No, Honestly is a British sitcom

British sitcom

A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...

 that was originally produced in 1974. No, Honestly featured the real-life married couple of Pauline Collins

Pauline Collins

Pauline Collins, OBE is an English actress of the stage, television, and film. She first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in Upstairs, Downstairs and its spin-off Thomas & Sarah during the 1970s. She later drew acclaim for playing the title role in the play Shirley Valentine for which...

 and John Alderton

John Alderton

John Alderton is an English actor who is best known for his roles in Upstairs, Downstairs, Thomas & Sarah and Please Sir!. Alderton has often starred alongside his wife, Pauline Collins.-Early life:...

 respectively as Clara and Charles Danby (or CD), a newlywed couple living in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

The character of Clara was a ditzy dreamer who hoped to write books for children. Charles Danby by contrast was a struggling actor with a more serious streak.

At the start of each episode, the couple appeared in front of an audience telling stories about their first meeting, courtship and life as newlyweds. The entire programme, therefore, was a series of flashbacks as the couple recounted the earlier days of their romance.

Filled with witty and sparkling banter, the episodes featured comic situations ranging from problems with mistaken identity to decorating and makeover mishaps.

In homage to George Burns

George Burns

George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...

 and Gracie Allen

Gracie Allen

Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen , known as Gracie Allen, was an American comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns...

, CD would end each episode with the phrase "Say goodnight, Clara."

The series is based on the novels Coronet Among the Weeds and Coronet Among the Grass written by Charlotte Bingham

Charlotte Bingham

Charlotte Mary Thérèse Bingham is an English novelist who has written over 30 mainly historical novels and has also written for many television programmes including Upstairs, Downstairs, Play for Today and Robin's Nest...

, who was co-creator of the TV series with her husband Terence Brady.

The theme song for No, Honestly was written and performed by Lynsey De Paul

Lynsey De Paul

Lynsey de Paul is an English singer-songwriter. Allmusic journalist, Craig Harris stated, "one of the first successful female singer-songwriters in England, de Paul has had an illustrious career".-Early life:De Paul was born to Meta and Herbert Rubin, a property developer...

. It peaked on the UK charts at number 7.

A subsequent television series entitled Yes, Honestly

Yes, Honestly

Yes, Honestly is a British sitcom that was originally produced in 1976. It starred Donal Donnelly as Matthew Browne, and Liza Goddard as Lily Pond Browne....

starred Liza Goddard

Liza Goddard

Liza Goddard is an English television and stage actress best known for her work in the 1970s and 1980s.-Early life:Goddard was born in Smethwick, West Midlands, England...

 and Donal Donnelly

Donal Donnelly

Donal Donnelly was an English-born Irish theatre and film actor. He was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, but raised in Dublin, Ireland....

 as sweethearts Lily and Matthew Browne who marry half way through the second series. Twenty-six half-hour episodes of Yes, Honestly were telecast in Britain between January 10, 1976 and April 23, 1977.

Episodes

• The Facts of Life
• The Object of the Game
• More Royle Than Noble Really
• Finding the Form
• Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
• Just Cause or Impediment
• Now We Are Married
• Everything in the Garden
• Having Them Back
• Plenty of Shoulder Not Much Wheel
• Bed, Beautiful Bed
• Only Make Believe
• Surprise, Surprise!

Home Video

In 1999 Acorn Media released 2 VHS Box sets of the series in the USA and Canada. The first set contained the first 7 episodes of the series. While the second set contained the remaining 6 episodes.

External links

• No, Honestly at the Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
  
  
• No, Honestly at the British Sitcom Guide