The Two of Us (1986 TV series)

Not to be confused with The Two of Us (1981 TV series).

The Two of Us
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Alex Shearer
Starring	Nicholas Lyndhurst Janet Dibley Patrick Troughton Tenniel Evans
Theme music composer	Rod Argent Peter Van Hooke
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	32
Production
Executive producer	Marcus Plantin
Producers	Marcus Plantin Robin Carr
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	LWT
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	31 October 1986 (1986-10-31) – 18 March 1990 (1990-03-18)

The Two of Us is an ITV comedy series starring Nicholas Lyndhurst and Janet Dibley.

Overview

The series focused on Ashley and Elaine, an unmarried couple living together, at a time when this was becoming increasingly common in Britain, but still considered slightly controversial in some circles. It was produced by LWT.

While Ashley was keen for the pair to get married and would regularly propose, Elaine saw no reason to get married and was happy to keep her independence. Ashley's roguish grandfather Perce (played by Patrick Troughton, but later by Tenniel Evans after Troughton's death) was supportive of the couple, but Ashley's domineering mother (Jennifer Piercey) disapproved and constantly urged the pair to marry. Ashley's suppressed father (Paul McDowell) seemed less upset, but generally backed up his wife in the hope of a quiet life and the odd sherry.

After initially deciding to get married in the 1988 Christmas special, only to skip the wedding when their flight time for the honeymoon was brought forward, Ashley and Elaine finally married in the fourth series, with the pair focusing on their plans to start a family. In the final episode Elaine takes a pregnancy test, but the result is never revealed.

Two regional remakes were made of the series. In Germany, 41 episodes of Unter einer Decke (± Under one Roof) were produced in 1993/94, using most of the scripts from the original series, combined with new scripts from Germany and the Netherlands. The Dutch version Vrienden voor het leven (Friends for Life) had 65 episodes produced in 1990-95 of which 64 have been released on DVD in the Netherlands.

Cast

• Nicholas Lyndhurst as Ashley Phillips
• Janet Dibley as Elaine Walker
• Patrick Troughton as Perce (Series 1)
• Tenniel Evans as Perce (Series 2–4)
• Paul McDowell as Mr Colin Phillips
• Jennifer Piercey as Mrs Lilian Phillips
• Francesca Hall as Karen

Episodes

Series 1 (1986)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Proposals"	John Gorman	Alex Shearer	31 October 1986 (1986-10-31)
Ashley invites his colleague and his wife to dinner to show Elaine how good marriage can be. However, he didn't expect them to be in the middle of an argument.
2	"Family Pressures"	Marcus Plantin	Alex Shearer	7 November 1986 (1986-11-07)
Ashley's parents, who have old fashioned views about marriage, finally relent and allow Ashley and Elaine to share a room when they visit. However, the sleeping arrangements are different to what they expected.
3	"The Limit"	Marcus Plantin	Alex Shearer	14 November 1986 (1986-11-14)
Elaine and Ashley both pretend that they are going on a date with other people to make each other jealous.
4	"Cracks in the Pavement"	John Gorman	Alex Shearer	21 November 1986 (1986-11-21)
Ashley wants to prove to Elaine that he's not the polite, nice guy that his parents make him out to be. So he transforms himself into a punk. Featuring: Eamonn Walker as Floyd
5	"Feeling Broody"	Marcus Plantin	Alex Shearer	28 November 1986 (1986-11-28)
6	"The Contract"	Marcus Plantin	Alex Shearer	5 December 1986 (1986-12-05)
7	"The End of the Beginning"	John Gorman	Alex Shearer	12 December 1986 (1986-12-12)

Series 2 (1987)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
8	"The Vital Spark"	Robin Carr	Alex Shearer	11 September 1987 (1987-09-11)
Elaine returns home from a 6 month trip in Bombay as Ashley hasn't been keeping their flat tidy and the spark the two had between them has gone if only there was a way to get it back.
9	"Lifestyles"	—	—	18 September 1987 (1987-09-18)
10	"Comparisons"	—	—	25 September 1987 (1987-09-25)
11	"Getting Better"	—	—	2 October 1987 (1987-10-02)
12	"Career Development"	—	—	9 October 1987 (1987-10-09)
13	"Retirement Plans"	Robin Carr	Alex Shearer	16 October 1987 (1987-10-16)

Christmas Special (1988)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
14	"Wedded Miss"	Robin Carr	Alex Shearer	23 December 1988 (1988-12-23)
Ashley and Elaine plan to get married, however things don't go quite to plan.

Series 3 (1989)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
15	"Should Auld Acquaintance..."	Robin Carr	Alex Shearer	6 January 1989 (1989-01-06)
16	"The Poser"	—	—	13 January 1989 (1989-01-13)
17	"The Party"	—	—	20 January 1989 (1989-01-20)
18	"The Prediction"	—	—	27 January 1989 (1989-01-27)
19	"Trust"	—	—	3 February 1989 (1989-02-03)
20	"The Bargain"	—	—	10 February 1989 (1989-02-10)
21	"Say It With..."	—	—	17 February 1989 (1989-02-17)
22	"The Bequest"	Robin Carr	Alex Shearer	24 February 1989 (1989-02-24)

Series 4 (1990)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
23	"The Telephone Only Rings Twice"	Terry Kinane	Alex Shearer	14 January 1990 (1990-01-14)
Ashley finds a mobile phone on his way home from work, instead of handing it into the police straight away Ashley decides to do it in the morning, later that evening Ashley answers a mysterious phone call on it.
24	"Strictly Business"	Terry Kinane	Alex Shearer	21 January 1990 (1990-01-21)
25	"The Treasure"	Terry Kinane	—	28 January 1990 (1990-01-28)
26	"No Deposit No Return"	Terry Kinane	—	4 February 1990 (1990-02-04)
27	"At Last"	Robin Carr	Alex Shearer	11 February 1990 (1990-02-11)
28	"Fine Adjustments"	Terry Kinane	Alex Shearer	18 February 1990 (1990-02-18)
29	"Old Scores"	Robin Carr	—	25 February 1990 (1990-02-25)
30	"Dangers in the Night"	Terry Kinane	—	4 March 1990 (1990-03-04)
31	"The Quest"	Terry Kinane	—	11 March 1990 (1990-03-11)
32	"Best Laid Schemes"	Robin Carr	—	18 March 1990 (1990-03-18)

Home releases

DVD	Release date
The Complete Series 1	8 February 2010
The Complete Series 2	TBA
The Complete Series 3	TBA
The Complete Series 4	TBA
The Complete Series 1 to 4 Box Set	TBA

External links

• The Two of Us at IMDb
• The Two of Us at the Phill.co.uk Comedy Guide
• The Two of Us at British Comedy Guide
• The Two of Us at epguides.com