Watching
Encyclopedia
Watching is a British television
sitcom
, produced by Granada Television
for the ITV network and broadcast for seven series and four specials between 1987 and 1993.
The series was written by Jim Hitchmough
and starred Paul Bown
and Emma Wray
as mismatched couple Malcolm Stoneway and Brenda Wilson.
, with Brenda from Liverpool
and Malcolm from Meols
on the Wirral
, the "posh" part of Merseyside on the other side of the River Mersey
. The title refers to Brenda and her sister Pamela's hobby of 'people watching', and to Malcolm's hobby of birdwatching
, which initially Brenda endures rather than enjoys, but later comes to appreciate.
Quiet biker Malcolm, who lived with his domineering mother (played by Patsy Byrne - Nursie from Blackadder), was accompanied on his birdwatching trips by loud scouser Brenda, who was forced to ride in the sidecar of his Norton motorbike. The series followed their on/off relationship, during which Malcolm married Lucinda (played by Elizabeth Morton).
Brenda and Malcolm married each other in the final episode, "Knotting", broadcast on 4 April 1993.
in Liverpool
. He submitted the sketch for the BBC satirical series Not the Nine O'Clock News
but it was rejected. Undeterred by this, Hitchmough developed the sketch into a hit stage play and later won a commission from Granada Television
to produce a seven-part series for broadcast on Sunday nights at 10:00 pm (a timeslot which was usually reserved for satirical comedy such as Yorkshire TV
's The New Statesman
and Central TV
's Spitting Image
). After a successful first series and subsequent Christmas
special, Watching was recommissioned and moved to an earlier timeslot of 8:00 pm on Friday nights. Up until the end of its final run (broadcast at 7 pm on Sunday), the series would win audiences of over 17 million viewers.
Originally, the series was produced by David Liddiment (later to become Director of Programming at ITV
) and directed by Les Chatfield, a senior director at Granada. Chatfield directed all 56 episodes and took over producing duties from series 3 onwards. Liddiment became the series' executive producer.
Emma Wray sang the theme song
, "What Does He See in Me?", which was written by Charles Hart
. Incidental music was written and composed by Richie Close.
A video featuring the first two episodes, "Meeting" and "Wrestling" was released by CastleVision in August 1993.
.
Note:'Cedric' and 'Mary' are the names given to the characters by Brenda during her people watching days, Cerdric's 'real' name is unknown, but in series one episode Repenting Brenda reveals that she has talked to her and that 'Mary's' real name is Freida.
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
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...
, produced by Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
for the ITV network and broadcast for seven series and four specials between 1987 and 1993.
The series was written by Jim Hitchmough
Jim Hitchmough
Jim Hitchmough was a TV comedy writer, teacher and academic. He was best known for the long-running television sitcom Watching, but also wrote for Coronation Street and Brookside; and a feature-length TV film The Bullion Boys.-External links:*...
and starred Paul Bown
Paul Bown
Paul Bown is an English actor. He is best known as one of the leading roles of the Granada Television comedy Watching . Bown has also appeared in various plays and shows, including an advert for Toffee Crisp in the 1980s and more recently as Philip Reid in BBC's Holby City...
and Emma Wray
Emma Wray
Emma Wray is a former English actress. She attended the Merseyside Council funded "Glenda Jackson Theatre" whilst still at Birkenhead Park High school, went on to study Theatre Arts at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama from 1983–6, and was given her first leading TV role two months after...
as mismatched couple Malcolm Stoneway and Brenda Wilson.
Plot
Watching was set in MerseysideMerseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, with Brenda from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Malcolm from Meols
Meols
Meols is a village on the northern coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is contiguous with the larger town of Hoylake, situated immediately to the west. Formerly, Meols was in the county of Cheshire, although since 1 April 1974 it has been a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in the...
on the Wirral
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
, the "posh" part of Merseyside on the other side of the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
. The title refers to Brenda and her sister Pamela's hobby of 'people watching', and to Malcolm's hobby of birdwatching
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
, which initially Brenda endures rather than enjoys, but later comes to appreciate.
Quiet biker Malcolm, who lived with his domineering mother (played by Patsy Byrne - Nursie from Blackadder), was accompanied on his birdwatching trips by loud scouser Brenda, who was forced to ride in the sidecar of his Norton motorbike. The series followed their on/off relationship, during which Malcolm married Lucinda (played by Elizabeth Morton).
Brenda and Malcolm married each other in the final episode, "Knotting", broadcast on 4 April 1993.
Series One
| Episode Number | Episode Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meeting | 5 July 1987 |
| 2 | Wrestling | 12 July 1987 |
| 3 | Outing | 19 July 1987 |
| 4 | Confusing | 26 July 1987 |
| 5 | Leaving | 2 August 1987 |
| 6 | Repenting | 9 August 1987 |
| 7 | Hiding | 16 August 1987 |
| 8 | Special Episode Seasoning |
27 December 1987 |
Series Two
| Episode Number | Episode Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Falling | 19 February 1988 |
| 10 | Dancing | 26 February 1988 |
| 11 | Visiting | 4 March 1988 |
| 12 | Visiting II | 11 March 1988 |
| 13 | Missing | 18 March 1988 |
| 14 | Dining | 25 March 1988 |
| 15 | Moving | 1 April 1988 |
| 16 | Special Episode Twitching 60 minute episode |
24 December 1988 |
Series Three
| Episode Number | Episode Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | Losing | 3 March 1989 |
| 18 | Deceiving | 10 March 1989 |
| 19 | Requiting | 17 March 1989 |
| 20 | Breeding | 24 March 1989 |
| 21 | Wrenching | 31 March 1989 |
| 22 | Wedding | 7 April 1989 |
Series Four
| Episode Number | Episode Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | Joking | 1 December 1989 |
| 24 | Pairing | 8 December 1989 |
| 25 | Faultering | 15 December 1989 |
| 26 | Exploding | 29 December 1989 |
| 27 | Repairing | 5 January 1990 |
| 28 | Petting | 12 January 1990 |
| 29 | Floating | 19 January 1990 |
| 30 | Proposing | 26 January 1990 |
| 31 | Flitting | 2 February 1990 |
Series Five
| Episode Number | Episode Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | Listing | 14 December 1990 |
| 33 | Nesting | 21 December 1990 |
| 34 | Feeding | 4 January 1991 |
| 35 | Winning | 11 January 1991 |
| 36 | Fixing | 18 January 1991 |
| 37 | Straying | 25 January 1991 |
| 38 | Homing | 1 February 1991 |
| 39 | Suiting | 8 February 1991 |
| 40 | Bonding | 15 February 1991 |
| 41 | Presenting | 22 February 1991 |
| 42 | Special Episode Slipping 60 minute episode |
25 December 1991 |
Series Six
| Episode Number | Episode Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 43 | Using | 3 January 1992 |
| 44 | Echoing | 10 January 1992 |
| 45 | Doctoring | 17 January 1992 |
| 46 | Christening | 24 January 1992 |
| 47 | Gulling | 31 January 1992 |
| 48 | Confessing | 7 February 1992 |
| 49 | Special Episode Reverting |
1 January 1993 |
Series Seven
| Episode Number | Episode Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | Migrating | 21 February 1993 |
| 51 | Uncoupling | 28 February 1993 |
| 52 | Helping | 7 March 1993 |
| 53 | Engaging | 14 March 1993 |
| 54 | Wandering One | 21 March 1993 |
| 55 | Wandering Too | 28 March 1993 |
| 56 | Knotting | 4 April 1993 |
Production notes
Watching was originally conceived as a comedy sketch about a shy birdwatcher and a lively girl, written by Hitchmough during a drama workshop at the Everyman TheatreEveryman Theatre
The Everyman Theatre stands at the north end of Hope Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Established in 1964 in a former cinema, it encouraged local talent and played a part in the development of new artistes and writers. The theatre was rebuilt between 1975 and 1977, and was closed again for...
in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. He submitted the sketch for the BBC satirical series Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News is a television comedy sketch show which was broadcast on BBC 2 from 1979 to 1982.Originally shown as a comedy "alternative" to the BBC Nine O'Clock News on BBC 1, it featured satirical sketches on current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy...
but it was rejected. Undeterred by this, Hitchmough developed the sketch into a hit stage play and later won a commission from Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
to produce a seven-part series for broadcast on Sunday nights at 10:00 pm (a timeslot which was usually reserved for satirical comedy such as Yorkshire TV
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
's The New Statesman
The New Statesman
The New Statesman is an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time...
and Central TV
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
's Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
). After a successful first series and subsequent Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
special, Watching was recommissioned and moved to an earlier timeslot of 8:00 pm on Friday nights. Up until the end of its final run (broadcast at 7 pm on Sunday), the series would win audiences of over 17 million viewers.
Originally, the series was produced by David Liddiment (later to become Director of Programming at 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...
) and directed by Les Chatfield, a senior director at Granada. Chatfield directed all 56 episodes and took over producing duties from series 3 onwards. Liddiment became the series' executive producer.
Emma Wray sang the theme song
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
, "What Does He See in Me?", which was written by Charles Hart
Charles Hart (lyricist)
Charles Hart is a British lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for re-writing the lyrics to, and contributing to the book of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical The Phantom of the Opera. He also co-wrote the lyrics to Lloyd Webber's 1989 musical Aspects of Love...
. Incidental music was written and composed by Richie Close.
Book and Video releases
A novel based around the first series of Watching and written by Jim Hitchmough was published in 1990 by Bantam Books.A video featuring the first two episodes, "Meeting" and "Wrestling" was released by CastleVision in August 1993.
DVD Releases
All seven series and four specials have been released on DVD, The complete first series, including the 1987 Christmas special ("Seasoning"), was released on DVD in February 2006, also released was Watching:Series 1-Selected Episodes, which comprised three first season episodes "Meeting", "Outing" and "Hiding". The complete second series was released in March 2008; The complete third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh series including the 1988, 1991 and 1993 Christmas and New Year specials ("Twitching"), ("Slipping") and ("Reverting"), Especially a nine-disc set of the complete series, were released in April, May, July, October and November 2009. All releases are distributed 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...
.
| DVD | Year(s) | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete Series 1 | 1987 | 27 February 2006 |
| The Complete Series 2 | 1988 | 17 March 2008 |
| The Complete Series 3 | 1989 | 6 April 2009 |
| The Complete Series 4 | 1989- 1990 |
25 May 2009 |
| The Complete Series 5 | 1990- 1991 |
13 July 2009 |
| The Complete Series 6 | 1992 | 5 October 2009 |
| The Complete Series 7 | 1993 | 9 November 2009 |
| The Complete Series 1 to 7 Box Set | 1987- 1993 |
9 November 2009 |
Cast
- Emma WrayEmma WrayEmma Wray is a former English actress. She attended the Merseyside Council funded "Glenda Jackson Theatre" whilst still at Birkenhead Park High school, went on to study Theatre Arts at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama from 1983–6, and was given her first leading TV role two months after...
- Brenda Wilson - Paul BownPaul BownPaul Bown is an English actor. He is best known as one of the leading roles of the Granada Television comedy Watching . Bown has also appeared in various plays and shows, including an advert for Toffee Crisp in the 1980s and more recently as Philip Reid in BBC's Holby City...
- Malcolm Stoneway - Liza TarbuckLiza TarbuckLiza Tarbuck is an English actress and television and radio presenter, and daughter of comedian Jimmy Tarbuck.She trained at the National Youth Theatre and RADA graduating in 1986 alongside Clive Owen, Rebecca Pidgeon and Serena Harragin.-Acting:...
- Pamela Wilson - Patsy ByrnePatsy ByrnePatsy Byrne is an English actress.-Biography:She was educated at Ashford School for Girls, and attended the school around the same time as Lorna Fendall, and Joanna Brough, daughter of Arthur Brough...
- Mrs Marjorie Stoneway, Malcolm's Mum - Perry FenwickPerry FenwickPerry Fenwick is an English film and television actor. He has one sister, Tracey, and two brothers, Faron and Lee. He is, also, the second cousin of Georgina Hagen, who played Lauren Waters in the series of Britannia High....
- Terry Milton - Philip FoxPhilip FoxPhilip Fox was an American astronomer and an officer in the U.S. Army. He was the first director of the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, the first planetarium in the western hemisphere.-Biography:...
- Sydney Clough (series 1 only) - John BowlerJohn Bowler (actor)John Bowler is an English actor who is best known for playing P.C. Roger Valentine in ITV’s The Bill since 2004.-Career:He was educated in Yorkshire, and trained in acting in Glasgow...
- David Lynch (series 2 on) - Elizabeth SpriggsElizabeth Spriggs-Early life and career:Born in Buxton, Derbyshire as Elizabeth Jean Williams, Spriggs had an unhappy childhood and grew up entirely without affection, particularly from her distant, domineering father, a master builder and farmer. She studied at the Royal College of Music and taught speech and...
- Aunt Peggy (from series 2 on) - Liz CrowtherLiz CrowtherElizabeth Ann 'Liz' Crowther is an English television actress. She is the daughter of comedian Leslie Crowther....
- Susan Roberts (series 2 and 3 only) - Ken JonesKen JonesKen Jones may refer to:*Ken Jones , Welsh athlete and international rugby union footballer 1950s*Ken Jones , Wales international rugby union player of the 1960s...
- Uncle Bernard (series 3) - Russell BoulterRussell BoulterRussell Boulter is an English actor. He played Chris, Malcolm's assistant in series four of Watching. He has played DS John Boulton in The Bill from 1995 to 2000, a character created by Matthew Wingett, the brother of Mark Wingett who played Jim Carver in the series. Since then he has appeared in...
- Chris Cameron (series 4 only) - Noreen KershawNoreen KershawNoreen Kershaw is an English television actress and director.She trained at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre and, at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, originated the title role of the play Shirley Valentine, later made famous by Pauline Collins...
- Joyce Wilson, Brenda's Mum (series 6 on) - Andrew Hilton - Gerald Wilson, Brenda's young brother (series 6 on)
- Elizabeth Morton - Lucinda Davis/Stoneway
- Richard Good- Jonathan MacMillan
- Ally Vuli - Roz, the Nanny
- Al T. Kossy - Harold, landlord of the Grapes
- Dave DuttonDave DuttonDave Dutton is an English actor. He first came to public recognition when he played the part of Oswald, the eccentric cafe owner in Granada television's situation comedy, Watching. He has played minor roles in several different television series including Heartbeat and The Royal...
- Oswald the cafe owner - Bill Moores - 'Cedric', regular at the Grapes
- Anita Petrof - 'Mary', regular at the Grapes
Note:'Cedric' and 'Mary' are the names given to the characters by Brenda during her people watching days, Cerdric's 'real' name is unknown, but in series one episode Repenting Brenda reveals that she has talked to her and that 'Mary's' real name is Freida.