Wild, Wild Women
Encyclopedia
Wild, Wild Women was a British
sitcom
that aired on BBC
from 1968 to 1969. Made in black-and-white
, it starred Barbara Windsor
and was written by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney
.
, which was also written by Chesney and Wolfe
. Barbara Windsor
, who also starred in The Rag Trade, played Millie, a cockney
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 spirit of Britain
in the 1960s, the women adopted a new fiesty spirit not seen in The Rag Trade. In the pilot the women were shown as strong supporters of the suffragette movemement, 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.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
that aired on BBC
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
from 1968 to 1969. Made in black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
, it starred Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
and was written by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney
Chesney and Wolfe
Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe are British TV comedy screenwriters, best known for their popular 1960s / 1970s sitcoms The Rag Trade and On The Buses.-Early years:...
.
Pilot
- Barbara WindsorBarbara WindsorBarbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
- Millie - Derek FrancisDerek FrancisDerek Francis was an English comedy and character actor.He was a regular in the Carry On film players, appearing in six of the films in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in Roger Corman's last film of his Edgar Allan Poe series The Tomb of Ligeia...
- Mr Harcourt - Penelope KeithPenelope KeithPenelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE, DL is an English actress.Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom The Good Life...
- Daisy - Sonia Fox - Ruby
- Jennie Paul - Blossom
- Ronnie StevensRonnie Stevens (actor)Ronald Stevens was a London-born English actor known as Ronnie Stevens.He appeared in many television comedy series in regular roles, including May to December, Goodnight Sweetheart and A J Wentworth, BA. He also appeared as the "Minister of Pollution", in The Goodies pollution episode...
- Clarence - David Stoll - Lord Hurlingham
- Zena Howard - Lady Hurlingham
Series
- Barbara WindsorBarbara WindsorBarbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
- Millie - Paul Whitsun-JonesPaul Whitsun-JonesPaul Whitsun-Jones was a Welsh actor.He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, Middlesex.-Career:Whitsun-Jones played the role of Mr Bumble in the original West End production of the musical Oliver!...
- Mr Harcourt - Pat CoombsPat CoombsPat Coombs was an English actress. Coombs was considered one of Britain's great character actresses, specialising in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female — comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, film and television sitcoms...
- Daisy - Ken PlattKen PlattKen Platt was a British north-country comedian.-Style:...
- Albert - Toni Palmer - Ruby
- Jessie RobinsJessie RobinsJessie Robins was an English actress whose career lasted from 1958 to 1969. She was best recognised as Ringo Starr's "Auntie Jessie" In The Beatles' made for television movie "Magical Mystery Tour."-Work:...
- Blossom - Daphne HeardDaphne HeardDaphne Heard was an English actress. She was born in Plymouth, Devon.She had a long and distinguished career on the stage, especially in classical roles, but was perhaps best known to the general public in latter years as "Mrs...
- Ginny - Yvonne Paul - Flo
- Anna KarenAnna KarenAnna Karen is a South African-born British film, television and theatre actress.-Career:Early in her career, Karen worked as a striptease dancer at London's Panama Club. During her acting career she has starred in many films and television programmes, including the BBC sitcom Wild, Wild Women,...
- Maude - Joan SandersonJoan SandersonJoan Sanderson was an English television and stage actress. During a long career she invariably played dragonish dowagers, stuck-up spinsters and suburban matrons.-Theatre:...
- Mrs Harcourt
Outline
This period sitcom, set in 1902, was a variation of The Rag TradeThe Rag Trade
The Rag Trade was a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by LWT between 1977 and 1978.The scripts were by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, who later wrote Wild, Wild Women, a period variation of The Rag Trade....
, which was also written by Chesney and Wolfe
Chesney and Wolfe
Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe are British TV comedy screenwriters, best known for their popular 1960s / 1970s sitcoms The Rag Trade and On The Buses.-Early years:...
. Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
, who also starred in The Rag Trade, played Millie, a cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in 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 spirit of Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the 1960s, the women adopted a new fiesty spirit not seen in The Rag Trade. In the pilot the women were shown as strong supporters of the suffragette movemement, 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.
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)