Executive Stress
| Executive Stress | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Directed by | David Askey John Howard Davies |
| Starring |
Penelope Keith Geoffrey Palmer Peter Bowles Harry Ditson Elizabeth Counsell Mark Caven |
| Theme music composer | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
| Opening theme | Why We Fell in Love |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 19 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
James Gilbert John Howard Davies |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Original release | 20 October 1986 – 27 December 1988 |
Executive Stress is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1986 to 1988. Produced by Thames Television, it first aired on 20 October 1986. After three series, the last episode aired on 27 December 1988.
Written by George Layton, Executive Stress stars Penelope Keith as Caroline Fairchild, a middle-aged woman who decides to go back to work. Her husband, Donald, is played by Geoffrey Palmer in the first series. However, Palmer was unable to return for the second series, so Peter Bowles played Donald in the remaining two series. Keith and Bowles had previously appeared together in the BBC Comedy Series, To the Manor Born.
When writing Executive Stress, George Layton was inspired by his wife's difficult experience juggling a career in Public Relations after having had two children. His wife resigned a month after going back to work because she felt guilty, and Layton commented how "like Caroline In the series, she’d had a very good job and it set me thinking about all the compromises women have to make." The programme was set in the world of publishing as it was one of the few industries of the era dominated by women, meaning Donald and Caroline could realistically be on an equal footing at work.
The producer, John Howard Davies, commissioned a second series before the first series had even aired.
The opening theme, "Why We Fell in Love," was performed by Julie Covington. The lyrics were written by Tim Rice with the instrumentals composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
After 25 years of marriage, mother-of-five Caroline Fairchild decides to go back to work. Her husband Donald would like her to work part-time in their home town of Amersham in Buckinghamshire. Instead she gets a job in London as an Editorial Director for an American company called "Oasis Publishing". At the company she is reunited with her former secretary, Anthea Duxbury, who is a sales export director.
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