Dinnerladies

It's hard to believe that it's almost 20 years since the BBC comedy, Dinnerladies, was first broadcast - it seems as fresh today as it did back in 1998. The sitcom is set for renewed interest after BBC chiefs announced a new TV documentary - based on Victoria Wood's previously unseen diaries written during the filming of Dinnerladies.

The comedian, singer, writer and actress who died of cancer at the age of 62 in April 2016, wrote, co-produced and starred in Dinnerladies, which was broadcast from 1998 to 2000. It featured a famous ensemble cast and rich dialogue that created a real affection for the collection of ordinary and even dowdy characters.

In September, BBC bosses announced that a three-part series entitled Dinnerladies Diaries was to be filmed. This will be based on notebooks and diaries written by Wood at the time she was starring in the sitcom as Brenda Furlong, manager of a Manchester canteen.

As producer of the new show, Iain Coyle described the diaries as containing "extraordinary material" and expressed his delight that they had been uncovered, adding they would give viewers a unique insight into how one of Britain's best-loved shows was made. None of them have ever been seen before.

Wood shot to fame in the 1980s, thanks to her television sketches that included the mini-sitcom set in an antiques shop, Acorn Antiques, in which Wood starred with Julie Walters - her long-time comedy partner. She won five BAFTA awards including Best Actress for her acclaimed drama, 'Housewife, 49' - a 2006 television film on ITV. She also received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2014 and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's 2008 birthday honours.

The new three-part documentary series, which will be broadcast on the Gold TV channel, will also feature interviews with the Dinnerladies cast and backstage photographs.

The canteen in Dinnerladies was a backdrop for the characters' relationships, personal tragedies and dilemmas, with Wood's character "Bren" solving her workmates' problems, while struggling to overcome her own hardships. The individual characters coped with problems in a brave and dignified manner, with the gentle comedy often having a bittersweet undercurrent that endeared the stars to the viewing public.

Bren has a difficult relationship with her wacky mother Petula (Julie Walters), as she was placed in foster care as a child. Petula seems to visit only when she wants a favour or to borrow money. She pretends to be a close friend of the rich and famous but in reality, she lives in a caravan behind a petrol station.

Bren has feelings for the canteen manager Tony, played by Andrew Dunn, which are reciprocated, but they don't get together until the second series. He is very funny, but deep down is a shy man. However, it's a happy ending for the duo, as they move to Scotland together at the end of the final series.

Viewers will spot two former Coronation Street stars in the cast: social climber Dolly (Thelma Barlow who played dithering Mavis Wilton in the Street) is rather catty and a social climber who frowns on bad language and risqué behaviour. Pleasant but rather dim Anita (Shobna Gulati who played Sunita Alahan in the soap) is desperate for a family and children but panics when she accidentally falls pregnant, eventually leaving the baby with a note attached asking Bren to look after him!

The series demonstrated Wood's amazing ability to create almost poetic dialogue, allowing Dinnerladies to rise above the traditional sitcom to win the Best Comedy title at the 2000 British Comedy Awards.

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