It Takes a Worried Man

I remember this series very fondly. I'm pretty sure it was written by Peter Tilbury as well as staring him although IMDb doesn't say who wrote the series, perhaps someone out there knows? As ITV have never repeated the (two?) series I can't tell! And by the way, what has happened to Peter Tilbury since 1993? The early Shelly episodes were written by him and Shelly must rate as one of the funniest British comedy series ever. It Takes a Worried Man doesn't sound like the subject of a comedy, being the story of a man recently divorced a worried about every thing from losing his hair to losing his job, but somehow it worked and it helped that the main character was actually likable and you wanted him to succeed. Come on ITV / Granada / whoever, how 'bout some repeats?

This series was incredibly literate and funny. It's a tragedy that it hasn't been seen since. With so many tired repeats aired, surely it can't be difficult to get the necessary clearances for this to be seen again.

Peter Tilbury is impressive as the intelligent worker who'd rather not (work that is ) and whose intelligence prevents him from taking his desk bound duties seriously, Christopher Benjamin compelling as the boss who's unable to do more than harbour the suspicion that his employee does as little work as possible. A gem of eighties comedy based on disengagement from society.

I remember this series very fondly. Great performances all round, not just Peter Tibury but also Christopher Benjamin and Nicholas Le Prevost. I was probably much too young for this show when it first aired - I was a teenager and it was all about a mid-life crisis if I remember correctly, but somehow it struck a chord. Fans of this show probably also enjoyed Agony, Shelley and Reginald Perrin. (Well I did anyway.) I would love to see this show again - I wonder how well it has held up after all these years. I think the closest thing to this type of comedy more recently was Paul Whitehouse's Happiness which I also loved. His new series HELP has just started and that looks very promising.

The good news is that Network DVD are planning to issue all 3 series of "It Takes A Worried Man" on DVD, with Series 1 already available. The even better news is that - having just watched Series 1 again for the first time since it was broadcast - it's still as witty and as literate as I remember it being. Peter Tilbury never dumbs down his writing, paying his audience the compliment of assuming that they're intelligent and cultured enough to enjoy even the cleverest of his characters' witticisms, much as he did when he wrote the marvellous early episodes of "Shelley".

I just wish someone could explain to me why a comedy show as brilliant as "It Takes A Worried Man" currently only has an IMDb rating of 3.8/10. An injustice that inexplicable ought to be enough to make worried men and women of us all!

In reply to another posting, no you are not on your own remembering this series, As well as starring Peter Tilbury, it was written by him as was the dead pan humour of "Shelley" with Hywel Benett.

The last series saw him find a soul mate in Sue Holderness who also fitted just perfectly with the idea that everyday, everything was going to go wrong

Brilliant Sitcom with good old British sense of humour and I wish that someone would release this and the early Shelly on DVD or Video as I would love to see them again, comedies like these were always shown at varying times as sport etc would always take precedence over a good laugh, so much for English producers sense of entertainment.