As the philosophical science teacher Mr Price, notable for his sarcastic wit, in the television sitcom Please Sir!, Richard Davies, who has died aged 89, was the perfect foil to the programme’s star, John Alderton, who played the idealistic, newly qualified Bernard Hedges, in charge of the unruly Class 5C. “I pity you,” Price would tell him.
Bob Larbey and John Esmonde’s creation, set in Fenn Street secondary modern school and watched by up to 20 million viewers, ran from 1968 to 1972 and featured memorable, well-drawn characters in both the classroom and staffroom. Other teachers seen alongside Price were the incompetent head, Mr Cromwell (Noel Howlett), tyrannical assistant head, Miss Ewell (Joan Sanderson), and the doddering Mr Smith (Erik Chitty).
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