''Backs to the Land'' is a British

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

that aired on ITV from 15 April 1977 to 1 September 1978. Starring Philippa Howell, Terese Stevens and Marilyn Galsworthy, ''Backs to the Land'' is set during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was written by David Climie and the theme song was sung by World War II sweetheart Anne Shelton. It was made for the ITV network by

Anglia Television ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

Cast

* Philippa Howell - ''Shirley Bloom'' * Terese Stevens - ''Jenny Dabb'' * Marilyn Galsworthy - ''Daphne Finch-Beauchamp'' ''(first 7 episodes)'' * John Stratton - ''Tom Whitlow'' *Della Paton - ''Ethel Whitlow'' *

David Troughton David Troughton (born 9 June 1950) is an English actor. He is known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage and for his many roles on British television, including Dr Bob Buzzard in ''A Very Peculiar Practice'' and Ricky Hanson in ''Ne ...

- ''Roy Whitlow'' ''(series 1)'' * Michael Troughton - ''Eric Whitlow'' ''(series 1)'' *

Jeremy Child Sir Coles John Jeremy Child, 3rd Baronet (20 September 1944 – 7 March 2022) was a British actor. Early life Coles John Jeremy Child was born on 20 September 1944 in Woking, Surrey, son of Foreign Office diplomat Sir Coles John Child, 2nd ...

- ''Captain Truscott'' ''(series 2)'' * Pippa Page - ''Bunny Burroughs'' ''(from series 2)'' *

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

- ''Wally'' *

Geraldine Newman Geraldine Newman (born 18 February 1934) is an English film and television actress who has acted in more than 30 television programmes and films. Career Newman attended drama school in Brighton. She is best known for her role as Hilda Hughes in ...

- ''Miss Rainbow'' * Peter Tuddenham - ''Landlord''

Plot

''Backs to the Land'' starts in 1940 with three young women who are in the

Women's Land Army The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the W ...

going to work in a farm to replace the men who have gone to war. The three women are Daphne,

Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...

Jenny and

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish, down to earth Shirley. They end up at Crabtree Farm in Clayfield,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. The owner is Tom Whitlow, and his sons are Roy and Eric.

Episodes

Series One (1977)

#"Miss Is As Good As A Male" (15 April 1977) #"Nymph and Shepherd" (22 April 1977) #"Alarms, Excursions and Day Trips" (29 April 1977) #"Sons and Lovers, God Forbid" (6 May 1977) #"We Shall Fight Them In The Breeches" (13 May 1977) #"All Is Somehow Gathered In" (20 May 1977)

Series Two (1977–78)

#"Enter Flirting" (2 December 1977) #"All Mod Con-Tricks" (9 December 1977) #"Nickers In The Woodpile" (16 December 1977) #"The Warsaw Overture" (23 December 1977) #"The Magnetic Pole" (30 December 1977) #"New Broomsticks" (6 January 1978)

Series Three (1978)

#"Rainbow Around My Neck" (21 July 1978) #"Remains to be Seen" (28 July 1978) #"Let's Talk Turkey" (4 August 1978) #"Waits and Desperate Measures" (11 August 1978) #"Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" (18 August 1978) #"A Day Dog and Doris" (25 August 1978) #"Right Royal" (1 September 1978)

DVD release

All three series of ''Backs to the Land'' have been released on 28 June 2010 and on 6 February and 9 April 2012. A 3-disc set of the complete series is scheduled to follow at some point.

References

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
''Backs to the Land''
at British TV Comedy

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Backs to the Land 1977 British television series debuts 1978 British television series endings 1970s British sitcoms World War II television comedy series ITV sitcoms Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Anglia Television English-language television shows Television shows set in Norfolk