We Humbly Beseech

Queenie's Castle was an ITV television vehicle devised for Diana Dors by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall.

Set in a tower block in a working class part of Yorkshire. Dors plays the loud and brassy Queenie Shepherd. Unpopular with the locals and the police but liked by the local publican.

Her three sons are feckless, her husband is absent somewhere. So her brother in law Jack (Tony Caunter) lodges with them.

The first episode is Queenie's birthday but the kids have forgot to buy her a present. At least they can go to the pub later for a singalong.

Only Queenie is not pleased that Mrs Petty (Lynne Perry) the local bakery shop owner has started a petition to get the family evicted from their council flat. They in effect neighbours from hell.

Waterhouse and Hall in essence has created not a working class sitcom but one aimed at am underclass. You could see this in later shows such as Shameless and Brassic. Queenie even refers to having gypsy blood. Her real life partner at the time Alan Lake was of Romany heritage.

Dors is great as the matriarch and this was made before she piled on the pounds. It does suffer from too much shouty acting.

It also difficult to sympathise too much with the family. You would not want them as your neighbours and these days you would be straight down to the council office to get them to send an ASBO!