Every season of Shelley ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of Shelley!

Shelley and his girlfriend Fran are looking for accomadation. After viewing unsuitable properties, they find a room at Mrs Hawkins' house.

Moving In

Shelley is appalled to learn that his favourite pub is to undergo a refit, to be renamed 'The Victory' and the staff are to dress as Admiral Nelson. But that is the least of his problems. At the Unemployment Benefit Office, the Dole Inspector wants to know why, with his qualifications ( ten O Levels, 4 A Levels and a Phd ) he has hardly ever worked. "I don't like work.", says Shelley.

The Nelson Touch

When Shelley fails to come home one night after working behind the bar of 'The Victory', Mrs.Hawkins tells Fran not to worry. "Wherever he is, he won't be with a woman!".

Gainfully Employed

Our hero has landed a cushy job writing copy for an advertising agency ( nice work if you can get it! ). He hates it but is looking forward to his first pay check. But when it arrives he is not happy - after tax deductions it is not much higher than the money he got on the Dole.

The Distaff Side

Shelley is reunited with his oldest friend, Ned, whom he asks to be best man at his forthcoming wedding. Ned, unfortunately, is a 'Jack The Lad' type who loves to drink, smoke, and make love. Fran dislikes him intensely, and openly says so.

May the Best Man Win

Shelley's attempts to prepare a dinner party meet with continual interruptions; first, a Jehovah's Witness rings the doorbell and refuses to go away, then an elderly neighbour called Mrs.Ratcliffe asks him to fix her shelf. Mrs.Ratcliffe is, unfortunately, senile, and thinks that all the women at that address - Mrs.H included - are on the game.

Nowt So Queer

Shelley, now in work, looks for somewhere to live with wife-to-be Fran and their impending child. They come across a ramshackle house which they want to buy but cannot as they do not have enough money. A visit to the local Bank leads them nowhere - to get a mortgage you first need an account.

Owner Occupiers

Shelley has to come up with a sales campaign for a new range of Instant Paella. The stuff proves hard to market as it is virtually tasteless. In a meeting, he inadvertently insults his boss Cyril ( John Barron ), not realising the comment has been captured on tape. When a colleague tells him this, he is horrified.

Expletive Deleted

Shelley is working on an ad campaign for striped pyjamas when a crisis interrupts his train of thought. A fellow lodger, Miss Landis, is so lonely and depressed in the big city she takes an overdose of sleeping pills.

Tea and Sympathy

Shelley and Fran are in their bed-sit as usual. She is engrossed in a dog-eared copy of George Orwell's 'Keep The Aspidistra Flying' while he - plainly lonely - tries to strike up a conversation with her. But her only responses are non-committal grunts.

Hearth and Home

Shelley wants to buy an old book in a junk shop but the dealer tries to make him think it is worth far more than it really is. After a protracted debate, the dealer agrees to let him have it for nothing.

Fully Furnished

The final episode of the second 'Shelley' series ends with James marrying Fran.

Mrs.H and Shelley's mother spend the night at Fran's Dad's palatial house in Shropshire. Isobel's liberal attitude to life and free use of language ( describing her son as 'a little sod' at one point ) clearly embarrass the host.

Dearly Beloved

Visiting a health shop, Shelley is appalled at the high prices of some of the items.  The moment he and Fran have long dreaded has arrived. Travelling by train, they arrive at the country home/farm of Gordon Smith, Fran's rich Dad. He is a charmless snob who regards Shelley as a layabout even though he now has a job.

Elders and Betters

Shelley and Fran are spending the night in their new house, which is undergoing renovation. Fran hears something scuttling inside in a bin liner. Shelley admits he forgot to throw the bag out. Their debate on whether to dispose of the rodent mutates into a heated discussion on his job.

Of Mice and Men

The day of reckoning arrives and Shelley goes to his local DHSS office to sign on for the dole.

Signing On

Shelley, once more with bags of time on his hands, is attempting to put up kitchen shelves, when he is interrupted by Paul 'Bunter' Englund ( Warren Clarke ), the best man at his recent wedding. Bunter is in a state of high anxiety. The police are after him.

Nor Iron Bars a Cage

Having blown his latest job interview through telling the truth ( that he hates work in all its forms ), Shelley decides to try lying his way into a top job at the Foreign Office. The panel are a sinister bunch, headed by Grace Lissier ( Gaye Brown ), a cross between 'Millicent Fritton' of St.Trinians and 'Rosa Klebb' of SMERSH.

Foreign Affairs

Shelley is having a quiet cup of tea and reading a paper in Arthur's café, when a tramp ( Nicholas Le Prevost ) sits down and mutters: "What is life?". Rather than tell the guy, Derek Nayland, to sling his hook, Jim engages him in a heated discussion about life, the universe and everything.

Universal Trust

Shelley is attempting to do all the rewiring in his and Fran's new home, while she, heavily pregnant, watches him. His monologue about his woodwork teacher - 'Mr.Smiley' - is cut short when Mrs.H. shows up, and starts complaining about the Moroccans who have moved into her boarding house. Then salesman Mr.Croft tries to persuade Shelley he has Dry Rot under the stairs...

Dry Rot

The third season of 'Shelley' ends with the birth of his and Fran's daughter, whom they christen 'Emma' ( named after Hywel Bennett's real-life daughter ). Fran insists on her husband being present at the birth.

You Have to Laugh

Shelley and Fran have decided to celebrate several days early, before they are overwhelmed by parentage. After a big dinner, they ( along with Mrs.H ) sit around a table, looking thoroughly bloated and miserable. Shelley is alarmed because he put ten sixpences in the Xmas pudding and so far they have only accounted for eight.

Christmas with Shelley

In spite of cutbacks, full time employment att eh Foreign Office looms for Shelley.

Unkindest Cuts

A Drop of the Pink Stuff

No News is Good

Credit Where Credit's Due

Mortal Coils

Slaughterhouse Sling

On the Road to Damascus

Brave New World

Shelley Versus Shelley

Noises Off

Tubes Help You Breed Less Easily

When the Chip Hits the Fan

Dry Dreams

Shelley is angered by the casual attitude of the police when he reports his toaster stolen.

It Nearly Always Happens to Somebody Else

Of Cabbages and Kings

The Party

Owed to the Electrician

Shelley's mother arranges for him to dine with Fran, who gave him the elbow weeks ago.

Brief Encounter

The Return of Shelley

In God We Trust

Emergency Ward 9

One of Those Nights

Why Me?

The Big S

The Artful Lodger

Shelley Washes Whiter

A Happy Event

Born Freeish

Day of the Reptile

For Whom the Bell Tolls

The Gospel According to Shelley

Wages of Virtue

It's Only a Game

Killer Driller

Cold Turkey

A Problem Aired

Help!

A Trial Period

A Question of Attitude

Golden Oldies

The Bug

Second Best Man

Brainstrain

New Year Special

The Deep End

Come Fly With Me

Love is ...

A Little Learning

Happy Birthday - R.I.P.

Accountants & Zulus

Shelley is a British sitcom made by Thames Television and originally broadcast on ITV from 12 July 1979 to 12 January 1984 and from 11 October 1988 to 1 September 1992. Starred Hywel Bennett as James Shelley, originally 28 years old and a sardonic, perpetually unemployed anti-establishment 'freelance layabout' with a doctoral degree. In the original run, Belinda Sinclair played Shelley's girlfriend Fran, and Josephine Tewson appeared regularly as his Landlady, Edna Hawkins. The series was created by Peter Tilbury who also wrote the first three series. The scripts for subsequent episodes were by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, Colin Bostock-Smith, David Frith, Bernard McKenna and Barry Pilton. All 71 episodes were produced and directed by Anthony Parker.

The Best Seasons of Shelley

The Best Seasons of Shelley

Season 2

Season 4

Season 5

Season 1

Season 3

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10