Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width

Did You Know?

• A mini episode was featured in ITV's All Star Comedy Carnival in 1969.
• A 4-disc DVD set containing the Thames TV series was released on 28 June 2010 by Network.
• An episode from the ABC era (Man Shall Not Live By Bread Alone) was included in the boxset ABC Nights In, released by Network on 22 December 2020.

Plot

The plot centres on two tailors in business together: Manny Cohen, played by John Bluthal, who is Jewish, and Patrick Kelly, played by Joe Lynch, who is Irish Catholic. Above their shop works Lewtas (Bernard Spear), also Jewish, who imports cloth. Prominent characters in the first three series include Rabbi Levy (Christopher Benjamin in the pilot, thereafter Cyril Shaps) from the local synagogue, and Father Ryan (Denis Carey in the pilot, thereafter Eamon Kelly) from the local Catholic church. In one episode, Manny and Patrick trade the rights to display pictures around the shop; Patrick has two pictures of the Pope, Manny one of Moshe Dayan, and Manny remarks, "It's the going rate. Two Popes to one Moshe." Another episode, "The Not So Kosher Cantor," has Patrick, a talented singer, filling in at the synagogue for a sick cantor during a visit by the Chief Rabbi. Coached to sing phonetically in Hebrew, Patrick performs comically, but the Chief Rabbi detects the ruse because at the end of the service Patrick genuflected and made the sign of the cross.

Cast

John Bluthal played Manny Cohen, and Joe Lynch played Patrick Kelly. Bernard Spear appeared as Lewtas in 16 episodes from series 3 to 6. Cyril Shaps portrayed Rabbi Levy in 9 episodes across series 1 to 3, and Eamon Kelly played Father Ryan in 7 episodes across series 1 to 3. Jim Norton appeared as Father Ignatious in 2 episodes (series 5 and 6), Meier Tzelniker as Israel Bloom in 2 episodes (series 3 and 5), and Rose Power as Mrs Critchley in 2 episodes (series 3 and 5). Notable guest artists included film actors Dennis Price as a Savile Row tailor and Rupert Davies as a Roman Catholic bishop, as well as Fred Emney, Harold Bennett, David Kossoff (playing himself), Jack Smethurst, Frank Williams, Bill Pertwee, comedian Dick Bentley, Roy Marsden, Victor Maddern, Barbara Knox (credited as Barbara Mullaney), Roy Barraclough, George A. Cooper, Rita Webb, Michael Robbins, and Ellen Pollock as Manny's mother Ruby.

Episodes

The pilot and first two series were produced by ABC; the second series of six episodes did not air until just after Thames Television launched on 30 July 1968, which initially aired those six episodes over August and September that year. Of the 40 episodes made, 11 are believed to no longer exist: the pilot, five of the six episodes from Series 1, and five of the six episodes from Series 2. Episodes 1, 3, 4 and 7 of Series 5 were made in black-and-white due to the ITV Colour Strike.