Never the Twain

Never the Twain is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 1981 to 1991. It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke. Mortimer wrote the entirety of the first two series and four episodes out of six of the eighth, with the rest being mainly written by Vince Powell (who, among others, wrote the whole of the last three series) and John Kane.

It starred Windsor Davies and Donald Sinden, with Robin Kermode (later replaced by Christopher Morris), Julia Watson (later replaced by Tacy Kneale), Honor Blackman, Teddy Turner, Derek Deadman, Maria Charles and Zara Nutley.

It was made by Thames Television for the ITV network. Since it finished, it has been repeated a few times on satellite television: first on UK Gold and later on ITV3.

The title is taken from the Rudyard Kipling poem; The Ballad of East and West.

Plot

Oliver Smallbridge (played by Davies) and Simon Peel (played by Sinden) are antiques dealers who are also bitter enemies (after a falling-out having been business partners) and next-door neighbours, both in their homes and shops. They are engaged in a continuous game of one-upmanship, so both of them are shocked when they find out that their respective children (Smallbridge's daughter Lyn - played by Watson and later Kneale - and Peel's son David - played by Kermode and later Morris) are in love and want to marry as soon as possible. The fathers are forced to reluctantly accept the...
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