''Happy Since I Met You'' is a television play written by

Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over se ...

, and broadcast on ITV on 9 August 1981. It stars

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...

and Duncan Preston and was directed by Baz Taylor as part of ITV's ''Screenplay'' series. In ''Happy Since I Met You'', Duncan Preston, who would later become one of her regular co-stars, worked with Victoria Wood for the first time. It was the last full-length drama by Wood to be televised for some years, the next being ''

Pat and Margaret ''Pat and Margaret'' is a British television film written by comedian Victoria Wood. The story follows sisters Margaret, a cook, and Pat, a successful actress in the United States, after they are reunited on a television programme after spending ...

'' (1994). The film was notable for early TV appearances in minor roles by rising stars

Maggie Steed Maggie is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret. Maggie may refer to: People Women * Maggie Adamson, Scottish musician * Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), British scientist * Maggie Alderson (born 1959), Aust ...

Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman, 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows '' A Kick Up the Eighties'' ( ...

and

George Costigan George J. Costigan (born 8 August 1947) is an English actor who is best known for portraying Bob in the 1987 film ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too'' and for roles in TV series such as '' Happy Valley'' and '' So Haunt Me''. Early life Born in Portsmouth ...

. Although Wood does not appear in the film, she sings several of her compositions including the opening song and other songs performed over the on-screen action.

Plot

The story takes place over three consecutive Christmases. At the first, drama teacher Frances is defiantly single and enjoying living alone, but shortly after spending Christmas with her family, she meets an actor, Jim and they begin dating. By the next Christmas, they have moved in together and seem to be settling with their relationship, but Frances becomes frustrated with losing her independence and by the third Christmas, their cohabitation has driven her to anger and she leaves Jim after an explosive argument. Jim tracks her down at the train station as Frances attempts to get away to find solitude, but she realises she does love Jim and the film ends with them agreeing to try again.

Cast

as Frances * Duncan Preston as Jim * Kathryn Apanowicz as Judith * Christine Moore as Marie * Sue Wallace as Olwen * Louise Cullinan as Gemma *

as Karen *

Barbara New Barbara Helene Barrington (9 May 1923 – 24 May 2010) better known by her stage and birth maiden name Barbara New was an English character actress, well known for playing Mabel the scullery maid in the David Croft sitcom '' You Rang M'Lord?''. ...

as Mum *

Jim Bowen James Brown Whittaker (born Peter Williams; 20 August 1937 – 14 March 2018), known professionally as Jim Bowen, was an English stand-up comedian, actor and television personality. He was the long-time host of the ITV game show ''Bullseye'', ...

as Dad * Marjorie Sudell as Auntie * Carol Leader as Mary * Alison Skilbeck as Elaine *

Sidney Livingstone Sidney Frederick Livingstone (born 29 March 1945) is an English stage, television, and film character actor. He has sometimes been credited as Sydney Livingstone. Early life Born in Rochdale, Lancashire, Livingstone was an apprentice chef, a sal ...

as Dennis * Lottie Ward as Moira * Norman Mills as Alec * Nellie Hanham as Margot *

as Ginny *

as Ted * Judy Lloyd as Beverly *

Sandra Voe Sandra Voe (born 6 October 1936) is a Scottish actress of film, television, and theatre. Career Television and films Voe began her on screen career in 1966, appearing in an episode of ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook''. She has also appeared in '' ...

as Headmistress * Fidelis Morgan as Nun * Eileen Mayers as Neighbour * Maggie Lane as Cashier * Monica Lewis as Customer * Meretta Elliot as Girl * Phil Kernott as Attendant * Alison Stirrup as Woman * June Dixon, Rebecca Leach and Alison Attenborough as Schoolgirls

Production

Costume: Diane Holmes
Make-up: Sarah Horseman
Casting Director: Priscilla John
Film Editor: Bob Morton
Designer: Colin Rees
Producer: Peter Eckersley
Director: Baz Taylor Music & Lyrics by Victoria Wood, arranged and conducted by Jim Parker.

Critical reception

Reviews were mixed, with

Mary Kenny Mary Kenny (born 4 April 1944) is an Irish journalist, broadcaster and playwright. A founding member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement, she was one of the country's first and foremost feminists, often contributes columns to the ''Irish In ...

in the '' Daily Mail'' full of praise for dialogue which combined the idiomatic drollness of

Les Dawson Leslie Dawson Jr. (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter, who is best remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife. Early life Les Dawson w ...

with the refinement of

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an a ...

; whereas ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

s Stanley Reynolds thought it "padded out with vulgar speeches...Lines delivered as if they were heroic truths, as if they were not only great gems of wit but also terribly socially significant." More recently,

Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lo ...

called the play "a slight but touching romance that was as much about the downs as the ups of young love."

References

External links

Happy Since I Met You opening titles

Happy Since I Met You at the BFI Film & TV Database
* {{Victoria Wood British television plays 1981 plays Plays by Victoria Wood