''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series adapted by

Clive Exton Clive Exton (11 April 1930 – 16 August 2007) was a British television and film screenwriter who wrote scripts for the series ''Poirot,'' ''Jeeves and Wooster,'' and ''Rosemary & Thyme.''P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series. Set in the UK and the US in an unspecified period between the late 1920s and the 1930s, the series starred Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster, an affable young gentleman and member of the idle rich, and Stephen Fry as

Jeeves Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Berti ...

, his highly intelligent and competent valet. Bertie and his friends, who are mainly members of the

Drones Club The Drones Club is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British humorist P. G. Wodehouse. It is a gentlemen's club in London. Many of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Blandings Castle stories feature the club or its members. Various memb ...

, are extricated from all manner of societal misadventures by the indispensable Jeeves. When Fry and Laurie began the series, they were already a popular comedic

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases fo ...

for their regular appearances on Channel 4's '' Saturday Live'' and their own show ''

A Bit of Fry & Laurie ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, broadcast on both BBC1 and BBC2 between 1989 and 1995. It ran for four series an ...

'' (BBC, 1987–95). In the television documentary ''Fry and Laurie Reunited'' (2010), the actors, reminiscing about their involvement in the series, revealed that they were initially reluctant to play the parts of Jeeves and Wooster, but eventually decided to do so because the series was going to be made with or without them and they felt no one else would do the parts justice. The series was a collaboration between

Brian Eastman Brian Eastman (born 3 September 1949, Brighton, UK) is a producer of feature films (such as ''Shadowlands'' and '' Under Suspicion''), television drama (such as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' and ''Jeeves and Wooster''), and stage productions (such a ...

of Picture Partnership Productions and

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

Theme and opening credits

The theme (called "Jeeves and Wooster") is an original piece of music in the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing ri ...

style written by composer Anne Dudley for the programme. Dudley uses variations of the theme as a basis for all of the episodes' scores and was nominated for a

British Academy Television Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

for her work on the third series.Awards for ''Jeeves and Wooster'' (1990)
from

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Characters

Many of the programme's supporting roles – including significant characters such as

Aunt Agatha Agatha Gregson, née Wooster, later Lady Worplesdon, is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves stories of the British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being best known as Bertie Wooster's Aunt Agatha. Haughty and overbearing, Aunt Agatha wa ...

, Madeline Bassett and Gussie Fink-Nottle – were played by more than one actor. One prominent character, Aunt Dahlia, was played by a different actress in each of the four series. Francesca Folan played two very different characters: Madeline Bassett in series one and Lady Florence Craye in series four. The character of Stiffy Byng was played by

Charlotte Attenborough Charlotte Isabel Attenborough (born 29 June 1959) is a British stage, film and television actress known for her appearances in ''Jane Eyre'' (1996) and ''Jeeves and Wooster'' (1991, 93). She is the daughter of Richard Attenborough and Sheila Si ...

in series two and by Amanda Harris in series three and then by Attenborough again in series four. Richard Braine, who took over the role of Gussie Fink-Nottle in series three and four, also appeared as the conniving Rupert Steggles in series one.

Episodes

Reception

The third series of ''Jeeves and Wooster'' won a British Academy Television Award for Best Design for Eileen Diss. The final series won a British Academy Television Award for Best Graphics for Derek W. Hayes and was nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series; it also earned a British Academy Television Award for Best Original Television Music for Anne Dudley and a British Academy Television Award for Best Costume Design for Dany Everett. In retrospect, Michael Brooke of

BFI 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 The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and telev ...

called screenwriter

Clive Exton Clive Exton (11 April 1930 – 16 August 2007) was a British television and film screenwriter who wrote scripts for the series ''Poirot,'' ''Jeeves and Wooster,'' and ''Rosemary & Thyme.''adaptations come surprisingly close to capturing the flavour of the originals" by "retaining many of Wodehouse's most inspired literary similes."

Home releases

Granada Media released all four series on DVD in Region 2 between 2000 and 2002. On 1 September 2008, ITV Studios Home Entertainment released ''Jeeves and Wooster: The Complete Collection'', an eight-disc box set featuring all 23 episodes of the series. In Region 1, A&E Home Entertainment, under licence from Granada Media Entertainment, released the complete 23-episode collection on DVD in the US and Canada. In Region 4, Shock Entertainment has released the entire series on DVD in Australia. It was initially released in season sets in 2007/2008, followed by a complete series collection on 4 August 2008.

Locations

* Interior shots of Skeldings Hall (Bobbie Wickham's house) were filmed at

Home House Home House is a Georgian town house at 20 Portman Square, London. James Wyatt was appointed to design it by Elizabeth, Countess of Home in 1776, but by 1777 he had been dismissed and replaced by Robert Adam. Elizabeth left the completed hous ...

, a historic house in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. * Totleigh Towers was filmed at Highclere Castle,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

. * Totleigh-in-the-Wold scenes were filmed in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire; particularly around the duck pond and church. * Other location shots of "Trouble at Totleigh Towers" were filmed at West End,

Waltham St Lawrence Waltham St Lawrence is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. History The name 'Waltham' is believed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon words ''Wealt'' and ''Ham'', meaning 'dilapidated homes'.Ford, David Nash (2 ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

. * Exterior shots of Brinkley Court were filmed at Barnsley Park,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of ...

in series 1 and

Hall Barn Hall Barn is a historic country house located in Beaconsfield, South Bucks district, in Buckinghamshire, England. History The Hall Barn estate was bought by Anne Waller in 1624. The house was built in the late-17th century by her son Edmund W ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

in series 4. * All interior shots of Brinkley Court were filmed at

Wrotham Park Wrotham Park (pronounced , ) is a neo-Palladian English country house in the parish of South Mimms, Hertfordshire. It lies south of the town of Potters Bar, from Hyde Park Corner in central London. The house was designed by Isaac Ware in 1754 ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

. * Interior and exterior shots of Chuffnell Hall, in series 2, were also filmed at

. * Shots of Chuffnell Regis,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

were filmed in Clovelly, Devon and High Street,

Long Crendon Long Crendon is a village and civil parish in west Buckinghamshire, England, about west of Haddenham and north-west of Thame in neighbouring Oxfordshire. The village has been called Long Crendon only since the English Civil War.Birch, 1975, ...

, Buckinghamshire * Scenes from "Bertie Sets Sail" were filmed in Halton House, Buckinghamshire * Chuffnell Regis Station shots were filmed at Horsted Keynes station – Bluebell Railway,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...

. * Ditteridge Hall ("Jeeves Takes Charge") was filmed at

Englefield House Englefield House is an Elizabethan country house with surrounding estate at Englefield in the English county of Berkshire. The gardens are open to the public all year round on particular weekdays and the house by appointment only for large gr ...

, Berkshire. * Twing Hall ("The Purity of the Turf") was filmed at Stanway House, Gloucestershire. * The "Victoria Hotel" and the "Hotel Riviera" in Westcombe-on-Sea ("Pearls Mean Tears") were filmed in Sidmouth, Devon. * Some of the exterior shots in the gardens of the estate in "Jeeves in the Country" are filmed at

Polesden Lacey Polesden Lacey is an Edwardian house and estate, located on the North Downs at Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey, England. It is owned and run by the National Trust and is one of the Trust's most popular properties. This Regency house was ex ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

. * Barmy's Aunt's House ("Kidnapped!") was filmed at

Clandon Park Clandon Park House is an early 18th-century grade I listed Palladian mansion in West Clandon, near Guildford in Surrey. It stands in the south east corner of Clandon Park, a agricultural parkland estate which has been the seat of the Earls o ...

, Surrey. *

Deverill Hall The following is a list of recurring or notable fictional locations featured in the stories of P. G. Wodehouse, in alphabetical order by place name. Angler's Rest The Angler's (or Anglers') Rest is the fictional public house frequented by irr ...

("Right Ho, Jeeves") was filmed at

Joyce Grove Joyce Grove is a country house built in a Jacobethan style in Nettlebed, Oxfordshire, England. It is owned by Sue Ryder National Charity which, until March 2020 operated its Nettlebed Palliative Care Facility at Joyce Grove at Nettlebed in Henley-O ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...

. * Fothergill Hall ("Comrade Bingo") was filmed at Dorney Court, Buckinghamshire. * Lord Worplesdon's

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

residence ("The Once and Future Ex") was filmed at Gaddesden Place, Hertfordshire. * Exterior shots of Stuyvesant Towers, Bertie Wooster's residence in

in series 3 and 4, were filmed at Senate House in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest ...

, the central library and administration building for the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

. * Exterior shots of Berkeley Mansions, Bertie Wooster's residence in London, were filmed at 2 Mansfield Street,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it ...

References

;Notes ;Sources *

External links

* * *
The Russian Wodehouse Society
��Episode guides, screenshots and quotes from the four series. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeeves and Wooster British comedy-drama television shows 1990s British comedy-drama television series 1990 British television series debuts 1993 British television series endings Television shows based on works by P. G. Wodehouse ITV comedy Television series set in the 1920s Television series set in the 1930s Television series produced at Pinewood Studios Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Granada Television English-language television shows