Coordinates	44°43′″N37°46′″N
show name	Watching
genre	Comedy, Sitcom
runtime	30mins x 5460mins x 2
creator	Jim Hitchmough
starring	Paul BownEmma WrayLiza TarbuckPatsy ByrnePerry Fenwick
producer	Granada Television
channel	ITV
first aired	5 July 1987
last aired	4 April 1993
num episodes	56 (including 4 specials) }}

''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.

Plot

''Watching'' was set in Merseyside, 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.

Episode List

Series One

Episode Number !! Episode Title !! Original Airdate
1	Meeting	5 July 1987
2	Wrestling
3	Outing
4	Confusing
5	Leaving
6	Repenting
7	Hiding
8	''Special Episode'' Seasoning

Series Two

Episode Number !! Episode Title !! Original Airdate
9	Falling	19 February 1988
10	Dancing
11	Visiting
12	Visiting II
13	Missing
14	Dining
15	Moving
16	''Special Episode'' Twitching ''60 minute episode''

Series Three

Episode Number !! Episode Title !! Original Airdate
17	Losing	3 March 1989
18	Deceiving
19	Requiting
20	Breeding
21	Wrenching
22	Wedding

Series Four

Episode Number !! Episode Title !! Original Airdate
23	Joking	1 December 1989
24	Pairing
25	Faultering
26	Exploding
27	Repairing
28	Petting
29	Floating
30	Proposing
31	Flitting

Series Five

Episode Number !! Episode Title !! Original Airdate
32	Listing	14 December 1990
33	Nesting
34	Feeding
35	Winning
36	Fixing
37	Straying
38	Homing
39	Suiting
40	Bonding
41	Presenting
42	''Special Episode'' Slipping ''60 minute episode''

Series Six

Episode Number !! Episode Title !! Original Airdate
43	Using	3 January 1992
44	Echoing
45	Doctoring
46	Christening
47	Gulling
48	Confessing
49	''Special Episode'' Reverting

Series Seven

Episode Number !! Episode Title !! Original Airdate
50	Migrating	21 February 1993
51	Uncoupling
52	Helping
53	Engaging
54	Wandering One
55	Wandering Too
56	Knotting

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 Theatre 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.

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 Network.

DVD !! Year(s) !! Release date
The Complete Series 1	1987	27 February 2006
The Complete Series 2	1988
The Complete Series 3	1989
The Complete Series 4	1989-1990
The Complete Series 5	1990-1991
The Complete Series 6	1992
The Complete Series 7	1993
The Complete Series 1 to 7 Box Set	1987-1993

Cast

Emma Wray - Brenda Wilson

Paul Bown - Malcolm Stoneway

Liza Tarbuck - Pamela Wilson

Patsy Byrne - Mrs Marjorie Stoneway, Malcolm's Mum

Perry Fenwick - Terry Milton

Philip Fox - Sydney Clough (series 1 only)

John Bowler - David Lynch (series 2 on)

Elizabeth Spriggs - Aunt Peggy (from series 2 on)

Liz Crowther - Susan Roberts (series 2 and 3 only)

Ken Jones - Uncle Bernard (series 3)

Russell Boulter - Chris Cameron (series 4 only)

Noreen Kershaw - 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 Dutton - 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.

External links

''Watching'' at British TV Comedy

Programme fansite

wHom - ''Watching''

Tributes to Watching: Add Yours

Category:ITV sitcoms Category:1987 in British television Category:1987 television series debuts Category:1993 television series endings Category:1980s British television series Category:1990s British television series Category:Television shows set in Liverpool

Coordinates	44°43′″N37°46′″N
Name	Emma Wray
Birth date	March 22, 1965
Birth place	Birkenhead, England
Death date
Other names	Gillian Elizabeth Wray
Occupation	Actress
Nationality	United Kingdom }}

Emma Wray (born Gillian Elizabeth Wray, 22 March 1965 in Birkenhead) 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 receiving her BA.

She is best known for starring as 'Brenda Wilson' in the Granada Television sitcom ''Watching'' between 1987 and 1993, for which she also sang the theme tune ''What Does He See In Me?'' She also played a major role in Yorkshire Television's ''Stay Lucky'' with Dennis Waterman, Jan Francis, Ian McNeice, Susan George and Niall Toibin throughout the same period, along with lead roles in many TV series such as Boon and Minder, and TV films including ''Defrosting the Fridge''. After several years away from television, she returned to primetime TV with the lead role in the drama comedy ''My Wonderful Life'' with co-stars Philip Glenister and Tony Robinson created by ''Men Behaving Badly'' writer Simon Nye, the pilot called ''True Love'' aired in 1996 and then ran for another three seasons from 1997 to 1999.

Wray gave up television work in 2001, in order to travel, and now works as a children's nanny.

TV appearances

Watching as Brenda

Minder as Tracy

Boon as Pandora

Defrosting the Fridge as Minty Goodenough

Stay Lucky as Pippa

The Big Game as Julie

True Love as Donna

References

Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:People from Birkenhead Category:English actors Category:English television actors

Coordinates	44°43′″N37°46′″N
name	Paul Bown
birth date	October 11, 1957
birth place	Fenton, Staffordshire
occupation	actor
homepage	}}

Paul Bown (born 11 October 1957 in Fenton, Staffordshire) is an English actor. He is best known as one of the leading roles of the Granada Television comedy ''Watching'' (1987–93). 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''. Paul also appeared in November 2007 in acclaimed British drama ''Britz''. He also appeared in the first episode of Mr.Bean as "The Student". He was in an episode of New Tricks on 25 August 2008.

He also starred as an AA Patrolman is the BBC television series "The Last Salute" in the late 1990s.

In 2009 he appeared briefly as Mike Bamber, chairman of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club in the Brian Clough bio-pic "The Damned United". In the 2010 Christmas Special of "My Family", he played a grand father of a Mary, a young girl, who Ben met whilst filling in for Father Christmas.

External links

Category:People from Fenton, Staffordshire Category:English actors Category:English television actors Category:1957 births Category:Living people

Coordinates	44°43′″N37°46′″N
name	Liza Tarbuck
birth date	November 21, 1964
birth place	Liverpool, England
occupation	actress, television presenter
website	}}

Liza Tarbuck ( ; born 21 November 1964 in Liverpool) 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

Her first big break came in the late 1980s with a starring role in the long-running Granada Television comedy series, ''Watching'', in which she played a character called Pamela, opposite Emma Wray. Tarbuck then appeared in the 1988 Falklands War drama ''Tumbledown'' as Angie, which also starred Colin Firth, Paul Rhys and David Calder. In 2001, she took the title role in ''Linda Green'', which ran for two series, ending in 2002.

In more recent times, she has guest starred on the hit Ricky Gervais comedy ''Extras'', and has appeared in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries as DI Fiona Knight. In 2004, Tarbuck appeared in Series 6 of the long-running BBC One comedy, French & Saunders, as a fictionalized version of herself, where she had the role of Producer for "Saunders & French Productions". In 2005, Tarbuck appeared as Mrs. Jellyby in the BBC One Serial ''Bleak House''. And in 2006, She appeared in episode six of the sitcom, Saxondale, as a full-figured rock chick.

In 2007, she lent her voice to the animated Doctor Who adventure, The Infinite Quest. 2007 also saw her starring in the ITV1 comedy drama 'Bonkers'.

In 2009 Tarbuck starred as Staff Nurse Tina in her first role in a feature film, The Be All and End All, alongside Eugene Byrne, Josh Bolt, Connor McIntyre, Neve McIntosh, Suzanne Collins and Laura Swift.

Presenting

After a seven year break from television, she presented the fashion programme ''She's Gotta Have It'' in 1998. Her exuberance, humour and presenting skills landed her a presenting job on ''The Big Breakfast'' where she forged a successful partnership with Johnny Vaughan. In 2001, she teamed up with her father for a celebrity edition of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''. She has hosted one of the Sky One episodes of ''Blockbusters'' and has been a guest presenter on ''Have I Got News For You''. In 2003, Tarbuck hosted Channel 4's Emmy Award winning panel-discussion/gameshow ''Without Prejudice?''.

Tarbuck has also hosted a late-night edition of ''Win, Lose or Draw'', and has also presented Britain's Top Dog, as well as narrating the last series of the British documentary ''Airport'' in 2005.

She has also presented a one-off quiz for Five called I Blame The Spice Girls to celebrate Five's tenth birthday. She has also been one celebrity to appear in a series of adverts for the UK supermarket Asda.

During September 2007 she co-presented the weekday afternoon show on BBC Radio 2 with Mark Radcliffe, whilst Steve Wright was on leave. In December 2007 (and again in January and March 2008), she once more hosted the show, this time as a solo presenter. In July 2008 she once again co-presented with Radcliffe. In December 2008 and January 2009 she presented the Saturday morning slot on BBC Radio Two with Martin Freeman. For a week in March 2009 Liza stood in for Sarah Kennedy's popular Dawn Patrol show.In August 2009, she stood in for Jonathan Ross on his Saturday morning show on Radio 2, alongside her on the show was Huey Morgan of Fun Lovin' Criminals.The pair presented the show again in November 2009.

She makes occasional appearances on the BBC Radio 4 show Just a Minute, and has signed a deal with Sky One to present a show called Pet Nation alongside Fun Loving Criminals Frontman Huey Morgan which starts in 2010.

She has also narrated the Channel 4 dieting show Supersize vs Superskinny since 2008.

In July/August 2010, Liza stood in for Simon Mayo on his BBC Radio 2 Drivetime Show for three weeks. She stood in for him again from April 18 to 22, 2011, and from 1 August 2011 for three weeks.

Film and television appearances

The Boat That Guy Built Narrated by (2011)

Liza & Huey's Pet Nation

The Be All and End All (2009) .... Tina

Queens of British Pop... Narrated by (2 episodes, 2009)

The Paul O'Grady Show... Herself (1 episode, 2007)

8 Out of 10 Cats... Herself (2 episodes, 2005–2007)

Britain's Top Dog with Liza Tarbuck...Host...(7 episodes,2006)

QI... Herself (2 episodes, 2006–2011)

Bonkers... Helen Barker (6 episodes, 2007)

Extras... Rita (4 episodes, 2006–2007)

Airport... Narrator (5 episodes, 2005)

French and Saunders... Herself (5 episodes, 2004)

Win, Lose or Draw Late... Presenter (16 episodes, 2004)

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross... Herself (1 episode, 2004)

Without Prejudice?... Herself-Presenter(5 episodes, 2003–2004)

V Graham Norton... Herself (1 episode, 2002)

Linda Green... Linda Green (20 episodes, 2001–2002)

Parkinson... Herself (1 episode, 2001)

Time Team... Herself... (2 episodes, 2000–2001)

The League of Gentlemen...Donna (1 episode - Christmas Special, 2000)

Room 101... Herself (1 episode, 2001)

Have I Got News for You... Herself... (3 episodes, 2000–2006)

Blockbusters (1983) TV series...Host(unknown episodes, 2000)

The Big Breakfast... Herself-Presenter (3 episodes, 1999–2000)

Blankety Blank... Herself (1 episode, 1998)

Watching... Pamela Lynch... (53 episodes, 1987–1993)

Chimera (1991) TV mini-series... Girl on Coach

Tumbledown (1988) (TV)... Angie

References

http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/liza-huey’s-pet-nation-for-sky-one/

External links

Biography from BBC Drama

The Be All and End All http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1220873/

Category:1964 births Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Category:Living people Category:English television presenters Category:English actors Category:Actors from Liverpool Category:Television presenters from Liverpool Category:Radio presenters from Liverpool

Coordinates	44°43′″N37°46′″N
name	Patsy Byrne
birth date	July 13, 1933
birth place	Ashford, Kent, England
notable role	Nursie }}

Patsy Byrne (born 13 July 1933 in Ashford, Kent) 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. After that she studied drama at the Rose Bruford School before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company playing parts such as Maria in ''Twelfth Night'' and Gruscha in ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' at the Aldwych Theatre in the early 1960s. In the 1980s she also worked at Chichester Festival Theatre.

Patsy is famous for playing round, jolly, often slightly insane old women. Probably the most famous of these is Nursie in the popular BBC sitcom ''Blackadder II''. She once again starred alongside Tony Robinson in a Series 3 episode of ''Maid Marian and her Merry Men''. She also starred as Betty the Tea Lady in the BBC children's programme ''Playdays''.

She is also famous for being able to do the splits well into her 60s, which she showed off when she played Malcolm's domineering mother in ''Watching''.

She has also starred in ''Stealing Heaven'' (1988), Inspector Morse (1989), ''Les Misérables'' (1998), ''David Copperfield'' (1999) and ''Kevin & Perry Go Large'' (2000) and numerous radio plays.

Selected filmography

''The Treasure Seekers'' (1996)

References

External links

Category:English television actors Category:English film actors Category:1933 births Category:Living people Category:People from Ashford, Kent Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Alumni of Rose Bruford College