Farrington of the F.O.
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Don Clayton
Joan Sims
John Quayle
Tony Haygarth
Freddie Earlle
Judy Cornwell
Alan Hawkshaw
| Farrington of the F.O. | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Dick Sharples |
| Directed by | Ronnie Baxter Don Clayton |
| Starring | Angela Thorne Joan Sims John Quayle Tony Haygarth Freddie Earlle Judy Cornwell |
| Composers | Alan Parker Alan Hawkshaw |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Yorkshire Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 13 February 1986 – 15 July 1987 |
Farrington of the F.O. is a British television comedy series by Dick Sharples about the staff of the British Consulate in "one of the armpits of Latin America". It was produced by Yorkshire Television and broadcast from 1986 to 1987. Its second, and final, series was simply called Farrington.
Harriet Farrington arrives to take charge at a small, unimportant British Consulate in an undisclosed Central or South American country. She is horrified to find out how indolent and scheming her staff are, and - with more than a hint of Margaret Thatcher about her mannerisms - sets out to turn the Consulate around.
Characters
The major protagonists were:
- Harriet Farrington (Angela Thorne), the strict, no-nonsense new Consul-General. In Episode 1 she introduces herself as "the diplomatic bag".
- Annie Begley (Joan Sims), Harriet's only friend at the consulate, and the least incompetent of her staff.
- Major Percival Willoughby-Gore (John Quayle), a devious, lecherous, upper-class twit - and Harriet's would-be nemesis who hates the fact that a woman could hold the post of Consul-General. He is also the Ambassador's nephew. Sadly, he's not quite as clever as Harriet and finds his schemes are frequently found out and squashed by her.
- Fidel Sanchez (Tony Haygarth), the consulate's resident chauffeur. He always has his eye out to find ways to make a bit more cash – but grows strangely fond of Harriet as time goes on.
- Miguel (Freddie Earlle), a jovial, but incompetent relative of Fidel. Miguel appears in two episodes of series two, although Earlle also appeared as a different character in series one.
- Sarah Lawrence (Judy Cornwell) is Harriet's recently divorced houseguest. She horrifies her hostess by falling for the bumbling charms of Major Percy. Sarah appears in two episodes of series two.
Notable guest stars throughout the run of the two series included (in no particular order) Tim Barrett, Francesca Gonshaw, Jan Ravens, Ralph Bates, Annette Crosbie, Russell Hunter, Roger Hammond, Veronica Doran, Kevin Lloyd, Elizabeth Sellars, Edward de Souza, Robin Parkinson, Patsy Smart, and John Moreno. Sharples' earlier comedy shows included In Loving Memory and Hallelujah!.
Series
- Farrington of the F.O. — (1986) — Yorkshire Television
- First series (7 episodes) broadcast from 13 February to 27 March 1986
- Farrington — (1987) — Yorkshire Television
- Second series (7 episodes) broadcast from 3 June to 15 July 1987