Barbara (TV series)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the British sitcom. For other uses, see Barbara.

Barbara
Genre	Sitcom
Starring	Gwen Taylor Sam Kelly Benedict Sandiford Sherrie Hewson Elizabeth Carling Mark Benton Madge Hindle John Arthur
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	29
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV
Original run	10 July 1995 – 30 March 2003
Links
IMDb profile

Barbara was a British sitcom starring Gwen Taylor in the title role. A pilot aired in 1995, and three series then aired from 1999 to 2003. It was made by Central Television. Barbara is not currently available on DVD.

Contents 1 Background 2 Cast 2.1 Pilot 2.2 Series 3 Plot 4 Episodes 4.1 Pilot (1995) 4.2 Series One (1999) 4.3 Series Two (2000-01) 4.4 Series Three (2002-03) 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Background

Barbara first aired a pilot within the Comedy Firsts series on 10 July 1995. Four years later, on 27 June 1999 the first of three series aired. Some of the cast and names of the characters changed when the first series aired. Unusually for a British sitcom, Barbara was written by a team of writers; Mark Bussell, Rob Clark, Ramsay Gilderdale, Graham Mark Walker and Justin Sbresni. The successful BBC sitcom My Family has used the same writing method since it first aired in 2000. The second series of Barbara was aired in three parts, while the third series was shown in two parts.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Pilot Gwen Taylor - Barbara Liversage Sam Kelly - Ted Liversage Benedict Sandiford - Neil Liversage Shirley Anne Field - Jean Caroline Milmoe - Linda Benson Glen Davies - Martin Benson Madge Hindle - Doreen John Arthur - Phil

[edit] Series Gwen Taylor - Barbara Liversidge Sam Kelly - Ted Liversidge Benedict Sandiford - Neil Liversidge Sherrie Hewson - Jean Elizabeth Carling - Linda Pond Mark Benton - Martin Pond Madge Hindle - Doreen John Arthur - Phil

[edit] Plot

Barbara Liversidge (spelt Liversage in the pilot) is a no-nonsense nosey middle-aged Yorkshire doctor's receptionist with a sharp tongue. She has been married to her husband Ted, a taxi driver, for 35 years. Their twenty-something lovelorn son Neil does very little. Their daughter, the long-suffering Linda is married to Martin Pond (Benson in the pilot). Martin is a chef in the pilot, while in the three series is a TV presenter who has his own show Pond Life on a local TV channel. Jean is her preening sister who is married to the simpering Phil. Barbara's colleague at the doctor's surgery is Doreen.

Pilot (1995)

1. "Job" (10 Jul 1995)

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Pilot (1995)

• Job (10 Jul 95)

[edit] Series One (1999)

1. Birthday (27 Jun 99)
2. Rivals (4 Jul 99)
3. Amour (11 Jul 99)
4. Friends (18 Jul 99)
5. Coffee (25 Jul 99)
6. Scattering (1 Aug 99)

[edit] Series Two (2000-01)

1. Kids (24 Nov 00)
2. Massage (1 Dec 00)
3. Mum (8 Dec 00)
4. Christening (15 Dec 00)
5. Tyres (22 Dec 00)
6. Fox (24 Dec 00)
7. Sisters (23 Mar 01)
8. Mate (30 Mar 01)
9. Wedding (6 Apr 01)
10. Sheep (24 Jun 01)

[edit] Series Three (2002-03)

1. Queenie (30 Apr 02)
2. Flood (7 May 02)
3. Valentine (11 May 02)
4. Crime (14 May 02)
5. Weekend (21 May 02)
6. Baby (28 May 02)
7. Honeymoon (23 Feb 03)
8. Neighbours (2 Mar 03)
9. Guy Fawkes (9 Mar 03)
10. Kirsty (16 Mar 03)
11. Cottage (28 Mar 03)
12. Who Shot Barbara? (4 Apr 03)

[edit] References

• Mark Lewisohn, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
• British TV Comedy Guide for Barbara

[edit] External links

• Barbara at the Internet Movie Database