6.8 /10 1 Votes
5.8/10 TV Starring Ronnie Barker Country of origin United Kingdom Running time 30 minutes Final episode date 6 May 1973 Program creator Ronnie Barker Networks BBC, BBC Two, BBC One | 7.9/10 IMDb Created by Ronnie Barker Composer(s) Max Harris No. of episodes 7 First episode date 25 March 1973 Number of episodes 7 Cast Ronnie Barker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Open All Hours, Porridge, Going Straight, Still Open All Hours, Him & Her | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seven of One is a British comedy series that aired on BBC2 in 1973. Starring Ronnie Barker, 7 of One is a series of seven separate comedies that would serve as possible pilots for sitcoms. Originally it was to be called Six of One, which Barker planned to follow up with another series called Half Dozen of the Other. This was a BBC version of a similar showcase for LWT called Six Dates with Barker created in 1971.
In addition to Barker, 7 of One also featured Roy Castle, Bill Maynard, Talfryn Thomas, Prunella Scales, Glynn Edwards, Joan Sims, Keith Chegwin, Leslie Dwyer, Robin Parkinson, Sam Kelly, Christopher Biggins, Richard O'Callaghan, Yootha Joyce, David Jason, and Avis Bunnage in supporting roles. The series was released on BBC DVD in 2005.
Successful pilots
Whilst most of the pilots were not developed any further, Open All Hours and Prisoner and Escort were successfully developed into full series. Open All Hours was developed into a sitcom of the same name and a later sequel named Still Open All Hours, while Prisoner and Escort became Porridge, which led to a spinoff series called Going Straight in 1978 and a feature film adaptation in 1979. Additionally, My Old Man led to a short-lived series for Yorkshire Television including ITV but with an entirely new cast led by Clive Dunn.