I recall a bit of mother-centric stuff from my youth. The main 'Mum' on TV seemed back then to be Wendy Craig, who starred as the beleagured, bewildered and slightly-scatty mum in Not in Front of the Children (1967-1970 - 39 episodes of which 31 lost or missing), ...And Mother Makes Three (1971-3), ...And Mother Makes Five (1974-6) and most famously Butterflies (1978-83). He characters and scripts were a clear contrast to the 'Can-Do Mom' trope of US family sitcom.

On the dark side, I recall Mother Love (1989) starring Diana Rigg as a mother whose obsesive love for her son drives her to murder.

It goes without saying that the theme of motherhood - presented mostly by the late Lily Potter and the fiercely alive Molly Weasley -runs right through the Harry Pottter series.But again, we get a wholly different view of mothers in His Dark Materials.

Fascinating stuff!