Review for Larkins (The): The Complete Series 6

What an appropriately named series. Larkin’ abahhht; ‘avin a lark – yes, it’s the cheeky cockney shenanigans of ‘The Larkins’, described at the time of airing by a Daily Mail critic as "...the best domestic situation comedy series created by British TV".  If the sixth and final series is anything to go by, he could well have been right.


Apocryphally, series writer (and then builder’s clerk) Fred Robinson penned the ‘pilot’ as a play for his local Boy Scout Group as they couldn’t afford to pay royalties on anything already published. What could be better than a slightly theatrical series set in the relative simple confines of a café and one or two other interior locations? Recorded live, in common with much TV of the day, it may feel slightly stagey and high-farce to contemporary audiences, but it could be argues that it set a template that TV comedies around the globe would follow thenceforth. (‘My Family’ for instance isn’t a million miles away from this…). However, it could also be more cogently argued that it merely aped a format already popular in the US (Here’s Lucy et al). The actual truth of the matter probably lies somewhere in-between.


When the show aired in 1958 it was an immediate smash. In fact, by 1959 it had even garnered enough enthusiasm to have justified a modest spin-off movie (‘Inn for Trouble’) and the series ran to six seasons in total.


Whatever the case, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable slice of light comedy full of East End stereotypes, led from the front by the incomparable and over-bearing Peggy Mount and her on-scree hen-pecked husband, played by David Kossoff (father to the ill-fated guitarist Peter Kossoff of ‘Free’ fame).


When Robinson offered up his script to ATV in 1957, the controller, Bill Ward, declared it the funniest thing he’d ever read or produced. Peggy Mount was a natural choice though was, at the time, relatively new to TV. ‘Emergency Ward 10’ star Shaun O'Riordan played their geeky son Eddie and Ruth Trouncer played daughter, Joyce though they both disappeared at the end of series 4, which was when the show officially ‘ended’. But it proved so popular that a couple of years later it made a return, this time though the focus was much more on a café and the locals who frequented it.


Alf had been made redundant from his job at the works canteen at the beginning of series 5 and the family home acquired for demolition. With the children now gone, he and Ada use his redundancy cash to buy a worker’s café. (Very like the acquisition of the Inn in the original movie spin-off).


Most of the original supporting characters were written out, with only Hetty Prout returning, now as a waitress in the cafe. A welcome newcomer was 'Round the Horne' favourite Hugh Paddick as the down on his luck Major Osbert Rigby-Soames, who rents a room on the premises.

Though Season Six is no place to start a series, I did do exactly that. If the series was becoming tired or slowing down it certainly didn’t seem so to me. Plenty of good old fashioned farce and misunderstanding make every episode a little gem. It stands up remarkably well today.


Series six aired in 1964, late enough to allow it some humorous references to other ATV shows ( ‘This isn’t The Avengers you know…" ) and comprised seven episodes.

The series looks in very fine fettle given its vintage and I understand that this is the result of Network re-mastering from the original film tele-recordings.
I nearly gave the series a 7 out of 10 then faltered and delivered merely a six. This was done to reflect the fact that, whilst it is a thoroughly enjoyable series, it doesn’t quite hit the dizzying heights of classics like Hancock, Steptoe and Son, Dad’s Army or Only Fools and Horses. But lovers of classic British comedy will definitely want to add to their collection.


It might also be worth mentioning that if, like me, you have only just picked up on the release, you can actually buy the whole six series in a single box, also available from Network.

Here’s a brief episode synopsis. Several of the below were presumed lost until it became apparent that a full set was shipped to Australia at some point after the original airing and these were, thankfully, located and cleaned up.


1 Think Quicker, Vicar
Ada and Alf decide it would be an act of Christian charity to meddle in the Vicar’s home life.

2 Celebration Blues
Alf wants to make sure there’ll be lots of beer at the birthday party.

3 Gypsy’s Warning
Ada and Alf argue about what he should do with his race winnings.

4 Minder’s Keepers
Osbert has told a relative he desperately needs money to repay a ruthless Ada.

5 Counter Attraction
The attractive new waitress at Joe’s Snack Bar is enticing customers away from the cafe.

6 Dizzy Rich
Hetty is beneficiary of a sizeable sum when her uncle dies.

7 Country Style
Ada and Hetty decide to enjoy a healthy fortnight’s holiday at a cottage in the country.