Second Thoughts (TV series)

Second Thoughts is a British comedy television programme that ran from 3 May 1991 to 14 October 1994. It was broadcast on the ITV network and made by the ITV company LWT. It was followed by a sequel, Faith in the Future. Second Thoughts followed the lives of two middle-aged divorcees, Bill MacGregor and Faith Greyshott, from very different backgrounds trying to develop a relationship, despite the pressures pulling it apart (namely Faith's two teenage children and Bill's devious ex-wife Liza, who works alongside him).

Second Thoughts was based upon the real-life relationship of the writers, husband and wife Jan Etherington and Gavin Petrie. It originally aired as a radio series on BBC Radio 4 broadcast between 1 November 1988 and 23 July 1992. The radio series consisted of four series and a Christmas special broadcast in 1992 with a total of 31 episodes. The radio scripts were used for the television series on ITV. The fifth series was considered weaker than the first four series; it was the only series not to be based on the original radio scripts.

Second Thoughts ended on 14 October 1994, but has since been repeated on ITV3. The original radio series was often replayed on BBC7.

Characters

• Bill Macgregor (James Bolam) - An art editor of a style magazine where he works alongside his bitchy ex-wife Liza.

• Faith Grayshot (Lynda Bellingham) - Faith is a freelance illustrator who occasionally does work for the style magazine Bill works for.
  She has two teenagers from her previous marriage, Hannah and Joe. The children and the dog often come before Bill.

• Liza Macgregor (sometimes known as Liza Ferrari) (Belinda Lang) - Bill's ex-wife, Liza is a histrionic woman with expensive tastes.
  Liza works for the same magazine as Bill and is constantly interfering with Bill and Faith's relationship.

• Hannah Grayshot (Julia Sawalha) - Faith's teenage daughter and eldest child.

• Joe Grayshot (Mark Denham) - Faith's teenage son. Joe is obsessed with football and only shows interest in girls when they like football.

• Hilary (Louisa Rix in series 1; Paddy Navin in series 2 and 3) - Faith's best friend who is unlucky in love.

• Richard (Geoffrey Whitehead) - Bill's boss at the magazine. Richard is married to Marjorie, but having an affair with Liza.

• Marjorie (Georgina Melville)

• Callum (Ian Henderson) - Bill's cousin.

• Defor the Dog (Levi)

Episode guide

Series 1: 1991

Series 2: 1992

Series 3: 1992-1993

Series 4: 1993

Series 5: 1994

DVD releases

All five series of Second Thoughts have been released on DVD. The first series was released in June 2005, but there was a 6-year gap before the second series was released on 11 July 2011. (During the gap, Network DVD was busy sorting out and planning release schedules on other TV shows.) The third series was released just 4 months later, on 7 November 2011, followed by the fourth series on 16 January 2012, and the fifth and final series on 5 March 2012, with a complete series set ("consisting of all five series together") to follow.

External links

• Radio episode guide
• Second Thoughts at the British Comedy Guide
• Second Thoughts at the Internet Movie Database