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Mother and Son

Created by: Geoffrey Atherden
Executive Producer: John O'Grady
Producer and Director: Geoff Portman
Writer: Geoffrey Atherden

Aired: 1984 - 1986, 1988, 1992, 1994 (ABC)

Arthur Beare (Garry McDonald) is an 40-something journalist, who after the break up of his marriage, moves back home to care for his aging mother (Ruth Cracknell) who is suffering dementia. Regardless of his decision to devote his life to looking after her, Maggie prefers her other son Robbie (Henri Szeps), a dentist, who can do no wrong in his mother's eyes despite his selfish nature and constant schemes designed to put her in a home so that he can acquire the family house. The winner of numerous international awards and accolades, Mother and Son ran for six series over nine years on ABC TV. Creator Geoffrey Atherden was then invited to adapt the series for a British version — Keeping Mum, which began screening on BBC1 in 1997. (42x30min)