User Reviews

Brother and sister Nellie and Eli Pledge are joint owners of 'Pledge's Purer Pickles', based in Colne, Lancashire. They are complete opposites - she is a spinster prone to malapropisms ( "And what are you incinerating?" ) , while he is fond of beer, betting and women. The workforce consists largely of smelly old men such as Stan and Grenville. Popping up every now and then are cousins Lily ( "Coooo-eeeee!" ) and Walter, the latter particularly looking as though he's died but doesn't know it. And before you ask, yes, he's been.

This popular Vince Powell and Harry Driver creation provided an excellent vehicle for Hylda Baker and Jimmy Jewel, who played a kind of Northern 'Odd Couple'. Rumour has it they hated each other in real life. It hardly matters as their on-screen characters weren't fond of one another either. The show was a must for lovers of earthy Northern humour. 'Carry On' star Peter Butterworth guested in the episode 'Now Is The Hour'.

Favourite episode - 'The Ghost Of Picklers Past' in which a skull is found in the pickle factory. Great seance scene! Second favourite episode - 'Cindernellie'. You haven't lived until you've seen Walter as the Fairy Godmother!

At the time, it was a pleasure to see a sit-com based in the north of England instead of the otherwise ubiquitous London-and-home-counties. The full crew of well-rounded Yorkshire accents came as quite a refreshing change to those who lived up there.

However; the ideas it portrayed belonged to a decade earlier, and this probably represented the historical outlook of its mature writers. Released in 1958 instead, this would have been an original and topical scream.

As it was, even by 1968 (one year before 'Python'), it was a bit of a limping-whimpy. The thing held its ground, however, by the contrasting mix of eccentrics who made up the cast, to say nothing of the enthusiasm of its players. We had Hylda Baker giving it her all as spinster Nellie Pledge, prey to every kind of malapropism "I can say that without fear of contraception". Jimmy Jewel, already way past his sell-by date, adequately played her lecherous cork-pulling brother Eli. Their 'cousins' made regular appearances as faded, frustrated, but loyal , trailing her silent, seemingly-senile Walter, apparently prone to incontinence.

The script relied far too heavily on bad-mouthing and insults rather than inventive wit, and could have been a great deal funnier than it was. The curious mix of eccentrics is reminiscent of 'The Vicar Of Dibley', which plays upon the scheming of its clever characters being thwarted by the almost surreal stupidity of the others. It is extremely funny. There are good lines written for everyone.

'Nearest & Dearest' is a creature of its time. It represented the state of the art of comedy as represented by scriptwriters who had grown up in a different social epoch. It took 'Monty Python' to rule-off the old, and begin a fresh and modern account.

Even so, Hylda Baker was an extremely funny comedienne. She was cast from the same mould that produced another northern treasure: Mollie Sugden. Where are their likes today?

Vince Powell and Harry Driver's 'Nearest & Dearest' is rather similar to Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's 'Steptoe & Son' in that it features two family members and business partners ( in this case a brother and sister who run a pickle factory ) who cannot abide each other. It certainly never compared in terms of quality to Galton and Simpson's show, it was popular enough to run to seven series.

The first episode starts off with Nellie and Eli Pledge being reunited after their father Joshua dies and leaves them in his will the family pickle factory ( 'Pledge's Purer Pickles' ). Their reunion is not a happy one. On the day of the funeral, Nellie is mortified when her brother Eli throws an extra scoop of earth onto their father's coffin. Eli justifies his actions by claiming that it is tradition to do that at a funeral, to which Nellie responds: ''That was no need for you to shout 'one for the pot!'''.

Regular visitors to the Pledge household are second cousin Lily ( Madge Hindle ) and her octogenarian husband Walter ( Edward Malin ) who never speaks and spends most of his time shuffling to and from the toilet, hence Nellie's ''Have you been?'' catchphrase.

It was an unexceptional, unassuming Northern offering, only just made watchable by both Hylda Baker and Jimmy Jewel. The canned laughter did irritate however. Rumour has it that, like Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell from 'Steptoe & Son', both Baker and Jewel did not get along in real life. The main attempts of humour came from Nellie's use of malapropisms ( such as ''What are you incinerating?'' ). Madge Hindle specialised in playing dowdy middle aged women. Edward Malin did get some laughs as Walter despite never saying a word. Joe Gladwin often appeared as Stan Hardman who in terms of hygiene gave Albert Steptoe a run for his money. In 1972 there was the inevitable film spin-off which met with a mixed reception from the public.

After Granada Television cancelled the show in 1973, Jimmy Jewel moved over to Thames Television for 'Spring & Autumn' while Hylda Baker went to London Weekend Television to take on the leading role in 'Not On Your Nellie'.