The Lovers
Opening title card
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Jack Rosenthal
Written by	Jack Rosenthal Geoffrey Lancashire
Directed by	Michael Apted(series 1) Les Chatfield(series 2)
Starring	Paula Wilcox Richard Beckinsale Robin Nedwell Joan Scott
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	13
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Granada Television
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	27 October 1970 (1970-10-27) – 18 November 1971 (1971-11-18)

The Lovers is a British televisionsitcom created and written byJack Rosenthal, and produced byGranada Television. It starsRichard Beckinsale andPaula Wilcox as Geoffrey and Beryl, a courting couple with conflicting attitudes toward sex and marriage.

ITV transmitted the two-series programme from 1970 to 1971;Channel 4 repeated it in 1996. Rosenthal also wrote afeature film,The Lovers!, whichBritish Lion Film Corporation released in 1973.

The Lovers ran for 13 episodes over two series.Michael Apted directed Series 1; Les Chatfield directed Series 2.

1. "Sardine Sandwiches" (27 October 1970)
2. "The Date" (3 November 1970)
3. "Freckle Face" (10 November 1970)
4. "Brainwashing" (17 November 1970)
5. "A Pipe and a Moustache" (24 November 1970)
6. "The Truth Game" (1 December 1970)

1. "The Engagement" (7 October 1971)
2. "Breaking It Off" (14 October 1971)
3. "Birthday" (21 October 1971)
4. "Joint Bank Account" (28 October 1971)
5. "The Better Homes Exhibition" (4 November 1971)
6. "A Trial Marriage" (11 November 1971)
7. "The Best Laid Plans..." (18 November 1971)

Geoffrey Scrimshaw

Portrayed byRichard Beckinsale

Geoffrey is a young man in his twenties who embraces the relative sexual freedom of the "permissive society". He is determined to bed Beryl, and has no interest in abstaining from sex before marriage.

Beryl Battersby

Portrayed byPaula Wilcox

Beryl is a chaste young woman preoccupied with thoughts of marriage. She describes sex as "Percy filth" ("Percy" is a colloquial word for the penis.)^[1]

Mrs Battersby

Portrayed by Joan Scott

Mrs Battersby is Beryl's mother.

Roland Lomax

Portrayed byRobin Nedwell

Series creator Jack Rosenthal wrote a feature film,The Lovers!, based on the sitcom. Photography began in 1972, some months after the transmission of the second series. Beckinsale, Wilcox, and Scott reprised their roles, withHerbert Wise directing.John Comer andStella Moray appear as Geoffrey's parents.^[2]

British Lion Film Corporation released the film in the UK on 14 May 1973.

Network Distributing releasedThe Lovers onRegion-2DVD-Video in 2007. The release includes all 13 episodes from the two series. Network released the feature film on Region-2 DVD in 2013.

• List of films based on British sitcoms

• Evans, Jeff (2001).The Penguin TV Companion. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.ISBN 0-14-051467-8.

• The Lovers atBritish Comedy Guide
• The Lovers at theBFI'sScreenonline
• The Lovers atIMDb

• 1970s British sitcoms
• 1970 British television series debuts
• 1971 British television series endings
• British English-language television shows
• ITV sitcoms
• Television series by ITV Studios
• Television shows adapted into films
• Television shows produced by Granada Television

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from May 2014
• Use British English from May 2014
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English