Me & My Girl

This sitcom was developed for TV by John Kane from an idea by Keith Leonard, a divorcee who raised his daughter Samantha from the age of three. In the show, the idea is given more poignancy by making the central character Simon Harrap (Richard O'Sullivan) a widower. His daughter Samantha is seen growing up during the title sequence, ending up as a teenager played by Joanne Ridley. Simon's sad story is made humorous by his need to be caring and protective of her, whilst still needing to exercise his own libido with a string of glamorous dates. The show was funny but unremarkable, although it became a hit for O'Sullivan and ran to six series in four years. Those 52 episodes made a good showcase for guest stars Tim Brooke Taylor (brother-in-law) and Joan Sanderson (mother-in-law). The only drawback was Peter Skellern's syrupy theme tune.