Rising Damp

- Season 3

(1977)

Whilst Rigsby is on holiday in Spain, Alan lets a room to Mrs. Brent, whose husband is at sea, and her baby, despite the fact that Rigsby does not allow tenants with children. So, whilst Mrs. Brent looks for other accommodation, Alan tries to hide the baby but is discovered by Rigsby, who initially thinks the baby is Alan's. Ruth has returned and Alan and Philip give her the baby to mind, leading Rigsby to then think that Ruth is his mother, so he is shocked when she says she hardly knows the father and does not know the baby's name. Both Mr. and Mrs. Brent then ...

A very camp actor called Hilary moves into the house. He has written a play which he wants Ruth and Alan to perform. Rigsby is less than pleased to think that this will allow the long-haired student to share intimate moments with his beloved Miss Jones, so he appeals to Alan's homophobia and tells him that Hilary is gay, scaring Alan off which leads to Hilary asking Rigsby to replace him. Aware of what has gone on Hilary sits very near to Rigsby on the sofa and appears to make a pass at him, scaring Rigsby off from appearing in the play. however, when Hilary assumes ...

Rigsby invests in a white sports car to impress Ruth and takes her to the country club in it. On their return the car is severely dented and carrying part of another car with it. When Rigsby learns that the other driver, Mr. French, is a magistrate and will be calling at the house in the evening, he panics and tells Alan he can have the car. Mr. French duly arrives and, on learning that Alan owns the car, gives him ten pounds as it was actually Mr. French who caused the damage.

The household goes on suicide watch when a new tenant, the depressive Mr. Gray, who has lost his wife and his business, becomes Rigsby's latest tenant. Ruth switches tea-cups with him when she sees him drop a tablet in his but it is only saccharin. Mr. Gray's behaviour leads Rigsby to get a man from the Samaritans to visit. Firstly he thinks Ruth is the depressive when he sees her with her head in the gas oven - which she is trying to fix. Later Mr. Gray climbs on the roof and Rigsby, to impress Ruth, goes up to talk him down. The Samaritan then assumes he is the ...

Exotic dancer Marilyn moves into the house with Charlie, a python that she uses in her routine. Although Charlie is harmless Philip persuades Rigsby that he is a Fawcett's python, one of the deadliest in the world. Of course he escapes and the boys scare Rigsby with a stuffed toy python. When Douglas the curate comes round for his singing practice with Ruth, Rigsby decides to play a joke on them with the toy python but of course he ends up handling Charlie.

Alan is dating the upper class Caroline Armitage and, when Ruth says that Caroline's mother is a wealthy property owner, Rigsby is keen that Alan gets engaged to her so that he can benefit by it. He gives the lad lessons in etiquette in anticipation of a tea party for Mrs Armitage but is angry to find he has not been invited. When he crashes the party he discovers that Mrs. Armitage is the former Mabel Bagworthy, a common rag-and-bone man's daughter that he was at school with, who rode to school on her father's cart, and he takes great delight in telling everyone. ...

Rigsby's lodger Osborne is a pill-popping hypochondriac but, to Rigsby's annoyance, Ruth feels sorry for and spends time with him. One day Rigsby goes into Osborne's room to find his lifeless body and so arrangements are to be made for a funeral, Rigsby providing the coffin he had bought for himself. For a joke the boys dare him to get in the coffin and shut him in. When he gets out he sees Osborne alive and well - he had merely seemed dead due to his excess of pill-taking. Rigsby promptly collapses.