A Sharp Intake of Breath (original) (raw)
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1977 British TV series or programme
| A Sharp Intake of Breath | |
|---|---|
 A Sharp Intake of Breath opening titles by Mel Calman |
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| Genre | Situation Comedy |
| Created by | Ronnie Taylor |
| Written by | Ronnie Taylor (1977–80)Vince Powell (1981) |
| Directed by | Les Chatfield (1977–79)Stuart Allen (1980–81) |
| Starring | David JasonJacqueline ClarkeRichard Wilson(series 1–3)Alun Armstrong(series 1–2) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Les Chatfield (1977–79)Stuart Allen (1980–81) |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
| Production company | ATV |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 28 July 1977 (1977-07-28) |
| Release | 28 February 1978 (1978-02-28) –15 February 1981 (1981-02-15) |
A Sharp Intake of Breath is a British sitcom starring David Jason, Jacqueline Clarke with Richard Wilson and Alun Armstrong for series 1-3, which ran from 1977 to 1981, when Jason took up the role of Del Trotter in Only Fools & Horses. It was made for the ITV network by ATV and recorded at ATV Elstree Studios. The opening titles featured cartoons by Mel Calman. Series 1-3 were written by Ronnie Taylor, series 4 by Vince Powell following the death of Taylor in 1979.
Jason played an everyman character called Peter Barnes and Jacqueline Clarke played his wife Sheila. Wilson and Armstrong played a range of petty officials and bureaucrats whose actions frustrated Barnes' attempts to deal with the necessities of everyday life. The title A Sharp Intake of Breath refers to the reactions of various characters to seemingly simple requests by Peter, generally followed by a denial. The show made use of the fourth wall plot device.
- David Jason as Peter Barnes
- Jacqueline Clarke as Sheila Barnes
- Richard Wilson as various characters
- Alun Armstrong as various characters
- Maggie Jones as Jean
- Malcolm Storry as Cyril Potts
- Bella Emberg as Doris
- Margaret Courtenay as Sheila's Mother
- Bunny May as Terry
- Gerald Flood, as the Doctor, in 'Rear Window' .
The complete series was released on DVD by Network Distributing Limited on the 4 May 2015.