''Executive Stress'' is a British sitcom that aired on

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 ...

from 1986 to 1988. Produced by Thames Television, it first aired on 20 October 1986. After three series, the last episode aired on 27 December 1988. Written by George Layton, ''Executive Stress'' stars Penelope Keith as Caroline Fairchild, a middle-aged woman who decides to go back to work. Her husband, Donald, is played by Geoffrey Palmer in the first series. However, Palmer was unable to return for the second series, so Peter Bowles played Donald in the remaining two series. Keith and Bowles had previously appeared together in the BBC comedy series, '' To the Manor Born''.

Production

The programme was set in the world of publishing as it was one of the few industries of the era dominated by women, meaning Donald and Caroline could realistically be on an equal footing at work.

Producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

John Howard Davies John Howard Davies (9 March 193922 August 2011)
' ...

, commissioned a second series before the first series had even aired. The opening theme, "Why We Fell in Love," was performed by Julie Covington. The lyrics were written by Sir

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ' ...

with the instrumentals composed by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

Cast

* Penelope Keith – Caroline Fairchild (née Fielding) * Geoffrey Palmer – Donald Fairchild ''(series 1)'' * Peter Bowles – Donald Fairchild ''(series 2 and 3)'' *Harry Ditson – Edgar Frankland Jr *

Elizabeth Counsell Elizabeth Counsell (born 7 June 1942) is an English actress, best known for starring in the BBC television series ''Brush Strokes'', and for her work in classical theatre. Career She played Lady Macbeth to Michael Gambon's Macbeth at the Forum ...

– Anthea Duxbury *Mark Caven – Anthony *Hilary Gish – Nicky * Richard Marner – Herman Ginsberg ''(series 1)'' * Timothy Carlton – Peter Stuart ''(series 1)'' *David Neville – Peter Stuart ''(series 2)'' *Lorraine Doyle – Jackie ''(series 1 and 2)'' *Ben Robertson – Stephen Cass ''(series 1 and 2)'' * Wanda Ventham – Sylvia ''(series 2)'' *

Donald Pickering Donald Ellis Pickering (15 November 1933 – 19 December 2009) was an English actor, appearing in many stage, television, film and radio roles. Early life and education Pickering was born at Newcastle upon Tyne, son of John Joseph Pickering ...

– Gordon ''(series 2)'' *Vincent Brimble – Tim Jackson ''(series 3)'' * Geoffrey Whitehead – Peter Davenport ''(series 3)''

Plot

After 25 years of marriage, mother-of-five Caroline Fairchild decides to go back to work. Her husband Donald would like her to work part-time in their home town of

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. Instead she gets a job in London as an Editorial Director for a company called Oasis Publishing. At the company she is reunited with her former secretary, Anthea Duxbury, who is a sales export director. Oasis Publishing is owned by the American Frankland Corporation, which is run by Edgar Frankland, Jr., the son of the corporation's boss. On Caroline's first day at work, The Frankland Corporation takes over Ginsberg Publishing, the company that Donald works for. Donald is moved to Oasis, and Caroline and he find themselves working together. However, an unwritten rule at Frankland states that married couples cannot work together, so they have to pretend not to know each other, so Caroline uses her maiden name of Fielding. In Series Two, Edgar finds out they are married, but does not sack them and makes them joint managing directors of Oasis.

Episodes

Three series of ''Executive Stress'' were broadcast from 1986 to 1988. The first series, made of seven episodes, aired on Mondays at 20:00 following ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'', as did the six-episode second series. The third series, also of six episodes, aired on Tuesdays at 20.30 following '' The Bill''.

Series 1: 1986

Series 2: 1987

Series 3: 1988

Broadcast around the world

In the United States, many PBS member stations aired at least the first series in the 1980s and 1990s. Reruns of the series also aired in 2009 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

DVD release

The complete first and second series of Executive Stress were released on 26 April 2010 and 24 January 2011, by Network, The third (and final) series was finally released on 20 May 2013, followed by a complete series set (consisting all three series) on 13 August 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Executive Stress 1986 British television series debuts 1988 British television series endings 1980s British sitcoms ITV sitcoms Television series by Fremantle (company) Television shows produced by Thames Television English-language television shows 1980s British workplace comedy television series Television shows shot at Teddington Studios