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Series 1, Episode 1 - Perfect Ingredients

In Episode One, Victoria Wood describes why she wanted to have a go at making a sitcom, and there's a look at the on-screen coupling of Thelma Barlow and Anne Reid as Dolly and Jean.

Preview clips

Further details

Victoria Wood describes why she wanted to have a go at making a sitcom, how she came up with the idea of dinnerladies, and how she came to use a mixture of long-time collaborators coupled with some new actors to create the perfect cast. The show also focuses on one of the funniest couplings in sitcom history, Dolly and Jean played by the unforgettable Thelma Barlow and Anne Reid.

Plus, Victoria describes why she wanted her friend Julie Walters to be one of the stars of the show by playing her on screen Mum, Petula Gordino.

Broadcast details

Date
Wednesday 14th March 2018
Time
8pm
Channel
Gold
Length
60 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Thursday 15th March 2018 1:00pm Gold
Sunday 18th March 2018 5:25pm Gold
Saturday 16th June 2018 3:50pm Gold
Monday 18th June 2018 2:00pm Gold
Saturday 23rd June 2018 2:30pm Gold
Friday 11th January 2019 9:20pm Gold
Saturday 12th January 2019 11:00am Gold
Monday 18th March 2019 7:00pm Gold
Friday 22nd March 2019 7:00pm Gold
Saturday 23rd March 2019 12:45pm Gold
Saturday 15th June 2019 8:35am Gold
Saturday 22nd June 2019 7:10am Gold
Sunday 21st July 2019 7:00pm Yesterday
Monday 22nd July 2019 12:00am Yesterday
Sunday 27th October 2019 9:00am Gold
Monday 4th May 2020 8:00pm Yesterday
Saturday 27th June 2020 8:40am Gold
Sunday 28th June 2020 7:30am Gold
Friday 3rd July 2020 7:30am Gold
Sunday 4th October 2020 6:00pm Drama
Sunday 4th April 2021 7:35am Gold
Saturday 19th June 2021 7:40am Gold
Saturday 14th August 2021 8:35am Gold
Monday 18th April 2022 7:30am Gold
Saturday 6th May 2023 7:35am Gold
Monday 29th May 2023 8:00am Gold

Cast & crew

Cast
Julie Walters Self
Thelma Barlow Self
Andrew Dunn Self
Shobna Gulati Self
Maxine Peake Self
Anne Reid Self
Geoff Posner Self
Victoria Wood Self (Archive Material)
David Morrissey Narrator
Guest cast
Peter Salmon Self
Joanna Scanlan Self
Peter Martin Self
Production team
Richard Dean Director
Richard Dean Series Producer
Nigel Alred Producer
Iain Coyle Executive Producer
Lucy Ansbro Executive Producer
Phil McIntyre Executive Producer
Lindsay Jex Executive Producer
Fiona Frankland Line Producer
Ian Wilson Editor
Luke Hallam Director of Photography
Tom Pridham Director of Photography

Video

Cast lucky to have been involved

This clip is from episode 1 of dinnerladies diaries and features the cast discussing their involvement in the programme and how lucky they were to be in it.

Featuring: Thelma Barlow, Andrew Dunn, Shobna Gulati & Anne Reid.

Press

Creator Victoria Wood's summary of dinnerladies as "just a bunch of women who work in a canteen" belies how popular her first sitcom was. Twenty years after the show began, this three-parter tells the behind-the-scenes story, with contributions from the likes of Julie Walters, Maxine Peake and Jo Brand.

Ali Catterall, The Guardian, 14th March 2018

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