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The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾

1985

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 Adrian Mole Himself Sep 16, 1985

The Mole family's neighbour Mr. Lucas is left by his wife, Mrs. Lucas. He and Adrian's mother Pauline have been having an affair, and they both leave to go to Sheffield, leaving Adrian and George, his father, on their own. Adrian meets old age pensioner Bert Baxter as part of the 'Good Samaritan' project at his school. Bert's filthy house and habits disgust Adrian, but they become friends. School bully Barry Kent begins demanding 'money for menaces' from Adrian, until Adrian's grandmother puts a stop to it by confronting the bully. Adrian takes a trip to Sheffield to see his mother and her lover, Mr. Lucas.

EP2 Parents Separate Sep 23, 1985

Struggling to come to terms with his mother's departure, Adrian wears red socks to school, which sees him sent home by the headmaster, Mr. Scruton. His furious father complains to Mr. Scruton, and Adrian's love interest Pandora Braithwaite organises a 'red sock protest' at the school, which brings her and Adrian together. Meanwhile, Adrian's friend Bert Baxter is taken to hospital with breathing difficulties.

EP3 Charles and Di's Wedding Sep 30, 1985

Adrian wakes up unable to talk, and is diagnosed with tonsilitis. Meanwhile, an Asian family, the Singhs, move into the street which prompts some racist comments by Adrian's father. Bert Baxter leaves hospital and moves in temporarily with Adrian and George. The street celebrates the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer with a street party. Adrian's sweetheart Pandora goes on holiday to Tunisia, and Adrian runs up an expensive phone bill making calls to her.

EP4 British Museum Oct 07, 1985

A school trip to the British Museum in London ends in disaster when the children go out of control and Barry Kent ends up arrested for theft. Adrian's phone calls to Pandora in Tunisia come back to haunt him when he receives the bill, which he hides from his father.

EP5 Hospital Oct 14, 1985

Adrian is admitted to hospital to have his tonsils removed, which brings his mother Pauline back to Leicester to see him. After spending a couple of days with George and Adrian, Pauline eventually returns to live with them. Adrian burns the phone bill in a bonfire on Bonfire Night, but he is forced to confess all when the phone is cut off. His furious parents make him pay the bill using his savings. Bert Baxter is now in an old people's home, where he meets a woman named Queenie whom he becomes engaged to.

EP6 New Year's Eve Oct 21, 1985

It's Christmas Day in the Mole house, and Adrian annoys his parents by inviting Bert and Queenie over for the day. He receives a racing bike as a present. Having been made redundant, Adrian's father George gets a job with Manpower Services as a canal bank supervisor. Adrian breaks Pandora's heart by having a brief liaison with a classmate, Barbara Boyer.
7.6| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

A British television series based on the book of the same name written by Sue Townsend.

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Trailers & Clips

Also starring Gian Sammarco

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾

Reviews

StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.
Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable
Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
toliver597 I agree with Ben Spencer - I lived in Leicester for some time in 1981, and while it's obvious Adrian is a local a lot of the other accents on the show sounded just wrong - not Midlands at all. Glad it was not just me that thought this.However this series is a classic gem. The characters are brilliant - Bert, Queenie, Grandma, and the parents. It captures that time in Britain just beautifully.I am buying a copy of the DVD as all I have is an old video. Recommend this show - at least 8 out of 10.Tessie
philbroadfoot This was actually on the telly as a TV Series in 1985 but was repeated in 1987. Certainly helped me along the way as i was the same age and could relate. I think we were all in love with Pandora, Attractive and forthright with a strong spirit. Sue Townsend writes very well and keeps you buried in the book, page after page. The Screen adaption was done very well and the people chosen to play the characters were, in my opinion, perfect. Julie Walters does an outstanding job as Adrians mum and Gian Sammarco was perfect for the role of Adrian. Such was the impact that even now at 34&3/4(funny) i still read them and they are still very funny. A Must read/watch for anyone suffered through being called a nerd!!!!! and I am sure will be appreciated even by the last two generation of kids after my generation.
ben-spencer I first read The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 when I was about 14 and decided to have another read 10 years on. When I discovered that a TV series had been made and that it was filmed in Leicester (where the author of the book is from, where the story is based and where I live) I decided to buy the VHS from Amazon.I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this adaptation of the book! Gian Sammarco (who plays Adrian Mole) is spot on and I was very surprised to find that he hasn't done a lot else apart from this. And indeed I recognise bits of Leicester - The Sainsbury's Supermarket on Humberstone Gate and the City Centre Clock Tower to name a couple.But the one thing that drove me absolutely crazy about this is the actor's putting on Birmingham accents! Why oh why were they made to do this? None of the characters are from Birmingham or even know anyone from Birmingham - they are Leicester born and bred (just like myself). HOW FRUSTRATING!But apart from that I can't complain about the acting at all - they were very good and the casting is simply superb! A lot of the characters are exactly how I imagined them to be.I don't think Adrian Mole fans will be disappointed by this at all. Very well done.
Jason I clearly remember this when it was on TV here in NZ (about 1987). This is an amazing piece of TV history. I was only at primary school, but everyone I knew was talking about this nonstop! Some years later I remembered it and purchased all the books, managed to find a copy of The Secret Diary (first series) and watched again. It is amazing how close they were to the book, in some cases almost word-for-word.All in all an excellent series, that follows the novels very closely, and makes the characters behind the words seem much more life-like and real (the actor they chose for Adrian was almost exactly like I imagined him to be!)