Nearest and Dearest was a British situation comedy (sit-com) set in and around a pickle factory in Colne, Lancashire, in the North West of England. It began in 1968, and, in total, 46 episodes were produced, 11 in monochrome and 35 in colour. Colne is a town (population approx 20,000), in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England, close to the Yorkshire border. ... Lancashire is a county and duchy palatine in the North of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ...

The premise was set up in the first episode; Joshua Pledge, on his death bed, bequeaths his pickle factory, Pledge's Purer Pickles, to his daughter, the hard-working Nellie and he ne'er do well brother, Eli. Nellie was played by veteran comedienne Hylda Baker. Baker was born and bred in Bolton (a northern town eleven miles south of Manchester). "Nearest and Dearest" was a perfect vehicle for her form of comedy, and much of the humour arose from Nellie Pledge's malopropisms. Eli was played by Jimmy Jewel, a contemporary of Baker's, who had made his name as one half of the music hall (vaudeville) act, Jewel and Waris. Hylda Baker (born February 4, 1908 in Farnworth, Bolton; died May 1, 1986 in Epsom) was a Northern English comedy actress. ... Arms of Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council, the motto is Latin for Overcome your hinderance Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester in England, traditionally within the county of Lancashire. ... Manchester is a city in the United Kingdom, considered by most to be the countrys second city [1][2]. It is a centre of the arts, the media, higher education and big business. ... Jimmy Jewel (1909-1995) was a british actor. ...

Helping out at the factory was Lilly (always referred to as "Our Lilly"), who was married to the octaganerian Walter. Walter was, sadly, unable to control his bladder, which led to the programme's most famous catchphrase "'As 'e been, Our Lilly?" Lilly was played by Madge Hindle, Walter by Edward Malin. (There have long since been rumours that Walter's silent performance - he infamously never said a single word - was because Malin was not a member of the British acting trade union Equity and thus wasn't allowed to speak. This seems unlikely, as he can often be spotted in films and TV programmes of the 50's and 60's - such as "A Night to Remember" or "Quatermass and the Pit" in speaking roles.) Madge Hindle (born May 19, 1938 in Blackburn, Lancashire) is a British actress, best known for her roles on television series. ... Edward Malin (1894-1977) was a British actor. ...

It's a well known fact that Baker and Jewell despised each other. The antagonism that exists between them on screen was not faked.

NELLIE: Do you know, our Eli, you remind me of that song from

 The Sound of Music. 

ELI: Oh, aye? My Favourite Things...?

NELLIE: No - Idleswine!

Nellie's malopropisms were an integral part of the comedy; when asked by Our Lilly if she knew the facts of life, Nellie replied with immense dignity, "Of course I do! I'm well over the age of content!" In another episode, Nellie has a suitor, Vernon Smallpiece, who she insists on calling 'Vermin Bigpiece'. When Eli insists on playing the high-powered executive once he is in charge of the factory, Nellie asks him who he thinks he is "...sat sitting there like a big business typhoon!" There were many, many other examples, and Baker's comic timing was never short of excellent. Jewell was, however, no comic feed or straight man; he too was in excellent in the part, and it was their joint performances that made the series, despite their real life differences.

An unsuccessful film version was made of the series by Hammer Films - more famous for their horror films - in 1971, complete with a brand new theme tune sung by Hylda Baker. The series was adapted for the American market, and re-named "Thicker Than Water". Running for 13 episodes, it was sadly not successful.

After "Nearest and Dearest", Hylda went on to star in "Not On Your Nellie" in which Nellie Pickersgill (the same character as Nellie Pledge in all but name) inherits a pub, The Brown Cow (the running joke was Hylda answering the telephone every week and intoning gravely, "The Brown Cow speaking.") Despite the change of locale - lots of humour was derived from the North/South divide - the pub was in London - but, with slight variations, it was just the same format as "Nearest and Dearest" in a different setting. Jewell went on to appear in a delightful - and sadly forgotten - sit-com, "Spring and Autumn" about a friendship between a lonely boy and an elderly man. He still crops up on television, such as "Casualty" (British hospital soap opera) in which he was able to get his famous catch-phrase, referring to a nurse, just as he used to refer to Nellie, as "a knock-kneed, knackered old nose bag".

Hylda died in 1988, after a prolonged period of mental illness, in which she sadly believed herself to be Nellie Pledge. Jewell, though ostensibly retired, continues to work to this day. What happened to Our Walter I couldn't say!

External links

BBC site