Second Thoughts (TV series)
Second Thoughts | |
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Genre | Sitcom |
Created by |
Jan Etherington Gavin Petrie |
Starring |
Lynda Bellingham James Bolam Belinda Lang Julia Sawalha |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of series | 5 |
No. of episodes | 49 |
Production | |
Running time |
30 minutes (including commercials) |
Production company(s) | LWT |
Distributor | ITV Studios |
Release | |
Original network | ITV |
Picture format | 4:3 |
Original release | 3 May 1991 – 14 October 1994 |
Genre | Sitcom |
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Running time | 30 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language(s) | English |
Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
Starring |
Lynda Bellingham James Bolam Belinda Lang |
Created by |
Jan Etherington Gavin Petrie |
Written by |
Jan Etherington Gavin Petrie |
Air dates | 1 November 1988 to 23 July 1992 |
No. of series | 4 |
No. of episodes | 31 |
Second Thoughts is a British comedy television programme that ran from 3 May 1991 to 14 October 1994. It was broadcast on the ITV network and made by the ITV company LWT. It was followed by a sequel, Faith in the Future. Second Thoughts followed the lives of two middle-aged divorcees, Bill MacGregor and Faith Greyshott, from very different backgrounds trying to develop a relationship, despite the pressures pulling it apart (namely Faith's two teenage children and Bill's devious ex-wife Liza, who works alongside him).
Second Thoughts was based upon the real-life relationship of the writers, husband and wife Jan Etherington and Gavin Petrie. It originally aired as a radio series on BBC Radio 4 broadcast between 1 November 1988 and 23 July 1992. The radio series consisted of four series and a Christmas special broadcast in 1992 with a total of 31 episodes. The radio scripts were used for the television series on ITV. The fifth series was considered weaker than the first four series; it was the only series not to be based on the original radio scripts.
During the recording of an episode of Series 4, Lynda Bellingham was surprised by the "This Is Your Life" host Michael Aspel on set. as she was to be the star of an episode of "This Is Your Life". Her co-star James Bolam was in on the surprise, and Lynda appeared truly shocked when Michael Aspel appeared on the set to present her with the big red book and to tell her "This Is Your Life" to the thundering applause of the studio audience.[1]
Second Thoughts ended on 14 October 1994, but has since been repeated on ITV3. The original radio series was often replayed on BBC7.
Characters
- Bill Macgregor (James Bolam) - An art editor of a style magazine where he works alongside his bitchy ex-wife Liza.
- Faith Grayshot (Lynda Bellingham) - Faith is a freelance illustrator who occasionally does work for the style magazine Bill works for.
She has two teenagers from her previous marriage, Hannah and Joe. The children and the dog often come before Bill. - Liza Macgregor (sometimes known as Liza Ferrari) (Belinda Lang) - Bill's ex-wife, Liza is a histrionic woman with expensive tastes. Liza works for the same magazine as Bill and is constantly interfering with Bill and Faith's relationship.
- Hannah Grayshot (Julia Sawalha) - Faith's teenage daughter and eldest child.
- Joe Grayshot (Mark Denham) - Faith's teenage son. Joe is obsessed with football and only shows interest in girls when they like football.
- Hilary (Louisa Rix in series 1; Paddy Navin in series 2 and 3) - Faith's best friend who is unlucky in love.
- Richard (Geoffrey Whitehead) - Bill's boss at the magazine. Richard is married to Marjorie, but having an affair with Liza.
- Marjorie (Georgina Melville)
- Callum (Ian Henderson) - Bill's cousin.
- Defor the Dog (Levi)
Episode guide
Series 1: 1991
# | Title | Airdate |
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1 | "Found and Lost" | 3 May 1991 |
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2 | "Match of the Day" | 10 May 1991 |
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3 | "Night Moves" | 17 May 1991 |
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4 | "She who hesitates" | 24 May 1991 |
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5 | "Nursing a conscience" | 31 May 1991 |
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6 | "The Late, Late Show" | 7 June 1991 |
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7 | "A marriage of inconvenience" | 14 June 1991 |
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Series 2: 1992
# | Title | Airdate |
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8 | "Rebel without a pause" | 3 January 1992 |
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9 | "Overtaken by events" | 10 January 1992 |
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10 | "Health and Efficiency" | 17 January 1992 |
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11 | "The rhythm of strife" | 24 January 1992 |
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12 | "Maybe, Baby" | 31 January 1992 |
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13 | "Love and Hisses" | 7 February 1992 |
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14 | "Room with a queue" | 14 February 1992 |
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15 | "Foreign Exchange" | 21 February 1992 |
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16 | "Recipe for Disaster" | 28 February 1992 |
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17 | "Affair Assessment" | 6 March 1992 |
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18 | "Come as you were" | 13 March 1992 |
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19 | "Love, Honour and Delay" | 20 March 1992 |
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Series 3: 1992-1993
# | Title | Airdate |
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20 | "Sleeping Partner" | 18 October 1992 |
21 | "Youth and Consequences" | 25 October 1992 |
22 | "Vice Principle" | 1 November 1992 |
23 | "Double Booked" | 8 November 1992 |
24 | "Is everybody happy?" | 15 November 1992 |
25 | "Occupational Hazard" | 22 November 1992 |
26 | "Hello, Goodbye" | 29 November 1992 |
27 | "Labour of Love" | 6 December 1992 |
28 | "Short Change" | 13 December 1992 |
Faith and Bill decide to move to a new home for two, but Hannah and Joe have other ideas. | ||
29 | "Sobering Thoughts" | 8 January 1993 |
Bill starts his new job working under Liza, and Faith starts a temperance drive. | ||
30 | "Old Problem" | 15 January 1993 |
31 | "Heartburn" | 22 January 1993 |
32 | "Faint Possibility" | 29 January 1993 |
33 | "Otherwise Engaged" | 5 February 1993 |
34 | "Management Decision" | 12 February 1993 |
Series 4: 1993
# | Title | Airdate |
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35 | "Last Words" | 29 October 1993 |
36 | "Into the fire" | 5 November 1993 |
37 | "One more time" | 12 November 1993 |
38 | "Auld Acquaintance" | 19 November 1993 |
39 | "Mr. Fixit" | 3 December 1993 |
40 | "Whose birthday is it anyway?" | 10 December 1993 |
41 | "Playing away" | 17 December 1993 |
Series 5: 1994
# | Title | Airdate |
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42 | "What's new?" | 26 August 1994 |
43 | "Work Experience" | 2 September 1994 |
44 | "She's leaving home" | 9 September 1994 |
45 | "Mortal Thoughts" | 16 September 1994 |
46 | "Dress Circle" | 23 September 1994 |
47 | "Sporting Chance" | 30 September 1994 |
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48 | "Full House" | 7 October 1994 |
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49 | "Friday the Thirteenth" | 14 October 1994 |
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DVD releases
All five series of Second Thoughts have been released on DVD. The first series was released in June 2005, but there was a 6-year gap before the second series was released on 11 July 2011. (During the gap, Network DVD was busy sorting out and planning release schedules on other TV shows.) The third series was released just 4 months later, on 7 November 2011, followed by the fourth series on 16 January 2012, and the fifth and final series on 5 March 2012, with a complete series set ("consisting of all five series together") to follow.
DVD | Release date |
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References
External links
- Radio episode guide
- Second Thoughts at British Comedy Guide
- Second Thoughts at the Internet Movie Database