Our Friend Victoria - Season 1
Season 1
Episodes
Age
In the first of this new six-part series celebrating the comedy of Victoria Wood, long-term friend and collaborator Julie Walters looks at Victoria's take on age and the unforgettable characters she created that spanned generations. Classic clips include Chrissie the long-distance swimmer, dinnerladies, Acorn Antiques, Waitress (aka Two Soups) and 14 Again. Julie is joined by Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Anne Reid, Maxine Peake, Thelma Barlow and Shobna Gulati, who open up about working with Victoria and creating these iconic scenes. Friends and fans, including Michael Ball, Richard E Grant, Aisling Bea, Ted Robbins, Kate Robbins and Harriet Thorpe, pick out their favourite moments and discuss why she's not just their friend but Our Friend Victoria. With rare behind-the-scenes photos from Victoria's personal archive.
People
Richard E Grant presents the second episode looking at how Victoria was a master at observation and people watching. Classic comedy sketches include Kimberley's friend, Jim Broadbent's fabulous Northern playwright, Susie Blake's unforgettable continuity announcer, Celia Imrie's oh-so-posh Miss Babs from Acorn Antiques and Patricia Routledge's extraordinary monologues as Kitty. All this along with appearances from Julie Walters and Michael Ball as well as rare behind-the-scenes photos from her personal archive.
Sex
Michael Ball presents the third installment, which looks at Victoria's refreshingly candid views on sex and relationships and her unique ability to say what we were all thinking when it came to romance, dating, getting it or not getting it.
Michael guides us through a selection of classic clips including stand-up from the Albert Hall; Victoria's spoof documentary, Mr Right; Italian Restaurant and Family Planning from As Seen On TV; and standout moments from her multi-award winning sitcom, dinnerladies. He is joined by Duncan Preston and Anne Reid who reveal how some of Victoria's most memorable comedy moments were created.
Former cast mates Maxine Peake and Shobna Gulati recall filming the hilarious bedhopping antics of their characters in dinnerladies. Michael rounds off the show by introducing a song from the archives, but not just any song - this is one of Victoria's most famous, The Ballad of Barry and Freda.
Appearance
Maxine Peake guides through a selection of classic comedy that sums up Vic's views on the diet and health industry. There are standout clips from the dinnerladies bemoaning the size of their buttocks, an unforgettable aerobics class called Fattitude, Marjorie and Joan's top tips for a perfect tan, and a bonkers but sublime sketch called The Shoe Shop. Julie Walters and Celia Imrie are on hand to ponder Acorn Antiques' transformation into a health spa, while Duncan Preston reveals the sheer pain he endured when faced with a wrinkly gusset.
TV
The League of Gentlemen (Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith) present this episode, which explores Victoria's take on television. Victoria was a self-confessed TV addict, and she would watch anything and everything - in fact, the worse the programmes were, the more she enjoyed them. She laughed at the sheer nonsense of the TV world before turning it on itself by creating some of the most groundbreaking parodies ever seen. This episode looks at a typical day of TV from Victoria's unique perspective. Classic clips include banal TV presenters Marjorie and Joan and Sally and Martin, Acorn Antiques and Vic's pitch-perfect pastiche of a 1960s episode of Coronation Street. The League of Gentlemen also look at Victoria's pioneering mockumentaries that changed the comedy landscape.
Fame
Daniel Rigby presents the final instalment, looking at Victoria's rise to fame, from performances on That's Life to early sketches from Wood and Walters, before success with As Seen on TV. Classic clips include Kitty, Carl and Gail and Susie Blake's continuity announcer. We also look back at Victoria's fantastic Acorn Antiques, plus the legendary Making of... and the rarely seen Beyond the Marigolds. Contributions come from Julie Walters, Mark Gatiss, Michael Ball and Maxine Peake.
Recently Updated Shows
Revival
Revival is set on one miraculous day in rural Wisconsin when the recently deceased suddenly rise from their graves. But this is no zombie story as the "revived" appear and act just like they once were. When local Officer and single mother Dana Cypress is unexpectedly thrown into the center of a brutal murder mystery of her own, she's left to make sense of the chaos amidst a town gripped by fear and confusion where everyone, alive or undead, is a suspect.
The Morning Show
Nominated for three Golden Globes®, this unapologetically candid drama looks at the modern workplace through the lens of the people who help America wake up. Pull back the curtain on early morning TV.
Grantchester
Eavesdropping on the life of Sidney Chambers, a charismatic, charming, crime-fighting clergyman, and his partner in crime Police Inspector Geordie Keating, became a highlight for the audience who revelled in their on screen partnership. Geordie's plain-speaking, down to earth approach to policing complemented Sidney's more gentle technique of coaxing information from witnesses and suspects. Their unlikely pairing became a true friendship as each offered a different insight into the crimes they unravelled.
Mayor of Kingstown
Mayor of Kingstown is set in a small Michigan town where the only industry remaining are federal, state, and private prisons, the story follows the McLusky family, the power brokers between the police, criminals, inmates, prison guards and politicians, in a city completely dependent on prisons and the prisoners they contain. It is a stark and brutal look at the business of incarceration.
The Ark
The Ark takes place 100 years in the future when planetary colonization missions have begun as a necessity to help secure the survival of the human race. The first of these missions on a spacecraft known as Ark One encounters a catastrophic event causing massive destruction and loss of life. With more than a year left to go before reaching their target planet, a lack of life-sustaining supplies and loss of leadership, the remaining crew must become the best versions of themselves to stay on course and survive.