Wood and Walters 2 - Victoria Wood and Julie Walters - ITV, 1982

When I first got a VCR in 1982, I was at Manchester University. One of the first shows I recorded was Wood and Walters, filmed in front of an audience of mainly pensioners for whom many of the nuances went over their heads. I became a huge fan of Victoria Wood from that point onwards, especially after seeing her stand-up in a smallish venue at the 1983 Edinburgh Fringe. It was the brilliance of the writing that I admired so much - and the songwriting. There are many brilliant songs in this series - some of which I will upload separately - some funny, but some serious too. Made Your Breakfast This Morning is one of the most poignant lyrics ever about losing a loved one.

This is Episode 2 of the one-off series.

Apologies for the picture quality - that was the best my aerial allowed me in the dilapidated farmhouse I lived in as a final year student. There may be the odd audio glitch too. Other episodes will follow in the coming weeks.

Here is some more info about the series, courtesy of Wikipedia:
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 appear as Jean in Wood's 1998 sitcom dinnerladies). The TV version of Talent and its sequel Nearly a Happy Ending, would also co-star Walters.

After she had turned down the female role in the satirical sketch show Not the Nine O'Clock News in 1979, Eckersley offered Wood a sketch show of her own in 1980. However, Wood agreed only on the understanding that Walters 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 for Best Light Entertainment Programme.

The show was not a happy experience as, in the intervening time since the pilot, the show's producer (and Wood's mentor) Peter Eckersley had died of cancer. It was a terrible blow to Wood who 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.

The studio audience was generally filled with pensioners who often had difficulty understanding 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".

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