A BBC Radio 4 Retrospective

Victoria Wood: From Soup to Nuts

Rebecca Front presents this two-part look back at Victoria Wood’s stand-up and songs using her own archives and tapes – including never-before-heard material

Victoria Wood (Author) 
Victoria Wood was a hugely popular comedian, actress, singer/songwriter and director. She first came to fame on the TV talent show New Faces, and went on to appear in many television shows including Victoria Wood - As Seen on TV, An Audience with Victoria Wood, Pat and Margaret, Dinnerladies and the ITV film Housewife, 49. She won four BAFTA Awards and six British Comedy Awards, and in 2008 was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours. She died in 2016.

Rebecca Front presents this two-part look back at Victoria Wood’s stand-up and songs using her own archives and tapes – including never-before-heard material 
 
Victoria Wood was a comedian, actress and all-round national treasure. She wrote and starred in countless sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over four decades, winning numerous awards, and her work remains timeless to this day. With her perceptive observational humour, she made the everyday and mundane hilarious – but how did she do it? 
 
In this BBC Radio 4 documentary, Rebecca Front uses Victoria Wood’s personal rehearsal recordings, rare live performances and behind-the-scenes footage to reveal some of her comedy tricks and techniques. We hear about her instinctive sense of rhythm, amazing rhyming ability and unerring knack for finding the perfect word to make a sentence sing, and learn how she honed her unique talent to become one of Britain’s favourite funny women. 
 
With unprecedented access to Victoria’s own boxes of battered cassette tapes, this programme is a shameless chance to hear some wonderful stand-up comedy, characters and songs, mixed with a look back at what made her so funny and so universally loved. 
 
Executive Producer: Geoff Posner 
Produced by David Tyler 
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.

Victoria's Empire

One of Britain’s most popular writers and comedians journeys through the British Empire - as seen on BBC TV. 
 
The late, great Victoria Wood was named after Queen Victoria. So, who better to take us on a journey through the British Empire? The story of the Empire is a key part of the story of Queen Victoria’s reign and the Empire was the largest the world had ever known, covering a fifth of the earth’s surface and including a quarter of its population. Victoria’s mammoth journey takes in the beauty and splendour of Hong Kong, Borneo, Ghana, Jamaica, Newfoundland, New Zealand and Australia before she finishes at the Victoria Falls in Zambia. 
 
‘Britain used to be top country. English was top language and pink was the colour on the maps. Now when people talk about it, the Empire’s an embarrassment, something slightly regrettable.’ With those thoughts, Victoria didn’t know what she would find, or what welcome she would get from those countries that have evolved since being colonised, and that was her journey: tip-toeing round the remnants of the Empire to all those places named after the grumpy-looking monarch who never went further than the Isle of Wight. 
 
'Victoria’s Empire' is read by Victoria Wood and Russell Boulter and is a worldwide journey of a lifetime seen through the eyes of one of our most popular celebrities. 
 
©2008 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2008 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Victoria Wood

A selection of classic moments from Victoria Wood’s award-winning BBC TV programme.

Here it is - the first collection of assembled highlights from Victoria Wood’s award-winning BBC television show &#39;Victoria Wood - As Seen on TV&#39;. 

This release spills forth the likes of Julie Walters, Patricia Routledge, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston and Susie Blake in an all-singing, all-dancing (well, in a manner of speaking) spectacular. 

Victoria sings some of her classics, including &#39;the ballad of Barry and Frieda&#39;, &#39;Let’s Do It Tonight&#39;, and brings together the very finest episodes of Britain’s best-loved soap, the consummate display of method acting which is &#39;Acorn Antiques&#39;.

And as if that weren’t enough, tucked in amongst the inter-sketch nooks and crannies, we get Victoria’s unique perspective on life. Anyone else want to swap a man for a thirteen-colour biro?


Victoria Wood Encore

Julie Walters, Alan Rickman, Dora Bryan, Jim Broadbent and Celia Imrie, Hugh Lloyd, and many more join Victoria Wood in this positively bloated bumper collection oozing with songs, sketches, and monologues.

The Complete BBC TV Soundtracks

dinnerladies

The complete TV soundtracks of dinnerladies, plus exclusive behind-the-scenes content 
 
“Brilliant, even with just the audio.” - Customer Review 
 
“Incredibly funny! These show the genius writing of Victoria Wood. As funny here as in the TV. Genius casting. Simply perfect.” - Customer Review 
 
 
Enjoy this wonderful celebration of one of the nation’s best-loved TV shows, discover exclusive behind-the-scenes content as well as a deep dive into the life and work of comedian and creator, Victoria Wood. 
 
16 episodes across two seasons of the classic sit-com dinnerladies follows the lives of the staff of the canteen at Manchester factory HWD Components. Written by and starring Victoria Wood, the audio soundtrack of these classic TV episodes are brilliantly funny, with the jokes flying as thick and as fast as granary torpedoes. Along with the day-to-day feeding the faces of folk, the canteen staff Bren, Twink, Jean (and all the others!) have to contend with the arrival of a Royal on site, a Japanese-themed party complete with costumes, and the controversial delivery of new uniforms… Featuring an all-star cast including Celia Imrie, Julie Walters and Maxine Peake. 
 
This complete series collection is accompanied by two bonus documentaries: During the making of her much-loved sitcom dinnerladies, Victoria Wood recorded her own personal audio diary, talking not just about the show she was writing and starring in but with thoughts and reminiscences across her whole career. In Victoria Wood: Loose Chippings her biographer, writer and journalist Jasper Rees delves into Victoria’s private archive, including never-before-broadcast stand-up and songs, and treasures such as the previously-thought lost song that launched her career on ITVs New Faces as well as her first ever concert as a student in Birmingham University that lay hidden for 50 years. In Victoria Wood: From Soup to Nuts, Rebecca Front explores Victoria Wood’s stand-up and songs using Victoria's own archives. With unprecedented access to her own boxes of battered cassette tapes, this is a chance to hear some wonderful stand-up comedy, characters and songs, mixed with a look back at what made Victoria Wood so funny and so universally loved. 
 
Bringing together the very best of dinnerladies and a celebration of its iconic creator, Victoria Wood this collection is a must listen for any fan of the laugh-out-loud comedy.Cast and creditsdinnerladiesWritten by Victoria WoodDirected by Geoff PosnerBren - Victoria WoodDolly - Thelma BarlowTony - Andrew DunnAnita - Shobna GulatiPhilippa - Celia ImrieTwinkle - Maxine PeakeStan - Duncan PrestonJean - Anne ReidPetula - Julie WaltersLady Pamela - Richenda CareyDuke of Danby - Simon WilliamsClint - Ken DoughtyConnie - Thora HirdJim - Eric SykesMr Timothy/Mr Michael - Christopher GeetTiffany - Ann-Louise GrimshawMr Tashimoto - Eiji KusuharaHugo - Adam LeeseKeith - Peter LorenzelliBabs - Kate RobbinsBob - Jack SmethurstSecretary - Sue DevaneyMan in queue - David HattonNicola Bodeux - Sue WallaceMalcolm - Ozzie SueFirst Broadcast BBC One, 1998-2000Victoria Wood: Loose ChippingsProduced by Geoff PosnerPresented by Jasper ReesFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14th Dec 2024Victoria Wood: From Soup to NutsProduced by David TylerExecutive Producer Geoff PosnerPresented by Rebecca FrontFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18th - 25th May 2018©2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Full Cast

8 Classic TV Soundtracks

Dinnerladies is a classic BBC sitcom based around the lives of the staff of the canteen at Manchester factory HWD Components. Written by and starring Victoria Wood a Brenda, these eight classic TV episodes are brilliantly funny, where the jokes fly as thick and as fast as granary torpedoes. 
Along with the day to day feeding the faces of folk, the canteen staff Bren, Twink, Jean (and all the others!) have to contend with the arrival of a Royal on site, a Japanese-themed party complete with costumes, and the controversial delivery of new uniforms. And will Tony finally succumb to Brenda's advances? 
 
With a wonderful cast including Victoria Wood, Celia Imrie and Thelma Barlow also star in this trayful of comedy from the BBC hotplate. 
 
Episode list: 
Monday 
Royals 
Moods 
Party 
Catering 
Minnellium 
Gravy 
Toast 
 
Please note that sound quality may vary due to the archive nature of these recordings 
 
Produced by Adam Fowler 
A BBC Studios production

Dinnerladies: A BBC Collection

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