Review for For the Love of Ada: The Complete Series 3

'For the Love of Ada' is a wonderful, old school comedy - gentle, heart-warming and occasionally laugh-aloud funny. It's also a perfect time capsule for the early seventies, showing a working class way of life that is perhaps gone forever. With a sterling cast and great scripts, the series gently lollopped along for four seasons before culminating in a less than wonderful film version which permanently and unfairly damaged the show's reputation for eternity. These welcome series releases from Network are the perfect opportunity to reassess what is, in my view, sit-com of the finest order.


By Series 3 the series had really got its mojo and was in full flow. Ada and Walter are now married and daughter and son in law are slowly getting used to the fact.


But I've got all ahead of myself. First a bit of background for any newcomers. The inimitable Irene Handl plays Ada Cresswell, a cor-blimey Londoner and widowed pensioner who, in Series 1, lives with her daughter Ruth Pollitt (Barbara Mitchell) and son-in-law Leslie Pollitt (Jack Smethurst, later of 'Love Thy Neighbour').


Ada falls for northerner Walter Bingley (Wilfred Pickles), a semi-retired gravedigger who she met whilst laying flowers on her husband's grave. Their friendship blossoms and before long they get engaged and by the end of Series 2, married.


Much of the comedy is regional - with stout Yorkshireman Walter at odds with Londoner Ada - though both leads bring a little of themselves to the show too, which was pretty much written round them. (One example is Handl's trademark malapropisms, originally aired in shows like 'Educating Archie' and 'Hancock's Half Hour', which are here aplenty).





Series Three starts with Ada and Walter already married and living apart from son and daughter in law in a block of council flats. The series comprised seven 30 minute episodes (all here in full) and ran from 15 Mar-3 May 1971 in a Monday slot at 8.30pm.

Here's a brief synopsis (hopefully without spoilers!) of the episodes which, whilst they stand alone, also move on the wider narrative, in common with all really good drama based sit coms.

1. "After The Honeymoon" - Now married, Ada and Walter have a falling out over Ada's love of Coronation Street. Being too stubborn to make up, Ada leaves for her daughters, interrupting early attempts to start a family, much to Leslie's annoyance!
2. "The Journey" - Walter decides it's time to 'go back home' for a visit, so he and Ada head North, though the trip is not the success that they had hoped for. Walter realises that his home is now in the South with Ada. In the meantime, Leslie and Ruth take a trip back to Leslie's beloved Manchester, only to find that all his old mates have changed. Even the old chip shop has turned into a Chinese takeaway!
3. "Housekeeping" - Ada seems to be managing her housekeeping well as it's tinned Salmon for tea most nights. Walter suspects something is wrong and thinks Ada is shop-lifting so he decides to take all the tinned food back to the supermarket. Naturally he is caught and chaos ensues!

1. "The Eviction" - A rumour that Ada and Walter are about to be re-housed to another part of town turns out to be true. Hating the new block they decide to move bac in with Leslie and Ruth until they can find a suitable flat.
2. "A Lunchtime Drink" - Walter persuades Leslie that it's every man's right to have a few pints down the pub whilst the ladies stay at home cooking the lunch. Only the ladies don't quite see it that way!
3. "The Royalist" - Ada sends a letter to the Queen and when she receives an impersonal letter of thanks back from a royal secretary, Walter sets about adding a 'PS' so that Ada doesn't get too upset. Only he goes too far and suggests that if Ada is ever passing Buckingham Palace she should drop in for some tea. And she decides to do exactly that…!
4. "The Mortgage" - Struggling to find a flat, a really excellent one comes up but requires a large deposit. Walter fonds an old savings account book that suggests that he and Ada can probably get hold of more than £50 - so they make an offer on the flat. Only it turns out that the money was withdrawn years ago. Upset, Ada and Walter have to start the search again - though all's well that ends well!

In 1972, after a successful Series 4, a film version, based on the series, was released, directed by Ronnie Baxter. It featured the same actors along with an appearance by Arthur English as a an old friend of Walters'. Having seen this recently, it has to be said that it's something of a mess, which may account for its lack of success at the time.


'Ada' (the TV series) was enough of a hit to spawn an American verson of the series ('A Touch of Grace') which ran on ABC from January to June 1973. It starred Shirley Booth and J. Pat O'Malley as Grace Simpson and Herbert Morrison. Sadly, the American version was destroyed in the ratings by 'All In The Family' and was consequently canned.


There are no extras here, though Jack Smethurst is the only surviving member of the cast and he shows little interest in reflecting on his sit-com seventies, so it's hardly surprising.

Thoroughly recommended!