Dinnerladies is a British television sitcom created, written and co-produced by Victoria Wood. Two series were broadcast on BBC One from 1998 to 2000, with sixteen episodes in total. The programme is repeated on Gold, and Drama. The complete series was released on DVD in November 2004, and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Victoria Wood was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades and her live comedy act was interspersed with her own compositions which she performed at the piano. Much of her humour was grounded in everyday life and included references to activities, attitudes and products that are considered to exemplify Britain. She was noted for her skills in observational comedy and in satirising aspects of social class.
Dame Julia Mary Walters, known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Olivier Award.
To the Manor Born is a BBC television sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special one-off episode was produced in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by Peter Spence, the creator, while the final episode in 1981 was written by script associate Christopher Bond. The title is a play on the phrase "to the manner born," from Shakespeare's Hamlet
Kate Elizabeth Robbins is an English actress, singer, and songwriter. She came to prominence in the early 1980s when she scored a top ten single on the UK Official Charts with "More Than in Love", while she was appearing in the television soap opera Crossroads. She went on to become a prolific voice actress, most notably for nine years with the satirical show Spitting Image.
Shobna Gulati is a British actress and presenter. Gulati is known for her roles as Anita in dinnerladies, and Sunita Alahan in the soap opera Coronation Street from 2001 to 2013. From 2013 to 2014, Gulati appeared as a panellist on the lunchtime talk show Loose Women. She took over the role of Ray in the West End production of Everybody's Taking About Jamie in 2019 and also reprised the role for the movie adaptation. Most recently, she played the role of Nima in Hullraisers, Mari Hoff in the 2022 UK Tour of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, and is reprising the role of Ray in Everybody's Talking AboutJamie for the 2023-2024 UK and Ireland Tour.
Celia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress and author. She is best known for her film roles, including the Bridget Jones film series, Calendar Girls (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015), The English dub of The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales... (2017), Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), Malevolent (2018) and for the FX TV series Better Things (2016-2022).
Bernard Wrigley is an English singer, actor and comedian. He is sometimes known by the nickname "The Bolton Bullfrog".
Anne Reid is a British stage, film and television actress, known for her roles as Valerie Barlow in the soap opera Coronation Street (1961–1971); Jean in the sitcom dinnerladies (1998–2000); and her role as Celia Dawson in Last Tango in Halifax (2012–2020) for which she was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress. She won the London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the Year and received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the film The Mother (2003).
Maxine Peake is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in dinnerladies, a sitcom on BBC One (1998–2000), as Veronica Ball in Shameless, the comedy drama from Channel 4 (2004–2007), Martha Costello in the BBC One legal drama Silk (2011–2014), and Grace Middleton in the BBC One drama series The Village (2013–2014). In 2017, she starred in the Black Mirror episode "Metalhead". She has also played the title role in Hamlet, as well as the notorious serial killer Myra Hindley in See No Evil: The Moors Murders, the critically acclaimed 2006 dramatisation by ITV of the Moors murders.
Sunita Alahan was a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Shobna Gulati. She made her first screen appearance on 23 March 2001 and remained in the show until 2006, when the character was axed from the serial by producer Tony Wood. In 2009, Sunita returned to Coronation Street as a full-time character, reintroduced by producer Kim Crowther. In November 2012, Gulati announced that she had quit the soap once more, this time permanently. Sunita died on 3 April 2013 as she succumbed to the injuries she sustained during the Rovers Return fire, caused by her illicit ex-lover Karl Munro.
Pat and Margaret is a British television film written by comedian Victoria Wood. The story follows sisters Margaret, a cook, and Pat, a successful actress in the United States, after they are reunited on a television programme after spending 27 years apart. It stars Wood and her frequent comedy partner Julie Walters in the title roles, and features other past collaborators of Wood, including Thora Hird, Celia Imrie and Duncan Preston. First aired in 1994 on BBC One, the film was directed by Gavin Millar and produced by Ruth Caleb.
Anthony Paul Beke, known professionally as Anton Du Beke, is a British ballroom and Latin dancer, author and television presenter, best known for being a professional dancer and a judge on the BBC One celebrity dancing show Strictly Come Dancing. His professional dance partner since 1997 has been Erin Boag.
After You've Gone is a British comedy that aired on BBC One from 12 January 2007 to 21 December 2008. Starring Nicholas Lyndhurst, Celia Imrie, Dani Harmer and Ryan Sampson, After You've Gone was created by Fred Barron, who also created My Family. The writers include Barron, Ian Brown, Katie Douglas, James Hendie, Danny Robins, Andrea Solomons and Dan Tetsell. Three series and two Christmas specials aired, and work on scripts for a fourth series had already begun when the BBC withdrew the commission in November 2008 and cancelled the series.
Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV is a British comedy sketch series written by and starring comedian Victoria Wood, with appearances from Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Susie Blake and Patricia Routledge. The show was televised on BBC2 between 1985 and 1987 and included sketches that became famous in the United Kingdom.
Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast is a 50-minute television comedy special, written by and starring comedian Victoria Wood. It was broadcast on BBC One on Christmas Day 1992.
Lilian "Lill" Roughley is an English actress who has appeared on British television since the 1970s. Her notable roles include Alice in the first series of Mulberry, and as Ella Dawkins in My Hero. In the 1980s and 1990s, Roughley also worked often with Victoria Wood, playing a variety of roles in Wood's various comedy series for the BBC.
Acorn Antiques: The Musical! is a musical about an antiques dealer, based on the parodic soap opera of the same name by Victoria Wood. It premiered in the West End in 2005, and starred Julie Walters and Celia Imrie. The musical won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical and was nominated as Best New Musical.
Victoria Wood's Mid Life Christmas is a comedy sketch show written by and starring comedian Victoria Wood, broadcast on Christmas Eve 2009.
