Love Thy Neighbour

A white working-class socialist has his world turned upside down when an educated black man moves in next door.

Genre: Comedy

Cast:Jack Smethurst , Rudolph Walker , Nina Baden-Semper , Kate Williams , Tommy Godfrey , Keith Marsh , Paul Luty , Harry Littlewood , Michael Slater , Ken Parry , Jumoke Debayo , Oscar James , Malcolm Rogers , James Fuller , George Roderick , Dick Bentley , Hazel Coppen , Tim Barrett

0Season 1

S1.E0 ∙ Pilot

1972

When a Black couple moves in next door, Eddie decides that he and his wife Joan must move. He changes his mind when he sees the woman, but trouble is still afoot.

1Season 1

S1.E1 ∙ New Neighbours

Thu, Apr 13, 1972

The house next door to Eddie and Joan has been sold and the couple that moves in comes as a massive shock to Eddie.

2Season 1

S1.E2 ∙ Limbo Dancing

Thu, Apr 20, 1972

Joan tries some of Barbie's exotic food on Eddie. After joining the works social club, Bill challenges Eddie to see who's best at Limbo dancing.

3Season 1

S1.E3 ∙ The Petition

Thu, Apr 27, 1972

Bill gets angry at Eddie when he keeps ogling Barbie while she's sunbathing in the garden. Eddie thinks Bill is stirring things up, so he decides to move. Bill doesn't want any Black people moving in.

4Season 1

S1.E4 ∙ Factory Dispute

Thu, May 4, 1972

After an argument over a new machine at work gets out of hand, Bill and Eddie both withdraw their labour and go on strike. As a result, Barbie and Joan both also go on strike until the guys go back to work.

5Season 1

S1.E5 ∙ The Seven Year Itch

Thu, May 11, 1972

Eddie has a union meeting at the pub with Jacko and Arthur; Barbie and Joan think that their husbands have a roving eye, so they phone two friends to try to tempt them into cheating.

6Season 1

S1.E6 ∙ Refused a Drink

Thu, May 18, 1972

Eddie gets all excited about meeting Harold Wilson, but the arguments start when Bill puts a poster of Edward Health in his window. To prove a bet that Blacks can get served anywhere, Eddie dresses up in an Afro wig and blacks himself up.

7Season 1

S1.E7 ∙ Sex Appeal

Thu, May 25, 1972

Barbie suggests to Joan that she doesn't wear a bra like her, to try to keep Eddie interested, but Eddie doesn't even notice. When he later thinks he sees Joan and Bill embracing, Eddie gets really drunk and tries to start a fight.

1Season 4

S4.E1 ∙ Hines' Sight

Wed, Dec 12, 1973

Eddie tries to vet those who are interested in buying the empty house next door: they must be white, Northern, and Manchester United supporters. Meanwhile, the social club has a new barman.

2Season 4

S4.E2 ∙ Friendly

Wed, Dec 19, 1973

Eddie and Bill enter a raffle, the prize being a trip for two to Paris. They decide to take each other should they win, leaving their pregnant wives at home, but their wives have other plans.

3Season 4

S4.E3 ∙ Working on New Year's Eve

Mon, Dec 31, 1973

The boys are asked to work on New Year's Eve and decide to throw a party.

4Season 4

S4.E4 ∙ Eddie's Mother-in-Law

Mon, Jan 7, 1974

Joan's mother comes to visit and Eddie puts his foot down and kicks her out. Joan leaves with her.

5Season 4

S4.E5 ∙ The Antenatal Clinic

Mon, Jan 14, 1974

Bill bets Eddie that he can't go 24 hours without saying a racial slur. The men have to join the ladies at the antenatal clinic.

6Season 4

S4.E6 ∙ Two Weeks to Babies

Mon, Jan 21, 1974

Bill overhears Joan talking about another mother, misunderstands, and starts a rumour that Joan's baby's father is the window-cleaner Speckie. Then the rumour switches to Barbie, and both men go after Speckie.

7Season 4

S4.E7 ∙ To the Hospital

Mon, Jan 28, 1974

Part 1. After a few false starts, Bill and Eddie get the girls to the hospital. When they are told that the babies might not come until morning, the boys go drinking.

8Season 4

S4.E8 ∙ The Big Day

Mon, Feb 4, 1974

Part 2. Eddie is still waiting for the phone call from the hospital, but can't help getting drunk again. His friends sober him up and get him to the hospital in time for the birth. Bill's child is born first.

1Season 5

S5.E1 ∙ The Mediterranean

Mon, Feb 18, 1974

At the club meeting, the men decide to take a trip to Majorca. The women threaten to withhold all their services if they do not take them, so off they all go. Through a misunderstanding, Eddie spends the duration of the trip in jail.

2Season 5

S5.E2 ∙ Teething Problems

Mon, Feb 25, 1974

Bill gives Barbie tickets to go to Trinidad. Eddie uses the envelope to write a note, throws it into the bin, and spends his whole morning going through the tip trying to find it. Meanwhile, the garbage man found them earlier and returned them, and Barbie has already gone. When Joan thinks Bill will wander, she makes him stay with her.

3Season 5

S5.E3 ∙ Eddie's Birthday

Mon, Mar 4, 1974

It's Eddie's birthday and the boys at the club band together to send him sexy birthday cards as a joke, which doesn't impress Joan. Bill also sends a joke one from Harold Wilson that leads to Eddie being arrested.

4Season 5

S5.E4 ∙ Cat's Away

Mon, Mar 11, 1974

Eddie is jealous of the attention Bill is getting from Joan, and turns his eyes to Sandra from the barber shop. She just flirts with him to get him to do the stock taking. Bill shows up, and then the wives, ending the fling before it starts.

5Season 5

S5.E5 ∙ Ghosts

Mon, Mar 25, 1974

The discussion in the club turns to ghosts. When Nobby says a ghost is haunting the club, Eddie and Bill make a bet that Eddie can't stay in the club all night.

6Season 5

S5.E6 ∙ Bananas

Mon, Apr 1, 1974

Eddie takes a crate of bananas that belong to Bill. While he is eating a banana, a giant tarantula comes out of the crate. It is a clockwork spider, but Eddie tells everyone he is dying from a bite. They all know better.

1Season 6

S6.E1 ∙ Reggie

Thu, Jan 2, 1975

Eddie is taking Joan for granted and she tries everything to get him to pay attention to her. She starts thinking about Reginald Truelove, her first boyfriend. One night when Eddie goes to the club, she invites Reggie over, but she has a change of heart by the time he gets there. Reggie answers the phone for her and tells her it's "Bloody Nora". She gets spooked and goes to the club to explain. Eddie is not there; she missed him. Next thing she knows, Eddie is in hospital for confronting Reggie.

2Season 6

S6.E2 ∙ Jacko's Wedding

Thu, Jan 9, 1975

Jacko comes back from holiday with news that he is getting married to a bingo caller he met on his travels. When she shows up, everybody thinks she's after his money; in fact, Joan knows this girl to be a gold-digger--and already married. She sends the girl packing and the wedding is off. Albert thinks Jacko will jump into the canal, and everybody heads out there to stop him.

3Season 6

S6.E3 ∙ Duel at Dawn

Thu, Jan 16, 1975

Bill tells Eddie he is having relatives stay at his house. They get into a dispute and decide to settle it with a duel. Nobby lends them his antique guns and off they go. Jacko loads the guns with blanks, and when Nobby sees this, he switches them for the real thing. When one gun goes off, Jacko goes down and Eddie thinks he killed him. Jacko only fainted.

4Season 6

S6.E4 ∙ The Darts Final

Thu, Jan 23, 1975

Joan forces Eddie to babysit so she can go to the movies with Barbie. The vicar comes round and Eddie cons him into babysitting so he can go to the club. The wives come home early and the vicar goes to the club to tell Eddie. Joan is so mad at him, she locks his clothes in the wardrobe so he can't go to the darts match. Eddie wears Joan's clothes and gets in all kinds of trouble.

5Season 6

S6.E5 ∙ Royal Blood

Thu, Jan 30, 1975

Eddie is researching his family tree. As a joke, Bill fakes an old portrait and says it is Eddie's ancestor. Eddie thinks he has royal blood and is lording it over everyone until Joan discovers that the documents were written in ballpoint pen. Mr. Pettigrew from Somerset House comes to the club and tells Eddie his ancestor was on the ship "The Bounty" and was indeed married to royalty: a black princess on Pitcairn Island.

6Season 6

S6.E6 ∙ Club Concert

Thu, Feb 6, 1975

The annual concert is looking dismal without a celebrity. Eddie phones the Duke of Edinburgh and Bill pretends he knows Charlie Williams. Charlie's agent tells him that he is booked in for the concert. The boys, thinking he is an impersonator, coach him on how Charlie acts and speaks. When Eddie insults him, he walks out. The night of the concert there is no Charlie, but Arthur tells Eddie that he turned away a drunk who called himself the Duke of Edinburgh.

7Season 6

S6.E7 ∙ The Nannies

Thu, Feb 13, 1975

The girls get a part time job on Saturdays, so they hire two nannies for the day, sight unseen. After they go to work, two sexy ladies show up to look after the children. These nannies get Bill and Eddie to do all the work while they lounge around all day. Barbie and Joan come home and catch them eating a meal together. The men are barred from all football and Joan and Barbie go to the match in their place.

1Season 7

S7.E1 ∙ Famous Crimes

Thu, Apr 17, 1975

Barbie invites Joan and Eddie to dinner and sends Bill down to the club to get Eddie. When Bill gets there, Jacko is showing off the handcuffs worn by Dr. Crippen, the famous murderer. He puts them on Bill and Eddie and they are stuck without a key. While Jacko goes to find keys, Eddie and Bill go home to dinner. They break into the factory to find something to cut them off when Jacko arrives.

2Season 7

S7.E2 ∙ The Lady and the Tramp

Thu, Apr 24, 1975

The club is having a Lady and the Tramp theme night: the men are to be tramps, and the ladies to be ladies. Not so simple for Jacko, who comes as the lady; his mother is the tramp. Unfortunately, the police crash the party because the club's liquor license has expired; Eddie forgot to renew it.

3Season 7

S7.E3 ∙ The Protection of the Law

Thu, May 1, 1975

Bill decides to leave the social club and go to the Caribbean Club. When Jacko, Eddie and Arthur hear there is a stripper over there, they go over too. When Bill sees them, he refuses to sign Eddie in. Eddie calls the race relation board and Bill is investigated and given a warning. When Eddie goes back to the club, Bill throws Eddie's pint of beer on the floor and they are both barred.

4Season 7

S7.E4 ∙ The Opinion Poll

Thu, May 8, 1975

Eddie wants to take an opinion poll at the club: "Are you for more blacks coming into this country"? The problem is, there are only 10 people and it is a tie. The next one to walk in the door will decide, but he happens to be a vicar and won't vote. He suggests they have it out in a boxing ring to decide who will win.

5Season 7

S7.E5 ∙ Manchester United

Thu, May 15, 1975

Bill and Eddie are looking forward to going to the FA Cup Replay between West Ham and Manchester United so much that they both pretend to be injured so that they can take a day off work to go to the match. However their wives have other ideas!

6Season 7

S7.E6 ∙ The TUC Conference

Thu, May 22, 1975

Eddie is sure he will get voted as president of the club for 10 years running; then Bill throws his hat in the ring. No one told Bill that the annual trip to the conference would mean Doris, a frisky lady who chases Bill all over the place, would be there. The night of the elections, a surprise candidate wins the election and a trip to the TUC conference with Doris.

1Season 8

S8.E1 ∙ The Local By-Election

Thu, Dec 11, 1975

Eddie campaigns for the Labour Party until he finds out his candidate is black. Bill invites everyone round for the election results and when Eddie sees that the candidate is white, he is stunned--until Charlie walks in. Apparently, Bill sent him to Eddie's house to impersonate the Labour candidate.

2Season 8

S8.E2 ∙ Eddie Becomes a Father Again

Thu, Dec 18, 1975

Joan joins a shopping club and Barbie tells Bill Joan is "in the club" (pregnant). Joan has ordered a pram and some baby supplies. Bill tells Eddie he is going to be a father, and confusion ensues.

3Season 8

S8.E3 ∙ Christmas Spirit

Thu, Dec 25, 1975

Eddie, Jacko, and Arthur have a meeting to vote for the darts captain for the upcoming Christmas tournament. Bill comes in and puts his name forward, so they decide on a drinking contest. Afterward, at home, Eddie must sleep on the couch, and he dreams they're all on a desert island; he is the dinner and Bill is the king. They win the darts match and Eddie gives the trophy to Bill.

4Season 8

S8.E4 ∙ The Coach Outing to Bournemouth

Thu, Jan 1, 1976

Joan accepts a coach trip to Bournemouth for her and Eddie, not mentioning that is a Tory event. Eddie is Labour so when he finds out, he loads up on crates of beer. He proceeds to get drunk on the coach, and makes the bus stop so many times, they finally abandon him.

5Season 8

S8.E5 ∙ For Sale

Thu, Jan 8, 1976

Eddie wants to sell his house for £15,000.00 so they can move to Manchester. Mr. and Mrs. Brittain look it over and decide to buy it, until they see the neighbours; after which, being racists, they don't want it. Eddie had given Bill tickets to a game to get him and Barbie out of the house so prospective buyers wouldn't see them. To get even with Eddie, Bill puts an ad in the paper and lists Eddie's house for £1,500.00. He and Joan are swamped with buyers.

6Season 8

S8.E6 ∙ Power Cut

Thu, Jan 15, 1976

The Electricity Board cuts off the power to Bill and Barbie's for non-payment. They know they paid it; they just can't prove it. Joan lets them move in and offers to go down to the office with Bill to sort it out. Unfortunately, the man is Black and Eddie can't hold his tongue. Worse, they find out that Bill gave Barbie the cheque to mail,she gave it to Joan, and Joan gave it to Eddie. It's still in his pocket.

7Season 8

S8.E7 ∙ The Lodger

Thu, Jan 22, 1976

A homeless man, Albert, does odd jobs around the pub. Bill bets Eddie £5 that he won't take him home. Eddie does, and Joan takes a shine to him; she feeds him and gives him Eddie's new suit and he looks a million dollars. Eddie wins the bet, but the man's son comes to get him and gives Eddie £10 for his trouble. Apparently, he leaves home and takes up with strangers regularly.