Mixed Blessings (British TV series)

Mixed Blessings is a British sitcom starring Christopher Blake and Muriel Odunton that aired on ITV from 3 March 1978 to 7 June 1980. It was created by comedy-writer Sid Green and produced for the ITV network by LWT.

Premise and reception

The show starred Christopher Blake, (later of That's My Boy fame), and Muriel Odunton as newlyweds Thomas Simpson, who was white, and Susan Lambert, who was black. Most plots revolved around both families' disapproval of their inter-racial marriage.

According to a review on the BFI screenonline website, the series "was, superficially, more progressive" than earlier sitcoms centred on 'race' such as Curry and Chips (1969), Love Thy Neighbour (1972–76) and Mind Your Language (1977–79). While "the two main characters were sympathetically played... the series [itself] was critically undermined by presenting their relationship as a problem".^[1] The review also asserted: "While its set-up points to its integrationist intentions, one only has to look at the title to note the writer's own ambiguous feelings".^[2]

References

Cast

• Christopher Blake - Thomas Simpson
• Muriel Odunton - Susan Lambert
• George Waring - Edward Simpson
• Sylvia Kay - Annie Simpson
• Stefan Kalipha - William Lambert
• Carmen Munroe - Matilda Lambert
• Joan Sanderson - Aunt Dorothy
• Gregory Munroe - Winston Lambert
• Ernest Clark - Mr Huntley
• Pauline Delaney - Mrs Beasley

Episodes

Series 1

• Welcome To The Family (3 Mar 78)
• Your Place Or Mine? (10 Mar 78)
• You Haven't Got Much, Have You? (17 Mar 78)
• Jobs For The Boys (24 Mar 78)
• Happy Birthday, Dear Fathers (31 Mar 78)
• We're Only Trying To Help (7 Apr 78)
• The Housewarming (14 Apr 78)

Series 2

• A Leg From The Past (6 Oct 78)
• The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Unemployed (13 Oct 78)
• My Chap's Got Work (20 Oct 78)
• Thou Shalt Deny Me (27 Oct 78)
• Your Money Or Your Life (3 Nov 78)
• You're Going To Have A What!! (10 Nov 78)

Series 3

• Away From It All (12 Apr 80)
• Up In The World (19 Apr 80)
• The Anniversary (26 Apr 80)
• The Law And Mr Lambert (3 May 80)
• Goodbye Charlie (10 May 80)
• Your Turn For Grandad (17 May 80)
• Practice Makes Perfect (24 May 80)
• Survival (31 May 80)
• Onto Us A Child (7 Jun 80)

DVD Releases