To the Manor Born lead role in "Dinnerladies", as well as lead roles in "Kingdom" and "After You've Gone". The 2007 Christmas special features four of the original cast members: Penelope Keith, Peter Bowles, Angela Thorne, and Gerald Sim. New characters include Alexander Armstrong as Adam fforbes-Hamilton, Audrey's nephew-by-marriage and godson; Alan David as Emmeridge, Audrey and Richard's outspoken butler; and Michael Cochrane as Archie Pennington-Booth, a neighbouring landowner. While the Rector makes only a brief appearance, the other three original characters are main characters throughout and are credited in the opening credits. "To the Manor Born" is set in the fictional village of
British sitcom short lived Roman Britain sitcom Chelmsford 123 (1988–1990) which has fallen into relative obscurity. The new Channel 4 began to have successful long-running situation comedies. "Desmond's" (1989–94) was the first British sitcom with a black cast set in the workplace, and "Drop the Dead Donkey" (1990–98) brought topicality to the form as it was recorded close to transmission. Some of the biggest hits of the 1990s were "Father Ted", "Men Behaving Badly", "Game On", "Absolutely Fabulous", "I'm Alan Partridge", "Keeping Up Appearances", "Goodnight Sweetheart", "Bottom", "The Brittas Empire", "The Thin Blue Line", "Mr. Bean", "The Vicar of Dibley" and "One