John Esmonde

Sorry to hear that. He was part of my childhood, as I'm sure many others will say. I still recall my chagrin when, in those days of Edward Heath and the three day week, there was a power cut in my area during the last ever episode of The Fenn Street Gang. And it never seemed to be repeated.

The pathos in particular episodes of Please Sir was judged really well - as when Duffy (Peter Cleall) revealed he couldn't swim. I also recall the episode which contrived to get Frankie Abbott into the army, a dry run for Get Some In, which was in itself a bit like Please Sir in its range of young characters, only with Tony Selby as a rather different sort of authority figure from the milder John Alderton.