- No Commitments
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No Commitments Genre Comedy-drama Running time 30 minutes Country 
United KingdomLanguages English Home station BBC Radio 4 Starring Rosemary Leach
Nicola Pagett
Angela Thorne
Celia Imrie
Josie Lawrence
Felicity Montagu
Lisa Coleman
Jonathan Coy
Bill NighyCreators Simon Brett Writers Simon Brett Producers Paul Schlesinger
Anne Jobson
Maria Esposito
Simon BrettAir dates 9 January 1992 to 16 May 2007 No. of series 13 No. of episodes 78 Audio format Stereophonic sound Website BBC website No Commitments is a comedy radio drama written by Simon Brett, broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It portrays the day-to-day lives of three very different sisters.
Contents
Main characters
- Anna is the eldest and most level-headed of the three sisters. Having cared for her father for some years, on his death she inherited the family home. Generally happy and contented with life, she suddenly finds herself free to put herself first for once, now she genuinely has No Commitments, despite her sisters' belief that she requires their assistance in managing her personal life. She works as receptionist to Eddie, a dentist.
- Victoria lives out her rôle as the middle class housewife in Beckenham, a London suburb. With her long-suffering financial director husband Roger, and their three children, Emily, Harriet and Benjy, she tries to maintain the family's social reputation, at all costs. Emily (who over time grows from a child to a young mother) finds her aunt Anna a more sympathetic confidante than her mother.
- Charlotte is the youngest sister, and longs to be a famous actress. Lacking somewhat in both talent and self-awareness, she stumbles from one small acting rôle to the next, finally finding a small amount of success in a hardly-known television soap opera. She seems to progress through serial lovers at about the same rate, often with the expectation that the casting couch will lead to the bed, or vice versa. She has one daughter, Gisele, the result of a brief marriage to an Australian actor, who has more success in her parents' profession.
Cast and crew
Regular Cast
- Anna - Rosemary Leach
- Victoria
- Nicola Pagett (series 1-5)
- Angela Thorne (series 6-13)
- Charlotte
- Celia Imrie (series 1, 3-6, 10, 12)
- Josie Lawrence (series 2)
- Felicity Montagu (series 11, 13)
- Roger
- Stephen Moore (series 1)
- Roger Lloyd-Pack (series 2)
- Jonathan Coy (series 3, 4, 12, 13)
- Bill Nighy (series 5, 6, 10, 11)
- Eddie - James Greene
- Delia (series 1) - Maxine Audley
- Emily
- Lisa Coleman (series 2-4, 6, 10-13)
- Natalie Walter (series 5)
- Nick - Kieran Hill (series 10-13)
Production
- Music - Elizabeth Parker of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
- Producer
- Paul Schlesinger (series 1, 2)
- Anne Jobson (series 3, 4)
- Maria Esposito (series 5, 6)
- Simon Brett (series 10-13)
Episode list
Series Episode Title First broadcast Additional cast 1 1 Sisters Of Mercy 9 January 1992 2 Empty Vessels 16 January 1992 Patrick - Andrew Wincott 3 A Nice Civilized Evening 23 January 1992 Dr Fenton - Benjamin Whitrow, Melvyn - Ronald Herdman, The Two Hilarys - Mark Straker, Theresa Streatfeild 4 Cracks In The Varnish 30 January 1992 Malcolm - Robert Bathurst, Dr Radford - Peter Penry-Jones, Georgio - Nicholas Murchie 5 Old Embers 6 February 1992 Guy - David Swift, Wilson - Neil Roberts 6 A Complete Break 13 February 1992 Patrick - Nicholas Murchie, Mrs Motson - Alison Reid 2 1 Frail Memorials 29 July 1993 Judy - Theresa Gallagher, John Lassiter - Dominic Letts, Jeremy - Ronald Herdman 2 Bright Lights 5 August 1993 Jeremy - Ronald Herdman, Georgio - Dominic Letts 3 The Big Break 12 August 1993 Dan - Andrew Wincott, Terry - Theresa Gallagher 4 Bed And Breakfast 19 August 1993 Lady Dunn - Jilly Mears, Gareth - William Osborne, Sir James - Philip Anthony 5 Affair Exchange 26 August 1993 Tim - Simon Treves, Georgio - David Thorpe 6 Twice Bitten 2 September 1993 Gordon - John Baddeley 3 1 Time Shift 24 November 1994 Will - David Antrobus, Georgio - Michael Tudor-Barnes 2 Material Values 1 December 1994 3 Talking Shop 8 December 1994 Lallie - Rachel Atkins 4 An Ill Wind 15 December 1994 5 Seasonal Adjustment 22 December 1994 Tibor - Jonathan Keeble 6 A Man Who Cares 29 December 1994 Pete - Derek Waring, Derek - Ian Masters 4 1 A Nip In The Air 24 July 1996 Burton - Kim Wall 2 Educated Guesswork 31 July 1996 3 Faith, Hope And Very Little Charity 7 August 1996 4 One Gets Better 14 August 1996 Harriet - Kelda Holmes 5 Not A Leg To Stand On 21 August 1996 6 Two At A Time 28 August 1996 Martin - Geoffrey Whitehead, Jason - Joshua Towb 5 1 Family Business 9 July 1998 2 Who You Know 16 July 1998 3 Charity Begins At Home 23 July 1998 Imelda - Buffy Davis, Des Kitchin - Dave Lamb 4 Surprise Surprise 30 July 1998 5 Running In The Family 6 August 1998 Nigel - Jon Glover 6 Rallying Round 13 August 1998 Stuart - Edward de Souza 6 1 Make My Day 14 July 1999 Stuart - Edward de Souza, Rupert - Christian Rodska 2 Excess Baggage 21 July 1999 Stuart - Edward de Souza, Claudia - Joanna Monro 3 Making It Better 28 July 1999 Mark - Will Ing 4 Retiring Types 4 August 1999 5 Spreading Wings 11 August 1999 the secretary - Jane Gibson, the waiter - Alan Cowan 6 Growing Away 18 August 1999 7 1 Supporting Parts 31 January 2001 2 A Family Lunch 7 February 2001 3 Soft Soap 14 February 2001 4 Reflected Glory 21 February 2001 5 The Wedding Party 28 February 2001 6 Soap Bubbles 7 March 2001 8 1 Fresh Starts 2 January 2002 2 New Age Differences 9 January 2002 3 My Turn Now 16 January 2002 4 Wanderlust 23 January 2002 5 Impossibly High Standards 30 January 2002 6 All Roads Lead To Rome 6 February 2002 9 1 Ill Of The Dead 1 January 2003 2 Changing Lives 8 January 2003 3 Imaginary Friends 15 January 2003 4 Meeting The Family 22 January 2003 5 Houseroom 29 January 2003 6 Coming Clean 5 February 2003 10 1 The Real World 28 January 2004 2 Rules Of Engagement 4 February 2004 Mrs Pinchbeck - Sheila Mitchell, the vicar - Richard Syms 3 Time With The Family 11 February 2004 Brian - James Vaughan, Kathryn - Bridget McConnel 4 A Bride Too Far 18 February 2004 5 A Marriage Of Inconvenience 25 February 2004 6 The Ring Cycle 3 March 2004 11 1 Accentuate The Positive 19 January 2005 2 Foreign Affairs 26 January 2005 3 A Life More Ordinary 2 February 2005 Derek - Roland Davies 4 Hard Times 9 February 2005 Lydia Grucock - Richenda Carey, George - Bruce Alexander 5 Taking Chances 16 February 2005 Melissa - Judy Flynn 6 Ill Winds 23 February 2005 Melissa - Judy Flynn 12 1 Settling Down 26 April 2006 French voice - Marianne Borgo 2 Darling Daughters 3 May 2006 Jeff - Stephen Thorne 3 Misalliances 10 May 2006 Paddy - Bill Wallace 4 Upstaging 17 May 2006 Brian - James Vaughan, Kathryn - Bridget McConnel 5 Soft Soap 24 May 2006 Jeff - Stephen Thorne, Mr Darnley - Colin Starkey, George - Bruce Alexander, Felicity Titterill - Susan Jameson 6 Game, Set And Match 31 May 2006 French voice - Marianne Borgo 13 1 Age Differences 11 April 2007 Max - Jon Glover 2 Old School 18 April 2007 George - Bruce Alexander, Stranks, PW - Chris Emmett 3 Model Behaviour 25 April 2007 George - Bruce Alexander, Felicity - Susan Jameson, Moira - Joanna Munro 4 A Voice from the Past 2 May 2007 Brian - James Vaughan, Kathryn - Bridget McConnell, Patrick - Michael Simkins 5 Blue Rabbits 9 May 2007 Patrick - Michael Simkins 6 New Beginnings 16 May 2007 George - Bruce Alexander External links
Categories:- BBC radio programmes
- BBC radio comedy programmes
- 1992 radio programme debuts
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