Our Friend Victoria
- TV documentary
- BBC One
- 2017
- 7 episodes (1 series)
A series dedicated to the body of work from Victoria Wood. Also features Julie Walters, Richard E. Grant, Michael Ball, Maxine Peake, Daniel Rigby and more.
Episode menu
Series 1, Episode 1 - Age
Further details
Episode 1 is presented by Victoria's long-term friend and collaborator Julie Walters, who looks at Victoria's take on age and those unforgettable characters who spanned generations. From naïve teenagers like Chrissie, the long-distance swimmer, to the pre-menstrual lovable misfits that were the dinnerladies - and not forgetting a treasured trove of hip-creaking, old crones, beautifully brought to life by Julie. These characters were grounded in the everyday. However exaggerated, they were never implausible.
Clips include classic sketches featuring teenage lovebirds, Carl & Gail; bolshie tear-away Kelly-Marie Tunstall and painfully naïve Chrissie, who hopes to swim the channel. We explore Victoria's take on middle age via hilariously honest stand-up routines and scenes from dinnerladies. While the unforgettable Waitress sketch (AKA Two Soups) and Acorn Antiques showcase Victoria's penchant for picking out little quirks that made her old characters universally recognisable.
Julie is joined by fellow co-stars Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Anne Reid, Maxine Peake, Thelma Barlow and Shobna Gulati, who open up about working with Victoria and creating these iconic scenes. While friends and fans including Michael Ball, Richard E. Grant, Aisling Bea, Ted Robbins, Kate Robbins and Harriet Thorpe pick out their favourite moments and discuss why she's not just their friend but Our Friend, Victoria.
All this, along with rare behind-the-scenes photos from Victoria's personal archive, make this series a must-see for Victoria Wood fans.
Broadcast details
- Date
- Tuesday 11th April 2017
- Time
- 9:30pm
- Channel
- BBC One
- Length
- 30 minutes
Cast & crew
| Julie Walters | Host / Presenter |
| Anne Reid | Self |
| Thelma Barlow | Self |
| Celia Imrie | Self |
| Shobna Gulati | Self |
| Aisling Bea | Self |
| Victoria Wood | Self (Archive Material) |
| Joanna Scanlan | Self |
| Kate Robbins | Self |
| Maxine Peake | Self |
| Andrew Dunn | Self |
| Harriet Thorpe | Self |
| Duncan Preston | Self |
| Michael Ball | Self |
| Richard Dean | Series Director |
| Richard Dean | Series Producer |
| Jessika Barcynski | Producer |
| Lucy Ansbro | Executive Producer |
| Lindsay Jex | Executive Producer |
| Ian Wilson | Editor |
| Victoria Wood | Composer |
| Rachel Ashdown | Commissioning Editor |
Press
Our Friend Victoria review
Julie Walters presents the first of a six-part celebration of a comedian without equal.
Jasper Rees, The Arts Desk, 12th April 2017Review: Our Friend Victoria
I laughed a lot through this first episode. Of course I did, it's Victoria ruddy Wood. Her delivery, her word choice, the rhythm of a line. Even if it's not her saying it, you know it's Victoria Wood. Her voice was so strong, in everything she wrote.
Alison Carr, Standard Issue, 12th April 2017Our Friend Victoria review
Admittedly, this was a glorified clip show - but what clips they were.
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 12th April 2017Our Friend Victoria review
You won't learn much in this tribute to Victoria Wood, but you'll chuckle and feel warm in that uniquely BBC way.
Chitra Ramaswamy, The Guardian, 12th April 2017With Britain needing laughter more than ever, it seems especially cruel that Victoria Wood, one of the brightest comic minds ever to illuminate our lives, was unexpectedly taken from us last year. In this new series, Julie Walters looks back at some of the characters her friend and collaborator created, including Chrissie the long-distance swimmer and shambolic pseudo-soap Acorn Antiques, with colleagues from Wood's career also offering recollections.
Mark Gibbings-Jones, The Guardian, 11th April 2017