The Bed-Sit Girl
1965 United KingdomAnother sitcom from the prolific two Ron's writing team of Chesney and Wolfe, The Bed-Sit Girl was written as a starring vehicle for Sheila Hancock, who had become a household name in the duo's earlier smash hit comedy, The Rag Trade.
Sheila plays a secretary, an ingenious, kind-hearted but disorganised creature who is always aiming at sophisticated self-possession but usually achieves only a comical, embarrassed muddle with a steady stream of failed romances and frustrated failures, even though she will never give up her dreams of a more glamorous and fulfilling existence.
She would gladly swap places with her glamourous friend and neighbour Dilys (occasional Carry On star - Dilys Laye) and attempts to associate herself with what she considers the 'jet set'. But the two girls have as diverse personalities as they have jobs. Dilys is a much cooler and sharper customer who does actually work in the 'jet set' - well, she works as an air hostess and that's as 'jet set' as you can get.
When the series returned for a second outing Dilys had jetted off permanently and Sheila had by now befriended the worldly-wise Liz (Hy Hazell) who recommends compiling a list of the good and bad points of the new occupant of Dily's flat. David (Derek Nimmo) is a twenty-eight year-old eligible bachelor. But during an encounter at a laundromat, the possibility of a romance almost ends when he stumbles across her written-down assessment of his assets and liabilities.
For Sheila, not much changed between the first and second series. Still the same as ever, dreaming of being swept off her feet in a wild romance (preferably by a playboy) but going from job to job and always ending up in the typing pool where she can't read her own shorthand and sometimes struggles to read back what she has typed.
Described by the scriptwriters as 'More Brief Encounter' than 'Up the Junction', we are unable to assess the quality of this series because sadly, all twelve episodes are lost.
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Published on April 16th, 2023. Written by Malcolm Alexander for Television Heaven.
