''Up the Garden Path'' is a 1984 novel by Sue Limb, which was adapted into a radio series by

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

, and later into a television sitcom by

Granada TV ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

for ITV. Both the radio and television series comprised three seasons, with the radio series originally broadcast in 1987, 1988, and 1993, and the television seasons broadcast in 1990, 1991, and 1993. The television series has been repeated on the United Kingdom digital channel

ITV3 ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel ...

. The radio series is regularly repeated on

BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the ...

Cast

*Isabelle 'Izzy' Comyn (

Imelda Staunton Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre prod ...

) *Dick Barnes ( Mike Grady) *Maria Shadwell (

Tessa Peake-Jones Tessa Peake-Jones (born 9 May 1957) is an English actress having appeared in ''The Danedyke Mystery'' (1979), ''Pride and Prejudice'' (1980), '' When We Are Married'' (1987), '' Up the Garden Path'' (1990–1993), '' So Haunt Me'' (1992–1994), ...

, television; Marty Cruickshank, radio) *Gwyn Jenkins ( Tom Mannion, television; Sion Probert and Dafydd Hywel, radio) *Michael Tristram (

Nicholas Le Prevost Nicholas Le Prevost (born 18 March 1947) is an English actor. Early life Le Prevost was born in Wiltshire. He was educated at Shaftesbury Grammar School, Shaftesbury, Dorset from 1957 to 1961 and at Kingswood School, Bath from 1961 to 19 ...

) *Louise Tristram (Susan Kyd, television; Phyllida Nash, radio) *Roger 'Razors' Razebrook (

René Zagger René Zagger (born 1 June 1973) is an English actor, known for playing PC Nick Klein in ''The Bill'' from 1999 to 2004 and as the voice of Emet-Selch in Final Fantasy XIV from the ''Stormblood'' expansion onward. He has also made several guest ap ...

) *Charles Armstrong (

David Robb David Robb (born 23 August 1947) is a Scottish actor. Early life Born in London, the son of David Robb and Elsie Tilley, Robb grew up in Edinburgh and was educated there at the Royal High School, where he played Henry II in a school product ...

) appeared in Series 2 *Bill Bailey (Neil McCaul) appeared in Series 2, 3 *Linda (Adrienne O'Sullivan) appeared in Series 3 *5C pupil (

Siobhan Hayes Siobhan Teresa Hayes (born 21 July 1974) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Abi Harper in the BBC sitcom ''My Family'' and Sandy in the BBC radio series '' Absolute Power''. Career Hayes portrayed Abi Harper, a clumsy and dim- ...

) appeared in Series 2, 3 *Vincent (Kevin Treasure) appeared in Series 2, 3

Episodes

Radio

; Series 1 (1987) * Episode 1: "New Year, Old Problems" * Episode 2: "Tangled Webs" * Episode 3: "Punch Ups and Put Downs" * Episode 4: "Into the Lion's Den" * Episode 5: "The Menage" * Episode 6: "Over and Out" ; Series 2 (1988) * Episode 1: "Arrivals and Departures" * Episode 2: "Hot Water" * Episode 3: "A Soft-Hearted Little Thing" * Episode 4: "The View from the Bridge" * Episode 5: "On the Side of the Angels" * Episode 6: "You Shall Go to the Ball" * Episode 7: "The More the Merrier" * Episode 8: "Love's Labours" ;Series 3 (1993) * Episode 1: "New Men" * Episode 2: "Gooseberries and Fools" * Episode 3: "Over-Drawn, Over-Sexed and Over-Optimistic" * Episode 4: "Talking It on the Chin" * Episode 5: "Up the Stick and Sick as a Parrot" * Episode 6: "A Dick in Shining Armour"

Television

;Series 1 (1990) ;Series 2 (1991) ;Series 3 (1993)

Reception

Critical reception was mixed. Writing in '' The Daily Mirror'', television editor Tony Pratt called the first series 'one of the best itcomsITV has produced for ages. It's lively, adult and funny'. However, ''

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 ...

'' felt 'sorry for Imelda Staunton...who deserves a better script' with Hugh Hebert labelling the series 'dire' and referring to the character of Izzy as a 'caricature witless teacher who was God's promo for

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Si ...

MacGregor MacGregor or Macgregor may refer to: People * MacGregor (surname) * MacGregor (filmmaker), a Spanish commercial cinematographer and film director * Clan Gregor, a Scottish clan * Macgregor baronets, related individuals including a British Army ...

Re-Education Inc.'Hebert, Hugh, 'The Loyal and the Unloved', The Guardian, 2 August 1990, p28

References

External links

* * * 1984 British novels 1990 British television series debuts 1993 British television series endings 1990s British sitcoms BBC Radio comedy programmes ITV sitcoms Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Granada Television English-language television shows {{BBC-radio-stub