''Wild, Wild Women'' is a British television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that aired on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

from 1968 to 1969. Shot in

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

, it starred

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''.

and was written by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney.

Cast

Pilot

– Millie *

Derek Francis Derek Francis (7 November 1923 – 27 March 1984) was an English comedy and character actor. Biography Francis was a regular in the Carry On film players, appearing in six of the films in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in '' The Tomb of Lig ...

– Mr Harcourt *

Penelope Keith Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith (''née'' Hatfield; born 2 April 1940) is an English actress and presenter, active in film, radio, stage and television and primarily known for her roles in the British sitcoms '' The Good Life'' and '' To the ...

– Daisy *Sonia Fox – Ruby *Jennie Paul – Blossom * Ronnie Stevens – Clarence *David Stoll – Lord Hurlingham *Zena Howard – Lady Hurlingham

Series

– Millie *

Paul Whitsun-Jones Paul Whitsun-Jones (25 April 1923 – 14 January 1974) was a Welsh character actor. Born in Newport in Monmouthshire, he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School in Northwood in Middlesex. He started his acting career in 1948 with two years a ...

– Mr Harcourt *

Pat Coombs Patricia Doreen Coombs (27 August 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an English actress. She specialised in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female, comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, ...

– Daisy *

Ken Platt Ken Platt (born Kenneth Platt, 17 February 1921, Leigh, Lancashire – 2 October 1998, Blackpool, Lancashire) was a British northern comedian. Early life Platt decided to become a comedian at the age of 15. He bought a ukulele and performed a ...

– Albert *Toni Palmer – Ruby *

Jessie Robins Jessie Robins (5 June 1905 – 10 August 1991) was an English actress whose career lasted from 1958 to 1974. She was best recognised as Ringo Starr's "Auntie Jessie" in The Beatles' made-for-television movie ''Magical Mystery Tour'' and as th ...

– Blossom *

Daphne Heard Delia Phyllis Daphne Heard (21 August 1904 – 22 June 1983) was an English actress and acting teacher. She was born in Plymouth, Devon. She appeared in numerous made-for-TV movies and TV series. She was perhaps best known in latter years as ...

– Ginny *Yvonne Paul – Flo *

Anna Karen Ann Harrison McCall (19 September 1936 – 22 February 2022), professionally known as Anna Karen, was a British actress best known for playing Olive Rudge in the ITV sitcom ''On the Buses'' from 1969 to 1973 including its film spin-offs and st ...

– Maude *

Joan Sanderson Joan Sanderson (24 November 1912 – 24 May 1992) was an English actress. During a long career on stage and screen, her tall and commanding disposition led to her playing mostly dowagers, spinsters and matrons, as well as intense Shakespearean ...

– Mrs Harcourt

Outline

This period sitcom, set in 1902, was a variation of ''

The Rag Trade ''The Rag Trade'' is a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by ITV (TV network), ITV between 1977 and 1978. Although a comedy, it shed light on gender, politics and the "class war" on the factory floor. Th ...

'', which was also written by

Chesney and Wolfe Chesney and Wolfe, were a British television comedy screenwriting duo consisting of Ronald Chesney (born René Lucien Cadier; 4 May 1920 – 12 April 2018) and Ronald Wolfe (born Harvey Ronald Wolfe-Luberoff; 8 August 1922 – 18 December 2011). ...

, who also starred in ''The Rag Trade'', played Millie, a

cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...

woman who led the women in a milliner's shop. The storylines focused around the conflict between the female workers and the management, Mr Harcourt and his apprentice Albert. Reflecting the mood of Britain in the late 1960s, the women adopted a new feisty spirit not seen in most characters in ''The Rag Trade''. In the pilot the women were shown as strong supporters of the suffragette movement, but it was decided not to make much of this in the series. The series failed to attract the same popularity as ''The Rag Trade'', and was decommissioned after the first series. Only episode 3 still exists.

Episodes

Comedy Playhouse Pilot (1968)

*Pilot (24 May 1968)

Series One (1969)

*Episode One (6 January 1969) *Episode Two (13 January 1969) *Episode Three (20 January 1969) *Episode Four (27 January 1969) *Episode Five (3 February 1969) *Episode Six (10 February 1969)

References

;Specific ;General *

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

, ''Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy'', BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003

External links

* {{Chesney Wolfe Fiction set in 1902 1968 British television series debuts 1969 British television series endings 1960s British sitcoms BBC television sitcoms Comedy Playhouse Lost BBC episodes Television series set in the 1900s