I somehow managed to miss this ITV series until now; it must have been shown here at some point but I can't recall seeing it.
I found the DVD series at our (excellent) local library and we have been watching them as a family. They are enjoyable and clever. Elaine Stritch is someone I can respect from a distance but she is usually too much to take. She has a sort of cult following here but I don't like that type of over-the-top carrying on. But here she is more than matched by Donald Sinden and the whole thing works very well, as they develop an immediate rapport.
Very nice scene: Stritch takes Sinden to have his sprained ankle taken care of, and runs up against a young Penelope Keith - who is more than her match as well.