British Comedy Guide
After Henry. Image shows from L to R: Sarah France (Prunella Scales), Clare (Geraldine Cowper), Eleanor (Joan Sanderson). Copyright: BBC
After Henry

After Henry

  • Radio sitcom
  • BBC Radio 4
  • 1985 - 1989
  • 34 episodes (4 series)

Culture and generation-clash comedy in which middle-aged widow Sarah lives with her elderly, difficult mother Eleanor, and daughter Clare. Stars Prunella Scales, Joan Sanderson, Benjamin Whitrow and Geraldine Cowper.

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Key details

Genre
Sitcom
Broadcast
1985 - 1989
Channel
BBC Radio 4
Episodes
34 (4 series)
Stars
Prunella Scales, Joan Sanderson, Benjamin Whitrow and Geraldine Cowper
Writer
Simon Brett
Producer
Pete Atkin
Company

Sarah is 42 and has already been widowed for a little over two years, since Henry's tragic death in a car crash. Having moved from London to a medium-sized town in the country with her late husband, doctor Henry France, she's now left alone, coping with their daughter, Clare, and her mother, Eleanor, between whom she is regularly torn!

Clare, only just 18, is fast becoming an adult, discovering the world, and finding both herself and her responsibilities. Sarah herself is struggling to get used to the unwanted freedom that Henry's death has thrust upon her; and her elderly mother, somewhere in her mid-70s, is as interfering, oblivious and cantankerous as ever.

Caught between the two extremes, Sarah struggles - with the help and advice of her gay best friend and employer, small bookshop owner Russell - with parenting, life as a single woman, but above all else: not turning into her mother!

Additional details

Production
Studio

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Wednesday 17th April 1985 at 6:30pm on BBC Radio 4
Most recent repeats
  • Tuesday 23rd January 2024 at 3:30am on Radio 4 Extra - Series 4, Episode 8
  • Monday 22nd January 2024 at 6:30pm on Radio 4 Extra - Series 4, Episode 8
  • Monday 22nd January 2024 at 1:30pm on Radio 4 Extra - Series 4, Episode 8

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