Girls on Top (TV series)

Girls on Top
From bottom left to bottom right: Amanda Ripley (Dawn French), Lady Chloe Carlton (Joan Greenwood), Shelley DuPont (Ruby Wax); From top centre to top right: Candice Valentine (Tracey Ullman) and Jennifer Marsh (Jennifer Saunders).
Created by	Dawn French Jennifer Saunders Ruby Wax
Written by	Dawn French Jennifer Saunders Ruby Wax
Directed by	Paul Jackson (Series 1) Ed Bye (Series 2)
Starring	Dawn French Joan Greenwood Jennifer Saunders Ruby Wax Tracey Ullman
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer(s)	Allan McKeown
Producer(s)	Paul Jackson
Running time	30 minutes (including adverts)
Release
Original network	ITV
Picture format	4:3
Original release	23 October 1985 (1985-10-23) – 11 December 1986 (1986-12-11)

Girls on Top is a British ITV sitcom, broadcast in 1985 and 1986, and made by Witzend for the ITV contractor Central Independent Television. It stars Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Ruby Wax and Tracey Ullman, and was written by French, Saunders, and Wax with additional material from Ullman. Despite a poor critical reception, the series was a ratings success.

The show focused on four female flatmates and their landlady. It was an attempt at a female version of The Young Ones, two series of which were made in 1982 and 1984. French and Saunders had both appeared in it and, like most of its stars, were members of The Comic Strip group.

The theme tune was written and performed by Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford from the British band Squeeze (with the cast singing the theme for the first series, and Tilbrook singing for the second).

Others in small roles included Helen Lederer, Pauline Melville, Helen Atkinson Wood, Mark Arden, Stephen Frost, Robbie Coltrane, Harry Enfield, Hugh Laurie, Pauline Quirke, Alan Rickman, John Sessions and Arthur Smith plus the Beverley Sisters and American Soap series actor Katherine Helmond, who appeared in one episode as Shelley's mother.