Shelley (TV series)

Characters

• James Shelley known as Shelley or Perce - the protagonist, a usually unemployed terminal layabout qualified with a PhD in geography who occasionally holds professional occupations, at one time being an advertising executive only to leave over a point of principle, another time working for the Foreign Office only to be made redundant before his starting date. Shelley is obdurate, argumentative and awkward with a wry sardonic wit. Shelley espouses left wing socially liberal views but is often shown to have reactionary tendencies and be somewhat of a hypocrite. Shelley is usually honest about his unemployment and poor work ethic although occasionally likes to obscure it by claiming he is 'paid by the government' or is 'in leisure'.
• Francis Shelley known as Fran - Shelley's long suffering girlfriend and later wife. She is also unemployed although is an aspiring writer. Like Shelley she is portrayed as being educated and is often the only person who can counter some of Shelley's more fanciful and obtuse arguments. In the first series she becomes pregnant with Shelley's child, in the second series she has a book published and marries Shelley, in the third series she gives birth to a daughter, Emma. At the start of the fifth series it is revealed she has left Shelley and she only appears in one episode. She ceases to be a central character after this.
• Edna Hawkins known as Mrs H. - a somewhat waspish and prim landlady who lets a West Hampstead bedsit to Shelley and Fran in series one and two. She often refers to 'her Willy', an unseen husband who it is implied is coerced by her into working both days and nights. She is suspicious of Shelley and disapproves of his languid lifestyle. She shows little restraint in verbally attacking Shelley although is often browbeaten by his eloquence; her attitude to Shelley softens over time. She has a son, Colin.
• Paul England - Shelley's closest friend and best man. Paul is shown to be a loyal friend although unlike Shelley he is industrious and has a successful career. However, some of his lifestyle choices show him to be less than upstanding. Although coarser than Shelley, he doesn't attract the disdain from establishment figures that Shelley does, owing to his charm and self-restraint. In series five he lets his flat to Shelley.
• Mrs Radcliffe - an elderly widow who rents a bedsit from 'Mrs H.', downstairs from Shelley and Fran. She is portrayed to be somewhat senile and living in a state of near delusion. She seems to enjoy a cordial relationship with Shelley although has conspiracy theories about the other residents, believing Fran to be a 'doxy' and Mrs H. to be a murderess who killed her first husband. She appears only in series two and three.
• Desmond - a pompous warden in the flats to which Shelley moves in series five. He is envious of the educated Shelley, believing him to be typical of a privileged generation which has grown up in a society where education is attainable by the masses. He has an unrealistic appraisal of his own intelligence, seeing himself as an amateur poet and believing that he could have been recognised had he enjoyed the educational privileges of Shelley.
• Isobel Shelley - Shelley's mother, who is only sixteen years older than her son. Like him, Isobel is outspoken and argumentative. She holds views bordering on communism and lives a fairly non-conformist lifestyle. She smokes cannabis and grows her own throughout her flat, a situation that concerns Shelley - not for moral reasons but because he doesn't want his mother to be sent to prison. She has a sharp tongue and berates Shelley as an 'evil little capitalist' although she is shown to have a kinder side, re-mortgaging her flat so that Shelley and Fran can buy their house.

  Minor characters

• Cyril - Shelley's pompous and ineffectual boss while he works as an advertising executive for Harper Mackintosh. Cyril is old fashioned, self-important and rather detached from the realities of the company he runs and from contemporary life. The character in many ways mirrors the character of 'CJ' played by Barron some years earlier in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
• Ned - Shelley's first choice for best man, much to Fran's disapproval as she strongly dislikes him. Ned is an irresponsible alcoholic who is often involved in pub brawling and it is implied is slowly drinking himself to death. Although he only appears in one episode he is mentioned many times thereafter or appears off-screen such as on the telephone.

  List of Episodes

Series 1 (1979-80)

• Moving In
• The Nelson Touch
• Gainfully Employed
• The Distaff Side
• Elders and Betters
• May the Best Man Win
• Nowt So Queer

  Series 2 (1980)

• Owner Occupiers
• Expletive Deleted
• Tea and Sympathy
• Hearth and Home
• Fully Furnished
• Dearly Beloved

  Christmas Special (1980)

• Christmas with Shelley

  Series 3 (1980-81)

• Of Mice and Men
• Signing On
• Nor Iron Bars A Cage
• Foreign Affairs
• Universal Trust
• Dry Rot
• You Have to Laugh

  Series 4 (1982)

• Unkindest Cuts
• A Drop of the Pink Stuff
• No News Is Good
• Credit Where Credit's Due
• Mortal Coils
• Slaughterhouse Sling

  Series 5 (1982)

• On the Road to Damascus?
• Brave New World
• Shelley Versus Shelley
• Noises Off
• Tubes Help You Breed Less Easily
• When the Chip Hits the Fan

  Series 6 (1983-84)

• Dry Dreams
• It Nearly Happens to Somebody Else
• Of Cabbages and Kings
• The Party
• Owed to The Electrician
• Brief Encounter

  Series 7 (1988)

• The Return of Shelley
• In God We Trust
• Emergency Ward 9
• One of Those Nights
• Why Me?
• The Big S

  Series 8 (1989-90)

• The Artful Lodger
• Shelley Washes Whiter
• A Happy Event
• Born Freeish
• Day of the Reptile
• For Whom the Bell Tolls
• The Gospel According to Shelley
• Wages of Virtue
• Its Only a Game
• Killer Driller
• Cold Turkey
• A Problem Aired
• Help!

  Series 9 (1990)

• A Trial Period
• A Question of Attitude
• Golden Oldies
• The Bug
• Second Best Man
• Brain Storm

  New Year Special (1991)

• Forward to the Past!

  Series 10 (1992)

• The Deep End
• Come Fly with Me
• Love Is...
• A Little Learning
• Happy Birthday - R.I.P.
• Accountants & Zulus

  Book

DVD releases