The Upper Hand is a British television sitcom with dramatic elements broadcast by ITV from 1 May 1990 to 14 October 1996. The programme was adapted from the American sitcom Who's the Boss? As in the former series, affluent single woman Caroline Wheatley (Diana Weston), raising her son with the help of her mother Laura West (Honor Blackman), hires a housekeeper, and a man called Charlie Burrows (Joe McGann) applies for the job.

Premise

Down on his luck, former footballer Charlie Burrows moves from a deprived area of London to leafy Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire to make a better life for his teenage daughter Joanna, by taking a job as housekeeper for well-off advertising executive Caroline Wheatley. Although Caroline is unsure about employing him, her man-eating ageing mother Laura West talks her into it. Soon the two become friends, Caroline's son Tom comes to see Charlie as a father figure, and Joanna enjoys having a female influence in her life following the premature death of her mother. Both Caroline and Charlie repeatedly attempt to find love elsewhere, denying their blossoming feelings for each other. For years they lead the viewer on a "will-they-won't-they" chase that lasts until the end of the sixth series when the pair marry. After initial plans to end the series there, ITV commissioned a seventh series featuring Charlie and Caroline as husband and wife, which went beyond the premise of the original American version.

Cast and characters

Main

Minor and recurring

Theme tune

The theme music was written by Debbie Wiseman. A piano version of the theme titled Joe & Diana was released in 2011 on her album Piano Stories.

Episodes

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Home media

The Upper Hand was first released on VHS format in the United Kingdom, where three volumes containing various episodes were made available from Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment. All seven series of The Upper Hand have been released in 2010 and 2011 in the United Kingdom via Network. VHS DVD