''Wide-Eyed and Legless'' (known in the US as ''The Wedding Gift'') is a 1993 made-for-TV British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, directed by

Richard Loncraine Richard Loncraine (born 20 October 1946) is a British film and television director. Loncraine was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Loncraine received early training in the features department of the BBC, including a season directing items ...

starring

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a ...

Jim Broadbent James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. He won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role as John Bayley in the feature film ''Iris'' (2001), as well as winning a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe for hi ...

Sian Thomas Sian or Siyan may refer to: __NOTOC__ People *Siân, a Welsh girl's name; list of people with this name Places *Sian, Iran (disambiguation), various places in Iran *Sian, Russia, a rural locality in Amur Oblast, Russia *Xi'an, China, formerly roman ...

and

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a Briti ...

. It is based on the 1989 book ''Diana's Story'' by the writer

Deric Longden Deric Francis Longden (29 November 1936 – 23 June 2013) was a British writer, autobiographer, reporter, public speaker and broadcaster. Life and career Early years Longden was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. He was the son of Frederick ...

, who co-wrote the script with

Jack Rosenthal Jack Morris Rosenthal (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations. ...

. The film tells the story of the final years of Deric's (played by Broadbent) marriage to his wife, Diana (Julie Walters), who contracted a degenerative illness that medical officials were unable to understand at the time, though now believed to be a form of

chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...

or myalgic encephalomyelitis. As Diana's health deteriorated, she encourages him to spend time with another woman who Longden has met (the partially-sighted novelist Aileen Armitage (played by Sian Thomas)), to help ease his pain over her eventual death.

Title and home media

''Wide-Eyed and Legless'' was the original title of the TV adaptation shown on

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 ...

whilst for the American release the film's title changed to ''The Wedding Gift''. The film was released on Region 1 DVD.

Cast

- Deric Longden

- Diana

- Annie Longden

- Aileen Armitage

Moya Brady Moya Brady (born 8 September 1962) is an English actress. Her roles include Breda McQueen on the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2018 to 2020. Brady grew up in the seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. She has appeared in a ...

- Sheila

Andrew Lancel Andrew Lancel (born Andrew Watkinson on 3 August 1970) is an English television and theatre actor, producer and director. He is best known for his appearance as Dr. Andrew Collin in ''Cardiac Arrest'', his role as DI Neil Manson in ''The Bill'' ...

- Nick

Anastasia Mulrooney Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

- Sally

Frances Cox Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the ...

- Minnie Bonsall

Sequel

An award-winning sequel, '' Lost for Words'', focusing on Longden's elderly mother Annie (Thora Hird) and her decline into dementia, after his second marriage (to writer Armitage) followed in 1999 and saw Hird reprise her role, whilst the other cast members were replaced.

Year-end lists

*8th –

Michael MacCambridge Michael MacCambridge (born June 21, 1963) is an American author, journalist and TV commentator. He is the author, co-author, or editor of 8 books, including the acclaimed ''America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation''. M ...

, ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

'' *Top 10 (not ranked) – George Meyer, ''

The Ledger ''The Ledger'' is a daily newspaper serving Lakeland, Florida, and the Polk County area. The paper was founded on August 22, 1924, as the ''Lakeland Evening Ledger''. In 1927, it bought its main competitor, the morning ''Lakeland Star-Telegram' ...

References

External links

* *
Archive of Deric Longden's official website
1993 films British drama films 1990s English-language films Films directed by Richard Loncraine Films scored by Colin Towns 1990s British films {{1990s-UK-film-stub