Cinescope

Pardon the Expression

Pardon The Expression! is an ITV sitcom made by Granada Television, that was first broadcast from Wednesday 2 June 1965 to Monday 27 June 1966. The sitcom was one of only four spin-offs from the highly popular soap opera Coronation Street. Pardon the Expression itself had a spin-off: Turn out the Lights broadcast in 1967. There wasn't to be another spin-off until the 1980s with The Brothers McGregor, which reused two characters who appeared in a single episode. Leonard Swindley was the central character. Formerly the manager of the fashion retail store "Gamma Garments" in Coronation Street, in this series he is the deputy manager of the department store Dobson and Hawks. His boss in the series was Ernest Parbold played by Paul Dawkins who was replaced by Wally Hunt played by Robert Dorning in series 2. Other regulars were Betty Driver as canteen lady, Mrs Edgeley and Joy Stewart as Miss Sinclair, the boss's secretary.

Comedy

3.0 / 5

2nd June 1965 - 27th June 1966

Top Cast

Arthur Lowe • Robert Dorning • Betty Driver

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Production Companies

The First Day

2nd June 1965

Episode 1

Leonard Swindley starts his new job as Assistant Manager at Dobson and Hawks Department Store. He soon becomes attached to his job in more ways than one when store boss Ernest Parbold sends him to the bank to deposit his specimen signature and collect some change. However when he reaches the bank he realises that he has lost the key to the handcuffs for the money bag he is carrying.

The Headmistress

9th June 1965

Episode 2

Leonard Swindley tries his hand at super salemanship. His task from Mr Parbold is to land a big order for Dobson and Hawks for a school uniform concession from the headmistress of the local girls school, Miss Buxton, known at all as "Frankenstein's Grandmother". Swindley's old-world charm has made him a big hit with the ladies of Dobson and Hawks.