To The Manor Born

TO THE MANOR BORN. BBC TV sitcom that first aired for three series (22 episodes) on the BBC between 1979 to 1981. It told the story of Audrey Fforbes-Hamilton (Penelope Keith), an upper-class woman who upon the death of her husband has to move out of her beloved manor house to the estate's old lodge. She manages, however, to keep her butler and her much loved Rolls-Royce motorcar. The manor is then bought by Richard DeVere (Peter Bowles), a nouveau-riche millionaire supermarket owner originally from Czechoslovakia. DeVere and Fforbes-Hamilton have a love-hate relationship which is eventually resolved in the final episode in 1981, in which they marry. In the later 2007 special, they actually celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. The programme proved popular and it received high audience figures for many of its episodes, especially the Series 1 final episode which became the most watched British television programme (excluding live events) of the 1970s. In 2004, To The Manor Born came 21st in Britain's Best Sitcom Public poll.