The late Victoria Wood, along with Jim Davidson and Lenny Henry, made her mark after a successful appearance on ATV's 'New Faces'. Her first regular television appearance was in 'That's Life' ( ye gods! ) alongside Esther Rantzen and Richard Stilgoe, in which she sang ( or rather bellowed ) cringe making songs. She was awarded her first regular comedy series in 1981 entitled 'Wood & Walters' which saw her form her first partnership with Julie Walters. It was a ratings success though it only ran for a single series on Granada Television.
Her next series was the more successful 'As Seen On TV', which was broadcast by BBC2. It was a curiously old fashioned piece, featuring stand-up routines and piano ditties. Sketches were usually spoofs of some sort, whether it be of adverts, fly-on-the-wall documentaries or of television shows. One recurring spoof was of the '60's soap opera 'Crossroads' entitled 'Acorn Antiques' which was set in a failing antiques store. Judging by the merciless fun poking at all the programme's flaws ( the wobbly sets, inane dialogue, amateurish acting, misplaced props, bad camera angles and so on ), it is clear that Ms. Wood was no admirer of the long running soap opera. Indeed, 'Acorn Antiques' had such an effect that 'Crossroads' was pulled from the airwaves not long after.
The best sketches were actually those featuring Patricia Routledge as Kitty, the outspoken middle-aged harridan from Cheadle who appeared here in self contained monologue sketches. Routledge was hilarious as the ghastly spinster and it may well have been these monologues that awarded her the role she would become best remembered for - as Hyacinth Bucket in 'Keeping Up Appearances'.
Wood's regular supporting cast included Duncan Preston, Celia Imrie, Susie Blake ( who appeared here as a vindictive continuity announcer ) and, of course, Julie Walters and Patricia Routledge. Making appearances from time to time were Kenny Ireland, Gerard Kelly, Meg Johnson, Jim Broadbent and Rosie Collins.
'As Seen On TV' missed more targets than it hit unfortunately. The first series though was the better of the two in my opinion. In 1989, Wood then moved into the world of sitcom with a show entitled simply 'Victoria Wood' ( which was a series of six different comedy playlets ) but it didn't catch on. In 1998, Wood devised another sitcom ( of which more or less all of the cast of 'As Seen On TV appeared in ) - the hugely successful 'Dinnerladies'. Sadly, Wood died of cancer ( which she was diagnosed with in 2015 but kept a secret from the public ) in April of this year, aged just 62.
Her next series was the more successful 'As Seen On TV', which was broadcast by BBC2. It was a curiously old fashioned piece, featuring stand-up routines and piano ditties. Sketches were usually spoofs of some sort, whether it be of adverts, fly-on-the-wall documentaries or of television shows. One recurring spoof was of the '60's soap opera 'Crossroads' entitled 'Acorn Antiques' which was set in a failing antiques store. Judging by the merciless fun poking at all the programme's flaws ( the wobbly sets, inane dialogue, amateurish acting, misplaced props, bad camera angles and so on ), it is clear that Ms. Wood was no admirer of the long running soap opera. Indeed, 'Acorn Antiques' had such an effect that 'Crossroads' was pulled from the airwaves not long after.
The best sketches were actually those featuring Patricia Routledge as Kitty, the outspoken middle-aged harridan from Cheadle who appeared here in self contained monologue sketches. Routledge was hilarious as the ghastly spinster and it may well have been these monologues that awarded her the role she would become best remembered for - as Hyacinth Bucket in 'Keeping Up Appearances'.
Wood's regular supporting cast included Duncan Preston, Celia Imrie, Susie Blake ( who appeared here as a vindictive continuity announcer ) and, of course, Julie Walters and Patricia Routledge. Making appearances from time to time were Kenny Ireland, Gerard Kelly, Meg Johnson, Jim Broadbent and Rosie Collins.
'As Seen On TV' missed more targets than it hit unfortunately. The first series though was the better of the two in my opinion. In 1989, Wood then moved into the world of sitcom with a show entitled simply 'Victoria Wood' ( which was a series of six different comedy playlets ) but it didn't catch on. In 1998, Wood devised another sitcom ( of which more or less all of the cast of 'As Seen On TV appeared in ) - the hugely successful 'Dinnerladies'. Sadly, Wood died of cancer ( which she was diagnosed with in 2015 but kept a secret from the public ) in April of this year, aged just 62.