Betty Spencer

Betty is Frank Spencer's devoted wife, the calm centre of a household defined by his relentless capacity for disaster. She loves him without irony, believes in him completely, and meets each fresh catastrophe with patience rather than despair. Softly spoken and unshakeably loyal, she is the one steady thing in a life built on chaos.

Michele Dotrice plays devotion as something genuinely moving rather than merely convenient for the plot, which stops Betty being just a straight woman for Frank's mishaps. Her warmth gives the comedy a soft landing every time — you laugh at Frank, but you believe Betty's love for him, and that belief is what makes the whole thing work.