Romany Jones

Romany Jones
Created by	Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe
Starring	Arthur Mullard Queenie Watts James Beck Jo Rowbottom Jonathan Cecil Maureen Sweeney Kevin Brennan
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	27
Production
Running time	25 minutes
Production company	London Weekend
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	15 February 1972 (1972-02-15) – 11 July 1975 (1975-07-11)

Romany Jones is a British sitcom made by London Weekend Television, broadcast between 1972 and 1975, involving the comic misadventures of two layabout families living on a caravan site. The show was designed as a vehicle for James Beck and also featured Arthur Mullard and Queenie Watts as Wally and Lily Briggs.

Following Beck's death in August 1973, Bert and Betty Jones were written out of the series. Jonathan Cecil and Gay Soper took over the lead roles, playing new neighbours, Jeremy and Susan Crichton-Jones.

The show's pilot episode had been made by Thames Television and broadcast in 1972. It was followed by a spin-off sequel in 1976 entitled Yus, My Dear, starring Mullard and Watts.

Cast

• Arthur Mullard - Wally Briggs
• Queenie Watts - Lily Briggs
• James Beck - Bert Jones (series 1 and 2)
• Jo Rowbottom - Betty Jones (series 1 and 2)
• Kevin Brennan - Mr Gibson (series 1 and 2)
• Maureen Sweeney as Val Finch (series 2-4)
• Jonathan Cecil - Jeremy Crichton-Jones (series 3 and 4)
• Gay Soper - Susan Crichton-Jones (series 3 and 4)
• Alan Ford as Ken (series 3 and 4)

Episodes

Pilot (1972)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Writer/s	Original Airdate
1	1	Romany Jones	Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe	15 February 1972 (1972-02-15)

Series 1 (1973)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Writer/s	Original Airdate
2	1	The More We Are Together	Jon Watkins	8 June 1973 (1973-06-08)
3	2	The Ring	Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe	15 June 1973 (1973-06-15)
4	3	Run Rabbit Run	Chris Boucher	22 June 1973 (1973-06-22)
5	4	A Rough Night	Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe	29 June 1973 (1973-06-29)
6	5	The Competition	Geoff Rowley & Andy Baker	6 July 1973 (1973-07-06)
7	6	An Addition To The Family	Myles Rudge	13 July 1973 (1973-07-13)
8	7	Look After The Pennies	George Layton & Jonathan Lynn	22 July 1973 (1973-07-22)

Series 2 (1973)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Writer/s	Original Airdate
9	1	One And One Makes Three	Geoff Rowley & Andy Baker	14 September 1973 (1973-09-14)
10	2	The Shower	Myles Rudge	21 September 1973 (1973-09-21)
11	3	Just The Job	Jon Watkins	28 September 1973 (1973-09-28)
12	4	For Better Or Worse	Jon Watkins	5 October 1973 (1973-10-05)
13	5	Not So Sweet Charity	Peter Denyer & Graham Hooson	12 October 1973 (1973-10-12)
14	6	Pack Up Your Troubles	Story by: Roy Tuvey & Maurice Sellar Teleplay by: Jon Watkins	19 October 1973 (1973-10-19)

Series 3 (1974)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Writer/s	Original Airdate
15	1	The New Arrivals	Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe	16 August 1974 (1974-08-16)
16	2	The Invitation	Story by: Chris Boucher Teleplay by: Jon Watkins	23 August 1974 (1974-08-23)
17	3	Loot	Myles Rudge	30 August 1974 (1974-08-30)
18	4	The Dinner	Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe	6 September 1974 (1974-09-06)
19	5	Love Is All	Henry Charles	13 September 1974 (1974-09-13)
20	6	She Loves Me, That Bird	Jon Watkins	20 September 1974 (1974-09-20)
21	7	The Eggs	Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe	27 September 1974 (1974-09-27)

Series 4 (1975)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Writer/s	Original Airdate
22	1	The Dogsbody	Jon Watkins	6 June 1975 (1975-06-06)
23	2	Cold Comfort	Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe	13 June 1975 (1975-06-13)
24	3	The Learner Driver	Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe	20 June 1975 (1975-06-20)
25	4	A Good Layer	Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe	27 June 1975 (1975-06-27)
26	5	The Washing	Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe	4 July 1975 (1975-07-04)
27	6	A Night Out	Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe	11 July 1975 (1975-07-11)

Trivia

• Chris Boucher, later to write extensively for science fiction shows including Doctor Who, Blake's 7 and Star Cops, wrote the episode "Run Rabbit Run".
• Arthur English played Wally Briggs in the pilot episode.
• Mullard and Watts reprised their roles as Wally and Lily in Holiday on the Buses.

DVD release

DVD	Release date
The Complete Series 1	6 June 2011
The Complete Series 2	23 January 2012
The Complete Series 3	8 April 2013
The Complete Series 4	20 January 2014
The Complete Series 1 to 4 Box Set	5 February 2018

External links

• Romany Jones at BBC Comedy
• Romany Jones at IMDb
• James Beck Online