It Takes a Worried Man

It Takes a Worried Man is a British TV sitcom. It was made by Thames Television and ran for three series, broadcast from October 1981 to November 1983. The first two series were broadcast on the ITV network, and the third and final series on Channel 4. Most episodes were written by the star, Peter Tilbury, who played office worker Philip Roath. The title comes from a line in the folk song Worried Man Blues. The series was based on the writings about the male menopause by novelist Philip Roth, for which Tilbury also named the main character after. He also took inspiration from his own life towards the character of Roath.

Premise
Philip Roath is a middle-aged and divorced office worker who is highly intelligent, but suffering a midlife crisis, and completely bored with his job. He is never seen doing any actual work, just conversing with his colleagues about his boredom and frustrations with life. His boss suspects that Philip does little work, but is powerless to prove it or to do anything about it. Philip is also seen in psychoanalysis sessions with his analyst, Simon, who has worse emotional issues than Philip does.

Cast list

 * Peter Tilbury – Philip Roath
 * Sue Holderness – Liz (Series 2-3)
 * Diana Payan – Ruth
 * Andrew Tourell – Napley
 * Nicholas Le Prevost – Simon
 * Christopher Benjamin – The Old Man (Philip's Boss)
 * Angela Down – Lillian (Series 1)

DVD Release
All three series of It Takes a Worried Man have been released individually on DVD by Network. As of 2023, a complete boxset has yet to be released.