Dear John....

When John Lacey (the wonderful Ralph Bates) finds a letter from his wife announcing she's leaving him, he signs up to a singles club to try to find the next 'someone special'.

John's adventures and the hilarious supporting characters (sex-mad Louise, played by Rachel Bell; medallion man Kirk, played by Peter Blake; weedy Ralph ('Rafe'), played by Peter Denyer; and flighty Kate, played by Belinda Lang), made this short series a must-watch, although it has only been given one re-run on the BBC since.

Ralph Bates played John as an vulnerable, accident-prone, bumbler who gets very little right in his life. His landlady Mrs Lemenski (Irene Prador) is a thorn in his side, and his son (played by Bates's real-life son) is at that difficult age where he's asking questions and up to all sorts. Watching all this is great fun and I prefer this comedy to others of John Sullivan's such as 'Only Fools and Horses'.