Victoria Wood

Victoria Wood
CBE
Wood in 2012
Born(1953-05-19)19 May 1953
Prestwich, Lancashire, England
Died20 April 2016(2016-04-20) (aged 62)
Highgate, London, England
EducationUniversity of Birmingham
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • actress
  • musician
  • screenwriter
  • director
Years active1974–2016
Notable work
Style
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1980; div. 2005)​
[1]
Children2
RelativesChris Foote Wood (brother)
AwardsSee awards and recognition

Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act was interspersed with her own compositions which she performed at the piano. Much of her humour was grounded in everyday life and included references to activities, attitudes and products that are considered to exemplify Britain. She was noted for her skills in observational comedy and in satirising aspects of social class.[3][4]

Wood started her career in 1974 by appearing on, and winning, the ATV talent show New Faces. She established herself as a comedy star in the 1980s, winning a BAFTA TV Award in 1986 for the sketch series Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV (1985–87), and became one of Britain's most popular stand-up comics,[3] winning a second BAFTA for An Audience with Victoria Wood (1988). In the 1990s, she wrote and co-starred in the television film Pat and Margaret (1994), and the sitcom dinnerladies (1998–2000), which she also produced.[5] She won two more BAFTA TV Awards, including Best Actress, for her 2006 ITV1 television film, Housewife, 49.[3][4] Her frequent long-term collaborators included Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, and Anne Reid.[3] In 2006, Wood came tenth in ITV's poll of the British public's 50 Greatest TV Stars.

Early life

Victoria Wood was the youngest child of Stanley and Ellen "Nellie" Wood (née Mape).[6] Stanley worked as an insurance salesman, who also wrote songs for his company's Christmas parties, was the author of the musical play Clogs (based in a Lancashire village in 1887) and wrote part-time for Coronation Street and others.[7] She had three siblings: a brother, Chris, and two sisters, Penny and Rosalind.[8]

Wood was born in Prestwich and brought up in nearby Bury.[9] She was educated at Fairfield County Primary School[10] and Bury Grammar School for Girls,[11] where she immediately found herself out of her depth.

I was always top of the class, and when I went to grammar school I could not deal with everyone being as clever... I went under. I was a mess, a bit of a misfit. I didn't have any friends, let alone try to be funny...I didn't do any work, didn't have clean clothes and didn't wash. If I didn't have any money I'd steal from people, and if I hadn't done my homework I'd steal someone else's. I was envious of all the groups: the horsey group, the girls who went out with boys, the clever ones. Looking back, I feel really sorry for that little girl.[12]

Wood developed eating disorders, but in 1968, her father gave her a piano for her 15th birthday.[13] She later said of this unhappy time "The good thing about being isolated is you get a good look at what goes on. I was reading, writing and working at the piano all the time. I was doing a lot of other things that helped me to perform."[14] Later that year, she joined the Rochdale Youth Theatre Workshop, where she felt she was "in the right place and knew what I was doing" and she made an impression with her comic skill and skill in writing.[14][15] She went on to study in the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham.[16]

Career

1970s

Wood began her show business career while an undergraduate, appearing on the TV talent show New Faces in 1974.[8] It led to an appearance in a sketch show featuring the series' winners The Summer Show.[17] A further break came as a novelty act on the BBC's consumer affairs programme That's Life! in 1976. She had met long-term collaborator Julie Walters in 1971, when Wood applied to the Manchester School of Theatre, then part of Manchester Polytechnic.[18] Coincidentally, the pair met again when they appeared in the same theatre revue In at the Death in 1978 (for which Wood wrote a brief sketch). Its success led to the commissioning of Wood's first play Talent (in 1978), starring Hazel Clyne (in a role originally written for Walters), for which Wood won an award for the Most Promising New Writer. Peter Eckersley, the head of drama at Granada Television, saw Talent and invited Wood to create a television adaptation. This time, Julie Walters took the lead role, while Wood reprised her stage role.[3][19] In 2019, John Lloyd revealed that Wood was offered the female role in Not the Nine O'Clock News, but turned it down.[20]

1980–1988

The success of the television version of Talent led to Wood writing the follow-up Nearly a Happy Ending. Shortly afterwards she wrote a third play for Granada, Happy Since I Met You, again with Walters alongside Duncan Preston as the male lead. In 1980 she wrote and starred in the stage play Good Fun.[3]

Recognising her talent, Eckersley offered Wood a sketch show, although Wood was unsure of the project: she agreed to go ahead only if Walters received equal billing. Eckersley came up with an obvious title – Wood and Walters,[18] and the pilot episode was recorded. It led to a full series, featuring Duncan Preston and a supporting cast. In the period between the completion of the pilot and the shooting of the series, Eckersley died. Wood credited him with giving her her first big break, and felt that Wood and Walters suffered due to his death.[18] She was not impressed by Brian Armstrong, his fill-in, and was of the opinion that he hired unsuitable supporting actors.[3]

Wood appeared alongside Peter Llewellyn-Jones as an actor/presenter in Yorkshire Television's 1984 schools television programme for hearing-impaired children, Insight - a remake of the series originally presented by Derek Griffiths. In 1982 and 1983 she appeared as a panellist on BBC Radio 4's Just a Minute.

In October 1983 Wood performed her first solo stand-up show, Lucky Bag, in a five-week run at the King's Head Theatre in Islington. The show transferred to the Ambassadors Theatre for a 12-night run in February 1984. Lucky Bag went on a short UK tour in November and December 1984 and was also released as a live album recorded at the Edinburgh Festival in 1983.[3]

Wood left Granada in 1984 for the BBC, which promised her more creative control over projects. Later that year her sketch show Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV went into production. Wood chose the actors: her friend Julie Walters once again starred, as did Duncan Preston. Wood's friends Celia Imrie, Susie Blake and Patricia Routledge were in the cast. As Seen on TV featured the Acorn Antiques series of sketches, parodying the low-budget soap opera Crossroads, and rumoured to be named after an antiques shop in her birthplace. Acorn Antiques is remembered for characters such as "Mrs Overall" (played by Walters), the deliberately bad camera angles and wobbling sets, and Celia Imrie's sarcastic tone as "Miss Babs". One of Wood's most popular comic songs,[3] "The Ballad of Barry and Freda (Let's Do It)", originated on this show. It tells the story of Freda (a woman eager for sex) and Barry (an introverted man terrified of intimate relations), and makes clever use of allusions to a multitude of risqué activities while avoiding all taboo words.[21]

Following the success of the first series of Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, Wood went on tour again with Lucky Bag in March 1985. Scene, a documentary for BBC2 later that year, showed footage of Wood preparing for the tour and clips of her performing the show at Derby Assembly Rooms.

A second series of Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV was made in 1986. Before filming began in the summer, Wood went on a 22-date tour of England and Scotland during March and April. A final 'Special' 40-minute episode of As Seen on TV was made in 1987 and broadcast later that year.

During autumn 1987 Wood went on the road with what was to be her largest tour yet. The tour included a sell-out two-week run at the London Palladium, and had a second leg in the spring of 1988.

In 1988 she appeared in the BAFTA-winning An Audience with Victoria Wood for ITV. At the time of recording the show she was six months pregnant. The end of 1988 saw the release of her second live album Victoria Wood Live, recorded at the Brighton Dome.[3]

Wood recorded two songs for the 1985 movie Return to Oz. Neither we used in the final release.

1989–1999

During this period Wood moved away from the sketch show format and into more self-contained works, often with a bittersweet flavour. Victoria Wood (six parts, 1989) featured Wood in several individual stories such as "We'd Quite Like To Apologise", set in an airport departure lounge, and "Over to Pam", set around a fictional talk show.[22]

In May 1990, Wood began a large sell-out tour of the United Kingdom, which was followed by a ten-week run at the Strand Theatre in London titled Victoria Wood Up West. Wood took the show on the road again during March and April 1991, where it was recorded at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, and later released as Victoria Wood Sold Out in 1991.[3][23]

In 1991, she appeared on the Comic Relief single performing "The Smile Song", the flipside to "The Stonk" (a record by ITV comedians Gareth Hale and Norman Pace with charity supergroup The Stonkers).[24][25][26] A UK number-one single for one week on 23 March 1991, the record was the UK's 22nd-best-selling single of the year. However, even though it was a joint-single (with "The Smile Song" credited on the front of the single cover[27] and listed as track 2 on the seven-inch and CD single rather than being a B-side), the UK singles chart compilers (now the Official Charts Company) did not credit her with having number one hit, in a situation similar to the fate of BAD II's "Rush", the AA-side of the preceding number one, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash.

She briefly returned to sketches for the 1992 Christmas Day special Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast, and also branched out into children's animation, voicing all the characters for the CBBC series Puppydog Tales.[28]

In April 1993, Wood began a seven-month tour of the UK. The 104-date tour broke box office records, including 15 sell out shows at London's Royal Albert Hall, and played to residencies in Sheffield, Birmingham, Plymouth, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Leicester, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Oxford, Southampton, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds and Hull.[3][29]

The television film Pat and Margaret (1994), starring Wood and Julie Walters as long-lost sisters with very different lifestyles, continued her return to stand-alone plays with a poignant undercurrent to the comedy.[30]

On Christmas Day 1994, Wood starred in the one-off BBC 50-minute programme based on her 1993/94 stage show Victoria Wood: Live in Your Own Home. The special featured stand-up routines, character monologues and songs.[31][32] An extended 80 minute version was released on VHS.

Wood went on a 68-date sell-out tour of the UK between May - October 1996, which played at venues in Leicester, Sheffield, Ipswich, Blackpool, Wolverhampton, Bradford, Newcastle, Bournemouth, Brighton, Nottingham, Oxford, Southend, Manchester and Cambridge. The tour culminated with another 15 sell-out shows at London's Royal Albert Hall in the autumn. The tour recommenced in April 1997 in Liverpool, also taking in Reading, Birmingham, Bristol, Halifax, Glasgow, Portsmouth, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Wood then took the show to Australia and New Zealand during July and August. It was later released as Victoria Wood Live 1997 filmed at the High Wycombe Swan Theatre during the tours final shows in September.[3][32]

In October 1997, Wood released a compilation of 14 of her songs titled Victoria Wood, Real Life The Songs.[3]

Her first sitcom dinnerladies (1998), continued her now established milieu of mostly female, mostly middle-aged characters depicted vividly and amusingly, but with a counterpoint of sadder themes.[33]

2000–2005

December 2000 saw the Christmas sketch show special Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings, featuring her regular troupe of actors as well as a string of special guest stars including Hugh Laurie, Angela Rippon, Bob Monkhouse, Bill Paterson, Delia Smith and Roger Moore.

2001 saw Wood embark on her final stand-up tour, Victoria Wood at It Again but was postponed slightly by Wood having to have an emergency hysterectomy shortly before the tour was due to begin. She re-wrote the entire first half of the show and incorporated the operation into her act. The 85-date tour included another residency at the Royal Albert Hall and finished in April 2002.[3][32]

During this period, Wood tended to move away from comedy to concentrate on drama. She continued to produce one-off specials including Victoria Wood's Sketch Show Story (2002) and Victoria Wood's Big Fat Documentary (2005).[34][35]

Wood wrote her first musical, Acorn Antiques: The Musical!, which opened in 2005 at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London, for a limited period, directed by Trevor Nunn. It starred several of the original cast, with Sally Ann Triplett playing Miss Berta (played in the series by Wood). Wood played Julie Walters' lead role of Mrs Overall for Monday and Wednesday matinee performances.[36][37]

2006–2010

Wood wrote the one-off ITV serious drama Housewife, 49 (2006), an adaptation of the diaries of Nella Last, and played the eponymous role of an introverted middle-aged character who discovers new confidence and friendships in Lancashire during the Second World War. Housewife, 49 was critically acclaimed, and Wood won BAFTAs for both her acting and writing for this drama; a rare double.[38] The film also starred Stephanie Cole and David Threlfall as well as, in a small role, Sue Wallace with whom Wood had worked before and studied alongside at Birmingham.

In November 2006, Wood directed a revival production of Acorn Antiques: The Musical! with a new cast. The musical opened at the Lowry in Salford in December and toured the United Kingdom from January to July 2007.[39]

In January 2007, she appeared as herself in a series of advertisements featuring famous people working for the supermarket chain Asda. They featured Wood working in the bakery and introduced a catchphrase – "there's no place like ASDA".[40] Wood was the subject of an episode of The South Bank Show in March 2007, and is the only woman to be the subject of two South Bank programmes (the previous occasion was in September 1996).[41]

Wood appeared in a three-part travel documentary on BBC One called Victoria's Empire, in which she travelled around the world in search of the history, cultural impact and customs the British Empire placed on the parts of the world it ruled. She departed Victoria Station, London, for Calcutta, Hong Kong and Borneo in the first programme. In programme two she visited Ghana, Jamaica and Newfoundland and in the final programme, New Zealand, Australia and Zambia, finishing at the Victoria Falls.[42]

In a tribute to Wood, the British television station UKTV Gold celebrated her work with a weekend marathon of programmes between 3 and 4 November 2007, featuring programmes such as Victoria Wood Live and dinnerladies and Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV – its first screening on British television since 1995.

Wood returned to stand-up comedy, with a special performance for the celebratory show Happy Birthday BAFTA on 28 October 2007, alongside other household names. The programme was transmitted on ITV1 on Wednesday 7 November 2007.[43] On Boxing Day 2007 she appeared as "Nana" in the Granada dramatisation of Noel Streatfeild's novel Ballet Shoes.[44]

In December 2007, when a guest on the radio programme Desert Island Discs, Wood said she was about to make her first foray into film, writing a script described as a contemporary comedy about a middle-aged person. On Thursday, 12 June 2008, Wood was a member of the celebrity guest panel on the series The Apprentice: You're Fired! on BBC Two. In June 2009, she appeared as a panellist on the first two episodes of a series of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

In 2009, Wood provided the voice of God for Liberace, Live From Heaven by Julian Woolford at London's Leicester Square Theatre. Wood returned to television comedy for a one-off Christmas sketch-show special, her first for nine years, Victoria Wood's Mid Life Christmas, transmitted on BBC One at 21:00 on Christmas Eve 2009.[45] It reunited Wood with Julie Walters in Lark Pies to Cranchesterford, a spoof of BBC period dramas Lark Rise to Candleford, Little Dorrit and Cranford; a spoof documentary, Beyond the Marigolds, following Acorn Antiques star Bo Beaumont (Walters); highlights from the Mid Life Olympics 2009 with Wood as the commentator; parodies of personal injury advertisements; and a reprise of Wood's most famous song "The Ballad of Barry and Freda" ("Let's Do It"), performed as a musical number with tap-dancers and a band. Victoria Wood: Seen On TV, a 90-minute documentary looking back on her career, was broadcast on BBC Two on 21 December, whilst a behind-the-scenes special programme about Midlife Christmas, Victoria Wood: What Larks!, was broadcast on BBC One on 30 December.

2011–2016

On New Year's Day 2011, Wood appeared in a BBC drama Eric and Ernie as Eric Morecambe's mother, Sadie Bartholomew.[46]

For the 2011 Manchester International Festival, Wood wrote, composed and directed That Day We Sang,[47] a musical set in 1969 with flashbacks to 1929. It tells the story of a middle-aged couple who find love after meeting on a TV programme about a choir they both sang in 40 years previously. Although the characters are imaginary, the choir sang with the Hallé Youth Orchestra[48] in Manchester's Free Trade Hall on a record that sold more than a million copies. Apart from the pieces on the 1929 recording (Purcell's "Nymphs and Shepherds" and the Evening Benediction from Hansel and Gretel) the score for the musical was written by Wood.[49][50] She also narrated the 2012 miniseries The Talent Show Story.[51]

On 22 December 2012, Wood was a guest on BBC Radio 2's Saturday morning Graham Norton Show.[52] On 23 December BBC One screened Loving Miss Hatto, a drama written by Wood about the life of concert pianist Joyce Hatto, the centre of a scandal over the authenticity of her recordings and her role in the hoax.[53] In April 2013, Wood produced a documentary about the history of tea named Victoria Wood's Nice Cup of Tea.[54] In 2013 she played retired constable-turned-security-guard Tracy in BBC Scotland's Case Histories starring Jason Isaacs.[55] She appeared in an episode of QI, broadcast on 13 December 2013,[56] and around the same time made two return appearances on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue during the show's 60th series in which she joined in the game One song to the tune of Another, singing the Bob the Builder theme "Can We Fix It?" to the tune of "I Dreamed a Dream".[57] In March 2014, Wood voiced the TV advertisement for the tour of the old set of Coronation Street. On 5 December 2014 Wood was a guest on BBC's The Graham Norton Show.[58][59] On 26 December 2014, a television movie adaptation of That Day We Sang, directed by Wood, starring Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton, was shown on BBC Two.[60]

In early 2015, Wood took part in a celebrity version of The Great British Bake Off for Comic Relief and was crowned Star Baker in her episode.[61] She co-starred with Timothy Spall in Sky television's three-part television adaptation of Fungus the Bogeyman, which was first shown on 27, 28 & 29 December 2015,[62] her final acting role.

Collaborators

Wood was known for using many of the same actors in her projects, which comedian Tiff Stevenson later described as "this core of people who she knew she worked well with, and why would [she] want to walk away from that?" Duncan Preston said of these recurring appearances, "I wouldn't say that we were her favourite actors; I think we were like a company that she had."[63] Celia Imrie commented that Wood's "team" approach "meant that we could work together very fast."[64] An overview of these recurring cast members is shown below:

Actor As Seen on TV Victoria Wood All Day Breakfast Pat and Margaret dinnerladies With All the Trimmings Mid Life Christmas
Kay Adshead Recurring 1 episode Guest
Susie Blake Regular 2 episodes
Jim Broadbent Recurring 1 episode
Deborah Grant Recurring 1 episode
Philip Lowrie 2 episodes
Celia Imrie Regular 3 episodes Regular
Duncan Preston Regular 1 episode Regular
Anne Reid Guest 2 episodes Regular
Lill Roughley Recurring 4 episodes Guest
Julie Walters Regular 3 episodes Recurring

Filmography

Year Title Role Is Writer? Type 1st aired Date 1st aired Channel Runtime Notes
2026 Becoming Victoria Wood Self Documentary January 9th 2026 Cinema 90 minutes in memoriam
2020 Victoria Wood's Secret List TV Series December 25th 2020, December 26th 2020 BBC Two 2x 60 minutes in memoriam. Sketches handpicked by Wood. With insight from friends and fans, rare & unseen footage.
2017 Our Friend Victoria April 11th 2017 - December 23rd 2017 BBC One 6x 30 minutes + 39 minutes (Christmas Special) in memoriam [65] Age, People, Sex, Appearance, Television, At Christmas
2015 The Great Comic Relief Bake Off Self (Contestant) March 4th 2015 BBC Two 60 minutes
Fungus the Bogeyman Actor (Snotsoup) December 27th 2015 - December 29th 2015 Sky One 67 minutes, 60 minutes, 43 minutes all 3 Episodes
2014 The Graham Norton Show Self (Guest) TV Talk Show December 5th 2014 BBC One 50 minutes 1 Episode. With Keaton, McKellen, One Direction. also appeared twice on Norton's Radio 2 show
Victoria Wood: That Musical we Made Self Yes Documentary December 26th 2014 BBC Two 60 minutes Making of That Day We Sang
That Day We Sang Director Screenplay December 26th 2014 90 minutes Last Major Work. Featuring Michael Ball & Imelda Staunton. Featured at Manchester International Festival.
2013 A Nice Cup of Tea Self Documentary April 10th 2013 - April 11th 2013 BBC One 2x 60 minutes [66]
Case Histories Actor (Tracy) TV Series May 19th 2013 90 minutes 1 Episode
QI Self (Guest) December 13th 2013 30 minutes 1 Episode
2012 Loving Miss Hatto Executive Producer Yes TV Movie December 23rd 2012
Ruddy Hell! It's Harry & Paul Self (Guest) TV Series November 11th 2012 3x 30 minutes 3 Episodes
Bring me Morecambe and Wise Self (Narrator) November 21st 2012 GOLD 5x 60 minutes all 5 episodes
2011 The Borrowers Actor (Granny Driver) TV Movies December 16th 2011 BBC One 90 minutes
Comic Relief: Red Nose Day 2011 Actor (Mrs Crawler) Yes TV Special March 18th 2011 7 minutes & 9 minutes Downton Abbey Sketch (2 parts)
Eric & Ernie Actor (Sadie Bartholemew) TV Movie January 1st 2011 BBC Two 90 minutes
2010 Victoria Wood's Little Cracker Self, Director TV Series December 25th 2010 Sky One 15 minutes 1 Episode
The Angina Monologues Self Stand-up December 12th 2010 DVD 39 minutes for British Heart Foundation
2009 Victoria Wood: What Larks! Actor TV Movie late 2009 BBC One 44 minutes Also Known As "What I Did on My Holidays"[67] Making of Midlife Christmas
Victoria Wood's Midlife Christmas Self TV Special December 24th 2009 60 minutes Christmas Special
2008 The Apprentice: You're fired! Self (Guest) TV Series June 11th 2008 BBC Three 30 minutes 1 Episode
2007 Ballet Shoes Actor (Nana) TV Movie December 26th 2007 BBC One 85 minutes
Happy Birthday BAFTA Self Yes Stand-up October 28th 2007 90 minutes segements within the show
Clive James: Talking in the Library Self (Guest) TV Series September 19th 2007 Artsworld 30 minutes 1 Episode. Interview
Victoria's Empire Self Yes Documentary April 29th 2007 BBC One 3x 60 minutes
1987, 2007 ASDA adverts Actor TV adverts 1987, 2007 British TV Advert 30 seconds, 1 minute The 1987 ad also features Julie Walters
2006 Dawn French's Girls Who Do Comedy Self (Guest) TV Series December 29th 2006 BBC Four 30 minutes 1 Episode

Interview

2005 What ITV Did For Me Self TV Series September 20th 2005 ITV1 120 minutes Interview
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse Actor (Queen Mary II) Movie June 3rd 2005 Cinema 92 minutes Cameo
Victoria Wood: A BAFTA Tribute Self (Guest) TV Special February 5t 2005 BBC Two 60 minutes
Acorn Antiques: The Musical! Actor (Bo Beaumont) Yes Screenplay January 27th 2005 (Stage) March 13th 2006 (DVD) West End, DVD 157 minutes Played Mrs Overall on Bingo Nights
Housewife, 49 Actor (Nella Last) TV Movie December 10th 2006 ITV1 95 minutes
2004 Victoria Wood's Big Fat Documentary Self Documentary January 9th 2004 - January 16th 2004 BBC One 2x 60 minutes
2001 Victoria Wood: Victoria at the Albert - Live Stand-up November 25th 2002 DVD 108 minutes "at it again" tour. Royal Albert Hall's record for most shows in a run by any comedian and any female performer[68]
Victoria Wood's Sketch Show Story Self Documentary October 25th 2001 - November 1st 2001 BBC Two 2x 30 minutes
2000 Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings Actor TV Special 25th December 2000 BBC One 52 minutes Christmas Special
Don't Panic! The Dad's Army Story Self TV Special May 28th 2000 at 6:40pm 39 minutes [69]
1999 The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything Actor (Hairdresser) TV Special January 2nd 2000 50 minutes Featuring Thora Hird
Shaggy Dog Story Actor (Brenda Furlong) TV Promo December 25th 1999 BBC 3 minutes Promo for Children In Need
1998-2000 dinnerladies Actor (Brenda Furlong), Producer Yes TV Sitcom November 12th 1998 - January 27th 2000 BBC One 16x 30 minutes
1998 Best Of British Self Documentary November 11th 1998 39 minutes 1 Episode. Documentary on Wood's life
1997 Victoria Wood: Live Self Yes Stand-up November 13th 1997 97 minutes [70]
Heroes of Comedy Self TV Series Channel 4 Features in 5 episodes but not the subject of the show
1996, 2007 The South Bank Show TV Series September 15th 1996, March 11th 2007 ITV1 2x 60 minutes Making Wood the first female subject of two South Bank Shows
1996 The Wind in the Willows Actor (The tea lady) Movie October 11th 1996 Cinema 88 minutes released on VHS and DVD as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in the United States
Great Railway Journeys Self Yes TV Series November 21st 1996 BBC Two 60 minutes 1 Episode - Crewe to Crewe
1995 Victoria Wood's Dawn Actress TV Special Match 17th 1885 BBC One 5 minutes Feat Dawn French
1994 Victoria Wood: Live in Your Own Home Sell TV Special December 25th 1994 80 minutes VHS release first on October 31st 1994
Pat and Margaret Actor TV Movie September 11th 1994 90 minutes
1992 Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast Actor (Sally Cumbernauld) TV Special December 20th 1992 50 minutes Christmas Special
1991 Julie Walters & Friends Actor TV Sitcom December 29th 1991 ITV1 60 minutes With Alan Bennett
Victoria Wood: Sold Out Self Stand-up January 1st 1991 ITV1, VHS
Comic Relief TV Special March 15th 1991 BBC One 395 minutes Uncredited
Anytime Tales Narrator Children's TV Series January 13th 1993 CBBC 5 minutes Features in 1 of 10 short stories[71]
1988 Aspel And Company Guest TV Talk Show April 2nd 1988, June 20th 1993 ITV1 30-60 minutes 2 Episodes.

With Harry Enfield & Dolly Parton & with Kate Bush & Lenny Henry

1984-1998 Jackanory Storyteller Children's TV Series January 17th 1984 BBC One 16x 15 minutes 16 Episodes
1989 Victoria Wood Self, Creator Yes TV Sitcom November 19th 1989 BBC One 10-50 minutes, 108 minutes 6 one-off sitcoms and a Christmas special: Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah, The Library, Over to Pam, We'd quite like to apologise, Val de Ree (Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha), Staying in, The Ballad of Fatty Arbuckle
Puppydog Tales Scriptwriter, Narrator Children's TV Series September 17th 1992 Knowledge Network, Canada first then BBC 13x 5 minutes all 13 episodes
1988 An Audience with Victoria Wood Self TV Special December 10th 1988 ITV1 55 minutes
Comic Relief Actor (Joan) February 5th 1988 BBC One 30 minutes "Wood, Walters... and Wise" segment within full show
1985 Acorn Antiques Actor (Berta) TV Series January 11th 1985 BBC Two (within As Seen On TV) 12x 5 minutes
1985-1987 Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV Self, Actor, Composer Sketch Show January 11th 1985 BBC Two 12x 30 minutes, 40 minutes 2 seasons of 6 episodes each plus Christmas Special.

Wood's first work for the BBC

1984 Insight Presenter/Wordwitch Educational February 1984 - June 1984 ITV Schools 18x 15 minutes 18 Episode
1981-1982 Wood & Walters Actor, Self Yes TV Series January 1st 1982 ITV1 8x 30 minutes
1981 Happy Since I Met You Screenplay August 9th 1981 50 minutes
1980 Nearly a Happy Ending January 11th 1985 85 minutes Sequel to Talent
1979 Talent Actor (Maureen) August 5th 1979 65 minutes First time Wood & Walters worked together on TV
1977 Pandora's Box Self TV Series 1977 BBC One 6x 30 minutes all 6 episodes. Six half-hour discussions about justice, education and health, with just women on the panel.
1976 That's Life! Guest Musician March 21st 1976 - May 2nd 1976 3x 5 minutes 3 Episode
1975 The Summer Show Self Sketch Show August 2nd 1975 ATV 45 minutes Featured Wood alongside the winners of New Faces.
1974 New Faces TV talent show October 12th 1974 30 minutes [8]

Awards and recognition

In 1979, Wood received the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for her play Talent.[72]

In 1996, the BBC celebrated its 60th anniversary with an awards ceremony titled Auntie's All Time Greats. In it, As Seen on TV beat Monty Python's Flying Circus for "Favourite Comedy Series". It beat the same show again when it won 'best sketch show' in the Radio Times Comedy Poll in 2001.

In 1997, Wood was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1997 Birthday Honours.[73] Earlier in 1994, she was made an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Sunderland.[74] She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.[75]

In 2003, she was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 Funniest Acts in British Comedy.[76] In the 2005 Channel 4 poll the Comedians' Comedian, she was voted 27th[77] out of the top 50 comedy acts by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. She was the highest-ranked woman on the list, above French and Saunders (who paid tribute to her in their Lord of the Rings spoof, where a map of Middle-Earth shows a forest called 'Victoria Wood'), Joan Rivers and Joyce Grenfell.[78]

Her sketch show Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV won BAFTA awards for its two series and Christmas Special.[79] In 2007, she was nominated[80] for and won[81] the BAFTA awards for "Best Actress" and for "Best Single Drama" for her role in the British war-time drama Housewife, 49, in which she played the part of a housewife dominated by her moody husband. Wood's character eventually stands up to him and helps the WRVS (Women's Royal Voluntary Service) in their preparations for British soldiers.

Her popularity with the British public was confirmed when she won 'Best Stand-Up' and 'Best Sketch Show' by Radio Times readers in 2001.[82] Wood was also voted 'Funniest Comedian' by the readers of Reader's Digest in 2005[83] and came eighth in ITV's poll of the public's 50 Greatest Stars, four places behind long term regular co-star Julie Walters. In 1996, The South Bank Show opened their 20th season with Wood, describing her as "Britains first female stand up comedian".

Wood was the recipient of six British Comedy Awards: Best stand-up live comedy performer (1990); Best female comedy performer (1995); WGGB Writer of the year (2000); Best live stand-up (2001); Outstanding achievement award (jointly awarded to Julie Walters) (2005); Best female TV comic (2011).[84] Wood was nominated for the 1991 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment for Victoria Wood Up West and for the 2006 Olivier Award for Best New Musical for Acorn Antiques: The Musical!.

BAFTA nominations

Wood was a 14-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, winning four. She received a special BAFTA at a tribute evening in 2005.[85]

Year Award Nominated work Result
1986 Best Light Entertainment Performance Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV Won
1987 Nominated
1988 Nominated
1989 An Audience With Victoria Wood Won
1990 Victoria Wood Nominated
1995 Best Actress Pat and Margaret Nominated
Best Single Drama Nominated
Best Light Entertainment Performance Victoria Wood: Live in Your Own Home Nominated
1999 Best Comedy Programme or Series dinnerladies Nominated
2000 Best Situation Comedy Nominated
2001 Best Comedy Programme or Series Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings Nominated
2007 Best Actress Housewife, 49 Won
Best Single Drama Won
2011 Eric and Ernie Nominated
  • Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV won the BAFTA for Best Entertainment Programme in 1986, 1987 and 1988; these awards went to the producer, Geoff Posner.
  • An Audience With Victoria Wood won the BAFTA for Best Entertainment Programme in 1989; this award went to David G. Hillier.

Personal life and death

Wood married the stage magician Geoffrey Durham in March 1980. They had two children: Grace, born 1 October 1988 and Henry, born 2 May 1992. The couple separated in October 2002[86] and divorced in 2005, but continued to live near one another and were on good terms.[87] Henry made a cameo performance as a teenager in Victoria Wood's Mid Life Christmas. He also appeared in the accompanying 'behind the scenes' programme Victoria Wood: What Larks!. Both children had already made appearances as extras on Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings in 2000.

Wood attended Quaker meetings[88] with her husband and was a vegetarian, once remarking, "I'm all for killing animals and turning them into handbags; I just don't want to have to eat them."[3][89]

Wood received a diagnosis of oesophageal cancer in late 2015, but kept her illness largely private.[90] She died on 20 April 2016 at her Highgate home, in the presence of her children and sister Rosalind.[91] Her funeral was conducted by a humanist celebrant at Golders Green Crematorium on 4 May 2016.[92] A memorial service was held at St James, Piccadilly on 4 July 2016.[93]

Tributes

On 15 May 2016, ITV broadcast Let's Do It: A Tribute to Victoria Wood. In 2017, Wood was the subject of a seven-part show dedicated mainly to extracts from her TV and live work. The main series, titled Our Friend Victoria, aired on BBC One between 11 April and 9 May and concluded later in the year with a Christmas special on 23 December 2017. The seven episodes were presented by Julie Walters, Richard E. Grant, Michael Ball, Maxine Peake, The League of Gentlemen, Daniel Rigby and Anne Reid. On 17 May 2019, a statue of Wood was unveiled in her home town of Bury in Lancashire.[94][95]

Bibliography

  • Brandwood, Neil (2002). Victoria Wood : the biography. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 1-85227-982-6. OCLC 820130497.
  • Rees, Jasper (October 2020). Let's Do It: the Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood. London: Trapeze. ISBN 978-1409184102. OCLC 1226752410.
  • Christopher Foote Wood. Victoria Wood Comedy Genius - Her Life and Work, (2016) Published by The Memoir Club, 07552086888, ISBN 978-1-84104-596-2 OCLC 964380355
  • Christopher Foote Wood. Nellie's book : the early life of Victoria Wood's mother, with Nellie Wood (co-author), The History Press (2006), ISBN 978-0-7509-4180-8 OCLC 62344119

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