Rising Damp out of the house with a 'flea in his ear', defending Alan, apparently because Rigsby was offended the man assumed Rigsby to be Alan's father. Alan is immature and Rigsby does become something of a strange father figure for him. Philip Smith (Don Warrington) is a second generation British African from Croydon, although for most of the series he claims to be an "African Prince" and the son of an African tribal King. Philip's lies about his 'primitive' background seem most obviously an ironic response to Rigsby's ignorant remarks, and sometimes result in moments when Rigsby's gullibility and desperation lead
Rising Damp the rights to both the Carlton and Yorkshire Television archives. Rising Damp Rising Damp is a British sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV. ITV originally broadcast the programme from 2 September 1974 until 9 May 1978. It was adapted for television by Eric Chappell from his 1971 stage play "The Banana Box" (retained as the working title early in the series). The series was the highest-ranking ITV sitcom in BBC's 100 Best Sitcoms poll of 2004. The show was recorded entirely before a studio audience at The Leeds Studios of Yorkshire Television in Leeds, West Yorkshire and featured no