.
Cast
- Pam Grant - Pam AyresPam AyresPam Ayres MBE is an English poet, songwriter and presenter of radio and television programmes. Her 1975 appearance on the television talent show Opportunity Knocks led to a variety of appearances on TV and radio shows, a one woman touring stage show and performing before the Queen.-Early life:Pam...
- Gordon Grant - Geoffrey WhiteheadGeoffrey WhiteheadGeoffrey Whitehead is an English actor. He has appeared in a huge range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at the Shakespeare Globe, St...
- Carol the cashier, assistant and modern girl-about-town - Alex Tregear
- Dave, dim but well-meaning dogsbody - Karl TheobaldKarl TheobaldKarl Theobald is an English comedian and actor, best known as Dr. Martin Dear in Channel 4 sitcom Green Wing, and for his physical comedy style....
- Roy the gardener, a classic bumpkin - Trevor BannisterTrevor BannisterTrevor Gordon Bannister was an English actor best known for playing the womanising junior salesman Mr. Lucas in the sitcom Are You Being Served? from 1972 to 1979, and for his role as Toby Mulberry Smith in the longest-running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine, from 2003 until it ended its run in 2010...