Love Thy Neighbour (1972)

The unaired pilot episode featured Jack Smethurst (Eddie), Rudolph Walker (Bill) and Nina Baden-Semper (Barbie) with Gwendolyn Watts as Joan Booth (instead of Kate Williams as in the series and film). The pilot episode script was modified slightly for the first episode of the series, which was titled "New Neighbours".

Eddie and Joan Booth, a white couple, live next door to Bill and Barbie Reynolds, who are black. Although Joan and Barbie are best friends, Bill and Eddie are complete opposites. Without their husbands' knowledge, Joan and Barbie enter a "Love Thy Neighbour" competition to win a cruise, but must contend with the problem of their antagonistic husbands. To add to the problems, Joan's mother-in-law is coming to stay, and Barbie's father-in-law is coming from Trinidad.

All Star Comedy Carnival was an annual Christmas special produced by ITV, containing new mini-episodes of popular British sitcoms and light entertainment programmes with some musical interludes. Broadcast annually on Christmas Day from 1969 to 1973, Love Thy Neighbour featured in 1972. Hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck.

It is quite a shock for Joan and Eddie Booth when Mr and Mrs Reynolds move in as their next door neighbours.

The Saturday night dance at the Work's Social Club gives Eddie Booth the opportunity of proving that he is as good at the limbo as he is at anything else.

Eddie decides that Maple Terrace just isn't big enough to hold both the Booths and the Reynolds. But when he tries to organise a petition to "keep Maple Terrace white", his plans misfire - with hilarious results.

An industrial dispute between Eddie and Bill at the factory causes a domestic dispute with their respective wives, Joan and Barbie. However, blood is thicker than water - as Eddie learns to his cost.

There comes a time in every husband's life when he is tempted to stray from the marital home: and Eddie and Bill are no exception - for the seven year itch has no colour bar. However, the trouble with an itch is that one is tempted to scratch it.

Despite the fact that Eddie is a staunch socialist and Bill is a true blue Conservative, there are many subjects on which they both agree. For instance, they are both against discrimination. When Bill tells Eddie that he was once refused a drink in a pub because of his colour, Eddie's British sense of justice and fair play is outraged and he sets out to prove that the opposite must be the case, with rather painful results.

When Joan decides to make herself more attractive to her husband Eddie, she little realises that it will start off a chain of events which will bring the uneasy truth between them and Barbie and Bill into open warfare.

Eddie Booth's prejudices towards his black neighbours, Bill and Barbie Reynolds, have not lessened during the few months since we last saw him. When Bill and Barbie decide it is time to hold a housewarming, Eddie tries unsuccessfully to prevent his wife Joan from going, and does his best to sabotage the party.

Whilst Bill holds the voodoo cult in great respect, he's definitely not a witch doctor and he certainly does not need to invoke black magic to obtain tickets for the match between West Ham and Manchester United, nor to persuade Eddie to dance naked round an oak tree at midnight.

There is much jubilation at the departure of "Clarkey", the foreman of the factory where Eddie and Bill work. The Management decide that it will serve their interests best if they promote their most idle, difficult, loudmouthed and bigoted troublemaker. The choice is obvious.

The rivalry between Eddie and Bill reaches boiling point when, in the grip of sale fever, they try to outwit each other in a desperate attempt to be first in the queue for the bedroom suite that their respective wives have set their hearts on. Strategy and vigilance is everything, so who is caught napping ?

The TUC Conference in Brighton provides Eddie with the ideal excuse for a week away from the wife. He is not too pleased though when Bill tells him that he will also be there attending the conference as a Conservative Party observer. However, the two decide to make the best of it when they find out that they are sharing the same small hotel with two attractive young ladies. Unfortunately, the simultaneous arrival of their wives, Joan and Barbie, and the two young ladies' husbands results in a swift change in the agenda.

Eddie is the last person in the world you would expect to be caught up in a wave of religious fervour. However, when a group of revivalists call on him on Sunday morning, he is quick to answer. At first, his wife Joan is pleased at the transformation in his character, but when his enthusiasm changes to fanaticism, she enlists the help of Bill and Barbie to bring him back down to earth.

When Eddie has to 'toe the Party line', it's more to do with the GPO than politics. Forced to share his telephone line with Bill and Barbie, it doesn't take long for him to get his wires crossed. When he overhears Bill talking about a plan to hijack him, he fears for his life and runs to the police for protection.

"Keeping up with the Reynolds'" is starting to prove difficult for Eddie, especially when Bill rolls out his newly acquired status symbol. Not to be outdone, Eddie invests in an automobile of his own, but it's not just the car that ends up on the scrap heap.

Eddie returns from holiday to find that somebody has commandeered his seat in the Lion and Lamb! Not only that, but the Co-op has been transformed into the Taj Mahal Emporium. With rumours that Fortnum and Mason's is about to become a Curry Centre, he decides enough is enough. Something has to be done.

It's time for the showdown between Eddie's 'snowflakes' and Bill's 'Sambos'. Maple Terrace braces itself for war! Will Eddie keep the Lion and Lamb white ? Will Bill use black magic ? Will Jacko ever buy a round ?

Out of the frying pan and into the fire! Having escaped the wives for the evening, Eddie and Bill find themselves trapped in a lift with Arthur and Jacko and no sign of rescue. Nerves start to fray but who will crack first ?

With the news that the Reynolds household will soon be numbering three and with Bill bragging about "ringing the bell," Eddie devises a plan to prove his manhood. Brace yourself for a master class in seduction.

Joan and Barbie are now members of their own special "club" but just as Eddie thinks he's evened out the white to black ratio, a new neighbour looks to upset the balance. But who is moving in and who is moving out ?

Eddie's day is slowly going from bad to worse. First he's had to do the housework, then Manchester United, his beloved team, have lost 3-0 and now Bill has won the top prize of a trip to Paris in the Social Club raffle. With an extra ticket up for grabs, Eddie begins his "Creep Your Way To Paris" campaign.

Eddie and Bill have been called into work on New Year's Eve, leaving the very pregnant Joan and Barbie alone at home. Not one to miss out on a good celebration Eddie decides to throw a party at the factory, whilst the wives are having problems with an intruder.

There is only one person Eddie dislikes more than his next door neighbour and that's the mother-in-law. Mind you, the feeling is mutual; Joan's mother has never made a secret that she thinks her daughter married below her station. Ding ding, let the fight begin!

After a Father's Evening at the antenatal clinic, Eddie and Bill strike up a bet: can Eddie last 24 hours without insulting his neighbour ? It's going to take an awful lot of willpower, especially as Bill is going out of his way to provoke a verbal attack.

The countdown to the big day has started but so have the rumours. Are Eddie and Bill really the fathers of their unborn children or has Specky Nuttall, the window cleaner, been doing more than he's being paid for ?

Eddie is taking no chances on getting Joan safely and rapidly to the maternity hospital when the big moment arrives. He has borrowed a car and learnt the route inside out. Nothing but nothing can possibly go wrong ... but it does.

At last the great day is here - Eddie and Bill are about to become fathers. True to tradition they decide to wet the babies' heads, as usual Eddie takes it one step too far...

It's time for the club's annual holiday, and much to Eddie's objection, the boys and their families head off to Majorca. As usual, little goes in his favour, and he's soon behind bars - through no fault of his own!

Eddie intercepts a box of bananas intended for Bill, and unleashes the spider hidden within. Bill duly informs him that he seems to have been bitten, and has 3 days to live.

Bill has bought Barbie a ticket to visit her mother back home in Barbados, but his plan to live like a bachelor for 2 weeks falls on its face when it's revealed that he will be staying with Joan and Eddie for the duration. That is, if the plane ticket can be found...

Eddie and Bill are both somewhat enamoured by the new busty blonde assistant at the barbers. She uses their lust to her own advantage to get the stocktaking done on a Sunday morning - but with conflicting stories of their whereabouts, Barbie and Joan are searching for them.

Upon hearing of rumours that the establishment is haunted, Eddie takes up Bill's bet that he cannot spend a night alone at the club.

Eddie's birthday has arrived, but he's rather put out to find that Harold (Macmillan, naturally) hasn't sent him a card. Not until Bill turns up, that is.

Joan's feeling frustrated with the routine of her life and Eddie's demands. Meanwhile, Bill sets up a few challenges of intellect and ability for Eddie, following an argument over who's paying for a round...

Jacko returns from holiday in a loved-up stupor. The gang are thrilled he's willing to pay for rounds but when he introduces the fantastically beautiful, busty young blonde Amy as his fiancée, Eddie is suspicious of her motives.

Trouble starts when Bill offers temporary accommodation to evicted friends and earns very black looks from Eddie, but they decide to settle their never ending differences in the old fashioned way ... with a duel at dawn. Nobby starts it all when he shows off his antique pistols at the club.

After a row over babysitting duties, Joan locks away all of Eddie's clothes to stop him going to the darts final. But it takes more than that to stop Eddie Booth!

Eddie's investigating his ancestry, and is convinced of a royal connection, somewhere. Bill decides to offer a helping hand...

The club concert is in the capable hands of Bill and Eddie, and optimistic as always, Eddie reckons on a success - especially if he can get the Duke of Edinburgh to attend and a star guest to perform.

Joan and Barbie decide to earn a little extra by going out to work on Saturdays. This leaves Eddie and Bill holding their babies and threatens their regular visits to football matches. A couple of nannies are brought in to rescue them and somehow the match gets forgotten! Eddie and Bill both end up penalised...

Indulging his interest in famous crimes by purchasing a pair of handcuffs reported to have been used to arrest Dr. Crippen, Jacko tests them out on Eddie and Bill. Unfortunately he hasn't brought a key!

With £59 left on the club's books at the end of the financial year, it's decided to put the cash toward a special Ladies' Night - complete with a dressing theme of 'Lady and the Tramp'.

Eddie's staunch socialist, trade unionism brings relations to a head. He's outraged that Bill should want to do an honest day's work; for Bill his attitude is the last straw, and he vows never to return to the club.

Following their latest dispute, Bill and Eddie run a poll to find out what people really think of black people in Britain. The new curate is introducing himself in the community, and challenges the pair to settle things in the ring!

With the Cup Final replay on a weekday - Bill's West Ham versus Eddie's beloved Manchester United, the pair have managed to get themselves signed off work, sick. But Joan and Barbie are wise to their scheme and intend to get something in exchange.

The TUC Conference is just around the corner, and Eddie plans to attend with his rather attractive female opposite from the bra factory up the road. But first he must be re-elected as shop steward, and Joan suggests Bill stand against him.

Joan is fed up with not having a holiday, and with Eddie hanging round all day, she books a coach outing to Bournemouth without letting him know. But there are two snags to her scheme...

When a local by-election comes round, it's time for all good men to come to the aid of the party. It's obvious which party Eddie is going to support ... or is it ? He's always leaned a bit to the left - but blood is thicker than water!

Following a comment about virility, Eddie and Bill are competing to grow moustaches and prove their machismo. Meanwhile, Barbie talks Joan into making some extra money by becoming a fellow agent for her catalogue club.

Whilst planning for the annual Christmas Eve darts match, Eddie and Bill challenge each other to a drinking contest. As Joan warns him, drunkenness always gives Eddie nightmares and it's not long before he's on a desert island...

Eddie's determined to sell the house and leave Twickenham for his beloved homeland of Manchester. Joan is far less than enthusiastic, but can anything halt the sale?

Finding a sense of outrage at bureaucracy, Eddie resolves to sort out a problem Bill's having with the electricity board. Unfortunately, his ungracious manner only makes things worse when they come into contact with a series of black bosses and workmen!

With Nobby collecting for charity, Eddie is inspired to suggest 'foster parents for homeless down-and-outs'. Then he's introduced to old tramp Albert...