''Connie'' is a 1985 British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

drama series. Produced by Central Television for the

ITV Network ITV is a British free-to-air public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the ol ...

, it starred

Stephanie Beacham Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English television, film, radio and theatre actress. Although she has a wide number of credits to her name, Beacham is best known for for playing Sable Colby in the ABC soap operas ''The Colbys' ...

in the title role. 13 episodes were made which were shown throughout the summer of 1985.

Series history

Written by Ron Hutchinson as a dry commentary on

Thatcherite Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and general style of manag ...

values in the 1980s, the series was set in the East Midlands

garment industry Clothing industry or garment industry summarizes the types of trade and industry along the production and value chain of clothing and garments, starting with the textile industry (producers of cotton, wool, fur, and synthetic fibre), embellishmen ...

and tells the story of a woman returning to the United Kingdom from Greece after eight years in self-imposed exile. She is determined to claw back control of her chain of high street clothes shops that are now controlled by her stepsister, and also get her foot back into the "House of Bea", a family-owned garment factory run by her father and stepmother, which is now losing money. The series is chiefly memorable for the high-octane performance of

as the eponymous Connie, snarling her way through such camp, metaphorical 1980s

capitalistic Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private pr ...

dialogue as "My spoon is going into the gravy, my snout is going into the trough. I'm having some of that." It was partly on the strength of ''Connie'' that Beacham won the role of Sable in ''

The Colbys ''The Colbys'' (originally titled ''Dynasty II: The Colbys'') is an American prime time television soap opera that originally aired on ABC from November 20, 1985, to March 26, 1987. Created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and Eileen and Robert ...

'', the spin-off series from the American primetime soap opera ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'', which subsequently led to a high-profile career for her in American television. Other notable castmembers in the series included

Pam Ferris Pamela Ferris (born 11 May 1948) is a Welsh actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including ''Connie'' (1985), '' The Darling Buds of May'' (1991–1993), '' Where the Heart Is'' (1997–2000), ''Rosemary & Thyme'' ...

as Connie's conniving stepsister Nesta,

George Costigan George J. Costigan (born 8 August 1947) is an English actor who is best known for portraying Bob in the 1987 film ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too'' and for roles in TV series such as '' Happy Valley'' and '' So Haunt Me''. Early life Born in Portsmouth ...

as her ex-husband Arnie,

Richard Morant Richard Morant (30 October 1945 – 9 November 2011) was an English actor. Biography Morant was born in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. His father was the Shakespearean actor Philip Morant (1909–1993). His sister is the actress Angela ...

as her new love interest David Jamieson,

Brenda Bruce Brenda Bruce OBE (7 July 1919Some sources cite 17 July 1919. – 19 February 1996) was an English actress. She was focused on the theatre, radio, film and television. Career Bruce was born in Prestwich, Lancashire in 1919, and started her ...

as her stepmother Bea and Paul Rogers as Hector, Connie's father. Actor

Ronald Lacey Ronald William Lacey (28 September 1935 – 15 May 1991) was an English actor. He made numerous television and film appearances over a 30-year period. His roles included Harris in ''Porridge'' (1977), Frankie in the Bud Spencer comedy '' Ch ...

, best known for his role as the villainous Nazi agent

Arnold Toht This is a list of characters in the Indiana Jones (franchise), ''Indiana Jones'' series. Introduced in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' Indiana Jones Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford), the titular chara ...

in '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'', appeared in several episodes as Crawder, a corrupt, wealthy industrialist with whom Connie must tangle.

Reception

Writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', TV critic

Nancy Banks-Smith Nancy Banks-Smith (born 1929) is a British television and radio critic, who spent most of her career writing for ''The Guardian''. Life and career Born in Manchester and raised in a pub, she was educated at Roedean School. Banks-Smith began her ...

gave the opening episode a positive review, depicting the series as a "gritty soap" and stating that the writing has a "nice citrus bite to it, sharp and funny." She praised the cast as "strong", and opined that Beacham "has a whiff of big cat about her."

Releases

DVD release

Network released the full 13-part series on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

as a 4-disc set on 24 September 2012. The set includes a photo gallery as a bonus feature.

Novelisation

A tie-in paperback novelisation of the series, also written by series creator Ron Hutchinson, was published by Methuen in 1985.

Theme song

The theme song entitled "The Show" was written by playwright/composer

Willy Russell William Russell (born 23 August 1946) is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best known works are ''Educating Rita'', ''Shirley Valentine'', '' Blood Brothers'' and ''Our Day Out''. Early life Russell was born in Whiston, Lancash ...

and series creator Ron Hutchinson, and performed by

Rebecca Storm Rebecca Storm is a British singer and musical theatre actress. Her 1985 hit single "The Show" was the theme to the ITV television series ''Connie''. Early career Rebecca Storm found her passion for singing when she was 11, although she began s ...

. It was released as a 7" and extended 12" single by Towerbell Records in June 1985 and reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart. It was later covered by

Kate Rusby Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the be ...

in 2020, appearing on her album ''Hand Me Down.'' Rebecca Storm – "The Show" (Chart Stats.com)(Link redirected to OCC website)
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External links

References

{{reflist 1980s British drama television series 1985 British television series debuts 1985 British television series endings 1980s British television miniseries ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios English-language television shows Television shows produced by Central Independent Television