One Foot In The Grave
- TV sitcom
- BBC One
- 1990 - 2000
- 42 episodes (6 series)
The grumpy complainer and accident prone Victor Meldrew takes early retirement and finds he has far too much time on his hands. His long suffering wife and neighbours just have to grin and bear it. Stars Richard Wilson, Annette Crosbie, Doreen Mantle, Owen Brenman, Angus Deayton and Janine Duvitski
- Series 1, Episode 1 repeated Sunday at 8pm on U&Yesterday
Episode menu
Series 2, Episode 5 - Love And Death
Further details
The Meldrews are on their way for a weekend by the sea, staying with old friends April and Vince, who run a B&B. Typically, their holiday is punctuated by many unfortunate misunderstandings and mishaps...
Before even having a chance to settle into their room, Victor finds a dead seagull stuck in a lavatory, before misunderstanding the latter-half of a missed conversation over dinner and believing he's eating cat stew! His get-away takes a turn for the brighter the next day when he meets two very polite fellow residents, pretty young female Romanian students, whom he is able to help with some menial tasks - and let off a bit of steam to. Margaret, however, becomes racked with jealousy after misunderstanding their innocent comments of thanks!
Meanwhile, Vince presents Victor with a gift: a tombstone bearing his name and date of birth! It's not the kind of thought a man in his retirement years wishes to dwell on. He then has the misfortune to be beaten up by a group of midgets and accidentally superglues a full pint of beer to his forehead.
An argument with Margaret proves the last straw and he ends up getting very drunk in a nearby pub. He's found in the early hours by the local police in a public toilet, completely inebriated and making seagull noises. Returned to the guest house, Vince and April do their best to calm the situation and keep Margaret from finding out the extend of her husband's embarrassing adventures, but only succeed in putting themselves in the direct line of fire!
Broadcast details
- Date
- Thursday 8th November 1990
- Time
- 9:30pm
- Channel
- BBC One
- Length
- 30 minutes
Cast & crew
Richard Wilson | Victor Meldrew |
Annette Crosbie | Margaret Meldrew |
Myrtle Devenish | Elderly Lady on Train |
Georgina Hale | April Bluett |
Stephen Lewis | Vince Bluett |
Leigh Samuels | Petra |
Patricia Martinelli | Marie |
Peter Burroughs | Rusty |
Paul Mari | Policeman |
David Renwick | Writer |
Susan Belbin | Director |
Sydney Lotterby | Director |
Susan Belbin | Producer |
Chris Wadsworth | Editor |
John Dunstan | Editor |
John Asbridge | Production Designer |
Richard Winter | Costume Designer |
Jean Steward | Make-up Designer |
Chris Kempton | Lighting Designer |
Eric Idle | Composer |
Ed Welch | Composer |
Pete Wane | Graphics |
Press
OFITG latest show to be hit with woke warning
The episode - titled Love And Death - sees Victor (Richard Wilson) and wife Margaret (Annette Crosbie) go on holiday to Bournemouth. They are told by two guests that there are midgets in the bathroom, but thinking they said midges, Victor bursts in there with bug spray. Instead Victor - whose catchphrase is "I don't believe it", finds two half-naked dwarves, who are part of a theatre show. It is offensive to use the word midget in reference to people with dwarfism.
Fay Leyfield, The Sun, 14th July 2021