Man about the House: Series One - Episode One - Three's a Crowd (1973)

Chrissy and Jo have a farewell party for their flatmate, who is moving out, now that she's engaged. The morning after the party, they find Robin in their bathtub, asleep. They need a new flatmate, and he needs a place to live, so it seems like a match made in heaven, and they invite him to move in. There's just one problem: Mr. and Mrs. Roper, the landlords, may not think that this idea is such a good one.

The morning after the farewell party for their former flatmate Eleanor, Chrissy and Jo find themselves in different conditions. Jo has enough energy to start cleaning the flat, Chrissy suffers from a massive hangover and some bad memories from the night before. Perhaps a bath can relax her. As she turns on the taps, the man sleeping in the tub wakes up abruptly, scaring the girls.

Robin Tripp was taken to the party by a friend and fell asleep in the bath. He officially introduces himself to the girls and wonders what to do in his drenched clothes. Chrissy offers to dry them, and he can wear her robe while he's waiting. He might even join them for breakfast. Downstairs George Roper, the landlord, and his wife Mildred discuss the noisy party of the night before. George intends to complain to the girls. When Mildred warns Chrissy and Jo, she meets Robin.

Robin is served a horrible breakfast and offers to make something edible instead. After all, he's just arrived from Southampton to attend cookery college. With different leftover he starts whipping up a fancy egg dish. Meanwhile Chrissy and Jo show Gabrielle around the flat, a girl who's interested in becoming their new flatmate. Unfortunately, George Roper bursts in, having heard about the man in the flat. He mistakes Gabrielle for a man, though when he pokes her chest, he realises he's wrong. A shocked Gabrielle decides not to live in a house with such an abusive landlord.

Robin serves the girls his breakfast and they are delighted with the result. When he explains that he hasn't found a place to stay in London yet, they offer him the vacant room in their flat. But how will the Ropers react? George and Mildred drop by again to apologise for George's behaviour, but then George sees Robin for the first time. He won't hear of a man staying with two single girls. Chrissy takes him aside for a moment, has a talk and eventually George agrees to let Robin stay. When Robin asks Chrissy how she convinced George to change his mind, she states that she told Roper that Robin was gay. With Robin wearing that frilly robe, the story made sense.

Man about the House (1973)

Man About the House was a British sitcom that starred Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of a man sharing a flat with two single girls. It was made by Thames Television, and two spin-offs were later made: George & Mildred and Robin's Nest. In 2004, it came 69th in a poll to find Britain's Best sitcom. The series was remade in the United States as, Three's Company in 1977. A film version of Man About the House was released in 1974.

Young flatmates Chrissy and Jo find a stranger, student Chef Robin Tripp, asleep in their bath the morning after the farewell party for their departed flatmate Eleanor. They are taken by Robin, and are especially impressed by his culinary skills at breakfast. Neither Chrissy or Jo can cook, and "Eleanor didn't leave the recipe for toast."

Chrissy and Jo are both from regional England and moved out on their own to live in London. They both work for the same firm. When he meets the girls Robin has been in London two days, having moved from his home town of Southampton to attend college.

The girls are unimpressed with Gabby (Helen Fraser), a pushy young woman who arrives hoping to move in to Eleanor's room. Learning that Robin has been staying at the YMCA they easily convince him to move in.

Robin moves in on a platonic basis, and Chrissy tells the Landlord, George Roper that Robin is gay to pre-empt objections to the mixed-sex living arrangement. In the second episode Robin's true sexuality becomes known to Mildred. Mildred openly flirts with Robin at every opportunity.

Robin frequently acts in a flirtatious manner toward Chrissy and Jo. The women have no romantic interest and spurn his mild advances, and quickly adapt to his presence in the flat.

Landlord George Roper, in truth a sub-letting landlord placed by the council, is a bumbling, accident-prone and gullible man under the thumb of his domineering and sexually-frustrated wife Mildred. Mildred takes out her frustrations with George's lack of class and sexual inadequacy by making suggestive remarks to Robin and frequently siding with the tenants against George. Yet for all their battles the Ropers are a devoted couple.

Robin's friend Larry, a lovable rogue, appears in two first season episodes. In the second season he moves into the loft apartment and is a frequent source of trouble. Another occasional cast member is George's friend, dim schemer Jerry.

Robin's brother Norman Tripp (Norman Eshley) appears through the final season, and starts a romance with Chrissy. Norman Eshley had a previous guest role in the series two years earlier playing a different character, and was also a member of the main cast of the spin-off series, George and Mildred in which he played The Ropers' snobbish neighbour Jeffrey Fourmile.