The much-loved BBC sitcom, Dinnerladies, written by Victoria Wood in 1998, is still enjoyed by viewers 24 years on.
Starring the late comedian, writer, singer and actress Victoria Wood as canteen manager Brenda "Bren" Furlong, alongside an ensemble cast including her comedy partner Julie Walters and former Coronation Street stalwart Thelma Barlow; the award-winning sitcom is a true comedy classic.
Wood wrote and co-produced Dinnerladies, her incredible dialogue bringing to life the mishmash of ordinary and extraordinary characters for two years until 2000.
She wrote only two series, which won many awards including the British Comedy Awards' Best New TV Comedy in 1999, the Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival's Press Prize in the same year and the British Comedy Awards' Best TV Comedy in 2000.
The TV critics loved Dinnerladies as much as viewers did throughout its two-year run. However, Wood never wrote a third series, as she felt the show had run its course and wanted to end on a high.
Comedy genius
While Prestwich-born Wood is perhaps best remembered for Dinnerladies, her TV comedy career began in the 1980s. She starred in her own show, Victoria Wood As Seen On TV, from 1985 until 1987. One of the highlights was the oft-parodied spoof soap opera, Acorn Antiques, starring Wood and Walters in some of their best comedic roles.
Set in an upmarket antique shop, the sitcom was renowned for its deliberately low-budget production and shaky sets. Wood played the owner, Miss Babs, while Walters was her assistant, Mrs Overall, who was seen in every episode wearing a floral apron and pushing around her tea trolley.
Wood later admitted she based the satire on the long-running ITV soap, Crossroads, which started in the 1960s - a cult show well-known for its cheap production. Wood paid tribute with Acorn Antiques, gently poking fun at low-budget soap operas.
Dinnerladies
Dinnerladies was the show that truly rocketed Wood to fame, although she said it had been a little daunting at first to write a whole sitcom, rather than sketches. She chose the Manchester factory canteen setting because she felt it could be poignant, as well as humorous.
She wrote and starred in the show and even composed and sang the theme song. Devising each character first, she then wrote plots that would fit their personalities, as each of them had unique quirks and traits. She spent a long time imagining how they would interact with each other, based on the characteristics she had created.
The whole first series was written in one month, despite Wood suffering a little writer's block initially. It took her six months to write the second series. Both were equally well-received by the public and the critics.
Characters and plot
Central to Dinnerladies was Bren's role as a listening ear for all the staff. However, despite her common sense and compassion enabling her to sort out everyone else's problems, she seemed unable to resolve her own. Like all the best comedies, it often had a poignant touch that made the characters more human, allowing viewers to empathise.
Bren's troubled relationship with her mother Petula (played by Walters) was also central to the plot. Bren felt her mum visited her only when she wanted something - usually to borrow some money. Petula was also prone to lying and often pretended to live a fabulous celebrity lifestyle. However, in reality, she lived in poverty in a caravan.
In one memorable scene, Petula brings her dour friend, Babs from Urmston, on a works night out, while the younger staff have one saké too many. Petula tries to dance the hokey-cokey with the company owner, but he manages to escape her clutches.
Bren and her mum
As well as parent problems, Bren can't seem to sort out her love life. She has romantic feelings for her co-worker, Tony, played by Andrew Dunn, but is scared to reveal how she feels, in case he doesn't feel the same way. With him being equally as shy, they go through the whole of series one without ever telling each other how they really feel.
The other central characters include prudish Dolly (played by Thelma Barlow), who deplores bad language and Anita (Shobna Gulati) who is one of the younger canteen staff, who initially seems quite ordinary and pleasant. However, Bren is shocked when Anita has a baby, abandons him and runs away, leaving a note asking Bren to take care of him!
Funny moments
The canteen staff aren't renowned for their customer service skills. In the famous tuna and sweetcorn sketch, when a customer complains about the meal she's been served, she finds herself being lectured by Bren on the imperfections of the universe and told to "deal with it"!
Some of the storylines are simple, yet wonderful, such as when the canteen staff are visited by the National Blood Service on a blood drive. Bren, who's terrified of needles, refuses to give blood, but when the canteen gossip mongers hear about this, there's soon a rumour flying around that she's pregnant!
Wood had a unique talent to create hilarious plots and dialogue by evolving the characters' unique personalities and playing on the best and worst of human nature. They were all rounded, believable characters, even when doing some crazy things!
In 2018, the series celebrated its 20th anniversary with a three-part documentary series for the Gold channel, Dinnerladies Diaries, based on Wood's personal behind-the-scenes diaries that she wrote when the series was at its peak.
Wood won five BAFTA awards, including one in 2006 for her serious acting role in the film "Housewife, 49", when she portrayed a housewife during World War II who volunteered to help the war effort. She was awarded a BAFTA Fellowship in 2014 and a CBE in the Queen's 2008 Birthday Honours for her services to entertainment.
In the real world, has being a dinner lady changed?
When Dinnerladies was written in the 1990s, there was less red tape surrounding working in a canteen. Today, the Food Standards Agency governs all aspects of working with food, with health and hygiene at the forefront, to avoid the hazards of food poisoning.
The law emphasises the "4Cs of food hygiene": cleaning, cooking, chilling and cross-contamination.
In school canteens, modern dinner ladies are trained in food safety and must prepare menus and meals in line with the School Food Standards.
In 2021, in post-pandemic Britain, it was reported that dinner ladies had taken on extra training and duties in care homes, due to a shortage of care staff. School dinner ladies were invited to work in care homes during the school holidays, amid fears the elderly residents couldn't be cared for properly without extra help.
Meanwhile, political correctness has also entered the world of the dinner lady. The Scouts are leading the way in the battle against sexism by renaming dinner ladies “school meal supervisors” in their new style guide, produced to "encourage equality" and "avoid causing offence to people of all genders".
© Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo