The Perfect Match (1995 film)

Last updated

The Perfect Match
Genre Comedy drama
Written by Mike Bullen
Directed by Nick Hurran
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Production
Producers
Running time77 minutes
Original release
Release6 September 1995 (1995-09-06)

The Perfect Match is a British comedy-drama television film written by Mike Bullen and directed by Nick Hurran. It stars Saskia Reeves and Con O'Neill as Bridget and Phil, a couple whose marriage proposal is broadcast to football fans. It was first broadcast on the ITV network on 6 September 1995. The programme was not well received by critics but it was enough of a success for producers Granada Television to ask Bullen for further ideas, leading to the commissioning of the long-running television series Cold Feet .

Contents

Plot

Manchester United supporter Phil (Con O'Neill) proposes to his girlfriend Bridget (Saskia Reeves) on the big screen at Wembley during the FA Cup Final. They soon become minor national celebrities, attracting the attention of the tabloid newspaper The Sun and television presenter Keith Chegwin. The public frenzy leads Bridget to decide not to marry Phil. The two eventually reconcile and marry out of the public eye.

Production

Believing that there was nothing on British television for people in his age group that was not a soap opera or a costume drama, screenwriter Mike Bullen wrote the script for The Perfect Match. He secured an agent, who managed to sell the script on spec to Andy Harries, controller of comedy at Granada Television. [1] Harries described the writing as "impressive—cleverly constructed dialogue, very funny, well observed" [2] and commissioned it as part of his drive to move away from making traditional-style sitcoms. [2] Bullen described the moment he walked onto the set of The Perfect Match as "gobsmacking […] wandering around a room which had previously only existed in my head". [1]

Filming took place at Wembley Stadium during the 1995 FA Cup Final between Everton and Manchester United. [3]

Reception

The Perfect Match was broadcast on the ITV network on 6 September 1995.

Jaci Stephen in the Daily Mirror wrote "The Perfect Match didn't quite come off. The idea was good enough, but the writing was too cliche-ridden to do justice to it. The interfering mother is a well-known comic figure, and Mike Bullen's script added nothing to the caricature to make a unique character. The tabloid journalist was also a cliche […] The romantic lines could have come straight out of Mills And Boon […] It was watchable enough, and there were lovely performances from the central characters. Tighter script editing, however, could have turned a good drama into an outstanding one." [4]

The Perfect Match also screened at the 1995 Cologne Film Festival, where it was a prizewinner. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITV Granada</span> Channel 3 regional service for North West England

ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend Television was its weekend counterpart. Granada's parent company Granada plc later bought several other regional ITV stations and, in 2004, merged with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc.

Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premiere special of the same name. The series follows three couples experiencing the ups-and-downs of romance, originally Adam Williams and Rachel Bradley, Pete and Jenny Gifford and Karen and David Marsden. As the original series progressed, the Giffords divorced and Pete married Jo Ellison, whilst Karen and David also separated, forming relationships with Mark Cubitt and Robyn Duff.

The 2002 British Academy Television Awards were held on Sunday 21 April 2002. The ceremony was hosted by the television presenter Chris Tarrant and broadcast on ITV the following day.

Clive Tyldesley is an English television sports broadcaster. He was ITV's senior football commentator from 1998 until 2020. In that role, he led the ITV commentary team at five World Cups and five European Championships and was lead commentator on seventeen UEFA Champions League finals and nine FA Cup finals for ITV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITV Studios</span> Television production company

ITV Studios Limited is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is based in 12 countries across 60 production labels, with local production offices in the UK, US, Belgium, Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Israel, France, Spain and Scandinavia.

Michael J. Bullen is an English screenwriter best known for creating the Granada Television series Cold Feet, which won him the Writer of the Year award at the 2003 British Comedy Awards. He wrote two more series for Granada; Life Begins, which ran for three years, and All About George, which ran for only one. His works have been described as being "about the intricacies of interpersonal relationships and what happens when they break down".

The fifth series of the British comedy drama television series Cold Feet was broadcast on the ITV network from 23 February to 16 March 2003. This was the final series of the drama and while the number of episodes was halved compared to the previous series, the running time was increased from 46 minutes to 72 minutes per episode, necessitating a 95-minute timeslot. The plot of the series follows three couples: Adam and Rachel getting to grips with bringing up baby Matthew, the return of Pete and Jo from their honeymoon, and the subsequent breakdown of their marriage, and the divorce proceedings between Karen and David.

The fourth series of the British comedy drama television series Cold Feet was aired on the ITV network from 18 November to 10 December 2001. Eight episodes were broadcast over four weeks and the final episode was extended to 72 minutes. The plot of the series follows Adam and Rachel trying to have children, the fallout between Karen and David after his affair, and the departure of Jenny. Kimberley Joseph is introduced as Jo Ellison, the new woman in Pete's life; their fast-developing romance leads to their marriage in the eighth episode, set in Sydney.

Christine Langan is an English film producer who was appointed Head of BBC Films in 2009. In 2016, she left the role to become CEO of comedy television production company Baby Cow Productions.

Pilot (<i>Cold Feet</i>) British television pilot directed by Declan Lowney

Cold Feet is a British television pilot directed by Declan Lowney. It stars James Nesbitt and Helen Baxendale as Adam and Rachel, a couple who meet and fall in love, only for the relationship to break down when he gets cold feet. John Thomson, Fay Ripley, Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst appear in supporting roles. The programme was written by Mike Bullen, a BBC radio producer with little screenwriting experience, who was tasked with creating a one-off television production that would appeal to middle-class television audiences, who the executive producer Andy Harries believed were underepresented on British television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Harries</span> British producer (born 1954)

Andrew Harries is chief executive and co-founder of Left Bank Pictures, a UK based production company formed in 2007. In a career spanning four decades he has produced television dramas including The Royle Family,Cold Feet, the revivals of Prime Suspect and Cracker, as well as the BAFTA-winning television play The Deal.

The first series of the British comedy-drama television series Cold Feet was first broadcast on the ITV network from 15 November to 20 December 1998. The six episodes were written by series creator Mike Bullen, produced by Christine Langan, and directed by Declan Lowney, Mark Mylod and Nigel Cole. It follows the award-winning pilot episode, broadcast in 1997. The storylines focus on three couples: Adam Williams and Rachel Bradley, Pete and Jenny Gifford, and David and Karen Marsden. They are played by James Nesbitt, Helen Baxendale, John Thomson, Fay Ripley, Robert Bathurst and Hermione Norris respectively.

The third series of the British comedy-drama television series Cold Feet was first broadcast on the ITV network from 5 November to 26 December 2000. The eight episodes were written by Mike Bullen and David Nicholls, produced by Christine Langan and Spencer Campbell, and directed by Simon Delaney, Jon Jones, and Tim Whitby. The storylines, which focus on three couples, continue from the end of the second series; Adam Williams and Rachel Bradley try to conceive their first child, and get married at the end of the series; Pete and Jenny Gifford have separated after he had an affair with a co-worker. They date different people throughout the series but reconcile in the last episode. After Karen Marsden gives birth to baby twins, her husband David has an affair with a local political activist, which damages their marriage.

Series 4, Episode 8 (<i>Cold Feet</i>) 8th episode of the 4th series of Cold Feet

Series 4, Episode 8 is the final episode of the fourth series of the British comedy-drama television series Cold Feet. It was written by Mike Bullen, directed by Ciaran Donnelly, and was first broadcast on the ITV network on 10 December 2001. The plot follows on directly from the previous episode, as Adam and Rachel, and Karen and David travel to Sydney, Australia for Pete and Jo's impromptu wedding. Adam is sceptical that Pete is truly in love with Jo, and Jo's rich father Rod suspects that Pete is only marrying her to get access to his money. Under pressure from Rod, Pete gets cold feet and he and Jo call off the wedding. The couple soon reconcile and marry with Rod's blessing. Meanwhile, David discovers that Karen has been having an affair with her colleague Mark and ends their marriage, and Rachel gives birth prematurely in a Sydney hospital.

<i>Reunited</i> (TV pilot) British TV series or programme

Reunited is a British television pilot written by Mike Bullen and directed by Simon Delaney. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 30 June 2010.

Rachel Louise Bradley is a fictional character portrayed by Helen Baxendale in the British comedy-drama television series Cold Feet. Rachel is introduced in the pilot episode (1997), where she begins a relationship with Adam Williams. Their relationship has highs and lows throughout the series; Rachel reveals a secret husband in the first series (1998) and has an abortion in the second (1999), which supposedly prevents her from conceiving a child in the future. She and Adam marry in the third series (2000) and are surprised to discover that she is pregnant in the fourth (2001). They both begin raising their child in the fifth series (2003), but Rachel's life is cut short when she is killed in a car crash.

The second series of the British comedy-drama television series Cold Feet was first broadcast on the ITV network from 26 September to 31 October 1999. The six episodes were written by series creator Mike Bullen, produced by Christine Langan, and directed by Tom Hooper, Tom Vaughan and Pete Travis. The storylines focus on three couples: Adam Williams and Rachel Bradley, Pete and Jenny Gifford, and David and Karen Marsden who are played by James Nesbitt, Helen Baxendale, John Thomson, Fay Ripley, Robert Bathurst and Hermione Norris respectively.

<i>Hillsborough</i> (1996 film) 1996 British drama television film by Charles McDougall

Hillsborough is a television film written by Jimmy McGovern and starring Annabelle Apsion, Christopher Eccleston and Ricky Tomlinson. Set between 1989 and 1991, the film is a dramatization of the Hillsborough disaster, which saw 97 football supporters lose their lives at Hillsborough in Sheffield. The film won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Single Drama

This is a timeline of the history of ITV Sport, provider of sports coverage for the British ITV network and ITV Digital Channels.

References

  1. 1 2 Strenske, Bettina (September 1997). "Golden Rose of Montreux for Mike Bullen". London Screenwriters' Workshop. Retrieved on 17 July 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 1998.
  2. 1 2 Carter, Meg (9 November 1998). "On Air: Our friends in the North". The Independent (Independent News & Media): p. 18 (features section).
  3. Jeffries, Stuart (7 September 1995). "Television: Red card for foul play". The Guardian (Guardian Newspapers): p. 32.
  4. Stephen, Jaci (7 September 1995). "Soccer tale fails to hit the target". Daily Mirror (MGN): p. 1 (features section).
  5. "Girls' Night". Berlin Film Festival 1998. Retrieved on 15 May 2011.