University graduate James Shelley is an unemployment statistic in Thatcher's Britain. With a difference. He doesn't work because he doesn't want to. With girlfriend Fran, he lives in Mrs.Hawkins' boarding house in Pangloss Road. When not laying about in bed all day he is to be found either in the pub or else engaging in witty repartee with the harassed staff of the local Unemployment Benefit Office.
The timing of 'Shelley' was perfect; as unemployment rose to three million in the early '80's, the character was seen by some as a champion of the underdog, a man who shrugged off the insults of toffee-nosed D.H.S.S. officers, and gave as good as he got.
Hywel Bennett was outstanding as Shelley, and Peter Tilbury's scripts were a world away from normal I.T.V. sitcom fare. Belinda Sinclair made a good foil, often matching him insult for insult. When Fran departed ( along with Tilbury ), the show declined in quality, despite first-rate scripts by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, as Shelley seemed lonely and down in the dumps on his own. It recovered some of its sparkle in 1988 when it returned as 'The Return Of Shelley', taking the opportunity to mock the 'yuppie' phenomenon of the time.
'Rising Damp' is rightly regarded as I.T.V.'s best sitcom, but in my view 'Shelley' runs it a close second.
The timing of 'Shelley' was perfect; as unemployment rose to three million in the early '80's, the character was seen by some as a champion of the underdog, a man who shrugged off the insults of toffee-nosed D.H.S.S. officers, and gave as good as he got.
Hywel Bennett was outstanding as Shelley, and Peter Tilbury's scripts were a world away from normal I.T.V. sitcom fare. Belinda Sinclair made a good foil, often matching him insult for insult. When Fran departed ( along with Tilbury ), the show declined in quality, despite first-rate scripts by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, as Shelley seemed lonely and down in the dumps on his own. It recovered some of its sparkle in 1988 when it returned as 'The Return Of Shelley', taking the opportunity to mock the 'yuppie' phenomenon of the time.
'Rising Damp' is rightly regarded as I.T.V.'s best sitcom, but in my view 'Shelley' runs it a close second.