To The Manor Born made Peter Bowles a superstar - just not at the BBC

The charming culture-clash comedy was once watched by over 20 million people. Then why did its star feel underappreciated?

Peter Bowles obituary

Veteran stage and screen actor who starred in the popular BBC TV sitcom To The Manor Born.

Peter Bowles: a commanding talent who was so much more than a sitcom star

The classy actor could play both establishment and villainous characters with aplomb. He was naturally charming and hugely admired by great men of theatre like Harold Pinter.

Old British comedy needs truly funny material

This is a screen adaptation of a series of stories by Edith Sommerville and Martin Ross about an English army officer (Peter Bowles) who cannot purchase his promotion and decides to become a Resident Magistrate in Ireland in the early 1900s.

Final part of Simon Day and Rhys Thomas's excellent rock spoof. There have been allusions to Bono, Fleetwood Mac, Queen and even Happy Mondays in the hapless figure of Pern in this series; tonight's has a touch of the Pink Floyds as he is railroaded into a Thotch reunion. However, reclusive founder member Bennett St John (Simon Callow) also wants in. Martin Freeman and Peter Bowles maintain the high-quality celebrity guest quota, almost a running joke in itself.

Radio Times review

The latest (very good) series of the Simon Day/Rhys Thomas spoof rockumentary series comes to an end with a reunion gig for Thotch, organised with typical skill (and dishonesty) by Michael Kitchen's slippery manager John Farrow. The only way he can get Day's Pern and the rest of the guys back together is by pretending that Paul Whitehouse's Pat Quid has dementia.

On the way we meet reclusive former bandmate Bennett St John (a brilliant Simon Callow), sample Quid's fishing show and get an insight into Pern's deepest yearning: his desire for Dad's approval. Will Pern Sr (Peter Bowles) attend the gig? And will Peter Gabriel show up again like he did last in the last finale?

A new series for the increasingly enjoyable sitcom, and it's a proud day in the Khan household as Mr K declares himself a shoo-in for a civic role that could make him the talk of Birmingham - town crier of England's second city. Providing, of course, that the council falls for Papaji's relentless self-promotion. Luckily, a family trip to historic Farley Manor happens to coincide with a lavish civic reception. Can the patented Khan charm win an invite to the shindig from Lord Anstruther? Peter Bowles guests.

The return of Adil Ray's sitcom about a British-Pakistani family for a fourth series could be seen as a triumph of hope over experience. The comedy about a self-important Asian community leader from Birmingham has taken a battering from critics who've deemed it retrograde and unfunny. Expect more of the same tonight, when the Khans enjoy a family day out to a stately home to look at some of its Indian treasures. Mr Khan (Ray) hopes to hobnob with its owner, Lord Anstruther (Seventies sitcom star Peter Bowles), but his social climbing is undone by Naani's sticky fingers.

Alongside Citizen Khan's broad comedy, there are usually a few zingers from its characters about their view of the Raj. Most importantly, the programme offers a refreshingly upbeat view of British Muslim life which as Ray has pointed out in the past, is a counter-narrative to Islamic extremism. It fits nicely into the tradition of British sitcoms featuring blockheads who have their pomposity pricked, and if Khan's biggest offence is a lack of laughs, well, that never stopped My Family or Mrs Brown's Boys. It's harmless, friendly fun for the whole family.

Radio Times review

The broad comedy about a pompous and deluded "community leader" returns, with guest stars in the new series including Ronni Ancona, Tyger Drew-Honey, Steve Furst and, in this episode, Peter Bowles, who conforms to type by playing the lord of the local manor.

The stately home has put on an exhibition of Indian treasures collected during the Raj, something that piques the interest of both Mr Khan (Adil Ray) and his mother-in-law Naani (Adlyn Ross). But while Mr Khan sees a chance to better himself by rubbing shoulders with the aristocracy, Naani wants to profit in a rather more direct way.