Wood and Walters

Infobox British television
show_name = Wood And Walters


size = 250px]
caption = Victoria Wood and Julie Walters in Wood And Walters, Granada Television, 1982
format = Comedy
picture_format =
runtime = 25 minutes per episode
creator = Victoria Wood
starring = Victoria Wood
Julie Walters
John Dowie
Rik Mayall
Michael Angelis
Roger Brierley
Jill Summers
Duncan Preston
channel = ITV
Pilot = January 1, 1981
first_aired = January 1, 1981
last_aired = 21 February, 1982
num_series = 1
num_episodes = 7
Pilot producer = Peter Eckersley
Series producer = Brian Armstrong
related =
imdb_id = 0289836
tv_com_id = 10913

Wood and Walters is a British television comedy sketch show starring Julie Walters and Victoria Wood for Granada Television and written entirely by Wood. The show was short-lived, with one pilot in 1981 and a series of six shows in 1982.

Background

Both women had first met at Manchester Polytechnic in 1970, Wood was hoping to enroll, and Walter was coming to the end of her course. They met again in 1978 when they both appeared in the same revue In At The Death at The Bush Theatre in London. [cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/w/woodandwalters_7776955.shtml|title=BBC Comedy Guide on Wood And Walters|Publisher=BBC|date=2007-03-20]

Wood had been initially spotted by Granada’s head of drama, Peter Eckersley, performing in her self-written play "Talent" at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre, who asked her to recreate it for television (his widow is actress Anne Reid, who would go on to appear as Jean in Wood’s 1998 sitcom dinnerladies). [cite web|url=http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/reviews/tm_objectid=17662378&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=hindsight-works-wonders-for-this-versatile-actress-name_page.html|title=Birmingham IC interview with Anne Reid|Publisher=Birmingham IC|date=2007-03-20] . The TV version of "Talent" and it’s sequel "Nearly A Happy Ending", would also co-star Walters. [cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/578938/index.html|title=Screenonline Victoria Wood profile|Publisher=Screenonline|date=2007-03-20]

Pilot – Wood and Walters: Two Creatures Great and Small

* Broadcast 1 January 1981In 1980, Eckersley offered Wood a sketch show of her own. But Wood agreed only on the understanding that her friend received equal billing, not feeling confident enough as yet to go it alone. Wood had in fact only ever written one sketch three years earlier before being given her own show. She fell back on songs, which she felt was her strength, the pilot contained four in 30 minutes. The sketches concerned themselves with Marriage Guidance Council, keep fit classes, DIY and gossip. Wood hated the finished result, so was very surprised that the show was nominated for a BAFTA alongside The Two Ronnies, Kenny Everett and Stanley Baxter (who won). [1]

This wasn’t the first sketch show that Victoria Wood could have appeared in. She had already turned down the female role in the satirical sketch show Not The Nine O’Clock News in 1979. [cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/n/notthenineoclock_7774885.shtml|title=BBC Comedy Guide on Not The Nine O’Clock News|Publisher=BBC|date=2007-03-20]

A third Wood play with Walters was made between the pilot and series for Granada. Like Wood and Walters, "Happy Since I Met You" also contained an appearance from another long term Wood collaborator Duncan Preston [cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/578938/index.html|title=Screenonline Victoria Wood profile|Publisher=Screenonline|date=2007-03-20]

Series – Wood and Walters

* Broadcast 1 January 1982 - 21 February 1982For the series a year later, the ‘Two Creatures Great and Small’ adjunct had been dropped, as critics going on about Wood’s weight had been beginning to get to her [2] (though she did also say later she was delighted that she was once described as ‘dominating the stage like a witty tank’). [cite web|url=http://www2.prestel.co.uk/cello/HadItUpToHere.htm|title=Had It Up To Here|Publisher=Robert England|date=2007-03-20]

The show was not a happy experience as in the intervening time since the pilot, the shows producer (and Wood’s mentor) Peter Eckersley had died of cancer. It was a terrible blow to Wood, she said “he had lots of ideas for the series…but he never told me what they were. His value to me was inestimable. He had a marvellous eye for what was unnecessary and great attention to detail. He had liked the first material for the series but never saw any of the other stuff.” Wood was not impressed by his replacement for the series, Brian Armstrong, and was of the opinion that he had hired several unsuitable actors." [3]

The studio audience was generally filled with pensioners who often had difficulty in understand Wood’s refined humour. Before one sketch, the warm up man had to explain to them what a boutique was. Wood said she heard one disgusted audience member say to her friend: ‘You realise we’re missing Brideshead for this’. [4]

Sketches for Wood and Walters included
* [http://www2.prestel.co.uk/cello/TheWomanwith740Children.htm The Woman With 740 Children] , in which Wood played a woman who overdosed on a fertility drug. Much to her surprise, Granada hired 70 babies to appear in the sketch. [5]
* [http://www2.prestel.co.uk/cello/GirlsTalking.htm ‘Girl Talking’] was an expert parody of social realist documentaries, and
* [http://www2.prestel.co.uk/cello/Northerners.htm ‘Northerners’] was a song parodying stereotypes of the North of England.

A regular character on the show was Dotty played by Walters, a monologue by a busybody middle classed housewife discussing all matters national and trivial, such as in the sketch [http://www2.prestel.co.uk/cello/DottyonWomensLib.htm ‘Dotty on Women’s Lib’] . As a character she shares many similarities with a later Wood creation ‘Kitty’ (as played by Patricia Routledge).

Rik Mayall also appeared in a one-off monologue as a chauvinistic feminist called Mitch. Filling a similar guest slot as he had with Kevin Turvey in the sketch show A Kick Up the Eighties. [cite web|url=http://www.orangeneko.com/Rik/library/letshearitfor.htm |title=Rik Mayall interview, 1982|Publisher=Chortle|date=2007-03-20] Another alternative comedy innovator to appear on the show was John Dowie, who had already toured with Wood in 1978 [cite web|url=http://old.chortle.co.uk/comics/comics.html?http&&&old.chortle.co.uk/comics/vwood.html|title=Chortle profile of Victoria Wood|Publisher=Chortle|date=2007-03-20]

“Some bits of it were good, some deadly” is Wood’s view of the series. [6]

Around this time, Wood made a weekly musical appearance in the BBC Radio 2 show The Little and Large Party, narrated an Arts Council film on the pantomime dame and was profiled in the schools programme ‘Scene’. [cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/w/woodandwalters_7776955.shtml|title=BBC Comedy Guide on Wood And Walters|Publisher=BBC|date=2007-03-20] . Walters would also appear with Michael Angelis in 1982 as his wife in Alan Bleasdale’s Boys from the Blackstuff.

"Wood and Walters" place in British comedy history can be seen as that of a dry run for the more popular and acclaimed "Victoria Wood As Seen On TV". Sharing some elements of that show, such as pseudo-documentaries, songs, sketches, Walters and Preston.

The enitre series is being released by Network DVD on 27th October 2008. Whether this will include the pilot remains to be seen.

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/w/woodandwalters_7776955.shtml BBC Comedy Guide to Wood And Walters]
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1224509/index.html Screenonline on Wood And Walters]
* [http://www2.prestel.co.uk/cello/Toddlers.htm Script of ‘Toddlers’ ]

Notes

References

* [1] (cite book|author=Brandwood, Neil| title=Victoria Wood – The Biography (page 99)| publisher=Ted Smart| year=2002| id=ISBN 1-85227-982-6)
* [2] (cite book|author=Brandwood, Neil| title=Victoria Wood – The Biography (page 104)| publisher=Ted Smart| year=2002| id=ISBN 1-85227-982-6)
* [3] (cite book|author=Brandwood, Neil| title=Victoria Wood – The Biography (page 103)| publisher=Ted Smart| year=2002| id=ISBN 1-85227-982-6)
* [4] (cite book|author=Brandwood, Neil| title=Victoria Wood – The Biography (page 104)| publisher=Ted Smart| year=2002| id=ISBN 1-85227-982-6)
* [5] (cite book|author=Brandwood, Neil| title=Victoria Wood – The Biography (page 105)| publisher=Ted Smart| year=2002| id=ISBN 1-85227-982-6).
* [6] (cite book|author=Brandwood, Neil| title=Victoria Wood – The Biography (page 106)| publisher=Ted Smart| year=2002| id=ISBN 1-85227-982-6)