Rosemary Faith and Drina Pavlovic in Please Sir! (1968)

Erik Chitty and Richard Davies in Please Sir! (1968)

Erik Chitty, Richard Davies, and Joan Sanderson in Please Sir! (1968)

Erik Chitty and Joan Sanderson in Please Sir! (1968)

Charles Bolton, Billy Hamon, Vivienne Martin, and Clive Moss in Please Sir! (1968)

Charles Bolton and Vivienne Martin in Please Sir! (1968)

Deryck Guyler

Noel Howlett

Joan Sanderson

John Esmonde

Bob Larbey

Miss Petting has started a dance class and is trying to teach the class a new dance, but it&apos;s all too old fashioned for them. She feels unloved and decides to unburden her feelings on the headmaster, who displays an uncharacterist...

Howard Ross

The Ugly Ducklings

Hope for Daisy and Miss Petting?

Miss Petting&apos;s attempts to teach country dancing to 5C are a predictable failure and leave her very dispirited. Meanwhile Daisy is also feeling downbeat, lacking confidence in her appearance and feeling rejected. Both have some helpful words for each other but things may be looking up for them in terms of relationships. Miss Petting seems to be striking up a bond with the Head while Celia offers the prospect of a date partner for Daisy...

While this is no great shakes in terms of comedy it is an interesting and appealing episode in terms of showing us a little more about the feelings of some of the characters and there is a heart-warming aspect to it that sits quite well with the comedy. Miss Petting (whose first name is revealed as Gloria) had shown promise as a character but hadn&apos;t hitherto been given much air time. While there is obvious comedy at her expense as a pretty inept teacher there are also elements of pathos at her plight - a fish out of water at Fenn Street but undoubtedly well-intentioned, dedicated and warm-hearted unlike some of her colleagues.

Typically Mr Hurst reaches out to her but the real boon for her is striking up a real rapport with the Headmaster Mr Cromwell. He is also feeling adrift as he is engaging in a production of The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan and finds none of the staff except the sycophantic, self-serving Potter is showing any interest. Miss Petting though is genuinely helpful and interested and he returns the compliment. In a sense both are rather naive, out-of-touch characters who feel a meeting of minds. There are hints of romance and despite the considerable age difference the innocence of both characters means any potential relationship seems quite endearing (and would very likely be platonic in any event). Miss Petting feels particularly invigorated by this change of fortunes and it&apos;s good to see her more upbeat.

Daisy also feels very much on the shelf. Her friend Celia - who has no such difficulties - offers some help and the possibility of a date with a very promising boy. Daisy always looks up to Celia and it&apos;s striking that despite the girls&apos; very different fortunes Daisy is never jealous or resentful towards Celia as might happen in real life. Although the scenarios are broadly played for laughs the scenes do allude to the insecurities and issues with self-esteem that many people have, especially teenagers.

The episode also highlights how much the relationship between the Head and Miss Ewell had changed. For a long time she had doted on the Head, almost rivalling Potter in terms of devotion while also taking on much of his workload. By now though she has much more critical view of him and is not afraid to tell him so. Perhaps her relationship with Mr Sibley has led her away from him, giving her the confidence to challenge him. As the Series has progressed the virtues of Miss Ewell have become more apparent and with the Head she is much less prepared to suffer a fool gladly.

Another virtue of the focus on these different characters and relationships is that there is less time devoted to the other three new pupil characters who frankly had contributed little of value since their introduction. While clearly the show was not what it was in its first three series it was still showing the occasional ability to produce engaging episodes which hinted at broader themes beyond the comedy.

Miss Petting's attempts to teach country dancing to 5C are a predictable failure and leave her very dispirited. Meanwhile Daisy is also feeling downbeat, lacking confidence in her appearance and feeling rejected. Both have some helpful words for each other but things may be looking up for them in terms of relationships. Miss Petting seems to be striking up a bond with the Head while Celia offers the prospect of a date partner for Daisy...

While this is no great shakes in terms of comedy it is an interesting and appealing episode in terms of showing us a little more about the feelings of some of the characters and there is a heart-warming aspect to it that sits quite well with the comedy. Miss Petting (whose first name is revealed as Gloria) had shown promise as a character but hadn't hitherto been given much air time. While there is obvious comedy at her expense as a pretty inept teacher there are also elements of pathos at her plight - a fish out of water at Fenn Street but undoubtedly well-intentioned, dedicated and warm-hearted unlike some of her colleagues.

Typically Mr Hurst reaches out to her but the real boon for her is striking up a real rapport with the Headmaster Mr Cromwell. He is also feeling adrift as he is engaging in a production of The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan and finds none of the staff except the sycophantic, self-serving Potter is showing any interest. Miss Petting though is genuinely helpful and interested and he returns the compliment. In a sense both are rather naive, out-of-touch characters who feel a meeting of minds. There are hints of romance and despite the considerable age difference the innocence of both characters means any potential relationship seems quite endearing (and would very likely be platonic in any event). Miss Petting feels particularly invigorated by this change of fortunes and it's good to see her more upbeat.

Daisy also feels very much on the shelf. Her friend Celia - who has no such difficulties - offers some help and the possibility of a date with a very promising boy. Daisy always looks up to Celia and it's striking that despite the girls' very different fortunes Daisy is never jealous or resentful towards Celia as might happen in real life. Although the scenarios are broadly played for laughs the scenes do allude to the insecurities and issues with self-esteem that many people have, especially teenagers.

The episode also highlights how much the relationship between the Head and Miss Ewell had changed. For a long time she had doted on the Head, almost rivalling Potter in terms of devotion while also taking on much of his workload. By now though she has much more critical view of him and is not afraid to tell him so. Perhaps her relationship with Mr Sibley has led her away from him, giving her the confidence to challenge him. As the Series has progressed the virtues of Miss Ewell have become more apparent and with the Head she is much less prepared to suffer a fool gladly.

Another virtue of the focus on these different characters and relationships is that there is less time devoted to the other three new pupil characters who frankly had contributed little of value since their introduction. While clearly the show was not what it was in its first three series it was still showing the occasional ability to produce engaging episodes which hinted at broader themes beyond the comedy.

Miss Petting has started a dance class and is trying to teach the class a new dance, but it's all too old fashioned for them. She feels unloved and decides to unburden her feelings on the headmaster, who displays an uncharacteristic romantic streak. The teaching staff, as the Fenn Street Rotary Club, put on a concert, The Mikado. Daisy is expecting a 'handsome prince' as her date for the evening, but he's not quite what she thought he'd be.

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