who played wendy craig's sons in butterflies
Butterflies (TV series) The Parkinsons have two sons, both of driving age (at least 17 years of age under UK law in 1978) and unemployed (in 1978 the UK was heading towards recession under Prime Minister, James Callaghan, with youth unemployment on the increase). Their youngest son, Adam, is played by Nicholas Lyndhurst and their older son, Russell, by Andrew Hall. Throughout all four series, there is a continuing sub-plot running in tandem with the main storyline, tracking the difficulties faced by young adolescent men coming of age in the UK during a period when there were few employment opportunities and the threat of nuclear war. Both of the Parkinson sons' characters are seen making fun of their father's traditional post-war reserved British attitude, whilst also undergoing their own issues such as unemployment, girlfriend troubles, cannabis use against the wishes of their horrified father and teenage pregnancy, when Russell fathers a child with his on-off girlfriend. Bruce Montague plays Ria's friend Leonard, a successful businessman, aged 44 whose wife has recently left him and is, like Ria Parkinson, approaching his own mid-life crisis. The show also featured two recurring minor characters: Leonard's chauffeur and confidant Thomas (Michael Ripper) and the Parkinsons' cleaner, Ruby (Joyce Windsor), who often lends Ria an ear.