''Monday Monday'' is an
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 ...
,
UTV comedy drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...
. It stars
Fay Ripley
Fay Ripley (born 26 February 1966)Ripley, Fay (25 February 2011).Don't tell me you are going to get my followers up to 5,000 for my birthday tomorrow...I say my birthday tomorrow. Twitter. Retrieved 26 February 2011. is an English actress, telev ...
,
Jenny Agutter
Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in '' East of Sudan'', ''Star!'', and two adaptations of '' The Railway Children''—the BBC's 1968 television seria ...
,
Neil Stuke
Neil Robert Stuke (born 22 February 1966 in Deal, Kent) is an English actor best known for his role of Matthew in the TV sitcom '' Game On'' and more recently for playing Billy Lamb in the BBC legal drama ''Silk''.
Career
Stuke played Matthew ...
,
Holly Aird
Imogen Holly Aird (born 18 May 1969) is an English television actress known for playing forensic pathologist Frankie Wharton in the BBC1 drama series '' Waking the Dead'', having previously starred in productions such as ''Soldier Soldier'' a ...
,
Morven Christie
Morven Christie (born 1 September 1981) is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her roles as Alison Hughes in the BBC drama ''The A Word,'' Amanda Hopkins in the ITV drama ''Grantchester'', and DS Lisa Armstrong in ITV crime series '' The ...
,
Tom Ellis, and
Miranda Hart
Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke (born 14 December 1972) is an English actress and writer. Following drama training at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Hart began writing material for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and making appearances in va ...
.
It is set in the head office of a
supermarket
A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
that has fallen on hard times and had to re-locate its staff from
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
.
The show was initially announced as part of ITV's Winter 2007 press pack, but was "iced" until 2009 due to falling advertising in the wake of the economic downturn.
Background
The show is named after The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...
song with the same name, though does not feature the song as a theme tune.
The show was commissioned by ITV's director of drama, Laura Mackie.[ Mackie said that the show aimed to "entertain, engage and strike a chord with the audience".][ Although the show was initially announced as part of ITV's Winter 2007 press pack, it was put on hold until 2009 due to falling advertising rates in the wake of the economic downturn.][ According to '']Broadcast
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
'', the show aimed to "shed light on a world of alcoholic HR bosses, power-crazed managers and sexually unfettered PAs".[
Towards the end of the first episode, Christine is shown to be an alcoholic, which she eventually admits. As the series progresses the failing life of Christine becomes more central to the plot.
]
Plot
The show features a group of head office workers for struggling supermarket
A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
chain ''Butterworths.'' As a result of downsizing, the workers are forced to move cities, relocating from London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
.[
]
Cast
Management
*Clive Merrison
Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is a British actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He is best known for his long running BBC Radio portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, having played the part in all 64 ...
– Gavin, Chairman, Butterworths Group
* Peter Wight – Roger Sorsby, Chief Executive of Butterworth's Stores
*Jenny Agutter
Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in '' East of Sudan'', ''Star!'', and two adaptations of '' The Railway Children''—the BBC's 1968 television seria ...
– Jenny Mountfield, PA to Roger Sorsby
*Holly Aird
Imogen Holly Aird (born 18 May 1969) is an English television actress known for playing forensic pathologist Frankie Wharton in the BBC1 drama series '' Waking the Dead'', having previously starred in productions such as ''Soldier Soldier'' a ...
– Alyson Cartmell, Chief Operating Officer
* Tom Ellis – Steven McColl, PA to Alyson Cartmell
Human Resources
*Fay Ripley
Fay Ripley (born 26 February 1966)Ripley, Fay (25 February 2011).Don't tell me you are going to get my followers up to 5,000 for my birthday tomorrow...I say my birthday tomorrow. Twitter. Retrieved 26 February 2011. is an English actress, telev ...
– Christine Frances, Head of Human Resources
*Morven Christie
Morven Christie (born 1 September 1981) is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her roles as Alison Hughes in the BBC drama ''The A Word,'' Amanda Hopkins in the ITV drama ''Grantchester'', and DS Lisa Armstrong in ITV crime series '' The ...
– Sally Newman, PA to Christine
*Miranda Hart
Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke (born 14 December 1972) is an English actress and writer. Following drama training at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Hart began writing material for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and making appearances in va ...
– Tall Karen, Office Assistant
*Jodie Taibi – Small Karen, Office Assistant
Marketing
*Neil Stuke
Neil Robert Stuke (born 22 February 1966 in Deal, Kent) is an English actor best known for his role of Matthew in the TV sitcom '' Game On'' and more recently for playing Billy Lamb in the BBC legal drama ''Silk''.
Career
Stuke played Matthew ...
– Max Chambers, Acting Head of Marketing
*Laura Haddock
Laura Jane Haddock (born 21 August 1985) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Zoë Walker in ''White Lines (TV series), White Lines'', Kacie Carter in ''Honest (TV series), Honest'', Lucrezia in ''Da Vinci's Demons'', Meredith Quil ...
– Natasha Wright, Marketing Assistant (prev. PA to Vivienne Wyatt. With Vivienne off sick recovering from cancer, Natasha is seconded to Max Chambers)
*Saikat Ahamed – Vince, PA to Max Chambers & Natasha Wright (prev. PA to Max Chambers)
Finance
*Nick Sampson – Keith Saunders, Head of Finance
Building Services & Facilities Management
*Joan Oliver – Susan, Facilities Manager
*Susan Earl – Janet, Facilities Assistant
Shop Floor
* Sue Vincent – Helen, Bakery Manager
*Bruce McGregor – Greg, Fish Manager
*Richard Fleeshman
Richard Jonathan Fleeshman (born 8 June 1989) is an English actor and singer. His television career began as a 12-year-old, playing Craig Harris for four years in ''Coronation Street'' before going on to become an established television, West E ...
– Gillon, Bakery Customer Service Assistant
The departments named above are the main departments focused on but other departments are mentioned or featured on presentations. They include:
*Contracts
*Sourcing
*IT
*Design
*Property
*International Sales
*National Sales
Butterworths Group PLC
Butterworths Head Office
The Head Office is arranged into a North Wing and a South Wing on all floors above the Lower Ground Floor.
*Lower Ground: Canteen, Building Services/Property/Facilities Management & Sourcing
*Ground Floor: Marketing (South) Meeting Area (North) & Reception/Security in Centre
*First Floor: Human Resources (South) Contracts (North)
*Second Floor: International Sales (South) Finance & Chief Executive's Office (North)
*Third Floor: National Sales (South) Design (North)
Other Services than Retail are Insurance Sales. Each department is managed by a Department Head and each department head has a personal assistant
Episodes
#Episode 1 (13 July 2009)
#Episode 2 (20 July 2009)
#Episode 3 (27 July 2009)
#Episode 4 (3 August 2009)
#Episode 5 (10 August 2009)
#Episode 6 (17 August 2009)
#Episode 7 (24 August 2009)
Broadcast and reception
The show did not receive good reviews. Tim Walker of ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' stated that the shows rival in the same timeslot, BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
show ''The Street The Street may refer to:
Geographical
*Wall Street in New York City's Financial District
* The Street, Lawshall, Suffolk, England
* The Street (Heath Charnock), a building and bridleway in Rivington, Lancashire, England
Film and television
* ''The ...
'' was "a darn sight more interesting than watching Fay Ripley walk into doors". Walker said that the show was filled with shots of Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, saying that the show was purely "advertising it as an attractive nightlife destination" or "to prove beyond doubt that ITV was fulfilling its obligations to the regions." (something that may have been fitting with ITV mothballing many parts of its Leeds Studios
The Leeds Studios (also known as the ITV Television Centre, Yorkshire Television Studios or YTV Studios) is a television production complex on Kirkstall Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. ITV plc had proposed to close the studios in 200 ...
the same year). Sam Wollaston of ''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 ...
'' also criticised the show saying that it was "lame and laboured, tired and predictable".
The poor reception was reflected in the show's ratings, the show bringing in 3.7 million, a 16% viewing share, six percent and 1.3 million viewers lower than ''The Street''. The show, however, was second in its timeslot, beating the other three terrestrial
Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth.
Terrestrial may also refer to:
* Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...
channels in the slot. Despite being second in the timeslot, the show was down on the 5.6 million for ITV1's channel slot average so far in 2009.
Not helping matters in terms of viewing figures was the fact that STV continued its recent trend of declining high-ticket ITV productions, thereby avoiding having to contribute to the production cost on a pro rata basis, and so Scottish viewers of terrestrial broadcasts were unable to view the series. The series average, based on overnight ratings was 2.90m, equating to a 13.2% viewing share.
International broadcasts
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 ...
, this programme aired each Friday at 8:30pm on ABC2
ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment pr ...
from 28 January 2011.
In Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, this programme aired on Fox Life. In the United States the show is on Hulu.com and currently available via Netflix and YouTube.
References
{{reflist
2009 British television series debuts
2009 British television series endings
ITV comedy
ITV television dramas
Television series by Fremantle (company)
Television shows set in Leeds