Wood and Walters
| Wood and Walters | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Victoria Wood |
| Directed by | Stuart Orme |
| Starring |
Victoria Wood Julie Walters John Dowie Rik Mayall Michael Angelis Roger Brierley Jill Summers Duncan Preston |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Peter Eckersley (pilot) Brian Armstrong (series) |
| Running time | 25 minutes per episode |
| Production company(s) | Granada Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Original release | 1 January 1981 – 21 February 1982 |
Wood and Walters was a British television comedy sketch show starring Julie Walters and Victoria Wood for Granada Television and written entirely by Wood. The show was short-lived, with one pilot in 1981 and a series of seven shows in 1982.
Both women had first met at Manchester Polytechnic in 1970, Wood was hoping to enroll, and Walters was coming to the end of her course. They met again in 1978 when they both appeared in the same revue In At The Death at The Bush Theatre in London.
Wood had been initially spotted by Granada’s head of drama, Peter Eckersley, performing in her self-written play Talent at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre, who asked her to recreate it for television (his widow is actress Anne Reid, who would appear as Jean in Wood’s 1998 sitcom dinnerladies). The TV version of Talent and its sequel Nearly A Happy Ending, would also co-star Walters.
After she had turned down the female role in the satirical sketch show Not The Nine O'Clock News in 1979, Eckersley offered Wood a sketch show of her own in 1980. However, Wood agreed only on the understanding that Walters received equal billing, not feeling confident enough as yet to go it alone. Wood had in fact only ever written one sketch three years earlier before being given her own show. She fell back on songs, which she felt was her strength, the pilot contained four in 30 minutes. The sketches concerned themselves with Marriage Guidance Council, keep fit classes, DIY and gossip. Wood hated the finished result, so was very surprised that the show was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Light Entertainment Programme alongside The Two Ronnies, The Kenny Everett Video Show and The Stanley Baxter Series (which won).
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