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''Waggoners' Walk'' was a daily radio soap opera, set in the fictional cul-de-sac of Waggoners' Walk and its environs in
Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...
, north London. It was broadcast daily on
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
from 1969 to 1980, in the form of 15-minute episodes on weekday afternoons with a repeat the following weekday morning. The programme came to a sudden end in May 1980 as part of a number of economies made by the BBC.


History

''Waggoners' Walk'' was introduced as a successor to the long-running '' The Dales'' (1948–1969) which had been cancelled due to the illness of the lead actress Jessie Matthews. The programme was created by writers Jill Hyem and Alan Downer; its origins lay in their '' Saturday Night Theatre'' production of ''The Ropewalk'', broadcast on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
in January 1969. This play featured some of the same characters, actors and theme tune of ''Waggoners' Walk'' with the story centring on three women who share a flat in Hampstead. ''Waggoners' Walk'' was designed to move away from the "cosy" world of ''The Dales'' and feature "fast-moving stories" and have "few taboo subjects". During its run, the storylines tackled issues such as illegitimacy, homosexuality, abortion, child custody and murder. The first edition was broadcast on the afternoon of 28 April 1969 with a repeat the following morning. Early editions were given a title, the first edition billed as "Moving Pictures" for instance, but this was dropped after just three weeks. Initially the programme had an audience of two million listeners but by 1974 was achieving four million. Most of the storylines involved the tenants of No. 1 Waggoners' Walk, a large townhouse divided into several flats. Other settings included the local pub ''The Waggoners'', the offices of the ''Hampstead Herald'', Minden Road and the nearby Belsize Park. Hyem and Downer continued to produce scripts for the programme throughout its run and were joined by other writers including Peter Ling,
Barbara Clegg Barbara Diana Clegg (1 March 1926 – 7 January 2025) was a British actress and scriptwriter for television and radio. She was the first woman to write a Doctor Who script. Life and career Clegg was born in Manchester, England on 1 March 1926. ...
and Terry James. The directors included Piers Plowright, who later became the programme's executive producer,
David Spenser David Spenser ('' né'' De Saram; 12 March 1934 – 20 July 2013) John Tydemanbr>David Spenser obituary ''The Guardian'', 1 August 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013 was a British actor, director, producer and writer. Spenser played the title rol ...
, Glyn Dearman, Anton Gill, David Johnston and Kay Patrick. In 1974, listeners were invited to submit their own plots in a "Write Your Own Storyline Competition", with the winning story submitted by Albert Kenyon broadcast in November 1974. A Sunday-afternoon omnibus edition was added to the schedule in January 1980, though heard only on Radio 2's medium wave transmitters. As part of a series of cost-cutting initiatives by the BBC in 1980, ''Waggoners' Walk'' came to an abrupt end on 30 May 1980 with a
cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or bef ...
ending in which George Underdown proposes marriage to Sophie Richmond and assures her that "you have all the time in the world" before the closing theme comes in. The Corporation received more than 1,000 letters of protest about the ending of the programme. It rejected a request from
Capital Radio Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Bri ...
to take it over.


Cameo appearances

A number of famous people made
cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
s on the programme: * Jack de Manio in an edition in October 1969 * Pete Murray in the live 500th edition in April 1971 * Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett in an edition in January 1975 * Esther Rantzen in two editions in June 1977 in which she opens a
Silver Jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...
dance


Principal characters

This is a list of some of the main characters that appeared over the 11-year run. In some cases more than one actor played the part. * Mike Nash, ran a PR firm and later became editor of the weekly newspaper ''The Hampstead Herald''. Mike and Claire owned No. 1 Waggoners' Walk from late 1969 to early 1980, when they moved to Bath. Played by Edward Cast. * Claire Nash, a former fashion model. Played by Ellen McIntosh. * Peter Tyson worked as Personnel Officer at Abercrombies, a central London
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
. After resigning his job he worked part-time at a boatyard. Played by Basil Moss. * Liz Tyson (née Warner), editor of the woman's page of the ''Hampstead Herald'', who takes over from Mike Nash as the newspaper's editor in 1980. Played by
Ann Morrish Ann Morrish (born 15 June 1928) is a British retired actress and television presenter. Career Morrish's television appearances include regular roles in ''Compact (TV series), Compact'' and ''The Expert (TV series), The Expert'', as well as ''Th ...
. * Arthur Tyson, a widower and father of Peter Tyson. A retired former solicitor and estate agent. Played by Lockwood West and also by Peter Pratt and Gerald Cross. * Karen, a young firebrand from Birmingham. The Tysons' au pair. Played by Fidelis Morgan. * Matt Prior, ran ''Home from Home'', a domestic agency and later a catering supplier, with Lynn Tyson. Following a private aircraft crash in late 1974, he began using a wheelchair. Married Lynn in 1975 and later they opened up a restaurant called ''Priors''. Played by
Michael Spice Michael Spice (20 May 1931 – 2 November 1983) was a British character actor who appeared in television roles. He portrayed two ''Doctor Who'' villains, the voice of Morbius in ''The Brain of Morbius ''The Brain of Morbius'' is the fifth se ...
. * Lynn Prior (née Dixon) initially shared a flat with her sister Tracey and Barbara Watling. Married Peter Tyson in late 1969 and had a son Jeremy in 1972. Following her divorce she married Matt Prior. Played by Judy Franklin. * Mrs Tandy, part-time cleaner for the Nashes. Played by Grizelda Hervey. * Rupert 'Rusty' Vaughan, the original owner of No. 1 Waggoners' Walk until he sold it in late 1969. Continued to occupy the studio flat until December 1972. Played by Nicholas Edmett and later by Derek Seaton * Stan Hickey, who, with his wife Alice, had been a tenant of the basement flat for more than 20 years. Died in 1972. Played by Leslie Dwyer later by Edward Evans. * Alice Hickey, married to Stan and then to Gordon Turner. Played by Hazel Coppen. After her death the character continued played by Hilda Kriseman, Anna Wing and finally Peggy Aitchison. * Gordon Turner owned the local newsagents. Married Alice in 1973. Played by Will Leighton. * Barbara Watling, moved from Hull to flat-share with Lynn and Tracey. Her illegitimate daughter Emma Jane was born in 1973. She married Colin Bartley in 1974 and they both ran an antique shop. Played by Heather Stoney and later by Patricia Gallimore. * Jack Munro, the Canadian nephew of Gordon Turner ran the ''Waggoners'' pub and later married Kay Marsh. Played by Rod Beacham and then by
Malcolm Terris Malcolm Hope Terris (11 January 1941 – 6 June 2020) was an English actor. He acted in many television programmes, including possibly his best-known role as Matt Headley in ''When the Boat Comes In'', a popular 1970s series. His film career ...
. * Kay Munro (née Marsh) worked as a barmaid at the ''Waggoners'' and married Jack Munro in 1972. Played by Frances Jeater and then by Jo Kendall. * Cliff Edwards, married to Shirley. The couple were unable to have children and considered adoption but, after a one-night stand with Debbie Franks in 1979, Cliff became the father to Sam in 1980. Played by Anthony Jackson and also by Peter Messaline and Sion Probert. * Shirley Edwards (née Cook). Played by Carole Boyd. * George Underdown, a former bank employee who married Kath Miller. After her death he befriends Sophie Richmond and, despite being 30 years her senior, proposes marriage. Played by Alan Dudley. * Sophie Richmond, a waitress at ''Priors'' restaurant. In 1979 she is raped by a man she later identifies as a regular customer. Played by Glynis Brooks. * Kath Miller, mother of Shirley Edwards, ran the newsagent's and married George Underdown but died of a heart attack in 1979. Played by
Charlotte Mitchell Charlotte Mitchell (born Edna Winifred Mitchell; 23 July 1926 – 2 May 2012) was an English actress and poet. Biography In the 1950s she provided lyrics, sketches, and occasionally acted in revues on London's West End. She was especially ...
. * Ben Woodhouse, the local GP who later marries Soo-Ming. Played mainly by David Valla and sometimes by Derek Seaton. * Debbie Franks, a reporter on the ''Hampstead Herald''. Played by Tara Soppet. * Mrs. Dixon, Lynn's mother. Played by Dorothy Edwards. Other actors appearing in the programme included Peter Tuddenham, Michael Troughton, Norma Ronald,
Barry Creyton Barry Creyton (born 1939) is an Australian actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, composer and director, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. He became best known nationally alongside Carol Raye and Gordon Chater, ...
, Jeffrey Segal,
Harry Fowler Henry James Fowler (10 December 1926 – 4 January 2012) was an English character actor in film and television. Over a career lasting more than six decades, he made nearly 200 appearances on screen. Personal life Fowler was born in Lambeth, so ...
, Patrick Allen, Hattie Jacques (appearing briefly in 1969 as sisters Harriet and Tilly Gibbon), Nigel Lambert, Christian Rodska,
Robert Beatty Robert Rutherford Beatty (19 October 1909 – 3 March 1992) was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK. Early years Beatty was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the son of ...
, Saeed Jaffrey, Bruce Alexander, Gillian McCutcheon, Pik-Sen Lim, Harry Towb and Elaine Stritch.


Theme music

The original theme tune, titled "Bees and Honey", was composed by Derek Hilton under the pseudonym of John Snow. Several arrangements of the theme were used throughout the programme's run. In 1971, an EP of songs featured in the programme, including one called ''Waggoners' Walk'', and credited to Trane, was issued by BBC Records.


References


Further reading

* Clegg, Barbara & Downer, Alan (1975) ''Waggoners Walk''. London: BBC * James, Terry (1982) ''Waggoners' Walk: The Story Continues''. London: Corgi edition {{BBC Radio 2 1969 radio programme debuts 1980 radio programme endings BBC Radio 2 programmes British radio soap operas Works set in London 1960s British radio programmes 1970s British radio programmes 1980s British radio programmes