Together (1980 TV series)

The series concerns the residents of a fictitious housing association block of flats named Rutherford Court. Actors featured include Carol Hawkins, Margaretta Scott, Kathleen Byron, Victor Maddern, and Sarah Greene. Episode writers include Rosemary Anne Sisson, Adele Rose, Phil Redmond and Alfred Shaughnessy. The series covers issues including abortion and homosexuality, and also contains some (mild) swearing, which may seem a surprise for modern viewers given its original lunchtime broadcast. Although no setting is made explicitly clear and no location work is used, the series appears to be set in Basingstoke.

• John Burgess as Duggie Webber
• Sheila Fay as Lynne Webber
• Kathleen Byron as Martha Finch
• Paul Hastings as Trevor Wallace
• Delena Kidd as Sarah Cunningham
• Stephen Churchett as Peter Hunt
• Raymond Francis as Edward Fuller
• Jonty Miller as Mike Gowers
• Carol Hawkins as Susi Powell
• Gillian Bailey as Julie Dunn
• Brian Jameson as Geoff Powell
• Hilda Fenemore as Dora Klein
• Victor Maddern as Harry Klein
• Margaretta Scott as Daphne Porter
• Richard Everett as Richard Dunn
• Christine Pollon as Mary Sutton
• Christopher Burgess as Leslie Shepherd
• Sarah Greene as Tricia Webber
• John Malcolm as Arthur Sutton
• Wally Thomas as Joe Fripp
• Gina Maher as Charlene Frisby
• Sheila Gill as Elsie Potts
• Annie Leake as Lily Marsden
• Ernest Hare as Derek Harding

• Duggie Webber (played by John Burgess). Duggie is the husband of Lynne, the warden of the flats, and he works as a general handyman and assistant. He used to be an electrician and carpenter and the couple ran a business in Australia but it failed and they returned to England. Early on it is clear he resents being seen as junior to his wife and is particularly annoyed when asked to take on cleaning work temporarily until Dora Klein takes over. He does comes to terms with changed events but tensions between the couple occasionally re-emerge. . He is generally good-humoured but occasionally displays a more ascerbic side. Although friends with Mike Gowers he disapproves or his daughter's relationship with him. He sometimes displays conservative social attitudes including speaking in favour of Margaret Thatcher's views on self-reliance and showing hostiilty to Trevor when his homosexuality is revealed.
• Lynne Webber (played by Sheila Fay). Lynne is the flat warden and Liverpudlian wife of Duggie. She manages the flats very helpfully and efficiently and is well-regarded by the residents. The emigration of her daughter Tricia to work in Australia between series does make her somewhat downbeat at the start of Series 2 as do some disagreements with Duggie.
• Tricia Webber (played by Sarah Greene, Series 1 only) is the 18 year-old daughter of Duggie and Lynne. Although not resident in the flats she works as a hairdresser in its salon. A cheerful and popular young woman, she initially is attracted to Trevor Hastings but he only wants friendship. Although initially lukewarm about Mike Gowers she is impressed when he starts to exhibit more considerate behaviour and the two have a brief romance before the opposition of her father and the return of an old girlfriend of Mike brings it to an end. Between Series 1 she moves to work in Australia.
• Harry Klein (played by Victor Maddern, Series 1 only). Harry is a middle-aged taxi driver who works night shifts. He is generally good-humoured but his relationship with his wife is sometimes tense due to his traditional attitudes and reluctance for her to have outside employment, as well as his lack of support for her interests. He is one of the residents who shows negativity towards Trevor when he learns he is gay. Harry and his wife Dora did not reappear in Series 2 but there was no explanation for their departure.
• Dora Klein (played by Hilda Fenemore). Dora is the wife of Harry and is a cheerful and helpful woman who gets on well with others although her relationship with Harry is sometimes awkward. She works as a cleaner in the flats and takes pride in winning a writing competition despite her husband's lack of interest and encouragement.
• Martha Finch (played by Kathleen Byron). Martha is 59 years old and unmarried and is a retired shop assistant. She lives with her much younger sister Sarah. Martha comes across as bitter, judgemental and very ready to find fault in others. She has a difficult relationship with her sister whose drinking and relationships trouble her. Despite this she is very upset when Sarah moves out at the end of Series 1 but maybe this departure and the arrival of new resident Amy lead to her adopting a much more positive outlook on life although she still slips at times back into negativity
• Sarah Cunningham (played by Delena Kidd). She is a beautician and Martha's much younger sister (aged fifty). A divorcee, she has had problems with alcohol and a nervous breakdown and these have led to her moving in with Martha. Sarah enjoys going out and meeting men and her lifestyle annoys her sister leading to considerable conflict between then. Sarah decides it's best for her to move out at the end of Series 1 but seeing a change in her sister's attitude and missing the atmosphere at Rutherford Court she tries to move back at the start of Series 2.
• Trevor Wallace (played by Paul Hastings). Trevor is a steward for British Rail. Astute and affable, he attracts the interest early on of Tricia Webber but he only wants a platonic relationship with her. He is popular with the other residents until he is outed as gay by Mike Gowers which leads to some residents turning against him for a while. His desire to share his flat with his boyfriend Peter causes some division among residents although he does ultimately get official approval.
• Peter Hunt (played by Stephen Churchett). Peter is a hospital porter and friend of Trevor; like Trevor he is a helpful and well-regarded personality. Later it becomes apparent that the two are more than friends and Peter wants to move in with Trevor leading to opposition from some residents although after a vote permission is given.
• Richard Dunn (played by Richard Everett, Series 1 only). Richard is a young trainee solicitor. He is rather snobbish and not very popular among the other residents. He disapproves of his wife Julie's desire to have her own employment but reluctantly accepts it. At the end of Series 1 the couple move out after finding a new home.
• Julie Dunn (played by Gillian Bailey). Julie at first seems happy with being a traditional wife but later wants more independence and seeks outside employment to the opposition of her husband. She unexpectedly becomes pregnant and this creates some dilemmas for the couple as they would have to move elsewhere. They seem to have solved these difficulties but then Julie suffers a miscarriage.
• Dr Edward Fuller (played by Raymond Francis). He moves in near the end of Series 1 after many years living and working in Rhodesia (which was being renamed Zimbabwe at the time of broadcast), moving back to England after his retirement. An amiable man he is immediately popular with Elsie and Martha but his real attraction is Daphne who was his girlfriend decades earlier before he moved abroad. However the departure of Daphne between series and financial problems make him much less upbeat in Series 2.
• Mike Gowers (played by Jonty Miller, Series 1 only). Mike is a young milkman and self-styled "ladies man" who also has a tendency to dally with dubious ways of making money. He is generally very good-humoured but displays homophobic attitudes towards Trevor when he discovers that he is gay. Mike though comes to accept Trevor's sexuality and the two become friends. He has a short-lived romance with Tricia but this meets the opposition of her father and ends when a former girlfriend arrives and Tricia believes he has been unfaithful. He doesn't appear in Series 2 but his absence is unexplained.
• Daphne Porter (played by Margaretta Scott, Series 1 only). Daphne is a retired hospital matron and she sometimes gives medical advice and support. Generally well-liked and respected, she does have a tendency to want to take control which sometimes irks other residents. She is both excited and anxious when Dr Edward Fuller moves in as the pair were romantically involved forty years earlier before he moved abroad. However she leaves between series to stay with an aunt to the great disappointment of Edward.
• Leslie Shepherd (played by Christopher Burgess, Series 1 only) is a forty-eight year old clerk and divorcee. The divorce initially leads to him showing some resentment but later he becomes more reconciled to his new status. A quiet man he is thoughtful and open-minded and often a source of good advice to other residents. Near the end of Series 1 he is made redundant and not only worries about finding a new job at his age but also of struggling to pay the rent to stay at Rutherford Court. He doesn't appear in Series 1, another unexplained absence although it may have been linked to his financial problems.
• Elsie Potts (played by Sheila Gill, Series 1 only) is an elderly widow who often talks fondly of her late husband George. She frequently behaves in an eccentric manner and also reveals a surprising interest in motorbikes, a passion she shared with her husband. She has some genuine health scares but also fakes one in an attempt to get the attention of Dr Edward Fuller. She isn't seen in Series 2 but her departure isn't remarked on.
• Derek Harding (played by Ernest Hare features in the first part of Series 1. A retired businessman and magistrate he arrives very depressed. His wife has recently died and he initially contemplates suicide but overcomes such feelings while still struggling to adapt to living alone, lacking domestic skills such as cooking. He leaves Rutherford Court to live with relatives.
• Carol Hawkins (Series 2 only) as Susi Powell, a fitness instructor.
• Brian Jameson as Geoff Powell, husband of Susi. Initially working in advertising he later becomes a freelance illustrator.
• Christine Pollon as Mary Sutton
• John Malcolm as Arthur Sutton
• Wally Thomas as Joe Fripp, a widower and former merchant seamen from Leeds.
• Gina Maher as Charlene Frisby
• Annie Leake as Lily Marsden

Significant changes were made to the series format between the first and second series: a number of characters from the first series are absent in the second, with no explanation given for most of them. A number of the characters that continue from the first series into the second have quite a different personality, and the layout of the Rutherford Court building is completely different. Series 2 ended in April 1981 and after the producers of the programme Southern Television lost their franchise it did not return.

Together has been shown again on Talking Pictures TV in 2016, 2020, and 2021, with captions explaining the action within the two missing episodes. Some language now considered offensive, especially with regard to homosexuality, was removed. In July 2020, the series was released - including the dialogue removed from the repeat transmissions - on DVD by Renown Pictures, the parent company of Talking Pictures and owner of much of the Southern Television archive.[3]

• Together at IMDb
• Classic Soap Flashback: Together