Lytton's Diary

Rating: 5
Cast: Peter Bowles, Bernard Lloyd, Holly De Jong, Adam Norton, Harriet Keevil

Lytton's Diary is a 1985–86 British comedy-drama programme created and written by Peter Bowles and Philip Broadley. Produced by Thames Television for ITV, it originated as a single play on the anthology programme Storyboard before expanding into two popular series, known for their mix of glamour, intrigue, and social commentary. Bowles stars as Neville Lytton, a suave and successful Fleet Street gossip columnist for the Daily News. Lytton navigates the world of high-society scandals, political corruption, and personal challenges, balancing his professional life with his love life and his ambition to write a novel.

ComedyDrama

Seasons

1. Rabid Dingo: Shock Horror

Air Date: 1985-01-09

The editor of The Daily News gossip column has retired, leaving Neville Lytton and his arch-rival Henry Field to compete for the vacancy. When Australian tycoon Wayne Monroe tries to buy the paper, Lytton sets about investigating his past.

2. Daddy's Girls

Air Date: 1985-01-16

Lytton, the new gossip diary editor of The Daily News, spends the day with his estranged wife, Catherine, and Laura Grey, his girlfriend, is less than pleased. Meanwhile, on the work front, Lytton investigates a merchant banker who disapproves of his daughter's relationship with a record producer, has something in his past that he's trying to hide.

3. The Lady in the Mask

Air Date: 1985-01-23

Lytton investigates the identity of a masked woman who strips at stage parties. Gambler Lucky Jim Diamond threatens to sue for defamation over an article Lytton has written.

4. Tricks of the Trade

Air Date: 1985-01-30

Lytton meets his old friend Hamil, who seems to be involved in a shady deal with an MP called Westaway. Soon, Lytton gets involved and falls victim to blackmail.

5. The Silly Season

Air Date: 1985-02-06

Margot Shelley, a fading film star, has just published her autobiography. However, Lytton is more interested in the memoirs of starlet Solveig Lindstrom.

6. Come Uppance

Air Date: 1985-02-13

Whilst visiting Catherine, Lytton is informed about strange goings-on at the home of Lord Rimmer. He uncovers a plot to create a right-wing political movement and exposes the story in his paper.

1. The End and the Means

Air Date: 1986-01-08

Lytton returns to his desk at The Daily News after a brutal mugging. He is soon involved in investigating a suicide and a Whitehall scandal helps to get him back into the routine.

2. Rules of Engagement

Air Date: 1986-01-15

A new journalist at The Daily News is instantly unpopular when it's discovered that her job is owed to the editor's patronage. Lytton sends her in pursuit of a runaway tennis star.

3. The Ancient Regime

Air Date: 1986-01-22

A famous sex symbol has a change of heart about on-screen nudity and receives a rich and mysterious visitor. Lytton is on the story, but is waylaid by his paper's owner and a mysterious lunchtime appointment.

4. The Miracle Man

Air Date: 1986-01-29

Lytton investigates why the same well-known faces are always appearing at an American evangelist's healing ceremonies, and is also involved in a confused plan to publish his first novel. The behaviour of the young new editor of The Daily News horrifies him.

5. National Hero

Air Date: 1986-02-05

Duncan Anderson, a revered public figure and a friend of Lytton's, is regarded as just another old fogey by pop columnist Trevor Bates. Meanwhile, Henry is deeply concerned about midnight meetings in a gazebo.

6. What a Wonderful Life

Air Date: 1986-02-12

Lytton is a judge at an international beauty competition gone awry, and finds himself investigating an old friend's financial background. Meanwhile, the paper's owner is planning a technological revolution in Fleet Street.

Select an episode to start watching

Rating

5.0/10

Release Date

1985-01-09

Episodes

12 (2 seasons)

Status

Ended

Cast

Videos

Production Companies

Thames Television