Together (1980 TV series)

Together is a daytime soap opera made by the ITV franchise Southern Television. The two series were broadcast twice weekly for 13 weeks apiece in 1980 and 1981. One episode from each of the two series is considered "missing" and is not known to be held in the archives.

Together
Genre	Soap opera
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	53
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Southern Television
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	24 January 1980 (1980-01-24) – 3 April 1981 (1981-04-03)

The second series, in 1981, was transmitted live. Its theme song was written by John Dankworth and sung by Cleo Laine.

Synopsis

The series concerns the residents of a fictitious housing association block of flats named Rutherford Court. Actors featured include Carol Hawkins, Margaretta Scott, Kathleen Byron, Victor Maddern, and Sarah Greene. Episode writers include Rosemary Anne Sisson, Adele Rose, Phil Redmond and Alfred Shaughnessy. The series covers issues including abortion and homosexuality, and also contains some (mild) swearing, which may seem a surprise for modern viewers given its original lunchtime broadcast. Although no setting is made explicitly clear and no location work is used, the series appears to be set in Basingstoke.

Regular cast

• John Burgess as Duggie Webber
• Sheila Fay as Lynne Webber
• Kathleen Byron as Martha Finch
• Paul Hastings as Trevor Wallace
• Delena Kidd as Sarah Cunningham
• Stephen Churchett as Peter Hunt
• Raymond Francis as Edward Fuller
• Jonty Miller as Mike Gowers
• Carol Hawkins as Susi Powell
• Gillian Bailey as Julie Dunn
• Brian Jameson as Geoff Powell
• Hilda Fenemore as Dora Klein
• Victor Maddern as Harry Klein
• Margaretta Scott as Daphne Porter
• Richard Everett as Richard Dunn
• Christine Pollon as Mary Sutton
• Christopher Burgess as Leslie Shepherd
• Sarah Greene as Tricia Webber
• John Malcolm as Arthur Sutton
• Wally Thomas as Joe Fripp
• Gina Maher as Charlene Frisby
• Sheila Gill as Elsie Potts
• Annie Leake as Lily Marsden
• Ernest Hare as Derek Harding

Characters

• Duggie Webber (played by John Burgess). Duggie is the husband of Lynne, the manager of the flats, and he works as a general handyman and assistant. Early on it is clear he resents being seen as junior to his wife although he comes to terms with this. He is generally good-humoured but occasionally displays a more ascerbic side. Although friends with Mike Gowers he disapproves or his daughter's relationship with him. He sometimes displays conservative social attitudes including speaking in favour of Margaret Thatcher's views on self-reliance and showing hostiilty to Trevor when his homosexuality is revealed.
• Lynne Webber (played by Sheila Fay). Lynne is the Liverpudlian wife of Duggie. She manages the flats very efficiently and is well-regarded by the residents.
• Tricia Webber (played by Sarah Greene is the 18 year-old daughter of Duggie and Lynne. Although not resident in the flats she works as a hairdresser in its salon. A cheerful and popular young woman, she initially is attracted to Trevor Hastings but he only wants friendship. Although initially lukewarm about Mike Gowers she is impressed when he starts to exhibit more considerate behaviour and the two have a brief romance before the opposition of her father and the return of an old girlfriend of Mike brings it to an end.
• Harry Klein (played by Victor Maddern). Harry is a middle-aged taxi driver who works night shifts. He is generally good-humoured but his relationship with his wife is sometimes tense due to his traditional attitudes and reluctance for her to have outside employment, as well as his lack of support for her interests. He is one of the residents who shows negativity towards Trevor when he learns he is gay.
• Dora Klein (played by Hilda Fenemore). Dora is the wife of Harry and is a cheerful and helpful woman who gets on well with others although her relationship with Harry is sometimes awkward. She works as a cleaner in the flats and takes pride in winning a writing competition despite her husband's lack of interest and encouragement.
• Martha Finch (played by Kathleen Byron). Martha is an unmarried woman in her late fifties who lives with her much younger sister Sarah. Martha comes across as bitter, judgemental and very ready to find fault in others. She has a difficult relationship with her sister whose drinking and relationships trouble her.
• Sarah Cunningham (played by Delena Kidd). She is Martha's much younger sister who has moved in with her after getting divorced. Sarah enjoys going out and meeting men and her lifestyle annoys her sister leading to considerable conflict between then.
• Trevor Wallace (played by Paul Hastings). Trevor is a steward for British Rail. Astute and affable, he attracts the interest early on of Tricia Webber but he only wants a platonic relationship with her. He is popular with the other residents until he is outed as gay by Mike Gowers which leads to some residents turning against him for a while. His desire to share his flat with his boyfriend Peter causes some division among residents although he does ultimately get official approval.
• Peter Hunt (played by Stephen Churchett). Peter is a hospital porter and friend of Trevor; like Trevor he is a helpful and well-regarded personality. Later it becomes apparent that the two are more than friends and Peter wants to move in with Trevor leading to opposition from some residents although after a vote permission is given.
• Richard Dunn (played by Richard Everett). Richard is a young trainee solicitor. He is rather snobbish and not very popular among the other residents. He disapproves of his wife Julie's desire to have her own employment but reluctantly accepts it.
• Julie Dunn (played by Gillian Bailey). Julie at first seems happy with being a traditional wife but later wants more independence and seeks outside employment to the opposition of her husband. She unexpectedly becomes pregnant and this creates some dilemmas for the couple as they would have to move elsewhere. They seem to have solved these difficulties but then Julie suffers a miscarriage.
• Dr Edward Fuller (played by Raymond Francis). He moves in near the end of Series 1 after many years living and working in Rhodesia (which was being renamed Zimbabwe at the time of broadcast), moving back to England after his retirement. An amiable man he is immediately popular with Elsie and Martha but his real attraction is Daphne who was his girlfriend decades earlier before he moved abroad.
• Mike Gowers (played by Jonty Miller). Mike is a young milkman and self-styled "ladies man" who also has a tendency to dally with dubious ways of making money. He is generally very good-humoured but displays homophobic attitudes towards Trevor when he discovers that he is gay. Mike though comes to accept Trevor's sexuality and the two become friends. He has a short-lived romance with Tricia but this meets the opposition of her father and ends when a former girlfriend arrives and Tricia believes he has been unfaithful.
• Daphne Porter (played by Margaretta Scott. Daphne is a retired nurse and she sometimes gives medical advice and support. She is both excited and anxious when Dr Edward Fuller moves in as the pair were romantically involved forty yeare earlier before he moved abroad.
• Leslie Shepherd (played by Christopher Burgess) is a forty-eight year old clerk and divorcee. A quiet man he is thoughtful and open-minded and often a source of good advice to other residents. Near the end of Series 1 he is made redundant and not only worries about finding a new job at his age but also of struggling to pay the rent to stay at Rutherford Court.
• Elsie Potts (played by Sheila Gill) is an elderly widow who often talks fondly of her late husband George. She often behaves in an eccentric manner and also reveals a surprising interest in motorbikes, a passion she shared with her husband. She has some genuine health scares but also fakes one in an attempt to get the attention of Dr Edward Fuller.
• Derek Harding (played by Ernest Hare features in the first part of Series 1. His wife has recently died and is struggling to adapt to living alone, lacking domestic skills such as cooking. He leaves Rutherford Court to live with relatives.
• Carol Hawkins as Susi Powell
• Brian Jameson as Geoff Powell
• Christine Pollon as Mary Sutton
• John Malcolm as Arthur Sutton
• Wally Thomas as Joe Fripp
• Gina Maher as Charlene Frisby
• Annie Leake as Lily Marsden

Production

Significant changes were made to the series format between the first and second series: a number of characters from the first series are absent in the second, with no explanation given for most of them. A number of the characters that continue from the first series into the second have quite a different personality, and the layout of the Rutherford Court building is completely different.

Re-releases

Together has been shown again on Talking Pictures TV in 2016, 2020, and 2021, with captions explaining the action within the two missing episodes. Some language now considered offensive, especially with regard to homosexuality, was removed. In July 2020, the series was released - including the dialogue removed from the repeat transmissions - on DVD by Renown Pictures, the parent company of Talking Pictures and owner of much of the Southern Television archive.

External links

• Together at IMDb
• Classic Soap Flashback: Together