Executive Stress
Encyclopedia
Executive Stress is a British
sitcom
that aired on ITV
from 1986 to 1988. Produced by Thames Television
, it first aired on 20 October 1986. After three series, the last episode aired on 27 December 1988.
Written by George Layton
, Executive Stress stars Penelope Keith
as Caroline Fairchild, a middle-aged woman who decides to go back to work
. Her husband, Donald, is played by Geoffrey Palmer
in the first series. However, Palmer was unable to return for the second series, so Peter Bowles
played Donald in the last two series. Keith and Bowles had previously appeared in together in To the Manor Born
.
after having had two children. His wife resigned a month after going back to work because she felt guilty, and Layton commented how "like Caroline In the series, she’d had a very good job and it set me thinking about all the compromises women have to make."
The producer
, John Howard Davies
, commissioned a second series before the first series had even aired.
The opening theme, "Why We Fell in Love," was performed by Julie Covington
. The lyrics were written by Tim Rice
with the instrumentals composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber
.
in Buckinghamshire
. Instead she gets a job in London
as an Editorial Director for an American
company called "Oasis Publishing". At the company she is reunited with her former secretary, Anthea Duxbury, who is a sales export director.
"Oasis Publishing" is owned by the "Frankland Corporation", which is run by Edgar Frankland, Jr., the son of the corporation's boss. On Caroline's first day at work, Frankland takes over "Ginsberg", the company that Donald works for and they find themselves working together. However, an unwritten rule at Frankland states that married couples cannot work together, so they have to pretend not to know each other, and Caroline uses her maiden name of Fielding. In Series Two, Edgar finds out they are married, but does not sack them and makes them joint managing directors of "Oasis Publishing".
, as did the six-episode second series. The third series, also of six episodes, aired on Tuesdays at 20.30 following The Bill
.
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 ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
from 1986 to 1988. Produced by Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
, it first aired on 20 October 1986. After three series, the last episode aired on 27 December 1988.
Written by George Layton
George Layton
George Layton is an English actor, director, screenwriter and author. He was educated at Belle Vue Boys' Grammar School in Bradford and later studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts where he won the Emile Littler award. He went on to leading parts at Coventry and Nottingham and...
, Executive Stress stars Penelope Keith
Penelope Keith
Penelope 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...
as Caroline Fairchild, a middle-aged woman who decides to go back to work
On-Ramping
On-ramping is the process of re-entering the workforce after taking a career break . It is paired with the term "off-ramping", or exiting the workforce as a temporary career break....
. Her husband, Donald, is played by Geoffrey Palmer
Geoffrey Palmer (actor)
Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:...
in the first series. However, Palmer was unable to return for the second series, so Peter Bowles
Peter Bowles
-Early life:Bowles was born in London, England, the son of Sarah Jane and Herbert Reginald Bowles. His father was a chauffeur and butler at a stately home in Warwickshire; but, upon the outbreak of World War II, he was seconded to work as an engineer at Rolls-Royce and moved the family to Nottingham...
played Donald in the last two series. Keith and Bowles had previously appeared in together in To the Manor Born
To the Manor Born
To the Manor Born is a British sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special edition appeared in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by Peter Spence, the creator, while the 1981 finale was written by Christopher...
.
Production
When writing Executive Stress, George Layton was inspired by his wife's difficult experience juggling a career in Public RelationsPublic relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
after having had two children. His wife resigned a month after going back to work because she felt guilty, and Layton commented how "like Caroline In the series, she’d had a very good job and it set me thinking about all the compromises women have to make."
The producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, John Howard Davies
John Howard Davies
John Howard Davies was an English television director and producer and former child actor.Davies was born in Paddington, London, the son of the scriptwriter Jack Davies...
, commissioned a second series before the first series had even aired.
The opening theme, "Why We Fell in Love," was performed by Julie Covington
Julie Covington
Julie Covington is an English singer and actress, best known for recording the original version of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina".-Career:...
. The lyrics were written by Tim Rice
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
with the instrumentals composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
.
Cast
- 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...
— Caroline Fairchild (née Fielding) - Geoffrey PalmerGeoffrey Palmer (actor)Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:...
— Donald Fairchild (series 1) - Peter BowlesPeter Bowles-Early life:Bowles was born in London, England, the son of Sarah Jane and Herbert Reginald Bowles. His father was a chauffeur and butler at a stately home in Warwickshire; but, upon the outbreak of World War II, he was seconded to work as an engineer at Rolls-Royce and moved the family to Nottingham...
— Donald Fairchild (from series 2) - Harry Ditson — Edgar Frankland Jr
- Elizabeth Counsell — Anthea Duxbury
- Mark Caven — Anthony
- Hilary Gish - Nicky
- Timothy CarltonTimothy CarltonTimothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English character actor. Among other work, he appeared in the sitcoms Executive Stress, Next of Kin and in the television film The Scarlet Pimpernel....
- Peter Stuart (series 1) - David Neville - Peter Stuart (series 2)
- Lorraine Doyle - Jackie (series 1 and 2)
- Ben RobertsonBen RobertsonBen Robertson is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in the Australian Football League . Robertson played three senior games in his first season with Carlton, but was unable break into the senior side in 1993 or 1994 and was delisted at the conclusion of the 1994 season...
- Stephen Cass (series 1 and 2) - Wanda VenthamWanda VenthamWanda Ventham is an English actress, mainly on television. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama....
- Sylvia (series 2) - Donald PickeringDonald PickeringDonald Ellis Pickering was an English actor.Pickering had appeared in many television, film and radio roles...
- Gordon (series 2) - Vincent Brimble - Tim Jackson (series 3)
- Geoffrey WhiteheadGeoffrey WhiteheadGeoffrey Whitehead is an English actor. He has appeared in a huge range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at the Shakespeare Globe, St...
- Peter Davenport (series 3)
Plot
After 25 years of marriage, mother-of-five Caroline Fairchild decides to go back to work. Her husband Donald would like her to work part-time in their home town of AmershamAmersham
Amersham is a market town and civil parish within Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England, 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills. It is part of the London commuter belt....
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. Instead she gets a job in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as an Editorial Director for an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company called "Oasis Publishing". At the company she is reunited with her former secretary, Anthea Duxbury, who is a sales export director.
"Oasis Publishing" is owned by the "Frankland Corporation", which is run by Edgar Frankland, Jr., the son of the corporation's boss. On Caroline's first day at work, Frankland takes over "Ginsberg", the company that Donald works for and they find themselves working together. However, an unwritten rule at Frankland states that married couples cannot work together, so they have to pretend not to know each other, and Caroline uses her maiden name of Fielding. In Series Two, Edgar finds out they are married, but does not sack them and makes them joint managing directors of "Oasis Publishing".
Episodes
Three series of Executive Stress were broadcast from 1986 to 1988. The first series, made of seven episodes, aired on Mondays at 20:00 following Coronation StreetCoronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, as did the six-episode second series. The third series, also of six episodes, aired on Tuesdays at 20.30 following The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
.
| Series | Episodes | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 1986 1986 in television The year 1986 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1986.For the American network television schedule, please see 1986-87 American network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:*September 6 –... |
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| 2 | 6 | 1987 1987 in television The year 1987 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1987.For American TV schedule, see: 1987–88 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:... |
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| 3 | 6 | 1988 1988 in television The year 1988 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1988.For the American TV schedule, see: 1988-89 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:... |
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Series 1: 1986
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| # | Title | The Daily Mail Daily Mail The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982... two days before the first episode broadcast, Corinna Honan praised Penelope Keith saying, "This is Keith at her best playing a totally believable middle class, middle-aged woman with wit, finesse and touching vulnerability". Honan also said that Geoffrey Palmer is the "perfect foil with his dry humour, understated style and rubbery features". She also said that the programme "makes very serious points about women, work and motherhood". Broadcast around the worldReruns of the series are currently airing in 2009 in AustraliaAustralia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... on ABC Television. Online releasesAll seven episodes from the first series have been released online through British Telecommunications BT Vision Download Store.DVD releaseThe complete first and second series of Executive Stress were released on 26 April 2010 and 24 January 2011, by NetworkNetwork DVD Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes... , The third (and final) series is scheduled to follow.
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