Nearest and Dearest is a British television sitcom that ran from 1968 to 1973. A total of 46 episodes were made, 18 in monochrome and 28 in colour. The series, produced by Granada Television for the ITV network, was set in Colne, Lancashire, in the North West of England.
Things not only go bump in the night, they leak, creak, gurgle and rattle when the Pledge's are forced to spend the night at a lonely moorland cottage.
There is to be a royal visit and the Pledge's are in a right pickle. Nellie has new overalls made, the picklers have hats which keep falling off and flags are raised to mark the splendid occasion. The whole factory is keyed up for the pending visit, but there's a surprise in store…
Romance goose-steps back into Nellie's life with the sudden appearance of Siegfried, a one-time German prisoner of war whom the Pledge's befriended back around 27 years ago. Trouble-shooter Siegfried invades Pledge's Purer Pickles and for Nellie it is the Battle of the Bulge all over again.
Eli thinks his holiday is going to be filled with birds and booze. He doesn't know that Nellie has booked a holiday at a farm - a health farm!
The Pledge's gherkins have tickled the fancy of a certain Monsieur La Vaterre in France - and Nellie and Eli fly to Paris to discuss the Common Pickle Market.
Harry Hampton comes to town. Eli owes him £25 but can't pay up, so, as Harry has nowhere to stay, he invites him home. So far so good. But Harry is a real Don Juan, and when he and Nellie are seen in a ""compromising position"" on the sofa, word gets around the pickling factory that Nellie must have ""something"" if Harry fancies her. And all the men start chasing her…Nellie, of course, is flattered, and starts living up to her reputation.
The festive season is upon us…And for the stalwarts of Pledge's Purer Pickles, there's high drama and low farce 'mid the tinsel and the turkey when Eli becomes an impresario. He tries to double the picklers' Christmas party money by sinking it into a pantomime production. ""Stinking"" seems the right word when the cast walks out and Nellie has to take over the part of Cinderella. She tells Eli: ""If there's no money, them picklers will have your ear'ole for an ashtray"". And it's as well that Christmas comes but once a year - for Nellie can't remember the script…
Nearest and Dearest is a British television sitcom that ran from 1968 to 1973. A total of 46 episodes were made, 18 in monochrome and 28 in colour. The series, produced by Granada Television for the ITV network, was set in Colne, Lancashire, in the North West of England.
