HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Bob and Rose
OR:
Bob and Rose on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

''Bob & Rose'' is a
British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...
drama, originally screened in six one-hour episodes on the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
network in the UK in Autumn 2001. It was produced by the independent
Red Production Company Red Production Company is a British independent television production company owned by StudioCanal. Background Red Production Company was formed in 1998 by Nicola Shindler, a television producer who had worked on ''Our Friends in the North'' ...
, and was that company's first prime-time drama for the ITV network. ''Bob & Rose'' was the inspiration for ''Jules & Mimi'', the fictional British television show featured in ''
Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...
''.


Production

The series was written by
Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scie ...
,. who had previously been responsible for the much-discussed
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
drama '' Queer as Folk'', another
Red Production Company Red Production Company is a British independent television production company owned by StudioCanal. Background Red Production Company was formed in 1998 by Nicola Shindler, a television producer who had worked on ''Our Friends in the North'' ...
programme. Bob was played by stand-up comedian and actor
Alan Davies Alan Roger Davies (; born 6 March 1966) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and TV presenter. He is best known for his portrayal of the title role in the BBC mystery drama series ''Jonathan Creek'' (1997–2016) and as the only perm ...
(no relation to writer Russell), who was at the time best known for his lead role in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television mystery series ''
Jonathan Creek ''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the titular character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician while also solvi ...
''. Rose was played by actress
Lesley Sharp Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include ''Clocking Off'' (2000–2001), '' Bob & Rose'' (2001) and ''Afterlife'' (2005–2006). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actres ...
, who was nominated for the BAFTA and Royal Television Society Best Actress awards for the part. Although critically well-received, ''Bob & Rose'' was not a huge success in terms of audience share for ITV, and the final two episodes were relegated from prime-time to later night slots.


Plot

The story follows the life of gay school teacher Bob who is fed up with the shallowness of the gay club scene in Manchester. A romantic at heart, Bob yearns to meet the right person and settle down. After yet another unsuccessful date, he meets Rose while they are both waiting for a taxi cab. Rose is disenchanted with her down-to-earth boyfriend and is smitten with Bob but she does not initially realise he is gay. Subsequent episodes chart their on-off love affair which is bedeviled by the activities of Bob's best friend Holly. Holly (Jessica Hynes) is secretly in love with Bob and does everything she can to quietly interfere with Bob's relationships with men because she does not want to lose him. Privately she is lonely and her only social life is through Bob and the gay clubs he visits. When Rose suddenly appears on the scene Holly sees her as a threat, stalks her and may (or may not – the plot leaves the final matter in doubt) conspire with Bob's former boyfriend Carl to split Bob and Rose up. A situation is created which suggests Bob may have had a one-night stand with Carl and Holly deliberately preys on Rose's insecurities and creates further doubts. Eventually she outright lies to Rose. The story also follows the attempts of Rose's mother to find a reliable boyfriend, and Bob's campaigning mother who runs a fictional gay support group called "Parents Against Homophobia" (PAH!). The series is a gentle romantic comedy with each episode managing to end at an emotional or comic climax – as when Bob follows Rose down the street after they argue in a pub. He admits that their first heterosexual sex act has confused him but he wants to do it again. Equally confused, Rose turns towards the camera and unromantically says: "Oh bollocks!" and the credits roll. The script takes some shrewd looks at emotions and motivations but also contrasts the different atmosphere and attitudes within gay and straight UK night clubs – as in the scene where a straight man cannot get into a straight club wearing trainers but the gay men can enter their club wearing skimpy satin sports clothes. One important scene which explains Bob's disenchantment with the gay clubs comes when he is approached by an attractive man who talks only about physical acts. Bob, desperate to be regarded as an individual replies: "I’m a Capricorn". The series has an up-beat ending which manages to resolve issues for all the main characters - even Holly eventually learns from her mistakes and blossoms into a person in her own right. Bob and Rose find happiness and Carl gets an angelic dream date.


Cast

*
Lesley Sharp Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include ''Clocking Off'' (2000–2001), '' Bob & Rose'' (2001) and ''Afterlife'' (2005–2006). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actres ...
as Rose Cooper *
Alan Davies Alan Roger Davies (; born 6 March 1966) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and TV presenter. He is best known for his portrayal of the title role in the BBC mystery drama series ''Jonathan Creek'' (1997–2016) and as the only perm ...
as Robert Gossage *
Penelope Wilton Dame Penelope Alice Wilton (born 3 June 1946), styled Penelope, Lady Holm between 1998 and 2001, is an English actress. She is known for starring opposite Richard Briers in the BBC sitcom ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' (1984–1989); playing H ...
as Monica Gossage, Bob's mother. *
Jessica Hynes Tallulah Jessica Elina Hynes (''née'' Stevenson; born 30 October 1972) is an English actress, director and writer. Known professionally as Jessica Stevenson until 2007, she was one of the creators, writers and stars of the British sitcom ''Spac ...
as Holly Vance, Bob's best friend. *
Katy Cavanagh Kathryn Sarah Collins Jupe (born 12 December 1973), known professionally as Katy Cavanagh, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Julie Carp in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' from 2008 to 2015. She also had reg ...
as Anita Kendrick *
Siobhan Finneran Siobhán Margaret Finneran (born 27 April 1966) is a British actress. She made her screen debut in the 1987 independent film ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too'', and subsequently worked consistently in television drama including roles in ''Coronation Stre ...
as Marina Marquess * Daniel Ryan as Andy Lewis *
Barbara Marten Barbara Marten (born 3 January 1947) is a British actress. She is most known for playing Eve Montgomery in ''Casualty''. She has appeared in various soaps, including Eastenders and Brookside, as well as many other drama serials such as ''Harry' ...
as Carol Cooper, Rose's mother.


Episodes


Reception


Awards and nominations


Controversy

As with ''Queer as Folk'', ''Bob & Rose'' involved
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
as a key theme. The storyline involves a gay man falling in love with a woman and was loosely based on events in the real life of a friend of Russell T Davies. This storyline caused an uproar among some
gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...
activists who felt that the series premise made it appear as if being gay was a choice or a phase, which then generated a strong counter-reaction by bisexuals who called the criticism unfair. However, the ‘Bob’ character states categorically in the script that he is not bisexual saying: "I was born gay, I’ll die gay and I’ll have a gay gravestone". He says that he was attracted to Rose as a person and not as a gender choice. He says he will ‘always look at men’ but Rose is the only woman for him.


Home media

The entire series of six
episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning t ...
s was released on DVD on 15 April 2002 in the United Kingdom and on 17 February 2004 in the United States. The age certificate for the DVD in the United Kingdom is 15. In 2020, the series was added to
BritBox BritBox is an online digital video subscription service, founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, operating in nine countries across North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.
in the UK. This is, according to Russell T Davies, the first time the series has been made available either in rerun or streaming in the UK due to complex music licensing issues. For release on BritBox, Red Productions replaced most of the music and also edited a key scene involving the viewing of the football match.


References


External links

* * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Bob And Rose 2001 British television series debuts 2001 British television series endings 2000s British drama television series 2000s British LGBT-related drama television series ITV television dramas 2000s British television miniseries Gay-related television shows Male bisexuality in fiction Television series by Red Production Company Television shows written by Russell T Davies Television shows set in Manchester 2000s British sex comedy television series Television series created by Russell T Davies English-language television shows