Joking Apart

Joking Apart
The opening title is superimposed over a stack of legal documents.
Created by	Steven Moffat
Directed by	Bob Spiers
Starring	Robert Bathurst Fiona Gillies Tracie Bennett Paul Raffield Paul Mark Elliott
Theme music composer	Chris Rea
Opening theme	"Fool (If You Think It's Over)" (also end theme)
Composer(s)	Kenny Craddock, Colin Gibson
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	12 (+ pilot) (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Andre Ptaszynski
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	BBC2
Picture format	4:3
Original release	7 January 1993 – 7 February 1995
Chronology
Related shows	Coupling

Joking Apart is a BBC television sitcom written by Steven Moffat about the rise and fall of a relationship. It juxtaposes a couple, Mark (Robert Bathurst) and Becky (Fiona Gillies), who fall in love and marry, before getting separated and finally divorced. The twelve episodes, broadcast between 1993 and 1995, were directed by Bob Spiers and produced by Andre Ptaszynski for independent production company Pola Jones.

The show is semi-autobiographical; it was inspired by the then-recent separation of Moffat and his first wife. Some of the episodes in the first series followed a non-linear parallel structure, contrasting the rise of the relationship with the fall. Other episodes were ensemble farces, predominantly including the couple's friends Robert (Paul Raffield) and Tracy (Tracie Bennett). Paul Mark Elliott also appeared as Trevor, Becky's lover.

Scheduling problems meant that the show attracted low viewing figures. However, it scored highly on the Appreciation Index and accrued a loyal fanbase. One fan acquired the home video rights from the BBC and released both series on his own DVD label.

By 1990, Moffat had written two series of Press Gang, but the programme's high cost along with organisational changes at Central cast its future in doubt. As Moffat wondered what to do next and worried about his future employment, Bob Spiers, Press Gang's primary director, suggested that he meet with producer Andre Ptaszynski to discuss writing a sitcom. Moffat's father had been a headteacher and Moffat himself had taught English before writing Press Gang, so his initial proposal was a programme similar to what would become Chalk, a series that eventually aired in 1997.