Ladies of Letters

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Ladies of Letters is a BBC Radio 4 comedy series starring Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales, based on the series of books of the same name written by Carole Hayman and Lou Wakefield. Routledge stars as Vera Small and Scales as Irene Spencer, two elderly ladies who share a sometimes rocky relationship conducted by correspondence. The success of the first series (broadcast in 1997) spawned adaptations of several sequels: More Ladies of Letters (1999); Ladies of Letters Log On (2000); Ladies of Letters.Com (2001); Ladies of Letters Make Mincemeat (2001 Christmas Special); Ladies of Letters Spring Clean (2004) and Ladies of Letters Go Global (2006). Each of the 15 minute episodes come as part of BBC Radio 4's long running magazine program Woman's Hour.

Vera and Irene reveal their exploits and adventures to each other in their letters, but sometimes their correspondence becomes fractious when one accuses the other of being an alcoholic or engages in too much one-upmanship. Other characters include Vera's son Howard who runs a sheep farm with his partner Anthony, and her daughter Karen, and Irene's daughter Lesley. Vera and Irene always strive to outdo each other, whether with their recipes, holiday destinations or who has the best grand-children. Later in the show's run it is revealed that Irene has another son called Christopher, who had been given up for adoption years previously.

The humour is mostly derived from the lack of insight of the two main protagonists, but there is also a somewhat melancholic theme that lurks just beneath the surface at the way these two women are taken for granted by their respective families. By the end of 2004's Ladies of Letters Spring Clean it is implied that there has been something of a parting of the ways between the women and their kith and kin.

Ladies of Letters Go Global (broadcast January 2006) features a somewhat bizarre and unlikely world tour undertaken by the two women, in contrast to the more naturalistic tone of previous stories. It seems likely that 'Ladies of Letters Go Global' will be the final instalment of the series, as the BBC has announced a CD release of the complete saga as a special 'biscuit tin' release in October 2006 [1]. A small, newly-written, episode was featured as part of the Woman's Hour 60th Anniversary concert in October 2006.

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