Home to Roost

Home to Roost is a British sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television between 19 April 1985 and 19 January 1990. Written by Eric Chappell, it stars John Thaw as Henry Willows and Reece Dinsdale as his teenaged son Matthew.

This article is about the British TV sitcom. For the 1952 Nero Wolfe novella, see Home to Roost (short story). For the album by Atomic Rooster, see Home to Roost (album).

Home to Roost
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Eric Chappell
Starring	John Thaw Reece Dinsdale
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	29
Production
Executive producer(s)	Vernon Lawrence
Running time	30 minutes (including adverts)
Production company(s)	Yorkshire Television
Distributor	ITV Studios
Release
Original network	ITV
Picture format	4:3
Audio format	Mono
Original release	19 April 1985 (1985-04-19) – 19 January 1990 (1990-01-19)

The premise is that Henry Willows, who is forty-something, has been divorced from his wife for seven years, and is perfectly happy living alone in London until his oldest child, Matthew, arrives to live with him after being thrown out by his mother. The episodes generally revolve around Henry's annoyance at having his solitude disturbed, and the age gap between father and son. Henry employs two cleaners during the show's life; first Enid Thompson, and, in the third season, Fiona Fennell.

The show's theme tune is Lionel Bart's "Consider Yourself" from Oliver!, arranged in a jazz style by Peter Knight.

The series was later repeated on Channel 4, and ITV3. All 29 episodes have now been released on DVD by the Network imprint.

Main cast

• Henry Willows – (John Thaw) Henry is a divorced middle-aged man who lives by himself, but when his son, Matthew, turns up on his door step, expecting to be waited on hand and foot, his life is turned upside down.
• Matthew Willows – (Reece Dinsdale) Matthew is a teenager who gets himself into trouble, and is obsessed with girls and money.
• Enid Thompson – (Elizabeth Bennett) Enid is Henry's first cleaner. She is nosey and appears to be attracted to Henry.
• Fiona Fennell – (Joan Blackham) Fiona is Henry's second cleaner.
• Julie Willows – (Rebecca Lacey) Julie is Henry's daughter and Matthew's sister. Despite living with her mother after her parents' divorce she appears to be a daddy's girl.
• Sue Willows - (Sheila Hancock) - Henry's ex-wife. She only appears in one episode.

Episode list

Series 1

Episode	Episode Title	Transmission	Précis
1 (1-1)	A new life	19 April 1985	Henry's bachelor lifestyle is turned upside down when his son Matthew asks to stay.
2 (1-2)	Bad apples	26 April 1985	Henry must find a new school for Matthew.
3 (1-3)	All you need is love	3 May 1985	Henry objects to Matthew's choice of girlfriend.
4 (1-4)	Suspect	10 May 1985	Matthew suspects that the neighbour's college student son is not all he seems.
5 (1-5)	Dating Henry?	17 May 1985	Henry is acting very strange and Matthew sets out to find out why.
6 (1-6)	Small change	24 May 1985	Henry refuses to invest in Matthew's future until he finds suitable employment.
7 (1-7)	The way we were	31 May 1985	Matthew sets up a meeting between his divorced parents.

Series 2

Episode	Episode Title	Transmission	Précis
08 (2-1)	Protest	5 Sep 1986	Henry and Matthew's relationship is strained when Matthew becomes an animal rights activist and a vegetarian.
09 (2-2)	Open house	12 Sep 1986	Matthew throws a party whilst Henry is away, but when Henry suddenly returns, he joins in the festivities rather than putting a stop to them.
10 (2-3)	Plastic dreamworld	19 Sep 1986	Matthew inherits a large sum of money but struggles to keep it.
11 (2-4)	Acting out	26 Sep 1986	Matthew becomes an actor much to the anger of Henry.
12 (2-5)	The test	3 Oct 1986	Henry reluctantly teaches Matthew how to drive.
13 (2-6)	Any questions?	10 Oct 1986	Henry is standing for councillor as an Independent, but can he convince first time voter Matthew and Conservative Enid to vote for him?
14 (2-7)	Julie	17 Oct 1986	Henry's daughter (and Matthew's sister) Julie comes to stay, but Henry and Matthew discover that three is a crowd.

Series 3

Episode	Episode Title	Transmission	Précis
15 (3-1)	Human interest	24 Oct 1987	Henry and Matthew search for a new cleaning lady.
16 (3-2)	Success story	31 Oct 1987	Henry's brother comes to stay and Henry finds himself no longer wanted.
17 (3-3)	High spirits	7 Nov 1987	Matthew becomes obsessed with ghosts.
18 (3-4)	The real thing	14 Nov 1987	Henry tries to play matchmaker for Matthew.
19 (3-5)	Crimewatch	21 Nov 1987	Henry becomes paranoid about security and joins the neighbourhood watch.
20 (3-6)	Getting on?!	28 Nov 1987	A visit to the hospital urges Matthew to adopt a homeless old man.
21 (3-7)	Paper chase	5 Dec 1987	Matthew sits his exams, but can he resist his friend's offer of cheating.

Special

Episode	Episode Title	Transmission	Précis
22	Family ties	27 Dec 1987	Henry's hopes of a quiet Christmas are dashed when his kids turn up.

Series 4

Episode	Episode Title	Transmission	Précis
23 (4-1)	Bridge of sighs	1 Dec 1989	A blast from the past sets Henry thinking of romance.
24 (4-2)	Front runner	8 Dec 1989	Henry suggests Matthew gets a job in order to pay for his college fees.
25 (4-3)	The boyfriend	15 Dec 1989	Henry quickly takes a dislike to Julie's new boyfriend.
26 (4-4)	Thought for the day	22 Dec 1989	Henry takes in a lodger which turns into a disaster for Matthew.
27 (4-5)	Return to Clagthorpe	5 Jan 1990	Henry and Matthew go to Clagthorpe for a holiday.
28 (4-6)	High noon	12 Jan 1990	Matthew's involvement with a boxer's girlfriend leads to a fight.
29 (4-7)	Leaving	19 Jan 1990	Matthew is leaving for college. Will Henry's life ever be the same again?

Foreign versions

• The US version, You Again?, was less successful and lasted two seasons, albeit running to some 26 episodes. Elizabeth Bennett reprised the role of Enid in the show.
• The Dutch version, Ha, die Pa! (Hello, Dad!), ran from 1990 to 1993 and was broadcast by NCRV. Luc Lutz (1924-2001) and his son Joris starred as Norbert and Matthijs Hoogendijk. Keeping it in the family, Pieter Lutz (1927-2009) guested as the homeless old man in the adaptation of the 'Getting on' episode. Matthijs' sister Freddie was played by Bettina Berger.

External links

• Home to Roost on IMDb
• Home to Roost at British Comedy Guide
• Home to Roost at TV.com