''Shadows'' is a British supernatural

television 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 advertisin ...

anthology series produced by

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

for

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 ...

between 1975 and 1978. Extending over three series, it featured ghost and horror dramas for children. Notable writers for the series included

J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

Fay Weldon Fay Weldon CBE, FRSL (born Franklin Birkinshaw; 22 September 1931 – 4 January 2023) was an English author, essayist and playwright. Over the course of her 55-year writing career, she published 31 novels, including ''Puffball'' (1980), '' The ...

, PJ Hammond,

Joan Aiken Joan Delano Aiken (4 September 1924 – 4 January 2004) was an English writer specialising in supernatural fiction and children's alternative history novels. In 1999 she was awarded an MBE for her services to children's literature. For ''The ...

Jacquetta Hawkes Jacquetta is a feminine given name which may refer to: * Jacquetta of Luxembourg (1415/16–1472), Duchess of Bedford, Countess Rivers * Jacquetta Hawkes (1910–1996), English archaeologist and writer * Jacquetta May, British writer, actress and ...

and

Penelope Lively Dame Penelope Margaret Lively (née Low; born 17 March 1933) is a British writer of fiction for both children and adults. Lively has won both the Booker Prize (''Moon Tiger'', 1987) and the Carnegie Medal for British children's books ('' Th ...

Cast

Guest actors included John Nettleton, Gareth Thomas,

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 serial ...

Pauline Quirke Pauline Perpetua Sheen ( Quirke; born 8 July 1959) is an English actress who has played Sharon Theodopolopodous in the long-running comedy series '' Birds of a Feather'' (1988–1999, 2014–2017). For this role, she won the 1990 British Comed ...

Brian Glover Brian Glover (2 April 1934 – 24 July 1997) was an English actor and writer. He worked as a teacher and professional wrestler before commencing an acting career which included films, many roles on British television and work on the stage. His ...

June Brown June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the ''In ...

Rachel Herbert Rachel Herbert (born 1935) is a British actress whose television appearances include roles in '' Deadline Midnight'' (1960), ''Thursday Theatre'' (1964), ''The Villains'' (1964), ''No Hiding Place'' (1963–65), ''Danger Man'' (1965), ''The Power ...

Jacqueline Pearce Jacqueline Pearce (20 December 1943 – 3 September 2018) was a British film and television actress. She was best known for her portrayal of the principal villain Servalan in the British science fiction TV series ''Blake's 7'' (1978–1981), ...

and

Gwyneth Strong Gwyneth Strong (born 2 December 1959) is an English actress. She has appeared in '' Shadows'' (1975), ''Angels'' (1976), ''Crown Court'' and ''Z-Cars'' (1977), ''Play for Today'' (1980-1984), ''Silent Witness'' (1996). However, she is best known f ...

. The series was also notable for reviving the character of Mr. Stabs (

Russell Hunter Adam Russell Hunter (18 February 1925 – 26 February 2004) was a Scottish television, stage and film actor. He played Lonely in the TV thriller series ''Callan'', starring Edward Woodward, and shop steward Harry in the Yorkshire Television si ...

) from the TV series Ace of Wands.

Episodes

Series 1 (1975)

Series 2 (1976)

Series 3 (1978)

Awards

In 1976 and 1977 ''Shadows'' was nominated for the ''Harlequin'' BAFTA TV Award under the category of Drama/Light Entertainment. The series missed out on winning on both occasions, to

Ballet Shoes A ballet shoe, or ballet slipper, is a lightweight shoe designed specifically for ballet dancing. It may be made from soft leather, canvas, or satin, and has flexible, thin full or split soles. Traditionally, women wear pink shoes and men wear wh ...

and The

Multi-Coloured Swap Shop ''Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'', more commonly known simply as ''Swap Shop'', is a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 2 October 1976 to 27 March 1982. It was ground-breaking in many ways: by broadcasting on Saturday mornin ...

respectively.

Spin-offs

A 1979 TV series, ''

The Boy Merlin ''The Boy Merlin'' is a Thames Television fantasy show from 1979, starring Ian Rowlands in the title role, about the magician Merlin.A Bibliography of Modern Arthuriana: 1500 - 2000, edited by Ann Frances Howey and Stephen Ray Reimer, DS Brewer ...

'', was based on the third series episode of the same name.

Home media

"Shadows: The Complete First Series" was released on DVD in the UK on 1 November 2010 by Network, with the sixth episode ''Dutch Schlitz's Shoes'' being included on the Ace of Wands DVD boxset as an extra due to it featuring the

Mr. Stabs ''Ace of Wands'' is a British fantasy children's television show broadcast on ITV between 1970 and 1972. It was created by Trevor Preston and Pamela Lonsdale and produced by Thames Television. It ran for two seasons of thirteen episodes, and a ...

character. Series 2 was released in June 2011.Network DVD website
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In other media

Books

A tie-in book, ''The Best Of Shadows'' was released by Corgi in 1979. It featured adaptations of seven episodes: ''The Dark Streets of Kimball's Green'', ''The Inheritance'', ''Eleven O'Clock'', ''And Now For My Next Trick'', ''The Rose of Puddle Fratrum'', ''The Eye'' and ''The Man Who Hated Children''.

References

External links

* * {{Screenonline TV title, id=1387035
Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and TV: Shadows
British supernatural television shows ITV children's television shows 1970s British children's television series 1975 British television series debuts 1978 British television series endings English-language television shows Television shows produced by Thames Television Television series by Fremantle (company) British fantasy television series