Girls About Town TV series

Girls About Town

1970 - United Kingdom

Two married women, one with her head in the clouds and the other with her feet on the ground, decide it's time their husbands took more notice of them. 

This series of comedies, very relevant to the period where women were paying more awareness to gender inequality and campaigning against cultural and political bias of their sex, took the subject of two females who were tired of slaving over kitchen sinks in the domestic tedium of their suburban homes and decide to strike out for their sex. As one of the characters points out "...there aren't really any women sitting in in cornfields in kinky boots being seduced by cigar-smoking, sports-car driving fellers, who all look like James Bond." 

This was no man's eye view of the Women's Lib movement which probably would have ended up poking fun at crazy suffragettes burning their bras for cheap laughs. The writer, Adele Rose was a prolific writer on Coronation Street, UK television's longest running soap opera, penning around 500 scripts between 1961 and 1998. In fact, there was a big Corrie connection to the series. The pilot had starred Anna Quayle and Barbara Mullaney who, under the name Barbara Knox, went on to star in the soap as Rita Littlewood (later Fairclough), and Peter Baldwin (Corrie character Derek Wilton) starred in both the pilot and the series as Harold Liversedge, one of the beleaguered husbands. Helen Worth (Gail Tilsley) appeared in the second episode. 

Girls About Town

A cast change was made for the two female leads between 1969 pilot and 1970 series with two stalwarts of children's television taking the spotlight at adult prime time; Denise Coffey (Brenda Liversedge) had starred in Do Not Adjust Your Set while Julie Stevens (Rosemary Pilgrim) had been performing for even younger audiences in Playschool. Three series were made between 1970 and 1971 and all but the pilot were in colour.

Published on December 19th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

Brights Boffins

Children's comedy series about a group of scientists who work in a rambling long-forgotten Government establishment called Halfwitt House.

Also released in 1970

Spate of Speight

60-minute one-off sketch show from one of Britain's most controversial comedy scriptwriters

Also starring Anna Quayle

Clarence

Ronnie Barker plays a short sighted delivery man who falls in love with a maid and moves to the country with her.

Also tagged Britcom

Barney is My Darling

A married couple's uneasy attempt to adjust to married life after years apart.

Also tagged Sitcom

Crime of Passion TV series

In France crime passionnel (or crime of passion) was a valid defence during murder cases; during the 19th century, some cases could result in a custodial sentence for two years for the murderer.

Also released in 1970

T-Bag

Tallulah Bag and Tabatha Bag are two beautiful but evil witches who set out to destroy all the harmony and good in the world utilising their magical powers obtained by drinking tea made from the High T-Plant

Also starring Denise Coffey

The Bulldog Breed

A single series of seven comedies about Tom, the perennial optimist, as he wanders through life leaving chaos in his wake totally oblivious to the problems he causes for everyone.

Also tagged Britcom

The Fosters

Originally billed as a 'sparkling new comedy series' about life in a typical south London black family, The Fosters was anything but typical, new or original.

Also tagged Situation Comedy

His and Hers TV series

Role reversal comedy that was perhaps a little ahead of its time...

Also released in 1970