''The Rag Trade'' is a British

television sitcom 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 advertising, e ...

broadcast by the

BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...

between 1961 and 1963 and by

LWT London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

between 1977 and 1978. Although a comedy, it shed light on gender, politics and the "class war" on the factory floor. The scripts were written by partners

Chesney and Wolfe Ronald Chesney (born René Lucien Cadier; 4 May 1920 – 12 April 2018) and Ronald Wolfe (born Harvey Ronald Wolfe-Luberoff; 8 August 1922 – 18 December 2011) were British television comedy scriptwriters, best known for their 1960s and 1970s si ...

, who later wrote ''

Wild, Wild Women ''Wild, Wild Women'' is a British television sitcom that aired on BBC from 1968 to 1969. Shot in black-and-white, it starred Barbara Windsor and was written by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney. Cast Pilot *Barbara Windsor – Millie *Derek Franc ...

'', '' Meet the Wife'' and ''

On the Buses ''On the Buses'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom that was broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was created by Chesney and Wolfe, Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, who wrote most of the episodes. It spawned thr ...

''. ''Wild, Wild Women'' was a period variation of ''The Rag Trade''.

Synopsis

The action centred on a fictional small clothing workshop (the title is a reference to the

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

), ''Fenner's Fashions'' in London. Although run by Harold Fenner ( Peter Jones) and the foreman and pattern cutter Reg Turner (

Reg Varney Reginald Alfred Varney (11 July 1916 – 16 November 2008) was an English actor, entertainer and comedian. He is best remembered for having played the lead role of bus driver Stan Butler in the LWT sitcom ''On the Buses'' (1969–73) and its thr ...

), the female workers are led by militant shop steward Paddy Fleming (

Miriam Karlin Miriam Karlin (23 June 19253 June 2011) was an English actress whose career lasted for more than 60 years. She was known for her role as Paddy in ''The Rag Trade'', a 1960s BBC and 1970s LWT sitcom, and in particular for the character's catchp ...

), ever ready to strike, with the catchphrase "Everybody out!" Other cast members included

Sheila Hancock Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. Hancock trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before starting her career in repertory theatre. Hancock went on to perform in plays and musica ...

(as Carole Taylor),

Esma Cannon Esma Ellen Charlotte Littmann (née Cannon) (27 December 1905 – 18 October 1972), credited as Esme or Esma Cannon, was a diminutive () Australian-born character actress and comedian, who moved to Britain in the early 1930s. Although she freque ...

(as Lily Swann),

Wanda Ventham Wanda Ventham (born 5 August 1935) is an English actress with many roles on British television since beginning her career in the 1950s. She played Colonel Virginia Lake in the 1970s science-fiction television series ''UFO'' and had a recurring ...

(as Shirley) in series 2 and

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television series ''Blackadder'' and has presented several historical documentaries ...

(replacing Reg Varney), Gaye Brown (briefly replacing Karlin), Jumoke Debayo,

Diane Langton Diane Langton (born 31 May 1947) is an English actress and singer, known for playing Marlena "Nana" McQueen in ''Hollyoaks'' from 2007 to 2009 and 2012 onwards. Career Langton has appeared in numerous television series. In the 1980s, she appear ...

Annabel Leventon Annabel Leventon (born 20 April 1942 in Hertfordshire, England) is an English actress who has acted in various roles on stage and television. While reading English at the University of Oxford she made several appearances at the Oxford Playhouse ...

Jamila Massey Jamila Massey (born 7 January 1934) is a British actress and writer. Massey has had a long career on UK television and radio. She is known for playing Auntie Satya in the long-running radio soap ''The Archers'', Jamila Ranjha in ''Mind Your Lan ...

Mollie Maureen Mollie Maureen (16 August 1904 – 26 January 1987) was an Irish actress who worked mainly in Britain. Life and career Maureen was born Elizabeth Mary Campfield in 1904 in Ireland. Her acting career began in 1939, wherein she acted in a film ent ...

(replacing Esma Cannon) and Trixie Scales. The theme tune for this colour pilot was performed by

Alex Welsh Alex Welsh (9 July 1929 – 25 June 1982) was a Scottish jazz musician who played cornet and trumpet and was also a bandleader and singer, Biography Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Welsh started playing in the teenage Leith Silver Band and wi ...

and his Band, however, this was never transmitted, as the BBC rejected the colour revival of the series. Two years later, the series was revived by

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 ...

company

, with Jones and Karlin reprising their roles. The 1977–78 version ran for two series, most of the scripts being based on the BBC episodes from the 1960s, and featured

Anna Karen Ann Harrison McCall (19 September 1936 – 22 February 2022), professionally known as Anna Karen, was a British actress best known for playing Olive Rudge in the ITV sitcom ''On the Buses'' from 1969 to 1973 including its film spin-offs and st ...

(reprising her role as Olive from ''

'') and future ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' star

Gillian Taylforth Gillian Taylforth (born 14 August 1955) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Kathy Beale on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', and has also appeared as Jackie Pascoe/Webb on ITV's ''Footballers' Wives'' (2002–2006), and as ...

as factory workers. The theme tune for the LWT series was written and performed by Lynsey de Paul (credited as Joan Brown) and released as a track on an album of T.V. themes that also featured another de Paul penned theme "

Hi Summer ''Hi Summer'' was a British television variety show made by London Weekend Television and shown on UK television in 1977 by ITV, the oldest commercial network in the UK. A total of eight episodes were made and featured a cast that included Leslie ...

". In 1990, the series was remade as the series ''Fredrikssons Fabrikk'' by

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

in Norway, it ran for three seasons (1990–93, 17 half hours and one 45min special) and a feature film version ''Fredrikssons Fabrikk – The Movie'' in 1994 with a script credited to Chesney and Wolfe, and Norwegian series writer Andreas Markusson.

Cast

1961–1963

* Peter Jones as Harold Fenner *

as Paddy Fleming *

as Reg Turner *

as Lily Swann (series 1–2) *

as Carole Taylor (series 1–2) *

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.Ann Beach Ann Beach (7 June 1938 – 9 March 2017) was a British actress. She is perhaps best remembered for her supporting role as Sonia Barrett, the quirky next-door neighbour on the comedy ''Fresh Fields'', starring Julia McKenzie and Anton Rodgers. ...

as Brenda (series 1) * Rita Smythe as Rita (series 1) *

as Shirley (series 2–3) * Patricia Denys as Betty (series 3) *

Stella Tanner Stella Tanner (1 January 1925 – 26 March 2012) was an English radio and television actress. Tanner was born in 1925 and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). She left her focus on dramatic acting to form the Tanner Sisters wi ...

as Olive (series 3) *

Carmel Cryan Carmel Cryan (born 8 July 1949) is an English Actor, actress, known for the role of Brenda Boyle in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. She was the wife of the actor Roy Kinnear (1934–1988). Life and career Cryan was born in London. She was marr ...

as Gloria (series 3) * Amanda Reiss as Janet (series 3) *

Irene Handl Irene Handl (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British author and character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Austria-born father ...

as Mrs Turner (series 3)

1977–1978

* Peter Jones as Harold Fenner *

as Paddy Fleming *

as Olive Rudge *

Christopher Beeny Christopher Winton Beeny (7 July 1941 – 3 January 2020) was an English actor and dancer. He had a career as a child actor, but was best known for his work as the footman Edward Barnes on the 1970s television series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', ...

as Tony *

as Lyn *

as Kathy *

Deddie Davies Deddie Davies (born Gillian Nancy Davies, 2 March 1938 – 21 December 2016) was a Welsh people, Welsh character actress. Biography Davies was born in Bridgend, Wales. She trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, RADA and is most familiar to ...

as Mabel * Lucita Lijertwood as Jojo *

Rowena Cooper Rosemary Rowena Cooper (born 1935) is a British actress. She began her career in 1956, joining the Radio Drama Company by winning the Carlton Hobbs Bursary. In 1959 she joined the Dundee Repertory Theatre Company and went on to have an extensi ...

as Mrs Fenner (series 1) * Joy Stewart as Mrs Fenner (series 2)

TV episodes

On original transmission many episodes of the original BBC TV series of The Rag Trade were not given titles, so some are from production notes and repeat screenings.

Original BBC TV series

Series 1 (1961)

Series 2 (1962)

''Christmas Night with the Stars'' 25 December 1962 – featured a short sketch. (Has been lost)

Series 3 (1963)

Colour pilot (1975)

LWT relaunch series

Series 4 (1977)

Christmas special (1977)

Series 5 (1978)

Missing episodes

Because of the BBC's

wiping Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...

policy of that era, of the 36 episodes made only 21 episodes of the original BBC Television version (1961–62) still exist in the BBC archives. The first series of the original BBC TV version of the show is complete, whilst the second series remains incomplete, as two episodes remain missing. Only one of the 13 episodes of the third (and final) BBC TV series (1963) currently exists – "Baby Dolls", which was confirmed to have been unearthed by Philip Morris of the Television International Enterprises Archive and returned to the BBC in 2018.

DVD release

The 8 (out of the 10) existing episodes of the first series (broadcast in 1961) were released 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 kin ...

(DD Home Entertainment) in March 2006, followed by the 11 existing episodes of the second series (broadcast in 1962), released on DVD 7 months later in October 2006. A box-set consisting all the remaining episodes from the first two series of the show was later released (through Simply Media DVD) on 23 October 2017. All the episodes of both colour series 4 and 5 of the (1977–78)

version of the series, including the 1977 Christmas special, have been released on DVD by Network.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rag Trade, The 1961 British television series debuts 1978 British television series endings 1960s British sitcoms 1960s British workplace comedy television series BBC television sitcoms 1970s British sitcoms 1970s British workplace comedy television series Black-and-white British television shows English-language television shows ITV sitcoms Television shows set in London Lost BBC episodes London Weekend Television shows Television series by ITV Studios On the Buses no:Fredrikssons fabrikk sv:Fredrikssons fabrik