That's My Boy
That's My Boy is a British sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV from 1981 to 1986. It stars Mollie Sugden as Ida Willis, who takes a job as a housekeeper for her son, whom she gave up for adoption years earlier.
Seasons
1. Live As a Family
Air Date: 1981-10-23
Housekeeper Ida Willis is the terror of the domestic employment agency and her clients alike. She is sent to work for Dr. Robert Price and his wife Angie. Ida tells Angie about her son Shane, who she gave up for adoption as a newborn baby. When they swap baby photos of Robert and Shane, they discover that they are one in the same!
2. Settling In
Air Date: 1981-10-30
Ida is enjoying working for Shane and Angie. That is, until she meets Shane's 'other mummy' Mrs Price! Will they ever see eye to eye?
3. Is It Catching?
Air Date: 1981-11-06
Ida agrees to look after her brother's grandchild, unaware of what she's letting herself in for.
4. Happy Birthdays, Robert
Air Date: 1981-11-06
Robert's mummies can't agree when he was born. Ida insists he was born in June while Mrs Price is certain that his birthday is when she adopted him. He ends up taking both mummies to dinner and trouble ensues. Can Ida and Mrs Price become friends?
5. Driven Apart
Air Date: 1981-11-20
Robert is starting to regret having agreed to teach Angie how to drive. Mrs Price thinks it's funny that Angie has hit another car, until she realises whose car she's hit.
6. Think Thin
Air Date: 1981-11-27
Robert thinks that he, Angie, and Ida need to lose weight, so he devises a diet for them all to follow. Ida's not happy as this means she can't even have her usual G&T. When Ida discovers that Robert has been eating secretly at the hospital, she puts a stop to the diet for good!
1. Only When It Hurts
Air Date: 1983-01-07
When Mrs Prive comes for tea, Ida is showing off her talents when she breaks her tooth biting into one of 'other mummy's sausage rolls. How will she get on at her first dentist visit in 28 years?
2. Wakey Wakey
Air Date: 1983-01-14
Ida agrees to participate in a wakeathon to raise money for a worthy cause. She decides she needs a long sleep beforehand but has trouble so she employs sleeping pills. However, the police come knocking that there may be a bomb in the building and they all must evacuate!
3. A Holiday Romance
Air Date: 1983-01-21
Ida goes on holiday with Robert and Angie, and meets a gentleman named Cyril, who Robert takes an instant dislike to. Robert spends the holiday spying on his mother and her new beau.
4. A Brush with the Law
Air Date: 1983-01-28
When Ida sets out to change Angie's blouse for 'a sky-blue floaty scarf', she accidentally leaves without paying. The manager calls the police after he's aggravated by Robert. During her court appearance, Ida quotes from a book, which turns out to be written by the magistrate.
5. Down Under
Air Date: 1983-02-04
Ida's name somehow finds its way onto the computer at the employment agency and she's sick of calls from a Mrs. Thornberry-Basset, aka 'Fancy Drawers'. She's quick to inform them she does not want to work, but then she misinterprets a call about moving to Australia. She informs Mrs Price that Robert and Angie are leaving them, creating a very complex web of misunderstanding.
6. To Catch a Thief
Air Date: 1983-02-11
The TV breaks just as Ida and Angie are settling down to watch a film. When a man arrives, Ida thinks Robert has called a repairman, but soon finds out that he's someone else entirely.
7. Go Jump in the Fountain
Air Date: 1983-02-18
When Angie insists that Robert go out for 'an evening with the boys', she and Ida have no idea just how far out of his rut he will get!
8. Invitation to the Wedding
Air Date: 1983-02-25
Wilfred gets a whack with a loaf when he lets himself into the house while everyone's out shopping. He informs them his daughter Maureen is going to marry a drummer in a steel band. Robert insists on not going, but when Ida and Angie forget their present, he comes to the rescue and makes quite the impression.
9. Cold Turkey
Air Date: 1983-12-23
Ida plans a small Christmas, but, one by one, people start inviting themselves, and Ida foolishly leaves the Turkey in Wilfred's hands.
1. Where There's a Will
Air Date: 1984-04-27
Ida discovers that she's been left a cottage in a will from none other than 'Shane's daddy', but their arrival is met with an even bigger surprise.
2. Baby Blues
Air Date: 1984-05-04
Angie's cousins have had a baby, and made her and Robert godparents. Following the ceremony, she decides she wants a baby, but Robert doesn't.
3. The Big Night Out
Air Date: 1984-05-11
Ida is infuriated when consultant Charles Barber invites Mrs Price to dinner, especially after some digging, she realises that she is the intended date.
4. Light and Shade
Air Date: 1984-05-18
Home on holiday in Bournemouth, Mrs Price has joined a cult and starts handing her wealth over to Brother Laidlaw. Suspicious, Ida sets a trap.
5. Unfair Dismissal
Air Date: 1984-05-25
When handyman Jim Barnes is given his marching orders, Ida refuses to accept the decision and devises a plan to get him reinstated.
6. Dirty Linen
Air Date: 1984-06-01
Ida finds a 'love letter' in Robert's pocket, and everyone mutually jumps to that he's having an affair. Who is the mystery woman?
7. Ring If You Need Me
Air Date: 1984-06-08
Ida waits on bedridden Mrs Price hand and foot, but goodwill only stretches so far.
8. Little Donkey
Air Date: 1984-12-28
Robert's musical plans are thrown into disarray when he discovers one of the nurses is already singing 'Little Donkey' at the hospital Christmas concert. Wilfred helpfully suggests an alternative act: mind reading!
1. Moving Out
Air Date: 1985-01-18
Robert has finally got an opportunity to work as a GP in a private practice. But it means moving to Yorkshire. How's his 'other mother' going to take the news?
2. Moving In
Air Date: 1985-01-25
The journey to Yorkshire proves to be extremely fraught, the car breaks down several times, and secretary Edith Parfitt gets more and more worried.
3. What Seems to Be the Trouble
Air Date: 1985-02-01
Ida misses London life and struggles with the new slower-paced country life. She plans to pack her bags but a medical emergency soon changes her mind.
4. Friendship View Marriage
Air Date: 1985-02-08
Mrs Price and Wilfred plan a visit; when they arrive, Wilfred tells Ida he's set to propose to his 'Passion Flower', but his eye is elsewhere.
5. Hello Young Mothers
Air Date: 1985-02-15
At the local corner shop, Ida overhears plans for a hostel for single mothers. She has to take on fiercely opposed shopkeeper Mrs Cross.
6. The Phantom of the Farmyard
Air Date: 1985-02-22
Lonely in London, Mrs Price visits, intending to move in. Robert, Angie and Ida concoct a plan to put her off, a phantom rooster.
7. Surprise, Surprise
Air Date: 1985-03-08
Ida drops some not-too-subtle hints that her birthday is approaching and tells Angie she wants a big strong man to carry her away. When the big day arrives, she's left wondering if she'll ever get what she really wants.
1. Digging In
Air Date: 1986-02-21
Wilfred has vanished, leaving his sister Ida distraught. But after being found, he invades a nearby empty house, wielding a musket. He ends up buying the property and working as the local gravedigger.
2. Drugs on the Market
Air Date: 1986-02-28
Ida's been stockpiling tablets and even trading under the counter for different supplies. Unimpressed, Robert is seeks to end the operation.
3. Jezebel
Air Date: 1986-03-07
Robert's talk to the Young Wives Group is hampered by one who takes a fancy to him, much to Ida's horror.
4. Something to Love
Air Date: 1986-03-14
Ida is thrilled when romance finally enlivens Miss Edith's life.
5. The Bypass
Air Date: 1986-03-21
A new bypass threatens chaos to the village; Ida and Robert are determined to take action and end up dancing in the middle of Main Street.
6. Happy Anniversary
Air Date: 1986-03-28
It's Robert and Angie's wedding anniversary. Angie has been spending most of her time away working in ads. Their anniversary dinner is spoilt when she must fly to Paris for a new commercial.
7. Two Lonely People
Air Date: 1986-04-04
Wilfred and Miss Edith are two lonely people, especially Edith since her mother left to stay with Edith's sister. Perhaps wedding bells will be ringing in the not too distant future.
Select an episode to start watching
Rating
6.1/10
Release Date
1981-10-23
Episodes
37 (5 seasons)
Status
Ended
Cast
Production Companies
Yorkshire Television