Trivia / Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em

• Actor-Inspired Element: Many of Frank's mannerisms and turns of phrase were invented by Michael Crawford, some having been used previously in Hello, Dolly!.
• Beam Me Up, Scotty!: Despite popular opinion, Frank never said his popular Character Catchphrase, "Ooh, Betty!" anywhere in the show. Still less "Ooh, Betty, the baby/cat's done a whoopsie on the carpet!" which seems to have been invented by the impressionist Mike Yarwood. This gets lampshaded in the 2016 Sports Relief skit, where the adult Jessica mentions doing a whoopsie on the carpet when she was a baby, and Frank is pretty sure it never happened.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Elisabeth Sladen was interviewed by producer Michael Mills for the role of Betty but lost out to Michele Dotrice. However, Mills offered her a guest role in the series as Judy in "The Hospital Visit". Linda Hayden was also considered for the role. She made a guest appearance in "Getting a Job".
• The Cast Showoff: Michael Crawford sang a bit and did all his own stuntwork.
• Corpsing: One noticeable example occurs in "Wendy House" where Richard Wilson plays an insurance assessor who calls on Frank and Betty. All three sit on a sofa to discuss the situation and Wilson slowly sinks down into it so that he barely manages to come up to Michael Crawford's shoulders. Michele Dotrice cannot stifle her laughter and this, in turn, causes both Crawford and Wilson to corpse. After a few seconds, all three manage to pick up the script again and the take is retained in the finished edit.
• Fatal Method Acting: Michael Crawford and stuntman Derek Ware made the newspapers when they were both nearly strangled during the window-cleaning segment of "The Employment Exchange". They were left 300 feet up the side of a London skyscraper after the cradle they were dangling from refused to budge. Surprisingly, the cameraman continued to film the entire ordeal.
• Money, Dear Boy: Michael Crawford expressed his fears at becoming typecast into Frank Spencer-like roles before being offered £10,000 (which was a lot of money at the time) to star in Season 3.
• No Stunt Double: Michael Crawford did all of his own stunts. Even when he came back for a Sports Relief special in 2016 at the age of 74.
• Series Hiatus: Initially, only two series were produced, from 1973 to 1975, while the show's creators felt that it should stop while at its peak. There was a brief hiatus until popular demand saw it revived for a final series in 1978.
• Uncredited Role: Diane Holland as an extra in "The Hospital Visit".
• Wag the Director: Frank was written originally as a single man, but Michael Crawford insisted that the character have a wife.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The initial idea behind the series was for Betty to be the main character, with Frank being more in the background
  • David Jason was considered for Frank Spencer but was rejected because The BBC executives at the time believed that he lacked star quality. Dudley Moore and Norman Wisdom (who didn't find any comedy in the script) were also considered.
  • The original script for the second episode was considered terrible, so it was thrown out and replaced in a week.
  • Both a film spin-off and an American remake set in New York were considered but rejected.
• Write What You Know: Raymond Allen based the show on his own experiences as a single man (he took the name "Frank Spencer" from a man who regularly showed up at the cinema where he worked to ask inane questions about the films that were playing).
• You Look Familiar: Some of the supporting cast from the 1973 series reappear in different roles in 1978.

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