''A Fine Romance'' is a British

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...

starring husband-and-wife team

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

and Michael Williams. The series was nominated for ten BAFTA

British Academy Television Awards The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

and was a winner of two for Dench's performances in 1982 and 1985.

Cast

starred as the female lead, Laura, against Michael Williams as the male lead, Mike. Laura's matchmaking sister and brother-in-law were played by

Susan Penhaligon Susan Penhaligon (born 3 July 1949) is a British actress and writer known for her role in the drama series ''Bouquet of Barbed Wire'' (1976), and for playing Helen Barker in the sitcom '' A Fine Romance'' (1981–1984). She appeared in the so ...

and

Richard Warwick Richard Warwick (29 April 1945 – 16 December 1997) was an English actor. He was born Richard Carey Winter, the third of four sons, at Meopham, Kent, and made his film debut in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in the r ...

, respectively.

Creatives, production, and broadcast

''A Fine Romance'' was written by

Bob Larbey Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

, and took its name from the

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

song, " A Fine Romance". Judi Dench recorded the song as the theme music of the production. It was produced for

London Weekend Television 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 ...

James Cellan Jones Alan James Gwynne Cellan Jones (13 July 1931 – 30 August 2019) was a British television and film director. From 1963, he directed over 50 television series and films, specialising in dramas. He was particularly associated with the "Classic Ser ...

(series one and two),

Don Leaver Don Leaver (27 September 1929 – 13 December 2015) was a television director and producer, with a career spanning from 1960 to 2000. He was known for '' The Avengers'', '' A Fine Romance'', ''A Touch of Frost'' and ''Prime Suspect'', but direct ...

(series three and four), and Graham Evans (one episode in series four). It was first broadcast on 1November 1981, and lasted for twentysix episodes over four series. The final episode was broadcast on 17February 1984.

Plot

The series follows the unlikely romance between Laura Dalton (Judi Dench), a translator, and Mike Selway (Michael Williams), a landscape

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppl ...

. Both are approaching middle-age, shy, content with being single, but with their own insecurities and career struggles. Laura's younger sister, Helen (Susan Penhaligon), and her husband Phil (Richard Warwick), are incurable matchmakers, and at one of their parties, they introduce her to Mike. Laura thinks Mike is nervous and boring but they agree to feign interest in one another so they can escape the party. However, as the first series develops, they are drawn to each other and begin a relationship. The series follows the development of their relationship, although bad luck dogs them, from a dinner in France that does not turn out as expected, to a failed romantic evening watching television. They become estranged at the end of the third series, but find they cannot live without one another, and so get engaged in the last episode of the final series.

Episodes

The following are the titles of each of the episodes in the four series, with the date of original airing given in parentheses.

Home releases

All four series of ''A Fine Romance'' have been released on DVD by Network, with release dates as follows.

Awards and recognition

The series was nominated for ten BAFTA

, winning twice for performances by Dench, in 1982 and 1985.

Footnotes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fine Romance 1981 British television series debuts 1984 British television series endings 1980s British sitcoms English-language television shows ITV sitcoms London Weekend Television shows 1980s British romance television series