Doctor in the House

Summary

Richard Briers stars as student doctor Simon Sparrow who has just started at St Swithin's hospital... how hard can it be?

Based on his own experiences as a medic, Richard Gordon's hospital comedy Doctor in the House was a huge hit when first published in 1952. It spawned a series of sequels, a BAFTA-winning 1954 film starring Dirk Bogarde and a spin-off TV series from 1969-1970, as well as this 1968 BBC radio series, adapted by Ray Cooney.

In these 13 episodes, we follow the misadventures of hapless medical student Simon Oliver Sparrow. Having moved to London from Bradford, he decides to follow his father's footsteps and become a doctor - but, embarking on his studies at St Swithin's Hospital, he's thrown in at the deep end and finds himself floundering.

From flirting with nurses and falling foul of hospital rules, to dealing with the formidable Sister Virtue and the irascible Sir Lancelot Spratt, his six years of training are always eventful. Together with pals Tony Benskin and Taffy Evans, he manages to cause medical mayhem in the operating theatre, on the antenatal ward and at the Nurses' Ball - and it's nerves and pints all round as the trio face their final exams...

Starring Richard Briers, Geoffrey Sumner, Ray Cooney and Edward Cast, with guest stars including John Le Mesurier, Irene Handl, Norma Ronald, Joan Sanderson and David Jason, this funny, light-hearted sitcom is just what the doctor ordered.

Adapted for radio by Ray Cooney from Richard Gordon's Doctor in the House, published in 1952
Produced by David Hatch

Cast
Simon Sparrow - Richard Briers
Sir Lancelot Spratt - Geoffrey Sumner
Tony Benskin - Ray Cooney
Secretary - Erik Chitty
Sister/Granny - Beth Boyd
Padre - Michael Deacon/Brian Haines
The Dean - John Le Mesurier/Dennis Ramsden
Taffy Evans - Edward Cast
Vera/Matron - Norma Ronald
Mrs Robinson/Sister - Ann Murray
Sister Virtue - Joan Sanderson
Mrs Clark - Irene Handl
Sister - Barbara Mitchell
Nurse Michaels - Carol Marsh
Ginger - Tanya Robinson
Mrs Stevens - Gwendolyn Watts
Porter - Brian Haines
Nurse - Carol Mason
Lady Spratt - Joan Young
The Waiter - David Jason

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 25 June - 17 September 1968

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