Mollis Sugden stars as Ida Willis in this small gem from the early 80s. Still starring as snobby nosed Mrs Slocombe in BBC ONE's 'Are you being Served?', Sugden shows she can play the other end of the class scale in 'Thats my Boy!'
Ida is Boulchy, strong willed and loud, sometimes sugden plays this a little too much and it becomes borderline silly but because Sudgen is a an amzing comedic actress you forgive her. In some scenes you are watching her playing Ida and you know its from a script, in some circles this would be considered unprofessional or a poor performance being able to see an actress working but not in comedy, and definately not here with her.
The other actors make a good supporting cast but sometimes the delivery can be a bit wooden and forced but once again this leads to the charm. Many years later 'Mrs Brown's Boys' would focus on breaking the forth wall and allows the audience to know they are just performers, turn the clock back and you can see an incling of this in this show. Sure they dont physically break the forth wall but watching this is like watching a play with your best friends in it.
Christopher Blake plays Ida's handsome son, he seems a bit out of place in a sitcom (even though he has starred in 'Mixed Blessings' prior to this) but one thing that can be said is his casting is definately a good fit when he appears in scenes in just his boxers.
In the first episode Ida's hate at Robert seems unjustified and uncalled for, it also escalates quite quickly but by the ned of the first series the relationship between long lost son and mother mellows and further on at the end of series 2 there is a beautiful scene at the end of the 8th episode.
The story and plot is quite simple, a housekeeper turns up and realises that her new employer is actually her long lost son that she gave up for adoption when he was born, but its the love between the cast that raises it and adds more depth.
The show lasts for 5 seasons and stays strong throughout. A good 5 out of 5 stars for a fun to watch show with some good laughs starring a great comedy actress in a strong female lead. The writers also penned an equally enjoyable series called 'You're Only Young Twice', another show that stars a strong female lead.